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LIBRARY  OF 

WELLES  LEY  COLLEGE 


PURCHASED  FROM 
Sweet  Fund 


A  SELECT   LIBRARY 


OF 


NICENE  AND  POST-NICENE  FATHERS 


OF 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


$rconti  Series. 


TRANSLATED  INTO  ENGLISH  WITH  PROLEGOMENA  AND  EXPLANATORY  NOTES 


UNDER   THE   EDITORIAL    SUPERVISION    OF 


PHILIP   SCHAFF,  D.D.,  LL.D.,   and    HENRY    WAGE,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Principal  of  King^ s  College, 

New  York.  London. 


m  CONNECTION  WITH  A    NUMBER  OF  PATRISTIC  SCHOLARS  OF  EUROPE  AND  AMERICA. 

VOLUME    II. 

SOCRATES,    SOZOMENUS: 

CHURCH    HISTORIES. 


NEW   YORK: 
THE   CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE    COMPANY. 


OXFORD    AND   LONDON 

PARKER  &  COMPANY. 

1890. 


Copyright,  1890,  by 
THE   CHRISTIAN   LITERATURE   COMP-\NY. 


Typography  by  J.  S.  Clshing  &  Co.,  Boston,  U.S.A. 
Presswork  by  Berwick  &  Smith,  Boston,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS    OF   VOLUME    II. 


PAGE 

SOCRATES :  Church  History  from  a.d.  305-439 i 

By  a.  C,  Zenos,  D.D.,  Professor  of  New  Testament  Exegesis  in  the  Hartford  Theologi- 
cal Seminary. 

SOZOMENUS :   Church  History  from  a,d.  323-425 179 

By  Chester  D.  Hartranft,  D.D.,   Professor   of   Historical  Theology  in  the  Hartford 
Theological  Seminary. 


THE 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


OF 


SOCRATES   SCHOLASTICUS. 


Revised,  with  Notes,  by 

THE   REV.    A.    C.    ZENOS,    D.D., 

PROFESSOR   OF   NEW   TESTAMENT    EXEGESIS   IN   THE  THEOLOGICAL 
SEMINARY  AT   HARTFORD,   CONN. 


PREFATORY  NOTE; 


The  basis  of  the  present  edition  of  Socrates'  Ecclesiastical  History  is  the  translation  in 
Bagster's  series  mentioned  in  the  Introduction,  Part  IV.  The  changes  introduced,  however, 
are  numerous.  The  translation  was  found  unnecessarily  free  ;  so  far  as  the  needs  of  the  Eng- 
lish idiom  require  freedom  no  fault  could,  of  course,  have  been  found  with  the  translation ; 
but  the  divergences  from  the  original  in  multitudes  of  cases  were  not  warranted  by  any  such 
need ;  they  were  more  probably  induced  by  the  prevailing  style  of  rhetoric  common  in  the 
days  when  the  translation  was  made.  The  change  which  has  gradually  come  about  in  this 
respect  called  for  modifications  in  the  present  edition.  Many  more  might  have  been  intro- 
duced without  damage  to  the  work.  But  it  was  felt  that  the  scope  and  purpose  of  the  edition 
only  called  for  the  most  necessary  of  these  changes. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  notes  the  editions  of  Hussey  and  Reading,  containing  Valesius' 
and  Reading's  annotations,  were  freely  used.  Whenever  a  note  was  taken  bodily  from  these, 
it  has  been  quoted  and  duly  credited.  It  was  thought  best,  however,  usually  to  condense  and 
reduce  the  number  and  bulk  of  these  notes  and  introduce  sparingly  such  new  notes  as  were 
suggested  by  more  recent  study  in  ecclesiastical  history. 

The  Introduction  is  almost  altogether  dependent  on  the  literature  quoted  in  Part  I.  The 
writer  claims  no  original  discovery  respecting  Socrates  or  his  work.  The  facts  had  been  dili- 
gently collected  by  his  predecessors  ;  he  has  simply  rearranged  them  and  put  them  into  ex- 
pression such  as,  to  his  mind,  suits  the  requirements  of  the  plan  of  the  series. 

A.  C.  Zenos. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I.   Sources  and  Literature.^ 


U.  Chevalier  in  his  Repertoire  des  sources  historiqttes  dti  Moyen  Age  gives  the  following  list  of  authorities  on 
Socrates  Scholasticus. 

Baronius:*  Ann.  [1593]  439.  39-     <^f-  Pag'>  <-'"'•  [1689]  9,  11,  427,  15-6. 

Bellarmin  LABBfe:  S.  E.  [1728]  164. 

BruneT:  *  Manuel  [1864]  V.  425. 

Cave:*  S.  E.  [1741]  I-  427- 

Ceillier:  *  Hist.  Aut.  Ecd.  [1747]  XIII.  p.  669-88.     (2  a  VIII.  514-25.) 

Darling  :  *    Cyclopiedia  Bibliographica  ;  Authors. 

Du  Pin:  *  Bibl.  Aut.  Ecd.  [1702]  III.  ii.  183. 

Ebed-Jesu:    Cat.  Scr.  Ecd.  29.      (ASSEMANI :   Bibl.  Orient.  III.  141.) 

Fabricius:*  Bibl.  Grcec.  [1714]  VI.  117-21.     (2  «  VII.  423-7.) 

Graesse:*    Tresor  [1865]  VI.  i,  429. 

Hoffmann:  Lex.  Bibl.  Gr.  [1836]  III.  625-6. 

Holzhausen  :    Commentatio  de  fontibus  quibus  Socrates,  Sozomenus  ac  Theodoretus  usi  sunt,  &c.    Gotting.  1825. 

JScher. 

Nouvelle  Biog.  Gen.*  [1868]  XLIV.  127-8. 

NoLTE:2    Tubing.  Qitartalsckrift  {1S66]  e^iS;    [1861]  417-51. 

Patrologia  GRy^CA  *  (Mign£)  LXVII.  9-26. 

SiGEBERT:    Gembl.  S.  E.  10. 

TillemontI;  Hist,  des  Emp.  [1738]  VI.  119-22. 

Trithemius:   Scr.  Ecd.  137. 

VOSSIUS:  Hist.  Grceca  [1651]  259. 

Walford:  3  in  Bohn's  Ecd.  Libr.  VI.  1853. 

To  these  there  should  be  added  important  notices  of  Socrates  or  his  Ecclesiastical  History  as  follows : 

F.  C.  Baur:   Die  Epochen  der  Kirchlichen  Geschichtschreibung.    Tubing.  1852,  p.  7-32. 

J.  G.  DoWLING:  An  Introductiott  to  the  Critical  Study  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 

Ad.  Harnack  :  In  Her/.OG-Plitt's  Beal  Enkydop.  vol.  14,  Sokrates  und  Sozomenos  and  in  Encydop.  Bri- 
tannica,  Socrates. 

K.  O.  MiJLLER:  History  of  Greek  Literature:  English  translation  and  continuation  by  Donaldson,  Vol.  III. 

RossLER  :  Bibliothek  der  Kirchenvater. 

Jeep:    Qudletiuntersuchungen  zu  der griech.  LCirchenhistorikern.     Leipsic,  1884. 

Sarrazin  :  De  Theodora  Lector e,  Theophanis  Fonte pracipuo,  188 1. 

Staudlin  :    Gesch.  ti7td  Liter atur  der  Kirchen-geschichte,  1827. 

OvERBECK:    Theol.  Liter. -Zeitung,  1879.     No.  20. 

Also  articles  on  .Socrates  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Biography  and  Mythology  (by  John 
Calrow  Means)  and  Smith  &  Wace:  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography  (William  Milligan),  as  well  as  passing 
notices  in  standard  ecclesiastical  histories  such  as  Neander,  Hase,  Killen,  Schaff,  &c.,  and  Introductory  no- 
tices of  Valesius  (Hussey) ,  Parker,  Bright,  &c. 


1  All  works  marked  with  a  star  in  Chevalier's  list  were  used  in 
the  present  edition,  and  all  but  two  or  three  of  those  added  to  the 
list  of  Chevalier. 

^  Nolte's  article  is  on  the  textual  emendations  needed  in  the  edi- 
tion of  Socrates.  The  text  of  our  historian  has  not  been  as  thor- 
oughly and  completely  examined  and  corrected  as  other  writings. 
Valesius'  edition  (Hussey)  gives  an  account  of  a  few  MSS.  exam- 


ined by  himself;  nothing  further  has  been  done  of  any  importance. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Gebhardt  and  Harnack  may  find  it  convenient 
to  incorporate  a  new  collation  and  revision  in  their  Texie  und  Un- 
tersuchitngett. 

"  E.  Walford,  A.M.,  appears  as  the  translator  of  Sozomen,  not  of 
Socrates.     See  IV.  of  Introduction,  note  6. 


VI 11 


INTRODUCTION. 


11.     Life  of  Socrates. 

We  cannot  but  regret  the  fact  that  the  age  in  which  Socrates  lived  cared  httle,  if  at  all,  about 
recording  the  lives  of  its  literary  men.  The  only  sources  of  information  in  this  respect  are  the 
writings  themselves  of  these  literary  men  and  the  public  records,  in  case  they  held  the  double 
character  of  literary  men  and  political  or  ecclesiastical  officials.  As  Socrates  did  not  participate 
in  the  public  affairs  of  his  day,  our  information  respecting  him  is  confined  to  the  scanty  and  inci- 
dental items  we  may  gather  from  his  history.  As  he  was  not  very  fond  of  speaking  of  himself, 
these  data  are  few  and  often  of  doubtful  significance.  In  fact,  the  reconstruction  of  his  biog- 
raphy from  these  scattered  items  is  a  matter  of  difficult  critical  investigation. 

All  that  these  inadequate  materials  yield  of  his  biography  m.ay  be  summed  up  as  follows  : 

He  was  born  in  Constantinople.-*  He  nowhere  mentions  his  parents  or  ancestry,  and  no  infor- 
mation has  reached  us  on  this  point  from  any  other  source.  The  year  of  his  birth  is  inferred 
from  what  he  says  of  his  education  at  the  hands  of  the  grammarians  Helladius  and  Ammonius.^ 
These  grammarians  were  originally  Egyptian  priests  living  in  Alexandria  —  the  former  of  Jupiter, 
and  the  latter  of  Pithecus  (Simius)  ;  they  fled  from  their  native  city  in  consequence  of  the  dis- 
turbances which  followed  the  cleansing  of  the  Mithreum  and  destruction  of  the  Serapeum  by  the 
bishop  Theophilus.  It  appears  that  at  that  time  an  open  conflict  took  place  between  the  pagans 
and  Christians,  and  many  of  the  pagans  having  taken  part  in  the  tumult,  laid  themselves  open  to 
criminal  prosecution,  and  to  avoid  this,  took  refuge  in  other  cities,  —  a  large  number  of  them  natu- 
rally in  Constantinople.  The  Chronicon  of  Marcellinus  puts  this  event  in  the  consulship  of  Tima- 
sius  and  Promotus,  i.e.  389  a.d.  Now,  as  Socrates  was  very  young  ^  when  he  came  to  these 
grammarians,  and  it  was  the  custom  to  send  children  to  the  schools  at  the  age  of  ten,  Valesius 
has  reasoned  that  Socrates  must  have  been  born  in  379  ;  others  have  named  380*  as  a  more  prob- 
able date  for  this  event.  Other  data  for  ascertaining  the  exact  date  of  Socrates'  birth  are  of  very 
doubtful  significance.  He  speaks,  for  instance,  of  Auxanon,^  a  Novatian  presbyter,  from  whom 
he  had  received  certain  information ;  but  as  Auxanon  lived  till  after  the  accession  of  Theodosius 
the  Younger  in  408  a.d.,  it  is  impossible  to  draw  any  conclusion  from  this  fact.  So  again  Socrates 
mentions  the  patriarchate  of  Chrysostom  in  Constantinople  (398-403)  as  if  he  had  received  his 
information  at  second  hand,^  and  thus  implies  that  he  was  perhaps  too  young  to  be  an  interested 
eye-witness  of  the  events  of  that  period.  But  how  young  he  was  we  cannot  infer  from  this  fact ; 
and  so  cannot  take  the  patriarchate  of  Chrysostom  as  a  starting-point  for  our  chronology  of 
Socrates'  life.  Still  another  item  that  might  have  served  as  a  datum  in  the  case,  had  it  been 
definitely  associated  with  a  known  event  in  Socrates'  career,  is  his  mention  of  a  dispute  between 
the  pAmomians  and  Macedonians  which  took  place  in  Constantinople  in  394.'  If  he  were  an 
eye-witness  of  this  quarrel,  he  must  have  been  old  enough  to  take  an  interest  in  it,  hence  about 
fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age.  But  this  conclusion,  even  though  it  coincides  exactly  with  the 
date  found  previously  (379),  is  not  at  all  certain,  as  he  does  not  state  that  he  was  an  eye-witness ; 
and  if  the  reasoning  is  correct,  then  he  was  not  too  young  to  be  interested  in  the  events  of  Chry- 
sostom's  patriarchate  which  occurred  a  little  later.  Thus,  on  the  whole,  while  it  is  extremely  prob- 
able that  Valesius  is  right  in  setting  the  date  of  Socrates'  birth  in  379,  this  event  may  have  taken 
place  several  years  later. 

Nothing  further  is  known  of  Socrates'  early  life  and  education  except  that  he  studied  under 
Ammonius  and  Helladius,  as  already  noted.     Valesius  has  conjectured  from  the  mention  of  Troi- 


*  So  he  says  in  V.  24. 

-  V.  16.  On  the  destruction  of  the  Serapeum,  see  Sozom.  VII. 
15;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  V.  22;  Nicephor.  XII.  25;  Eunap.  yEdes.  par. 
77;  Suidas,  Sdpan-t?.  Helladius,  according  to  Suidas,  wrote  a  Dic- 
tionary, besides  other  works.     Cf.  s.v.  'EAAaSto?. 

*•  Valesius'  reasoning  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  Socrates 


was  sent  to  the  grammarians  as  soon  as  they  arrived  at  Constanti- 
nople. If.  however,  an  interval  of  several  years  elapsed  before  his 
going  to  them,  the  date  of  his  birth  must  be  put  correspondingly 
latef.  The  only  certainty  reached  through  this  datum  is  that  he  was 
born  not  earlier  than  379. 

■'■'  I.  13  and  II.  38. 

"  VI.  3,  and  <os  (^a<rt.  '  V.  24. 


INTRODUCTION. 


IX 


lus,  the  famous  rhetorician,*  that  Socrates  must  have  received  instruction  from  this  teacher  also, 
but  with  no  sufficient  foundation.^ 

Socrates  ahvays  remained  a  resident  of  Constantinople,  and  was  evidently  proud  of  his  native 
city,  and  fond  of  alluding  to  its  history  as  well  as  its  actual  condition.  He  relates  how  the 
Emperor  Constantine  enlarged  it  and  gave  it  its  present  name  in  place  of  the  former  heathen 
name  it  bore  (Byzantium).^"  He  si)eaks  of  its  populousness,  and  at  the  same  time  of  its  ability 
to  support  its  many  inhabitants  from  its  abundant  resources."  He  looks  on  its  public  structures 
very  much  as  the  ancient  Israelite  did  on  the  '  towers  and  battlements '  of  Jerusalem.  He  men- 
tions especially  the  walls  built  by  Theodosius  the  Younger,  the  Forums  of  Constantine  and 
Theodosius,  the  Amphitheatre,  the  Hippodrome  with  its  Delphic  tripods,  the  baths,  especially 
that  called  Zeuxippus,^^  the  churches  of  which  he  names  at  different  times  as  many  as  five ;  viz. : 
the  church  of  the  Apostles,  erected  by  Constantine  especially  for  the  burying  of  the  emperors 
and  priests ;  '^  the  church  of  ^V.  Sophia,  which  he  calls  '  the  great  church  ' ;  the  church  of  St. 
Irene,^*  located  in  the  same  enclosure  as  that  of  St.  Sophia ;  the  church  of  St.  Acacius,  together 
with  its  appendages ;  ^°  and  the  chapel  of  St.  John,  built  seven  miles  outside  the  city.^*'  Besides 
these  he  also  mentions  circumstantially  the  porch  and  shambles  and  porphyry  column  near  which 
Arius  was  attacked  with  his  sudden  and  fatal  illness,'"  the  region  called  Sycae,  and  the  tomb  of 
Alexander  the  Paphlagonian,  who  was  tortured  and  died  in  prison  during  the  temporary  suprem- 
acy of  the  Arians.^* 

Although  there  is  no  distinct  mention  of  his  ever  having  left  the  great  city,^'-*  it  is  improbable 
that,  like  his  great  Athenian  namesake,  he  was  averse  to  travehng.  In  fact,  his  frequent  mention 
of  the  customs  of  Paphlagonians,  Thessalians,  Cyprians,  and  others  with  minuteness  of  detail, 
rather  gives  the  impression  that  he  had  visited  these  places. 

According  to  the  preponderance  of  evidence  Socrates  was  trained  as  a  pleader  or  advocate,  and 
practiced  this  profession  for  a  time.  Hence  his  cognomen  of  Scholasticus!^  At  the  instance  of  a 
certain  Theodoras  he  undertook  to  write  a  continuation  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Euse- 
bius,  bringing  it  down  to  the  seventeenth  consulate  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Younger 
(439A.D.)."! 

This  year  is  the  last  definitely  mentioned  in  his  work.  He  must  have  lived,  however,  until 
some  time  after  that  date,  as  he  speaks  of  a  revision  of  the  first  two  books  of  the  History.^" 
How  much  later  it  is  impossible  to  tell :  it  was  not  certainly  till  after  the  end  of  Theodosius' 
reign ;  for  then  he  would  have  brought  down  his  history  to  that  event,  and  thus  completed  his 
seventh  book  according  to  the  plan,  which  is  evident  in  his  whole  work,  of  assigning  one  complete 
book  to  each  one  of  the  emperors  comprised  in  his  period. 

Of  the  character  of  Socrates  as  a  man  we  know  as  little  as  of  the  events  of  his  life.  Evidently 
he  was  a  lover  of  peace,  as  he  constantly  speaks  with  abhorrence  of  the  atrocities  of  war,  and 
deprecates  even  differences  in  theological  standpoint  on  account  of  the  strife  and  ill-feeling  which 
they  engender. 


'  VII.  I  and  2.  See  note  on  VII.  i.  Socrates  speaks  of  Troilus 
as  a  native  of  Side  in  Pamphilia,  and  mentions  Eusebius  and  Silva- 
nus  and  Alabius  (both  the  latter  bishops)  as  distinguished  pupils  of 
Troilus,  and  finally  adds  that  Anthemius,  who  during  the  minority 
of  Theodosius  acted  as  regent,  was  dependent  on  the  influence  of 
Troilus;  in  which  connection  he  further  adds  that  Troilus  was  not 
inferior  to  Anthemius  in  political  sagacity. 

"  Professor  Milligan,  in  Smith  &  Wace's  Dictionary  of  Biog- 
raphy, even  says  that  Socrates  assisted  Troilus,  but  adduces  no 
proof  for  the  statement. 

10  I.  i6.  13  II.  38  and  VI.  23. 

"  IV.  16,  end;  VII.  37.  is  yi.  6. 

^  II.  16.  "  I.  38. 

"  I.  4°-  "  II.  38. 

"  II.  16;   I.  37.  13  V.  8. 

'0  The  various  meanings  of  this  word  may  be  found  in  Du  Gauge's 


Glossariuin  Medice  et  Infiina  G rcecitates  and  in  Sophocles'  Greek 
Lexicon  of  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  Periods.  From  its  primary 
meaning  of  '  student '  it  came  to  be  applied  to  any  one  who  had 
passed  through  study  to  the  professions,  of  which  the  advocate's  was 
one.  From  the  absence  of  the  cognomen  in  Photius'  account  of 
Socrates,  Bibliotheca  Cod.  28,  as  well  as  in  that  of  Nicephorus  Cal- 
listi,  H.  E.  I.  I,  Hamburger,  as  quoted  by  Fabricius,  Bibl.  Grcec. 
VII.  p.  '423,  note  g,  and  Ceillier,  Auteurs  Sacres,  XIII.  p.  669, 
doubt  whether  the  title  was  rightly  applied  to  him.  Valesius  argues 
from  internal  grounds  that  Socrates  was  a  layman  and  a  lawyer. 
Harnack,  on  the  other  hand,  denies  that  there  is  any  evidence  of 
juristic  knowledge  in  Socrates'  History,  even  in  such  passages  as 
I.  30,  31,  and  V.  18. 

21  VII.  48. 

=2  II.  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Socrates'  knowledge  of  Latin  has  been  inferred  from  his  use  of  Rufinus/^  but  Dodwell-'*  con- 
jectures that  Socrates  read  Rufinus  in  a  Greek  translation,  and  that  such  translation  had  been 
made  by  Gelasius. 

Inasmuch  as  he  lived  in,  and  wrote  of,  an  age  of  controversies,  and  his  testimony  must  be 
weighed  according  to  his  theological  standpoint,  this  standpoint  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
careful  study.  There  is  no  doubt  left  by  his  explicit  declarations  about  his  agreement  in  the 
main  with  the  position  of  the  orthodox  or  catholic  church  of  his  age,  as  far  as  these  are  distin- 
guished from  those  of  Arians,  Macedonians,  Eunomians,  and  other  heretics.  But  as  to  his  attitude 
towards  Novatianism  there  has  been  considerable  difference  of  opinion.  That  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Novatian  sect  has  been  held  after  Nicephorus  Callisti^  by  Baronius,  Labbaeus,  and  others, 
and  argued  from  various  considerations  drawn  from  his  work.  Some  of  these  are  :  that  he  gives 
the  succession  of  the  Novatian  bishops  of  Constantinople  ; ""  that  he  knows  and  mentions  Nova- 
tian bishops  of  other  places,  e.g.  of  Rome,^  of  Scythia,-*  of  Nicsea  ;  -^  that  he  mentions  Novatian 
churches  as  existing  in  Phrygia  and  Paphlagonia,'^"  in  Lydia,^^  in  Cyzicum,^^  in  Nicaea,^  in  Nico- 
media  and  Cotyaeum,^  and  in  Alexandria  ;^  that  he  knows  and  describes  their  church  edifices  ;^ 
that  he  knows  their  internal  troubles  and  trials,^  especially  their  position  on  the  Paschal  contro- 
versy ;  ^  that  he  gives  vent  to  expressions  of  a  sympathetic  nature  with  the  rigor  practiced  by  the 
Novatian  church  ;  ^'^  that  he  records  the  criticisms  of  Novatians  on  Chrysostom  and  the  opinion 
that  his  deposition  was  a  just  retribution  for  his  persecution  of  the  Novatians  ;  ■*"  that  he  attributes 
miracles  to  Paul,  Novatian  bishop  of  Constantinople,"  takes  the  testimony  of  Novatian  wit- 
nesses,'^ rejects  current  charges  against  them,*^  and  finally  speaks  of  the  death  of  Novatian  as  a 
martyrdom.'*^ 

On  the  other  hand,  Valesius,  followed  by  most  of  the  more  recent  writers  on  Socrates,  claims 
that  all  these  facts  are  due  to  the  extreme  impartiality  of  the  historian,  his  sense  of  the  justice 
due  to  a  sect  whose  good  he  appreciated,  together  with  his  lack  of  interest  in  the  differences 
between  their  standpoint  and  that  of  the  Catholics.  Socrates  treats  other  heretical  sects  with  the 
same  generous  consideration,  e.g.  the  Arian  Goths,  whose  death  he  records  as  a  martyrdom  ;  *^ 
and  yet  he  has  never  been  suspected  of  inclining  towards  xA.rianism.  At  the  same  time  he  men- 
tions the  Novatians  as  distinct  from  the  Catholic  Church,^''  and  everywhere  implies  that  the  Church 
for  him  is  the  latter. 

To  account  for  the  apparently  different  conclusions  to  which  these  two  series  of  considerations 
point,  some  have  assumed  that  Socrates  had  been  a  Novatian,  but  before  the  writing  of  his  history 
had  either  gradually  drifted  into  the  Catholic  Church,  or  for  reasons  of  prvidence  had  severed  his 
connection  with  the  lesser  body  and  entered  the  state  church,  retaining,  however,  throughout  his 
whole  course  a  strong  sympathy  for  the  communion  of  his  earlier  days.^'^  Others  attribute 
his  favorable  attitude  towards  Novatianism  to  his  general  indifference  for  theological  refinements, 
others  to  mere  intellectual  sympathy  for  their  tenets.  In  the  absence  of  any  definite  utterance 
of  his  own  on  the  subject,  a  combination  of  the  last  two  motives  comes  nearest  to  sufficiently 
explaining  the  position  of  Socrates,  although  his  rather  unappreciative  estimate  of  Chrysostom  ^ 
and  his  severe  censure  of  Cyril  of  Alexandria'*"  are  both  more  easily  accounted  for  on  the  ground 
of  a  more  intimate  relation  between  the  historian  and  the  Novatians,  as  both  of  the  above-named 
eminent  men  were  declared  enemies  of  Novatianism. 

In  other  respects  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  creed  of  Socrates  was  very  simple  and  primi- 


^   I.  12,  19;    III.  19:    IV.  24,  26. 

^*  De  Jure  sacerdoiali,  p.  278.     Cf.  on  translation  by  Gelasius, 
Smith  &  Wace,  Dictionary  0/ Christian  Biograpliy,  II.  p.  621. 


=••■'  Niceph.  H.  E.  I.  I. 

2"  Cf.  V.  21 :  VII.  6,  12,  17. 

"  v.  14;  VII.  9,  II. 

="  VII.  46. 

2»  VII.  25. 

3»  IV.  28. 


3>  VI.  19. 

52  II.   38;    III.  II. 

53  VH.    12. 

s*  IV.  28. 

8=  Vft.  7. 

s«  II.  38;  VII.  39. 


3'    V.  21. 
38    Y^^  22 

3»  IV.  28;   V.  ig;  VI.  21,  22; 

VII.  25. 
^^  VI.  ig  and  21. 


"  VII.  17,  39. 

«  I.  10,  13;  II.  38;  IV.  28. 

•••'  V.  lo. 
"  IV.  28. 
'"  IV.  33. 


«  VI.  20,  23;  IV.  28;  V.  19;  VII.  3. 

■•^  So  Harnack  in   Herzog-PIitt,    Real-Ejtcykl.   and   Encyclop. 
Britan. 

*^  VI.  3,  4,  5,  IS,  18,  19,  21.  *■'  VII.  15. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XI 


tive.  The  one  essential  article  in  it  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  all  others  were  subordinate. 
Even  as  to  the  Trinity,  he  would  have  accepted  a  much  less  rigid  definition  than  the  one  pro- 
pounded at  Nicaea.  As,  however,  the  latter  had  been  generally  adopted  by  the  church,  he  finds  him- 
self defending  it  against  x'\rianism  as  well  as  against  all  sorts  of  compromise.  He  believed  in  the 
inspiration  of  the  great  synods  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Scriptures,  and  was  satisfied  to  receive 
without  questioning  the  decisions  of  the  former  as  he  did  the  teachings  of  the  latter.  He  was 
not,  however,  particular  about  the  logical  consequences  of  his  theological  positions,  but  ready  to 
break  off  upon  sufficient  extra-theological  reasons.  His  warm  defense  of  Origen  and  arraignment 
of  Methodius,  Eustathius,  Apollinaris,  and  Theophilus,^°  for  attempting  to  belittle  the  great  Alex- 
andrian, shows  how  his  admiration  of  a  genius  came  into  and  modified  his  estimates.  He  con- 
sidered all  disputes  on  dogmatic  statements  as  unnecessary  and  injurious,  due  to  misunderstanding ; 
and  this  chiefly  because  the  parties  in  the  dispute  did  not  take  pains  to  understand  one  another, 
and  perhaps  did  not  desire  to  do  so  because  of  personal  jealousies  or  previous  and  private 
hatreds.^'  He  is  willing  to  refer  such  lawful  questions  on  doctrinal  points  as  may  come  before 
him  to  the  clergy  for  decision,  and  is  never  backward  about  confessing  his  ignorance  and  incom- 
petency to  deal  with  theological  refinements. 

He  makes  a  cogent  defense  of  the  use  of  pagan  writings  by  Christians,"-  alleging  that  some  of 
the  pagan  writers  were  not  far  from  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God ;  that  Paul  himself  had  read 
and  used  their  works ;  that  the  neglect  or  refusal  to  use  them  could  only  lead  to  ignorance  and 
inability  to  meet  pagans  in  debate  ;  that  St.  Paul's  '  prove  all  things,  hold  fast  that  which  is  good,'  ^ 
and  Jesus  Christ's  '  be  ye  approved  bankers ' "  gave  distinct  support  to  the  study  of  the  whole 
field  of  knowledge  ;  and  that  whatever  is  worth  studying  in  non-Christian  literature  is  capable  of 
being  separated  from  the  rest  and  known  as  the  truth.  Socrates  himself  was  acquainted  more  or 
less  extensively  with  the  works  of  Sophocles,  Euripides,  Plato,  Xenophon,  from  among  the  classic 
writers,  besides  those  of  Porphyry,  Libanius,  Julian,  and  Themistius  of  a  later  period,  and  perhaps 
with  those  of  many  others. 

One  more  characteristic  of  Socrates  must  be  mentioned ;  viz.,  his  respect  for  the  church  and 
its  institutions.  He  had  a  high  regard  for  clergymen  in  virtue  of  their  ordination.  And  although, 
as  already  shown,  he  took  occasion  to  express  himself  critically  of  the  highest  dignitaries,  such  as 
Chrysostom  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  yet  the  person  of  a  bishop  or  presbyter  is  in  a  certain  sense 
surrounded  by  sacredness  to  him.  Monks  are  models  of  piety.  In  his  eulogy  of  Theodosius  the 
Younger,^  he  compares  the  emperor's  devoutness  to  that  of  the  monks,  making  the  latter,  of 
course,  the  high-water  mark  in  that  respect.  But  even  as  respects  the  ordinances  of  the  church, 
his  regard  for  them  was  not  slavish  or  superstitious.  He  advocates  extremely  broad  views  in 
regard  to  the  observance  of  Easter,  considering  a  very  precise  determination  of  it  too  formalistic 
to  be  consistent  with  the  liberty  of  the  New  Dispensation.  So,  likewise,  in  regard  to  many  other 
of  the  ceremonies  of  the  church,  he  takes  pains  to  show  by  a  description  of  the  various  ways  in 
which  they  were  performed  in  different  quarters  that  they  were  not  essential,  but  of  subordinate 
importance.^® 

III.     Socrates'  Ecclesiastical  History. 

Until  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  historiography  remained  a  pagan  science.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  its  apocryphal  imitations,  no  sort  of  attempt  had 


50  VI.  13,  17;  VII.  45. 

^'  I.  23;  cf.  also  II.  40,  end:   aAA'  ottu;  /u.rji'  raura  exei,  &c. 

52   III.  16. 

^  I  Thess.  V.  21,  with  which  he  combines  Col.  ii.  8.  The  latter 
passage  can  only  be  acted  upon,  according  to  Socrates,  as  the  ground 
of  a  knowledge  of  that  philosophy  which  is  to  be  guarded  against  as 
vain. 


^  VCvea-de  SoKifioi.  rpaire^Tai,  This  saying  is  sometimes  at- 
tributed to  Paul,  but  more  usually  to  Jesus.  It  occurs  in  Clem. 
Horn.  II.  51;  III.  50;  XVIII.  20;  Ap.  Const.  36,37;  Epiph.  Har. 
44.  2;  Orig.  {ill  Joan.')  IV.  283;  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  I.  28;  Eus. 
H.  E.  VII.  7,  3. 

s'-'  VII.  22. 

.--;  V.  22. 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 


been  made  to  record  even  the  annals  of  the  Christian  Church.  At  the  opening  of  the  fourth 
century  Eusebius  conceived  the  idea  of  writing  a  history  which  should  include  a  complete  account 
of  the  Church's  life  to  his  own  days.  Hence  he  has  correctly  been  called  the  Father  of  Church 
History.  His  work  was  done  so  satisfactorily  to  his  contemporaries  and  immediate  successors  that 
none  of  them  undertook  to  go  over  the  same  field  again.^  They  estimated  the  thoroughness  and 
accuracy  of  his  work  much  higher  than  later  ages  have  done.  But  this  respect,  which  enhanced 
the  magnitude  of  his  work  in  their  eyes,  at  the  same  time  inspired  many  of  them  with  a  desire  to 
imitate  him. 

Thus  a  school  of  church  historians  arose,  and  a  number  of  continuations  of  Eusebius'  History 
were  undertaken.  Of  these,  six  are  known  to  have  seen  the  light :  three  of  these  again  are  either 
in  part  or  wholly  lost;  viz.,  those  of  Philippus  Sidetes,  of  Philastorgius,  and  of  Hesychiiis.  The 
first  because  of  internal  characteristics  which  made  it  difficult  to  use ;  the  second  because  its 
author  was  a  heretic  (an  Arian),  and  with  the  wane  of  the  sect  to  which  he  belonged,  his  work 
lost  favor  and  was  gradually  ostracized  by  the  orthodox,  and  thus  was  lost,  with  the  exception  of 
an  abstract  preserv^ed  by  Photius ;  and  the  third,  for  reasons  unknown  and  undiscoverable,  met 
with  the  same  fate,  not  leaving  even  as  much  as  an  abstract  behind.  The  remaining  three  are  the 
histories  of  Socrates,  Sozo7nen,  and  Theodoret.  That  of  Theodoret  begins  with  the  rise  of  Ari- 
anism,  and  ends  with  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  (429  a.d.).  That  of  Sozomen  was  begun  with  the 
purpose  of  including  the  history  of  the  years  between  323  (date  of  the  overthrow  of  Licinius 
by  Constantine)  and  439  (the  seventeenth  consulship  of  Theodosius  the  Younger),  but  for  some 
reason  was  closed  with  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Honorius  (423),  and  so  covers  just  one  hun- 
dred years.  The  work  of  Socrates,  being  evidently  older  than  either  of  the  other  two,  is  more 
directly  a  continuation  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Eusebius.  The  motives  which  actuated 
him  to  continue  the  narratives  of  Eusebius  may  be  gathered  from  the  work  to  be  his  love  for 
history,^  especially  that  of  his  own  times,^  his  respect  for  Eusebius,  and  the  exhortation  of  Theo- 
dorus,  to  whom  the  work  is  dedicated.*  The  author  opens  with  a  statement  of  his  purpose  to 
take  up  the  account  where  Eusebius  had  left  it  off,  and  to  review  such  matters  as,  according  to 
his  judgment,  had  not  been  adequately  treated  by  his  predecessor.  Accordingly  he  begins  with 
the  accession  of  Constantine  (306  a.d.),  when  the  persecution  begun  by  Diocletian  came  to  an 
end,  and  stops  with  the  year  439.  He  mentions  the  number  of  years  included  in  his  work  as  140. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  133  years  are  recorded  ;  but  the  number  given  by  the  author  is  doubtless 
not  meant  to  be  rather  a  round  than  a  precise  number.  The  close  of  his  history  is  the  seventeenth 
consulship  of  Theodosius  the  Younger  —  the  same  as  the  proposed  end  of  Sozomen's  work. 
Why  Socrates  did  not  continue  his  history  later  is  not  known,  except  perhaps  because,  as  he 
alleges,  peace  and  prosperity  seemed  to  be  assured  to  the  church,  and  history  is  made  not  in 
time  of  peace,  but  in  the  turmoils  and  disturbances  of  war  and  debate.  The  period  covered  by 
the  work  is  very  eventful.  It  is  during  this  period  that  three  of  the  most  important  councils  of 
the  church  were  held  :  those  of  Nicgea  (325),  of  Constantinople  (381),  and  the  first  council 
of  Ephesus  (431),  besides  the  second  of  Ephesus,  called  the  ''■Robbers''  Council  "  (AT^o-T/3iK?7),and 
that  of  Chalcedon,  which  were  held  not  much  later.  It  is  this  period  which  saw  the  church 
coming  to  the  ascendant.  Instead  of  its  being  persecuted,  or  even  merely  tolerated,  it  then  be- 
comes dominant.     With  its  day  of  peace  from  without  comes  the  day  of  its  internal  strife,  and   so 

'  That  this  was  not  due  to  a  general  conviction  that  one  history  [        •'  VI.  r. 
of  a  period  rendered  another  of  the  same  period  unnecessary  is  evi- 1        ■•  Cf.  II.  i ;   VI.  Int.;   VII.  47.     This  Theodorus  is  simply  ad- 
dent  from  the  fact  that  the  period  immediately  succeeding  is  treated  1  dressed   as   iepe  toO  fleoO   ai'OpioTrt,  from  which  it  has  been  rightly 
of  by  three  successive  historians,  and  that  the  second  of  these,  at    inferred  that  he  was  an  ordained  presbyter.    The  view  that  Theodore 
least,  knows  and  uses  the  work  of  his  predecessor.  of  Mopsuestia  is  the  person  addressed  has  been  proved  to  be  errone- 

-  Harnack,  however,  successfully  proves  that  Socrates'  ideal  of  1  ous  from  the  date  of  his  death,  429  a.d.  The  Ecclesiastical  History 
history,  in  spite  of  his  love  for  it,  was  far  from  being  the  scientific  was  no  doubt  completed  after  that  event,  and  could  not  have  con- 
idea  which  existed  among  pagan  writers  even  of  the  age  preceding    tained  an  address  to  the  eminent  Theodore. 


his  own.     Cf.  Hcrzog-Plitt,  Real-Encyk.  Vol.  14,  p.  413  sq. 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 


various  sects  and  heresies  spring  up  and  claim  attention  in  church  history.     Socrates  appreciated 
the  importance  which  these  contentions  gave  to  his  work/' 

Geographically  Socrates'  work  is  limited  to  the  East.  The  western  branch  of  the  church  is 
mentioned  in  it  only  as  it  enters  into  relations  with  the  eastern.  The  division  of  the  history  into 
seven  books  is  made  on  the  basis  of  the  succession  in  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
The  seven  books  cover  the  reigns  of  eight  eastern  emperors.  Two  of  these*  reigns  —  that  of 
Julian  (361-363)  and  that  of  Jovian  (363-364)  — were  so  brief  that  they  are  combined  and  put 
into  one  book,  but  otherwise  the  books  are  each  devoted  to  the  reign  of  one  emperor.  The 
first  book  treats  of  the  church  under  Constantine  the  Great  (306-337)  ;  the  second,  of  the  period 
under  Constantius  II.  (337-360)  ;  the  third,  of  that  under  Julian  and  Jovian  taken  together 
(360-364)  ;  the  fourth,  of  the  church  under  Valens  (364-378)  ;  the  fifth,  of  Theodosius  the 
Great  (379-395)  ;  .the  sixth,  of  Arcadius  (395-408)  ;  and  the  seventh,  to  those  years  of  Theodo- 
sius the  Younger  (408-439)  which  came  within  the  period  of  Socrates'  work. 

As  the  title  of  the  work  ('EK/cAT^o-tarrriK^  'lo-ropta)  indicates,  the  subject  is  chiefly  the  vicissi- 
tudes and  experiences  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  but  the  author  finds  various  reasons  for  inter- 
weavinsr  with  the  account  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  some  record  also  of  the  affairs  of  the  state.  His 
statement"  of  these  reasons  puts  first  among  them  the  relief  his  readers  would  experience  by 
passing  from  the  accounts  of  the  perpetual  wranglings  of  bishops  to  something  of  a  different 
character  ;  second,  the  information  which  all  ought  to  have  on  secular  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
matters ;  and  third,  the  interlacing  of  these  two  lines,  on  account  of  which  the  understanding  of 
the  one  cannot  be  full  without  some  knowledge  of  the  other.  '  By  a  sort  of  sympathy,'  says  he, 
'  the  church  takes  part  in  the  disturbances  of  the  state,'  and  '  since  the  emperors  became  Chris- 
tians, the  affairs  of  the  church  have  become  dependent  on  them,  and  the  greatest  synods  have 
been  held  and  are  held  at  their  bidding.'  It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  Socrates  either  thor- 
oughly realized  or  attempted  any  systematic  treatment  of  his  subject  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  true  relations  of  church  and  state  ;  he  simply  had  the  consciousness  that  the  two  spheres 
were  not  as  much  dissociated  as  one  might  assume. 

On  the  general  character  of  Socrates'  History  it  may  be  said  that,  compared  with  those  pro- 
duced by  his  contemporaries,  it  is  a  work  of  real  merit,  surpassing  in  some  respects  even  that  of 
his  great  predecessor,  Eusebius.  The  latter  has  confused  his  account  by  adopting,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  his  latest  informant,  differing  versions  of  facts  already  narrated,  without  erasing  the 
previous  versions  or  attempting  to  harmonize  or  unify  them.  Compare  with  this  feature  Socrates' 
careful  and  complete  revision  of  his  first  two  books  on  obtaining  new  and  more  trustworthy 
information." 

In  the  collection  of  his  facts  Socrates  everywhere  tried  to  reach  primary  sources.  A  great 
portion  of  his  work  is  drawn  from  oral  tradition,  the  accounts  given  by  friends  and  countrymen, 
the  common,  but  not  wild,  rumors  of  the  capital,  and  the  transient  literature  of  the  day.  When- 
ever he  depends  on  such  information,  Socrates  attempts  to  reach  as  far  as  possible  the  accounts 
of  eye-witnesses,^  and  appends  any  doubts  he  may  have  as  to  the  truth  of  the  statements  they 
make.  Of  written  works  he  has  used  foF  the  period  where  his  work  and  that  of  Eusebius  overlap 
the  latter's  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Life  of  Constantine  ;  ^  for  other  events  he  follows  Rufinus,'" 
abandoning  him,  however,  in  his  second  edition,  whenever  he  conflicts  with  more  trustworthy 
authorities.  He  has  also  made  use  of  Archelaus'  Acts}'^  of  Sabinus'  Collection  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Synods,  which  he  criticises  for  unfairness,^-  Epiphanius'  Ancoratiis^^  George  of  Laodicea,'*  Atha- 
nasius'  Apolog.^^  de  Syn.}^  and  de  Deer.  Nic.^'  Evagrius,^^  Palladius,^'  Nestorius,^"  and  Origen.-' 

•'■  VII.  47.  6  V.  Int.  ;        1"  I.  12,  19:   II.  i;  III.  19;   IV.  24,  26. 

'  II.  I.  The  new  information  here  referred  to  is  drawn  from  the 
works  of  Athanasius,  which  had  come  into  the  hands  of  the  author. 
Cf.  II.  17. 

"  I.  Int.:   v.  19;  VI.  Int. 

»  1.  8. 


"  I.  22. 

'-  I.  8;  II.  15,  17,  20;  III.  10,  25;  IV.  12,  22. 

13  V.  24.  '«  II.  37.  '!'  IV.  23. 

"  I.  24.  '•  VI.  13.  20  VII.  19-24. 

'■•  II.  28;  III.  8.  18  III.  7.  21  III.  7. 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION. 


Christian  writers  before  Origen  are  known  to  him  and  mentioned  by  him,  such  as  Irenseus,  Clem- 
ent of  Alexandria,  Apollinaris  the  Elder,  Serapion,  and  others  ;  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have 
used  their  works  as  sources,  probably  because  they  threw  no  light  on  the  subject  at  hand,  his 
period  being  entirely  different  from  that  in  which  they  flourished.  Besides  these  writers,  Socrates 
has  also  used  public  documents,  pastoral  and  episcopal  letters,  decrees,  acts,  and  other  documents 
not  previously  incorporated  in  written  works.  Some  of  these  the  author  has  used,  but  does  not 
quote  in  extenso,  on  account  of  their  length.^  Of  the  sources  that  he  might  have  used,  but  has 
not,  maybe  mentioned  Dexippus,  Eunapius  {yjioviKr)  la-ropLa),  Olympiodorus  (Xoyot  la-TopLKoi),  and 
especially  Zosimus,  his  contemporary  (la-Topia  via).  Whether  these  were  unknown  to  him,  or 
whether  he  deemed  it  unnecessary  to  make  use  of  the  information  given  by  them,  or  considered 
them  untrustworthy,  it  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  for  the  period  he  covers, 
and  the  geographical  limitation  he  has  put  on  his  work,  his  array  of  facts  is  sufficiently  large  and 
to  the  purpose.  The  use  he  makes  of  these  facts  also  shows  sufficiently  the  historian  as  thorough 
as  he  could  be  considering  the  time  and  environment  in  which  he  flourished.  There  is  an  evi- 
dent attempt  throughout  his  work  at  precision.  He  marks  the  succession  of  bishops,  the  years 
in  which  each  event  took  place  by  the  consulships  and  Olympiads  of  Roman  and  Greek  history. 
He  has  made  painstaking  investigations  on  various  topics,  such  as  the  different  usages  in  various 
localities,  respecting  the  observance  of  Easter,  the  performance  of  the  rites  of  baptism  and  mar- 
riage, the  manner  of  fasting,  of  church  assemblies,  and  other  ecclesiastical  usages.^  His  accuracy 
has  been  questioned  from  the  time  of  Photius  ■■*  to  our  own  days.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  are 
a  number  of  errors  in  the  History.  He  confused  Maximian  and  Maximin.^^  He  ascribes  three 
'  Creeds  '  to  the  first  Council  of  Sirmium,  whereas  these  belonged  to  other  councils.  In  general 
he  is  confused  on  the  individuals  to  whom  he  ascribes  the  authorship  of  the  Sirmian  creeds.-" 
Similar  confusion  and  lack  of  trustworthiness  is  noticed  in  his  version  of  the  sufferings  of  Paul 
of  Constantinople  and  the  vicissitudes  of  the  life  of  Athanasius.  He  has  wrongly  given  the 
number  of  those  who  dissented  from  the  decision  of  the  Council  of  Nicsea  as  five.  The  letter 
of  the  Council  only  mentions  two,  —  Theonas  and  Secundus.  The  exile  of  Eusebius  and  Theog- 
nis  is  ascribed  to  a  later  period  and  a  different  cause  by  Jerome  and  Philostorgius,  and  it  is 
generally  conceded  that  Socrates'  information  was  erroneous  on  this  subject  also.  He  is  in- 
correct on  several  particulars  in  the  lives  of  Basil  and  Gregory  of  Nazianzus,  as  also  in  assigning 
the  attack  at  night  on  the  church  of  St.  Theonas  to  the  usurpation  of  Gregory,  the  Arian  bishop 
of  Alexandria.-'^ 

The  chronology  of  Socrates  is  generally  accurate  to  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  book,  or 
the  year  398.  A  number  of  errors  are  found  in  it  after  that.  But  even  before  the  date  named, 
the  dates  of  the  Council  of  Sardica  (347)  and  of  the  death  of  Athanasius  (373,  for  which  Socrates 
gives  371)  are  given  wrong.  St.  Polycarp's  martyrdom  is  also  put  out  of  its  proper  place  by  about 
one  hundred  years.-*  Valens'  stay  at  Antioch  and  persecution  of  the  orthodox  is  put  too  early .^ 
The  Olympiads  are  given  wrong.''*' 

Socrates  is  generally  ignorant  of  the  affairs  of  the  Western  Church.  He  gives  a  cursory 
account  of  Ambrose,  but  says  nothing  of  the  great  Augustine,  or  even  of  the  Donatist  controversy, 
in  spite  of  all  its  significance  and  also  of  the  extreme  probability  that  he  knew  of  it ;  as  Pelagius 
and  Celestius,  who  traveled  in  the  East  about  this  time,  could  not  but  have  made  the  Eastern 
Church  acquainted  with  its  details.  In  speaking  of  the  Arian  council  of  Antioch  in  341,  he  seems 
to  think  that  the  Roman  bishop  had  a  sort  of  veto-power  over  the  decisions  of  Occidental  coun- 
cils. The  only  legitimate  inference,  however,  from  the  language  of  the  bishop's  claim  is  that  he 
thought  he  had  a  right  to  be  invited  to  attend  in  common  with  the  other  bishops  of  Italy ."^     So, 


'2  II.  17.  23  V.  22. 

^*  Phot.  Biblioth.  Cod.  28.  aAAu  xal  iv  tois  jd-y^ao-t  ov  \iav 
aicpt^jj!.  Whether  in  this  phrase  he  meant  to  accuse  Socrates  with 
inaccuracy  in  the  narration  of  facts  or  indifference  to  theological 
dogma  is  not  very  clear.     Probably  the  former. 


2'    I.  2.  2'    II.  II. 

2«  II.  30.  28  V.  22. 

2"  IV.  17. 

^''  On  the  chronology  of  Socrates,  see  Harnack  and  Jeep. 

31  II.  8  and  17. 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 


again,  on  the  duration  of  the  fast  preceding  Easter  among  the  western  churches,  he  makes  the 
mistaken  statement  that  it  was  three  weeks,  and  that  Saturdays  and  Sundays  were  excepted. 

Finally,  the  credence  which  Socrates  gives  to  stories  of  miracles  and  i)ortents  must  be  noted 
as  a  blemish  in  his  history.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  certainly  not  more  credulous  than  his 
contemporaries  in  this  respect ;  many  of  them,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  Sozomen  as  an  illustration, 
were  much  more  so.  The  age  was  not  accustomed  to  sifting  accounts  critically  with  a  view  to 
the  elimination  of  the  untrue.  Socrates  shows  in  this  respect  the  historical  instinct  in  the  matter 
of  distinguishing  between  various  degrees  of  probability  and  credibility,  but  does  not  seem  to 
exercise  this  instinct  in  dealing  with  accounts  of  the  prodigious. 

To  offset  these  faults  we  must  take  account,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  persistent  and  successful 
attempt  of  our  historian  at  impartiality.  Of  all  the  Christian  writers  of  his  day  he  is  the  fairest 
towards  those  who  differed  from  the  creed  of  his  church.  No  one  else  has  done  justice  to 
Julian,^-  or  to  the  various  heretical  sects  of  the  day,  as  Socrates  has.  To  avoid  even  the  appear- 
ance of  partiality,  he  makes  a  rule  for  himself  not  to  speak  in  terms  of  praise  of  any  living 
person  ;  ^'  and  it  must  be  said  that  he  faithfully  obser\^es  this  rule,  making  but  one  exception  in 
favor  of  the  emperor  Theodosius  the  Younger.''''  Of  this  prince  he  gives  a  eulogistic  picture, 
altogether  different  from  the  representations  universally  found  in  the  other  historians  of  the  age.^ 
His  independence  of  judgment  is  more  signally  manifested  in  his  estimates  of  ecclesiastics, 
especially  the  more  prominent  ones,^"  bordering  at  times  on  unjust  severity.  '  In  short,'  says 
Hamack,  summing  up  his  estimate  of  Socrates,  '  the  rule  to  be  applied  to  Socrates  is  that  his 
learning  and  knowledge  can  be  trusted  only  a  little,  but  his  good  will  and  straightforwardness  a 
great  deal.  Considering  the  circumstances  under  which  he  wrote  and  the  miseries  of  the  times, 
it  can  only  be  matter  for  congratulation  that  such  a  man  should  have  been  our  informant  and 
that  his  work  has  been  preserved  to  us.' "" 

Socrates'  style  is  characterized  by  simplicity  and  perspicuity.  From  the  very  start  he  informs 
us  that  he  is  about  to  make  a  new  departure  in  this  respect.^  Eusebius'  language  was  not  entirely 
satisfactory  to  him,  nor  that  of  older  writers.''^  Hence  his  own  attempt  everywhere  at  plain, 
unadorned  expression.  The  criticism  of  Photius,^"  that  Socrates'  style  '  had  nothing  remarkable 
about  it,'  although  made  in  the  spirit  of  censure,  is  true,  and  according  to  Socrates'  standard 
(which  is  also  that  of  modern  times)  amounts  to  a  commendation.  Socrates,  however,  was  not 
lacking  in  good  humor  and  satire,''^  as  well  as  in  appreciation  of  short  and  pithy  utterances ; 
he  often  quotes  proverbs  and  epigrammatic  sayings,"*^  and  knows  the  influence  of  the  anecdote 
and  reminiscence  in  interesting  the  reader. 

The  value  of  Socrates'  History  cannot  be  overestimated.  It  will  always  remain  a  source  of 
primary  importance.  Though,  as  already  noted,  its  ideal  as  a  history  is  below  that  set  up  by 
Thucydides,  Tacitus,  and  others  of  an  earlier  age,  —  below  even  that  of  Eusebius,  —  yet  as  a  collec- 
tion of  facts  and  documents  in  regard  to  some  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  church's  life 
it  is  invaluable.  Its  account  of  the  great  Arian  controversy,  its  details  of  the  Councils  of  Nicaea, 
Chalcedon,  Constantinople,  and  Ephesus,  besides  those  of  the  lesser,  local  conventions,  its  biograph- 
ical items  relative  to  the  lives  of  the  emperors,  the  bishops,  and  monks  —  some  of  whom  are  of 
pivotal  importance  in  the  movements  of  the  times,  its  sketches  of  Ulphilas  and  Hypatia,  its 
record  of  the  manner  and  time  of  the  conversion  of  the  Saracens,  the  Goths,  the  Burgundians, 
the  Iberians,  and  the  Persians,  as  well  as  of  the  persecution  of  the  Jews,  the  paschal  controversy, 


^-    III.  I,  12,  14,  21,  23. 

^   VI.  Int.  S4    VII.  22. 

85  Cf.  Sozomen,  IX.  i,  and  Gibbon,  IV.  163. 

36  Cf.  attitude  towards  Chrysostom  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria, 
above  alluded  to;  also  his  censure  of  pride  and  contention  among 
members  of  the  clergy.     See  V.  Int.  15,  23;  VI.  6;  VII.  11,  29. 

2^  In  Encycl.  Britan. 

2'  I.  I,  oil  <f>pao-eu)9  oyKOii  <|)poi'Ti^oi'Te^ ;    so  in  III.  i,  /xr/6eis  iin- 


fi)T€iT(o  Ko\j.T!Ov  ^p6.<jf.ui%;  and  VI.  Int.,  'lo-fli  ie  rj^as  \i.r\  ka-novha.- 
K€vai  nepi  tt)i'  ({>pacnv,  where  he  adds  that  if  he  had  attempted  a 
different  style,  he  might  have  failed  of  his  purpose  of  writing  a 
popular  history. 

3»  VI.  22;  VII.  27. 

«>  Biblioth.  Cod.  28. 

«  III.  16;  IV.  22:  VI.  13:  VII.  21,  34. 

*=  II.  8:  III.  21:  V.  15;  VII.  29,  31. 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 


not  to  mention  a  vast  number  of  other  details  of  minor  importance,  will  always  be  read  and  used 
with  the  deepest  interest  by  lovers  of  ecclesiastical  history. 

IV.   History  of  Socrates'  Work. 
A.    Uses  made  before  the  First  Printed  Edition  of  the  G^-eek  Text. 

SocR.\TEs'  Ecclesiastical  History  was  used,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  by  Sozomen  in  the 
composition  of  his  parallel  history.^  It  was  certainly  used  by  Liberatus,  the  Carthaginian  deacon, 
in  his  Breviarium  caussce  Nestorianorum  et  Ei/tychianoruin,  and  by  Theodorus  Anagnostes 
(Lector)  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History?  It  was  also  quoted  in  the  second  Council  of  Nicgea, 
under  the  name  of  Rufinus,  and  also  under  its  author's  name.^ 

Epiphanius,  surnamed  Scholasticus,  translated  the  history  of  Socrates,  together  with  those  of 
Sozomen  and  Theodoret,  under  the  auspices  of  Cassiodorus,  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century.  This  translation,  under  the  name  of  Histories  Ecclesiasticce  Tripartite^,  consists  of 
twelve  books,  and  was  printed  at  Paris,  without  date,  by  Regnault  in  8vo  ;  afterwards  also  at  Bale 
in  1523,  1528,  1533,  1539,  and  1568.  It  was  revised  by  Beatus  Rhenakus,  and  published  in 
Frankfort  on  the  Main  in  1588,  together  with  the  history  of  Eusebius,  which  was  translated  and 
continued  by  Rufinus.  It  is  also  found  in  the  new  edition  of  Cassiodorus  printed  at  Rouen  by 
Jo.  Garetius  in  1679  and  in  Venice,  1729.  It  served  as  a  basis  for  a  French  translation  by  ^Gi- 
Dius  GouRLiNus  (GiUc  GourUn),  published  in  Paris  in  1538  (cited  by  Cvaneus),  and  of  a  German 
translation  by  Caspar  Hedio  at  Strasburg,  1545. 

B.    Editions. 

There  are  two  independent  editions  of  Socrates'  Ecclesiastical  History,  each  of  which  has 
served  as  a  basis  for  reprints,  secondary  editions,  and  translations.     These  are  : 

1.  EusEBii  Pamphili  :  Hist.  Eccl.  LL.  X.;  ejd.  de  Vita  Constantini  LL.  V.;  Socratis  Hist. 
Eccl.  LL.  VII. ;  Theodoreti  Episc.  Cyrensis  Hist.  Eccl.  LL.  V.  ;  Collectaneton  ex  hist.  eccl. 
Theodori  Lectoris  LL.  II. ;  Hermi/E  Sozomeni  Hist.  Eccl.  LL.  IX. ;  Evagrii  Hist.  Eccl.  LL. 
VI.     Lut.  Paris,  ex  off.  Rob.  Stephani  1544  pridie  Cal.  Jul. 

a.  Upon  this  edition  is  based  a  Latin,  translation  by  Wolfgang  Musculus,  Bale  1544,  1549, 
1557,  1594,  and  one  by  J.  J.  Christophorson,  bishop  of  Chichester,  Paris  15 71,  Cologne  1581, 
Bale  1570  ;  with  notes  by  Gryn^us  and  by  Henricus  Petri  161  i  ;  incorporated  into  the  Bibli- 
otheca  Patrum,  ed.  Cologne  1618  as  Vol.  V.  and  ed.  Lyons  1677  as  Vol.  VII. 

b.  The  Greek  text  of  Stephens  and  the  Latin  translation  of  Christophorson  were  published 
together  in  Geneva,  161 2. 

c.  An  English  translation  of  Socrates'  Ecclesiastical  History  was  made  by  Meredith  Hanmer,* 
and  is  contained  in  his  Ancient  Ecclesiastical  Histories  of  the  first  six  hundred  years  after  Christ, 
written  ifi  the  Greek  tongue  by  three  learned  Historiographers ,  Eusebius,  Socrates  and  Evcigrius. 
London  1577.  [This  work  also  contains  Dorotheus'  Lives  of  the  Prophets,  Apostles,  and  Seventy 
Disciples,  reprinted  in  1585  and  1650.] 

2.  The  second  independent  edition  of  Socrates  is  that  which  has  been  received  as  standard 
and  served  as  a  basis  for  all  subsequent  uses,  viz. : 

Historia  Ecclesiastica  Socratis,  Scholastici,  Hermice,  Sozomeni,  &c.,  ed.  Henricus  Valesius. 
Paris  1668.  Valesius  ostensibly  revised  the  text  of  Stephens,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  made  a 
new  collation  of  the  MS.  used  by  Stephens,  and  compared  this  with  MSS.  in  the  Vatican,  so  that 

1  So  Harnack  and  Jeep.     Cf.  also  Hartranft  in  the  present  vol.,  1  written  previous  to  his  time,  and  (2)  an  original  history  continuing 
p.  00.  I  the  narrative  to  the  days  of  Justinian  I. 

-  Theodorus'  works  were  two:    (i)  An  epitome  of  the  histories  1       i*  Cf.  Mansi,  Coiicil.  XII.  Coll.  1035  and  1042. 

I       <  Cf.  Woods,  Athenie  O.xonienses,  Vol.  I.  p.  326. 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 


his  edition  amounts  to  an  entirely  new  work.  He  also  made  a  new  Latin  translation  and  appended 
numerous  notes.  This  edition  was  reprinted  in  Mayence  in  1677.  Its  Latin  portion  was  reprinted 
in  Paris  also  in  1677.  The  reprint  of  Mayence  was  reproduced  under  a  new  title,  as  if  in  Amster- 
dam, in  1675. 

a.  GuL.  Reading  appended  additional  notes,  and  together  with  the  Latin  translation  of  Vale- 
sius,  pubhshed  the  work  in  Cambridge  in  three  vols.  1720.  Reading's  edition  was  reprinted  at 
Turin  in  1746.  Valesius'  original  edition  was  again  reprinted  in  Oxford  by  Parker  in  1844  ^^'^ 
Cura  Buckley  in  London,  also  in  1844.  It  was  revised  and  published  in  Oxford  in  3  vols,  by 
R.  HussEV  in  1853,  and  again  in  i860  and  in  1879.  Again  it  was  incorporated  into  Migne's 
Patrologia  GrcBca  as  Vol.  LXVII.  (Petit  Montrouge)  in  1859,  and  finally  the  Greek  text  alone 
was  revised  and  published  in  a  single  volume  by  William  Bright  in  Oxford  1878. 

b.  The  translations  based  on  Valesius'  edition  exclusive  of  those  in  Latin  mentioned  above 
are  as  follows  : 

In  French  by  L.  Cousin  :  Histoire  de  V Eglise  ecrite  par  Eusebe,  Socrate,  Sozomene,  Theodoret, 
&c.  4  vols.  Paris  1675,  and  6  vols.  Amsterdam  1686.  [Containing  also  Photius'  abstract  of 
Philostorgius.] 

In  English  by  Shorting  ^ :  The  History  of  the  Chiir-ch  as  written  in  Greek  by  Ettsebius, 
Socrates,  and  Evagrius  [contains  also  the  four  books  of  the  Life  of  Constantine,  Constantine's 
Oration  to  the  Convention  of  the  Saints,  and  Eusebius'  speech  in  praise  of  Constantine],  translated 
from  the  edition  of  Valesius,  with  a  translation  also  of  Valesius'  notes  and  his  account  of  the  lives 
and  writings  of  those  historians.     Cambridge  1683,  1692,  1709. 

By  S.  Parker  :  The  Ecclesiastical  Histories  of  Etisebius,  Socrates,  Sozomen,  and  Theodoret 
....  abridged  from  the  originals.     London  1707,  3d  ed.  1729. 

And  Anonymously  [E.  Walford]  '°  The  Greek  Ecclesiastical  Historians  of  the  first  six  centuries 
of  the  Christian  Era  in  6  vols.  [Socrates  Scholasticus'  History  forms  Vol.  III.  of  this  series]. 
London,  Samuel  Bagster  and  Sons,  1843-46.  This  translation  was  reprinted  in  Bohn's  Ecclesi- 
astical Library,  4  vols.,  1851  and  1888,  and  by  Bagster  in  1868. 


5  So  Cruse. 

^  The  volume  containing  Sozomen  in  this  series  bears  the  name 
of  Walford.  The  translation  of  Socrates  is  anonymous,  but  gener- 
ally ascribed  to  Walford  also.     This  cannot  be  a  matter  of  inference 


from  the  appearance  of  the  two  historians  in  the  same  series,  as 
Eusebius,  also  in  the  same  series,  is  translated  by  Crusd.  Those 
who  attribute  the  translation  to  Walford  give  no  reason  for  doing 
so. 


THE   TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


BOOK   I. 

PAGE 

Chap.  I.  —  Introduction  to  the  work i 

Chap.  II.  —  By  what  means  the  Emperor  Constantine  became  a  Christian I 

Chap.  III.  —  While  Constantine  favors  the  Christians,  Licinius,  his  colleague,  persecutes  them 2 

Chap.  IV.  —  War  arises  between  Constantine  and  Licinius  on  account  of  the  Christians 2 

Chap.  V.  —  The  dispute  of  Arius  with  Alexander  his  bishop 3 

Chap.  VI.  —  Division  begins  in  the  church  from  this  controversy;   and  Alexander,  bishop   of  Alexandria, 

excommunicates  Arius  and  his  adherents 3 

Chap.  VII.  —  The  Emperor  Constantine,  being  grieved  at  the  disturbance  of  the  churches,  sends  Hosius,  the 

Spaniard,  to  Alexandria,  exhorting  the  bishop  and  Arius  to  reconciliation  and  unity 6 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Of  the  Synod  which  was  held  at  Niccea  in  Bithynia,  and  the  creed  there  put  forth 8 

Chap.  IX.  —  The  letter  of  the  Synod,  relative  to  its  decisions;   and  the  condemnation  of  Arius,  and  those 

who  agreed  with  him 1 2 

Chap.  X.  — The  emperor  also  summons  to  the  Synod  Acesius,  bishop  of  the  Novatians 17 

Chap.  XI.  —  Of  the  bishop  Paphnutius 18 

Chap.  XII.  —  Of  Spyridon,  bishop  of  Cypriots 18 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Of  Eutychian  the  monk 19 

Chap.  XIV. —  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis,  bishop  of  Nictea,  who  had  been  banished  for 

agreeing  in  opinion  with  Arius,  having  published  their  recantation,  and  assented  to  the  creed,  are 

reinstated  in  their  sees 1 19 

Chap.  XV.  —  After  the  Synod,  on  the  death  of  Alexander,  Athanasius  is  constituted  bishop  of  Alexandria ....  20 

Chap.  XVI.  —  The  Emperor  Constantine  having  enlarged  the  ancient  Byzantium,  calls  it  Constantinople 20 

Chap.  XVII.  —  The  emperor's  mother,  Helena,  having  come  to  Jerusalem,  searches  for  and  finds  the  cross  of 

Christ  and  builds  a  church 21 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  The  Emperor  Constantine  abolishes  Paganism,  and  erects  many  churches  in  different  places,  22 
Chap.  XIX.  —  In  what  manner  the  nations  in  the  interior  of  India  were  Christianized  in  the  times  of  Con- 
stantine   23 

Chap.  XX.  —  In  what  manner  the  Iberians  were  converted  to  Christianity 24 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Of  Anthony  the  monk 25 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Of  Manes,  the  ringleader  of  the  Manichsean  heresy,  and  on  his  origin 25 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis,  bishop  of  Nicsea,  having  recovered  confidence, 

endeavor  to  subvert  the  Xicene  Creed  by  plotting  against  Athanasius 26 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Of   the   Synod  held  at  Antioch,  which   deposed  Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  on  whose 

account  a  sedition  broke  out  and  almost  ruined  the  city 27 

Chap.  XXV.  —  Of  the  presbyter  who  exerted  himself  for  the  recall  of  Arius 28 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Arius,  on  being  recalled,  presents  a  recantation  to  the  emperor,  and  pretends  to  accept  the 

Nicene  Creed 28 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Arius  having  returned  to  Alexandria  with  the  emperor's  consent,  and   not  being  received 

by  Athanasius,  the  partisans  of  Eusebius  bring  many  charges  against  Athanasius  before  the  emperor ....  29 
Chap.  XXVIII.  — On  account  of  the  charges  against  Athanasius,  the  emperor  convokes  a  Synod  of  bishops 

at  Tyre 30 

Chap.  XXIX.  —  Of  Arsenius,  and  his  hand  which  was  said  to  have  been  cut  off 30 

Chap.  XXX.  —  Athanasius  is  found  innocent  of  what  he  is  accused;  and  his  accusers  take  to  flight 31 

Chap.  XXXI.      When  the  bishops  will  not  listen  to  Athanasius'  defense  on  the  second  charge,  he  betakes 

himself  to  the  emperor 31 

Chap.  XXXII.  —  On  the  departure  of  Athanasius,  those  who  composed  the  Synod  vote  his  deposition 31 


XX  ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


PACE 


Chap.  XXXIII. — The  members  of  the  Synod  proceed  from  Tyre  to  Jerusalem,  and  having  celebrated  the 

dedication  of  the  '  New  Jerusalem,'  receive  Arius  and  his  followers  into  communion 32 

Chap.  XXXIV.  —  The  emperor  summons  the  Synod  to  himself  by  letter,  in  order  that  the  charges  against 

Athanasius  might  be  carefully  examined  before  him 32 

Chap.  XXXV. — The  Synod  not  having  come  to  the  emperor,  the  partisans  of  Eusebius  accuse  Athanasius 
of  having  threatened  to  divert  the  corn  supplied  to  Constantinople  from  Alexandria;    the  emperor  being 

exasperated  at  this,  banishes  Athanasius  into  Gaul 33 

Chap.  XXXVI.  —  Of  Marcellus,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  and  Asterius  the  sophist ^^ 

Chap.  XXXVII.  —  After  the  banishment  of  Athanasius,  Arius  having  been  sent  for  by  the  emperor,  raises  a 

disturbance  against  Alexander,  bishop  of  Constantinople 34 

Chap.  XXXVIII.  —The  death  of  Arius 34 

Chap.  XXXIX.  — The  emperor  falls  sick  and  dies 35 

Chap.  XL.  — The  funeral  of  the  Emperor  Constantine 35 


BOOK  n. 

Chap.  I.  —  Introduction,  containing  the  reason  for  the  Author's  revision  of  his  first  and  second  books 36 

Chap.  II.  —  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  his  party,  by  again  endeavoring  to  introduce  the  Arian 

heresy,  create  disturbances  in  the  churches 36 

Chap.  III.  —  Athanasius,  encouraged  by  the  letter  of  Constantine  the  younger,  returns  to  Alexandria 37 

Chap.  IV.  — On  the  death  of  Eusebius  Pamphilus,  Acacius  succeeds  to  the  bishopric  of  Csesarea 37 

Chap.  V.  — The  death  of  Constantine  the  younger 37 

Chap.  VI.  —  Alexander,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  when  at  the  point  of  death,  proposes  the  election  either  of 

Paul  or  of  Macedonius  as  his  successor 38 

Chap.  VII. — The  Emperor  Constantius  ejects  Paul  after  his  elevation  to  the  bishopric,  and  sending  for  Euse- 
bius of  Nic  ^media,  invests  him  with  the  bishopric  of  Constantinople 38 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Eusebius  having  convened  another  Synod  at  Antioch  in  Syria,  causes  a  new  creed  to  be  promul- 
gated         38 

Chap.  IX.  —  Of  Eusebius  of  Emisa 39 

Chap.  X.  —  The  bishops  assembled  at  Antioch,  on  the  refusal  of  Eusebius  of  Emisa  to  accept  the  bishopric  of 

Alexandria,  ordain  Gregory,  and  change  the  language  of  the  Nicene  Creed 39 

Chap.  XI.  —  On  the  arrival  of  Gregory  at  Alexandria,  attended  by  a  military  escort,  Athanasius  flees 40 

Chap.  XII.  —  The  people  of  Constantinople  restore  Paul  to  his  see  after  the  death  of  Eusebius,  while  the 

Arians  elect  Macedonius 41 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Paul  is  again  ejected  from  the  Church  by  Constantius,  in  consequence  of  the  slaughter  of 

Hermogenes,  his  general 41 

Chap.  XIV.  — The  Arians  remove  Gregory  from  the  see  of  Alexandria,  and  appoint  George  in  his  place 41 

Chap.  XV.  —  Athanasius  and  Paul  going  to  Rome,  and  having  obtained  letters  from  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome, 

recover  their  respective  dioceses 42 

Chap.  XVI.  —  The  Emperor  Constantius,  through  an  order  to  Philip  the  Praetorian  Prefect,  secures  the  exile 

of  Paul,  and  the  installation  of  Macedonius  in  his  see 42 

Chap.  XVII.  — Athanasius,  intimidated  by  the  emperor's  threats,  returns  to  Rome  agaiai 43 

Chap.  XVIII. — The  emperor  of  the  West  requests  his  brother  to  send  to  him  three  persons  who  could  give 
an  account  of  the  deposition  of  Athanasius  and  Paul.     Those  who  are  sent  publish  another  form  of 

the  creed 44 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Of  the  creed  sent  by  the  Eastern  bishops  to  those  in  Italy  called  the  Lengthy  Creed 44 

Chap.  XX.  —  Of  the  Council  at  Sardica 46 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Defense  of  Eusebius  Pamphili 47 

Chap.  XXII. — The  Council  of  Sardica  restores  Paul  and  Athanasius  to   their  sees;    and  on  the   Eastern 

emperor's  refusal  to  admit  them,  the  emperor  of  the  West  threatens  him  with  war 49 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Constantius  being  afraid  of  his  brother's  threats,  recalls  Athanasius  by  letter,  and  sends  him 

to  Alexandria 49 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Athanasius,  passing  through  Jerusalem  on  his  return  to  Alexandria,  is  received  into  commun- 
ion by  Maximus :  and  a  Synod  of  bishops,  convened  in  that  city,  confirms  the  Nicene  Creed 52 

Chap.  XXV.  —  Of  the  usurpers  Magnentius  and  Vetranio 53 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  After  the  death  of  Constans,  the  Western  emperor,  Paul  and  Athanasius  are  again  ejected 

from  their  sees :  the  former  on  his  way  into  exile  is  slain;   but  the  latter  escapes  by  flight 53 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  xxi 

PACE 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Macedonius  having  possessed  himself  of  the  see  of  Constantinople,  inflicts  much  injury  on 

those  who  difler  from  him 54 

Chap.  XXVIII.  —  Athanasius"  account  of  the  deeds  of  violence  committed  at  Alexandria  by  George  the  Arian  54 

Chap.  XXIX.  —  Of  the  Heresiarch  Photinus , 56 

Chap.  XXX.  —  Creeds  published  at  Sirniium,  in  presence  of  the  Emperor  Constantius 56 

Chap.  XXXI.  —  Of  I  losius,  liishop  of  Cordova 58 

Chap.  XXXII.  —  OverthrovN-  of  the  usurper  Magnentius 59 

Chap.  XXXIII.  —  Of  the  Jews  inhabiting  Dio-Csesarea  in  Palestine 59 

Chap.  XXXIV.  —Of  Gallus  Cresar 59 

Chap.  XXXV.  —  Of  Aetius  the  Syrian,  teacher  of  Eunomius 60 

Chap.  XXXVI.  — Of  the  Synod  at  Milan 60 

Chap.  XXXVII.  — Of  the  Synod  at  Ariminum,  and  the  creed  there  published 61 

Chap.  XXXVIII.  —  Cruelty  of  Macedonius,  and  tumults  raised  by  him 65 ' 

Chap.  XXXIX.  —  Of  the  Synod  at  Seleucia  in  Isauria 66 

Chap.  XL.  —  Acacius,  bishop  of  Caesarea,  dictates  a  new  form  of  creed  in  the  Synod  at  Seleucia 68 

Chap.  XLI.  —  On  the  emperor's  return  from  the  West,  the  Acacians  assemble  at  Constantinople,  and  confirm 

the  creed  of  Ariminum,  after  making  some  additions  to  it 71 

Chap.  XLII.  —  On  the  deposition  of  Macedonius,  Eudoxius  obtains  the  bishopric  of  Constantinople 72 

Chap.  XLIII.  —  Of  Eustathius,  bishop  of  Sebastia 72 

Chap.  XLIV.  —  Of  Meletius,  bishop  of  Antioch 73 

Chap.  XLV.  —  The  heresy  of  Macedonius 73 

Chap.  XLVI.  —  Of  the  Apollinarians,  and  their  heresy 74 

Chap.  XLVII.  —  Successes  of  Julian;   death  of  the  Emperor  Constantius 75 


BOOK   III. 

Chap.  I.  —  Of  Julian,  his  lineage  and  education;    his  elevation  to  the  throne;   his  apostasy  to  Paganism 76 

Chap.  II.  —  Of  the  sedition  excited  at  Alexandria,  and  how  George  was  slain 78 

Chap.  III.  —  The  emperor  indignant  at  the  murder  of  George,  rebukes  the  Alexandrians  by  letter 79 

Chap.  IV.  —  On  the  death  of  George,  Athanasius  returns  to  Alexandria,  and  takes  possession  of  his  see 80 

Chap.  V.  —  Of  Lucifer  and  Eusebius ' 80 

Chap.  VI.  —  Lucifer  goes  to  Antioch  and  consecrates  Paulinus 80 

Chap.  VII.  —  By  the  co-operation  of  Eusebius  and  Athanasius  a  Synod  is  held  at  Alexandria,  wherein  the 

Trinity  is  declared  to  be  consubstantial 81 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Quotations  from  Athanasius'  '  Defence  of  his  Flight ' 82 

Chap.  IX. —  After  the  Synod  of  Alexandria,  Eusebius  proceeding  to  Antioch,  finds  the  Catholics  at  variance 
on  account  of  Paulinus'  consecration,  and  having  exerted  himself  in  vain  to  reconcile  them,  he  departs. 

Indignation  of  Lucifer  and  origin  of  a  sect  called  after  him 83 

Chap.  X.  —  Of  Hilary,  bishop  of  Poictiers 84 

Chap.  XI.  —  The  Emperor  Julian  exacts  money  from  the  Christians 84 

Chap.  XII.  —  Of  Maris,  bishop  of  Chalcedon.     Julian  forl^ids  Christians  from  entering  literary  pursuits 85 

Chap.  XIII.  — Of  the  outrages  committed  by  the  pagans  against  the  Christians 85 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Flight  of  Athanasius , 86 

Chap.  XV.  —  Martyrs  at  Merum  in  Phrygia  under  Juliam 86 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Of  the  literary  labors  of  the  two  Apollinares,  and  the  emperor's  prohibition  of  Christians  being 

instructed  in  Greek  literature ...    86 

Chap.  XVII.  —  The  emperor  preparing  an  expedition  against  the  Persians,  arrives  at  Antioch,  and  being  ridi- 
culed by  the  inhabitants,   he   retorts  on  them  by  a  satirical   pubHcation  entitled  '  Misop5gon,'  or  'The 

Beard-hater  ' 88 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  The  emperor  consulting  an  oracle,  the  demon  gives  no  response,  being  awed  by  the  nearness 

of  Babylas  the  Martyr 88 

Ch.'\.p.  XIX.  —  Wrath  of  the  emperor,  and  firmness  of  Theodore  the  Confessor 89 

Chap.  XX. — The  Jews  instigated  by  the  emperor  attempt  to  rebuild  their  temple  and  are  frustrated  in  their 

attempt  by  miraculous  interposition 89 

Chap.  XXI.  —  The  emperor's  invasion  of  Persia,  and  death 90 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Jovian  is  proclaimed  emperor 90 

Chap.  XXIII. —  Refutation  of  what  Libanius  the  Sophist  said  concerning  Julian 91 


xxii  ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 

PAGE 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  The  bishops  flock  around  Jovian,  each  attempting  to  draw  him  to  his  own  creed 94 

Chap.  XXV. — The  Macedonians  and  Acacians  meet  at  Antioch,  and  proclaim  their  assent  to  the  Nicene 

Creed 94 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Death  of  the  Emperor  Jovian 95 


BOOK    IV. 

Chap.  I.  —  After  Jovian's  death,  Valentinian  is  proclaimed  emperor,  and  takes  his  brother  Valens  as  colleague 

in  the  empire;  Valentinian  holds  the  orthodox  faith,  but  Valens  is  an  Arian 96 

Chap.  II.  —  Valentinian  goes  into  the  West;   Valens  remains  at  Constantinople  and  grants  the  request  of  the 

Macedonians  to  hold  a  Synod,  but  persecutes  the  adherents  of  the  homoonsion 96 

Chap.  III.  —  While  Valens  persecutes  the  orthodox  Christians  in  the  East,  a  usurper  arises  at  Constantinople 
named  Procopius;   and  at  the  same  time  an  earthquake  and  inundation  take  place  and  injure  several 

cities 97 

Chap.  IV.  —  The  Macedonians  hold  a  Synod  at  Lampsacus,  during  a  period  of  both  secular  and  ecclesiastical 
agitation;    and  after  confirming  the  Antiochian  Creed  and  anathematizing  that  promulgated  at  Ariminum, 

they  again  ratify  the  deposition  of  Acacius  and  Eudoxius 97 

Chap.  V.  —  Engagement  between  Valens  and  Procopius  near  Nacolia  in  Phrygia;   after  which  the  usurper  is 

betrayed  by  his  chief  officers,  and  with  them  put  to  death 97 

Chap.  VI.  —  After  the  death  of  Procopius,  Valens  constrains  those  who  composed  the  Synod,  and  all  Chris- 
tians, to  profess  Arianism 97 

Chap.  VII.  —  Eunomius  supersedes  Eleusius,  the  Macedonian,  in  the  see  of  Cyzicus.     His  origin,  and  imi- 
tation of  Aetius,  whose  amanuensis  he  had  been 98 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Of  the  oracle  found  inscribed  on  a  stone,  when  the  walls  of  Chalcedon  were  demolished  by 

order  of  the  emperor  Valens 99 

Chap.  IX.  —  Valens  persecutes  the  Novatians,  because  they  accepted  the  orthodox  faith 99 

Chap.  X.  —  Birth  of  Valentinian  the  Younger 100 

Chap.  XI.  —  Hail  of  extraordinary  size,  and  earthquakes  in  Bithynia  and  the  Hellespont 100 

Chap.  XII.  —  The  Macedonians,  pressed  by  the  emperor's  violence  toward  them,  send  a  deputation  to  Liberius, 

bishop  of  Rome,  and  subscribe  the  Nicene  Creed 100 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Eunomius  separates  from  Eudoxius;   a  disturbance  is  raised  at  Alexandria  by  Eudoxius,  and 
Athanasius  flees  into  voluntary  exile  again,  but  in  consequence  of  the  clamors  of  the  people,  the  emperor 

recalls  and  re-establishes  him  in  his  see 103 

Chap.  XIV.  —  The  Arians  ordain  Demophilus  after  the  death  of  Eudoxius  at  Constantinople;   but  the  orthodox 

party  constitute  Evagrius  his  successor , 103 

Chap.  XV.  — The  emperor  banishes  Evagrius  and  Eustathius.      The  Arians  persecute  the  orthodox 103 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Certain  presbyters  burnt  in  a  ship  by  order  of  Valens.     Famine  in  Phrygia 104 

Chap.  XVII.  — The  Emperor  Valens,  while  at  Antioch,  again  persecutes  the  adherents  of  the  hoinoousion . .  .      104 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  Events  at  Edessa  :   constancy  of  the  devout  citizens,  and  courage  of  a  pious  woman 104 

Chap.  XIX. —  Slaughter  of  many  persons  by  Valens  on  account  of  their  names,  in  consequence  of  a  heathen 

prediction 105 

Chap.  XX.  —  Death  of  Athanasius,  and  elevation  of  Peter  to  his  see 105 

Chap.  XXI.  —  The  .'\rians  are  allowed  by  the  emperor  to  imprison  Peter  and  to  set  Lucius  over  the  see  of 

Alexandria 105 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Silence  of  Sabinus  on  the  misdeeds  of  the  Arians.     Flight  of  Peter  to  Rome.     Massacre  of 

the  Solitaries  at  the  instigation  of  the  Arians 105 

Chap.  XXIII.  — The  deeds  of  some  holy  persons  who  devoted  themselves  to  a  solitary  life 106 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Assault  upon  the  monks,  and  banishment  of  their  superiors,  who  exhibit  miraculous  power.  .      109 

Chap.  XXV.  —  Of  Didymus,  the  blind  man no 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Of  Basil  of  Caesarea,  and  Gregory  of  Nazianzus no 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Of  Gregory  Thaumaturgus  (the  wonder-worker) in 

Ch.\p.  XXVIII.  —  Of  Novatus  and  his  followers.     The  Novatians  of  Phrygia  alter  the  time  of  keeping  Easter, 

following  Jewish  usage 112 

Chap.  XXIX.  —  Damasus  ordained  bishop  of  Rome.     Sedition  and  loss  of  life  caused  by  the  rivalry  of  Ursinus     113 
Chap.  XXX.  — Dissension  about  a  successor  to  Auxentius,  bishop  of  Milan.     Ambrose,  governor  of  the  prov- 
ince, going  to  appease  the  tumult,  is  by  general  consent  and  with  the  approval  of  the   Emperor  Valentin- 
ian, elected  to  the  bishopric  of  the  church 113 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  xxiii 

PAGE 

Chap.  XXXI.  —  Death  of  Valentinian   114 

Chap.  XXXII.  —  The  Emperor  Valens,  appeased  by  the  oration  of  Themistus,  the  philosopher,  abates  his 

persecution  of  the  Christians 1 1 5 

Chap.  XXXIII.  —  The  Goths,  under  the  reign  of  Valens,  embrace  Christianity 115 

Chap.  XXXIV.  —  Admission  of  the  fugitive  Goths  into  the  Roman  territories,  which  caused  the  emperor's  over- 
throw, and  eventually  the  ruin  of  the  Roman  empire 115 

Chap.  XXXA^.  —  Abatement  of  persecution  against  the  Christians  because  of  the  war  with  the  Goths 116 

Chap.  XXX VI.  —  The  Saracens  under  Mavia,  their  queen,  embrace  Christianity;   and  Moses,  a  pious  monk, 

is  consecrated  their  bishop I16 

Chap.  XXXVII.  —  After  the  departure  of  Valens  from  Antioch,  the  Alexandrians  expel  Lucius  and  restore 

Peter,  who  had  come  with  letters  from  Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome 117 

Chap.  XXXVIII.  —  The  Emperor  Valens  is  ridiculed  by  the  people  on  account  of  the  Goths;   undertakes  an 

expedition  against  them  and  is  slain  in  an  engagement  near  Adrianople 117 


BOOK   V. 

• 

Introduction 118 

Chap.  I.  —  After  the  death  of  Valens,  the  Goths  again  attack  Constantinople,  and  are  repulsed  by  the  citizens, 

aided  by  some  Saracen  auxiliaries , 1 18 

Chap.  II.  —  The  Emperor  Gratian  recalls  the  orthodox  bishops,  and  expels  the  heretics  from  the  churches. 

He  takes  Theodosius  as  his  colleague  in  the  empire 118 

Chap.  III.  —  The  principal  bishops  who  flourished  at  that  time 1 19 

Chap.  IV.  —  The  Macedonians  who  had  subscribed  the  '  homoousian  '  doctrine,  return  to  their  former  error  119 

Chap.  V.  —  Events  at  Antioch  in  connection  with  Paulinus  and  Meletius 119 

Chap.  VI.  —  Gregory  of  Nazianzus  is  transferred  to  the  see  of  Constantinople.    The  Emperor  Theodosius,  falling 

sick  at  Thessalonica,  after  his  victory  over  the  barbarians,  is  there  baptized  by  Ascholius,  the  bishop. . .  .  120 
Chap.  VII. —  Gregory  finding  some  dissatisfaction  about  his  appointment,  abdicates  the  episcopate  of  Con- 
stantinople.    The  emperor  orders  Demophilus,  the  Arian  bishop,  either  to  assent  to  the  '  homoousion ' 

or  leave  the  city ;    he  chooses  the  latter 1 20 

Chap.  VIII.  —  A  Synod,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  bishops,  meets  at  Constantinople.     The  decrees 

passed.     Ordination  of  Nectarius 121 

Chap.  IX.  —  The  body  of  Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  is  honorably  transferred  from  his  place  of  exile. 

Death  of  Meletius 122 

Chap.  X.  —  The  emperor  orders  a  convention  composed  of  all  the  various  sects.   Arcadius  is  proclaimed  Augus- 
tus. The  Novatians  permitted  to  hold  their  assemblies  in  the  city  of  Constantinople,  other  heretics  driven  out.  122 
Chap.  XI. — -The  Emperor  Gratian  is  slain  by  the  treachery  of  the    usurper    Maximus.     From   fear   of  him 

Justina  ceases  persecuting  Ambrose 124 

Chap.  XII.  —  While  the  Emperor  Theodosius  is  engaged  in  military  preparations  against  Maximus,  his  son 

Honorius  is  born.     He  then  proceeds  to  Milan  in  order  to  encounter  the  usurper 124 

Chap.  XIII.  —  The  Arians  excite  a  tumult  at  Constantinople 125 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Overthrow  and  death  of  the  usurper  Maximus 125 

Chap.  XV.  —  Of  Flavian,  bishop  of  Antioch 125 

Chap.  XVI. —  Demolition  of  the  idolatrous  temples  at  Alexandria  and  the  consequent  conflict  between  the 

pagans  and  Christians 1 26 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Of  the  hieroglyphics  found  in  the  Temple  of  Serapis 126 

Chap.  XVIII. —  Reformation  of  abuses  at  Rome  by  the  emperor  Theodosius 127 

Chap.  XIX.  — Of  the  office  of  Penitentiary  Presbyters  and  its  abolition 128 

Chap.  XX.  —  Divisions  among  the  Arians  and  other  heretics , 1 28 

Chap.  XXI. —  Peculiar  schism  among  the  Novatians 129 

Chap.  XXII.  —  The  Author's  views  respecting  the  celebration   of  Easter,  Baptism,  Fasting,  Marriage,  the 

Eucharist,  and  other  ecclesiastical  rites 130 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Further  dissensions  among  the  Arians  at  Constantinople.     The  Psathyrians 134 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  The  Eunomians  divide  into  several  factions 134 

Chap.  XXV.  —  The  usurper  Eugenius  compasses  the  death  of  Valentinian  the  younger.     Theodosius  obtains 

a  victory  over  him 135 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Illness  and  death  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  elder 136 


xxiv  ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


BOOK   VI. 

PAGE 

Introduction 137 

Chap.  I.  —  On  the  death  of  Theodosius,  his  two  sons  divide  the  empire.     Rufinus  is  slain  at  the   feet  of 

Arcadius 137 

Chap.  IT.  —  Death  of  Nectarius,  and  ordination  of  John ". 1 38 

Chap.  III.  —  Birth  and  education  of  John,  bishop  of  Constantinople 138 

Chap.  I\'.  — Of  .Serapion,  the  deacon,  on  whose  account  John  becomes  odious  to  his  clerg}' 139 

Chap.  V.  —  John  draws  down  upon  himself  the  displeasure   of  many  persons  of  rank   and   power.     Of  the 

eunuch  Eutropius 140 

Chap.  VI.  —  Gainas  the  Goth  attempts  to  usurp  the  sovereign  power;    after  filling  Constantinople  with  dis- 
order, he  is  slain 140 

Chap.  VII.  —  Dissension  between  Theophilus,  bishop  of  .\lexandria,  and  the  Monks  of  the  desert.     Condem- 
nation of  Origen's  books 142 

Chap.  VIII. — Two  Arians  and  the    supporters   of    the    hoinoousion    hold    nocturnal    assemblies    and   sing 
antiphonal    hymns,  a   species   of  composition   ascribed   to   Ignatius,   surnamed   '  Theophorus.'     Conflict 

between  the  two  parties 144 

Chap.  IX.  —  Dispute  between  Theophilus  and   Peter,  leading  to  an  attempt   on  the  part  of  the   former  to 

depose  John,  bishop  of  Constantinople 144 

Chap.  X.  —  Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Cyprus,  convenes  a  Synod  to  condemn  the  books  of  Origen 145 

Chap.  XI.  —  Of  Severian  and  Antiochus  :   their  disagreement  from  John 145 

Chap.  XII.  —  Epiphanius,  in   order  to   gratify  Theophilus,  performs   ordinations   at   Constantinople   without 

John's  permission 147 

Chap.  XIII.  —  The  author's  defence  of  Origen 147 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Epiphanius  is  asked  to  meet  John;    on  refusing,  he  is  admonished  concerning  his  anti-ca- 
nonical proceedings;    alarmed  at  this  he  leaves  Constantinople 148 

Chap.  XV.  —  John  is  expelled  from  his  church  by  a  Synod  held  at  Chalcedon  on  account  of  his  dispraise  of 

women 148 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Sedition  on  account  of  John  Chrysostom's  banishment.     He  is  recalled 149 

Ch.\P.  XVII.  —  Conflict  between  the  Constantinopolitans  and  Alexandrians  on  account  of  Heraclides.     Flight 

of  Theophilus  and  the  bishops  of  his  party 149 

Ch.\p.  XVIII.  —  Of  Eudoxia's  silver  statue.     On  account  of  it,  John  is  exiled  a  second  time 150 

Ch.\P.  XIX.  —  Ordination  of  Arsacius  as  John's  successor.     Indisposition  of  Cyrinus,  bishop  of  Chalcedon,  . .  151 

Chap.  XX.  —  Death  of  Arsacius,  and  ordination  of  Atticus 151 

Chap.  XXI.  —  John  dies  in  exile 151 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Of  .Sisinnius,  bishop  of  the  Novatians.     His  readiness  at  repartee 152 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Death  of  the  Emperor  Arcadius 153 


BOOK   VII. 

Chap.  I.  —  Anthemius,  the  Praetorian  Prefect,  administers  the    government  of  the  East,  in  behalf  of  young 

Theodosius 154 

Chap.  II.  — Character  and  comluct  of  Atticus,  bishop  of  Constantinople 154 

Chap.  III.  —  Of  Theodosius  and  Agapetus,  bishops  of  Synada 154 

Chap.  IV.  —  A  paralytic  Jew  healed  by  Atticus  in  baptism 155 

Chap.  V.  —  The  Presbyter  .Sabbatius,  formerly  a  Jew,  separates  from  the  Novatians 155 

Ch.\P.  VI.  — The  leaders  of  .Vrianism  at  this  time    156 

Chap.  VII.  — Cyril  succeeds  Theophilus,  bishop  of  Alexandria 156 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Propagation  of  Christianity  among  the  Persians  by  Maruthas,  bishop  of  Mesopotamia 156 

Chap.  IX.  — The  bishops  of  Antioch  and  Rome  at  this  time 157 

Chap.  X.  —  Rome  taken  and  sacked  by  Alaric 157 

Chap.  XI.  —The  bishops  of  Rome 158 

Chap.  XII.  —  Of  Chrysanthus,  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  at  Constantinople 158 

Chap.  XIII. — Conflict  between  the    Christians  and  Jews   at   .Mexandria;    and   breach  between   the  bishop 

Cyril  and  the  prefect  Orestes 1 59 

Chap.  XIV.  —  The  monks  of  Nitria  come  down  and  raise  a  sedition  against  the  prefect  of  Alexandria 160 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  xxv 

'  PAGE 

Chap.  XV.  —  Of  Hypatia,  the  female  philosopher 1 60 

Chap.  XVI.  —  The  Jews  commit  another  outrage  upon  the  Christians  and  are  punished 161 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Miracle  performed  by  Paul,  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  at  the  baptism  of  a  Jewish  impostor   ...  161 
Chap.  XVIII.  —  Renewal  of  hostilities  between  the  Romans  and  Persians  after  the  death  of  Isdigerdes,  king 

of  the  Persians 161 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Of  Palladius,  the  courier 163 

Chap.  XX.  — A  second  overthrow  of  the  Persians  by  the  Romans 163 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Kind  treatment  of  the  Persian  captives  by  Acacius,  bishop  of  Amida 164 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Virtues  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Younger 164 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  After  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Honorius,  John  usurps  the  sovereignty  at  Rome.     He  is 

destroyed  through  the  prayers  of  Theodosius  the  Younger 1 65 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Valentinian,  a  son  of  Constantius  and  Placidia,  aunt  of  Theodosius,  is  proclaimed  emperor. .  166 
Chap.  XXV.  —  Christian  benevolence  of  Atticus,  bishop  of  Constantinople.     He  registers  John's  name  in  the' 

diptychs.     His  foreknowledge  of  his  own  death 166 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Sisinnius  is  chosen  to  succeed  Atticus 168 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Voluminous  productions  of  Philip,  a  presbyter  born  at  Side 168 

Ch.'VP.  XXVIII.  —  Proclus  ordained  bishop  of  Cyzicus  by  Sisinnius,  but  rejected  by  the  people 168 

Chap.  XXIX.  —  Nestorius  of  Antioch  promoted  to  the  see  of  Constantinople.     His  persecution  of  the  heretics.  169 

Chap.  XXX.  — The  Burgundians  embrace  Christianity  under  Theodosius  the  Younger 169 

Chap.  XXXI.  —  Nestorius  harasses  the  Macedonians 1 70 

Chap.  XXXII.  —  Of  the  presbyter  Anastasius,  by  whom  the  faith  of  Nestorius  was  perverted 170 

Chap.  XXXIII.  —  Desecration  of  the  altar  of  the  Great  Church  by  runaway  slaves 171 

Chap.  XXXIV.  —  Synod  at  Ephesus  against  Nestorius.     His  deposition 172 

Chap.  XXXV. —  Maximian  elected  to  the  episcopate  of  Constantinople,  though  some  wished  Proclus  to  take 

that  place 172 

Chap.  XXXVI.  — The  author's  opinion  of  the  validity  of  translations  from  one  see  to  another. 173 

Chap.  XXXVII.  —  Miracle  performed  by  Silvanus,  bishop  of  Troas,  formerly  of  Philippopolis 1 73 

Chap.  XXXVIII.  —  Many  of  the  Jews  in  Crete  embrace  the  Christian  faith 174 

Chap.  XXXIX.  —  Preservation  of  the  church  of  the  Novatians  from  fire 175 

Chap.  XL.  —  Proclus  succeeds  Maximian  bishop  of  Constantinople 175 

Chap.  XLI.  —  Excellent  qualities  of  Proclus 175 

Chap.  XLII.  —  Panegyric  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Younger 176 

Chap.  XLIII.  —  Calamities  of  the  barbarians  who  had  been  the  usurper  John's  allies 176 

Chap.  XLIV.  — Marriage  of  the  Emperor  Valentinian  with  Eudoxia,  the  daughter  of  Theodosius.    .    177 

Chap.  XLV. — The  body  of  John  Chrysostom  transferred  to  Constantinople  and  placed  in  the  Church  of  the 

Apostles  by  the  emperor,  at  the  instigation  of  Proclus 177 

Chap.  XLVI.  —  Death  of  Paul,  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  and  election  of  Marcian  as  his  successor 177 

Chap.  XLVII.  — The  Empress  Eudocia  goes  to  Jerusalem,  sent  there  by  the  Emperor  Theodosius. 178 

Chap.  XLVIII.  —  Thalassius  is  ordained  bishop  of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia 1 78 


THE 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY, 


BY 


SOCRATES    SCHOLASTICUS. 


BOOK    I 


CHAPTER   L 

Introduction  to  the  Work. 

EusEBius,  surnamed  Pamphilus/  writing  the 
History  of  the  Church  ^  in  ten  books,  closed  it 
with  that  period  of  the  emperor  Constantine, 
when  the  persecution  which  Diocletian  had  be- 
gun against  the  Christians  came  to  an  end. 
Also  in  writing  the  life  of  Constantine,  this  same 
author  has  but  slightly  treated  of  matters  regard- 
ing Arius,  being  more  intent  on  the  rhetorical 
finish  of  his  composition  and  the  praises  of  the 
emperor,  than  on  an  accurate  statement  of  facts. 
Now,  as  we  propose  to  write  the  details  of  what 
has  taken  place  in  the  churches  since  his  time 
to  our  own  day,  we  begin  with  the  narration  of  the 
particulars  which  he  has  left  out,  and  we  shall 
not  be  solicitous  to  display  a  parade  of  words, 
but  to  lay  before  the  reader  what  we  have  been 
able  to  collect  from  documents,  and  what  we 
have  heard  from  those  who  were  familiar  with 
the  facts  as  they  told  them.  And  since  it  has 
an  important  bearing  on  the  matter  in  hand,  it 
will  be  proper  to  enter  into  a  brief  account  of 
Constantine's  conversion  to  Christianity,  making 
a  beginning  with  this  event. 


CHAPTER   H. 

By  what  Means  the  Emperor  Constantine  be- 
came a  Christian. 

When  Diocletian  and  Maximian,^  surnamed 
Herculius,    had   by  mutual   consent  laid  aside 

'  Eusebius  seems  to  have  adopted  this  name  as  a  token  of  friend- 
ship and  respect  for  Pamphihis,  bishop  of  Caisarea.  See  McGiftert, 
Prolegomena  in  Vol.  I.,  Second  Series  of  Post-Nicene  Fathers. 

*  Eusebius'  Ecclesiastical  History  ends  with  the  death^of  Licin- 
ius  in  323.  His  Life  of  Constajttiiie  is  in  a  sense  a  continuation  of 
the  History,  and  yet  as  it  is  very  well  characterized  by  Socrates,  it  is 
a  eulogy,  and  therefore  its  style  and  selection  of  facts  are  affected  by 
its  purpose,  rendering  it  too  inadequate  as  a  continuation  of  the  Ec- 
clesiastical History;  hence  Socrates'  constraint  to  review  some  of 
the  events  which  naturally  fall  in  Eusebius'  period. 

^  '  Socrates  is  here  in  error;  for  Ma.ximianus  Herculius,  who  was 


the  imperial  dignity,  and  retired  into  private 
life,  Maximian,  surnamed  Galerius,  who  had 
been  a  sharer  with  them  in  the  government, 
came  into  Italy  and  appointed  two  Caesars, 
Maximin  in  the  eastern  division  of  the  empire, 
and  Severus  in  the  Italian.  In  Britain,  however, 
Constantine  was  proclaimed  emperor,  instead 
of  his  father  Constantius,  who  died  in  the  first 
year  of  the  two  hundred  and  seventy-first^ 
Olympiad,  on  the  25  th  of  July.  And  at  Rome 
Maxentius,  the  son  of  Maximian  Herculius, 
was  raised  by  the  praetorian  soldiers  to  be 
a  tyrant  rather  than  an  emperor.  In  this 
state  of  things  Herculius,  impelled  by  a  desire 
to  regain  the  sovereignty,  attempted  to  destroy 
his  son  Maxentius ;  but  this  he  was  prevented 
by  the  soldiery  from  effecting,  and  he  soon 
afterwards  died  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  At  the 
same  time  Severus  Caesar  being  sent  to  Rome 
by  Galerius  Maximian,  in  order  to  seize  Maxen- 
tius, was  slain,  his  own  soldiers  having  betrayed 
him.  At  length  Galerius  Maximian,  who  had 
exercised  the  chief  authority,^  also  died,  having 
previously  appointed  as  his  successor,  his  old 
friend  and  companion  in  arms,  Licinius,  a  Da- 
cian  by  birth.  Meanwhile  Maxentius  sorely 
oppressed  the  Roman  people,  treating  them  as 
a  tyrant  rather  than  as  a  king,  shamelessly  violat- 
ing the  wives  of  the  nobles,  putting  many  inno- 
cent persons  to  death,  and  perpetrating  other 
similar  atrocities.  The  emperor  Constantine 
being  informed  of  this,  exerted  himself  to  free 
the  Romans  from  the  slavery  under  him  (i.e. 
Maxentius),  and  began  immediately  to  con- 
sider by  what  means  he  might  overthrow  the 
tyrant.     Now  while  his  mind  was  occupied  with 


otherwise  called  Maximian  the  Elder,  was,  by  Constantine's  com- 
mand, slain  in  Gallia  in  310  a.d.  But  Maximius  Cajsar,  two  years 
after,  being  conquered  by  Licinius,  died  at  Tarsus.'  (Valesius.) 
On  the  confusion  of  Maximian  and  Maximin,  see  Introd.  HI. 

-  305  or  306  A.D. 

3  TTtii'Ta  TrepieTroir,  not  to  be  taken  literally,  inasmuch  as  there 
were  two  other  Augusti  —  Constantine  and  Maxentius;  and  hence 
though  senior  Augustus,  he  was  not  sole  ruler.  On  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Augusti  under  Diocletian,  and  meaning  of  the  title,  see 
Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  xiii. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1.2. 


this  great  subject,  he  debated  as  to  what  divin- 
ity's aid  he  should  invoke  in  the  conduct  of  the 
war.  He  began  to  realize  that  Diocletian's 
party  had  not  profited  at  all  by  the  pagan  dei- 
ties, whom  they  had  sought  to  propitiate ;  but 
that  his  own  father  Constantius,  who  had  re- 
nounced the  various  religions  of  the  Greeks, 
had  passed  through  life  far  more  prosperously. 
In  this  state  of  uncertainty,  as  he  was  marching 
at  the  head  of  his  troops,  a  preternatural  vision, 
which  transcends  all  description,  appeared  to 
him.  In  fact,  about  that  part  of  the  day  when 
the  sun  after  passing  the  meridian  begins  to 
decline  towards  the  west,  he  saw  a  pillar  of 
light  in  the  heavens,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  on 
which  were  inscribed  these  words,  Bv  this  con- 
quer.* The  appearance  of  this  sign  struck  the 
emperor  with  amazement,  and  scarcely  believing 
his  own  eyes,  he  asked  those  around  him  if  they 
beheld  the  same  spectacle  ;  and  as  they  unani- 
mously declared  that  they  did,  the  emperor's 
mind  was  strengthened  by  this  divine  and  mar- 
velous apparition.  On  the  following  night  in 
his  slumbers  he  saw  Christ,  who  directed  him 
to  prepare  a  standard  according  to  the  pattern 
of  that  which  had  been  seen ;  and  to  use  it 
against  his  enemies  as  an  assured  trophy  of  vic- 
tory. In  obedience  to  this  divine  oracle,  he 
caused  a  standard  in  the  form  of  a  cross  to  be 
prepared,  which  is  preserved  in  the  palace  even 
to  the  present  time :  and  proceeding  in  his 
measures  with  greater  earnestness,  he  attacked 
the  enemy  and  vanquished  him  before  the  gates 
of  Rome,  near  the  Mulvian  bridge,  Maxentius 
himself  being  drowned  in  the  river.  This 
victory  Avas  achieved  in  the  seventh  year  of 
the  conqueror's  reign.'  After  this,  while  Li- 
cinius,  who  shared  the  government  with  him, 
and  was  his  brother-in-law,  having  married  his 
sister  Constantia,  was  residing  in  the  East,  the 
emperor  Constantine,  in  view  of  the  great  bless- 
ing he  had  received,  offered  grateful  thanksgiv- 
ings to  God  as  his  benefactor ;  these  consisted 
in  his  relieving  the  Christians  from  persecution, 
recalling  those  who  were  in  exile,  liberating  such 
as  were  imprisoned,  and  causing  the  confiscated 
property  of  the  proscribed  to  be  restored  to 
them  ;  he  moreover  rebuilt  the  churches,  and 
performed  all  these  things  with  the  greatest 
ardor.  About  this  time  Diocletian,  who  had 
abdicated  the  imperial  authority,  died  at  Salona 
in  Dalmatia.*' 


*  'Ef  TovTto  vCko.  For  an  extensive  and  satisfactory  treatment 
of  this  famous  passage  in  the  life  of  Constantine,  see  Richardson, 
Prole^niiistia  to  the  Life  of  Const.,  Vol.  1.,  Second  Series,  Post- 
Nicenc  Fathers. 

^   312  A.D. 

"  Cf.  an  account  of  these  events  in  Sozomen,  I.  3.  See  also  on 
the  persecution  instituted  by  Diocletian  Neander,  Hist,  cf  the 
Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  I.  pp.  143-156;  Schaff,  Hist,  of  the  Christ.  Ch. 
Vol.  I.  pp.  174-177;  Euseb.  H.  E.,  Books  VIII. -X.  Lactantius, 
de  Mortibus pcrscc.  c.  7  seq.     Diocletian  abdicated  in  305  A.D. 


CHAPTER   III. 

While   Consta7itine  favois  the  Christians,  Lici- 
niiis,  his  Co/league,  persecutes  them. 

Now  Constantine,  the  emperor,  having  thus  em- 
braced Christianity,  conducted  himself  as  a  Chris- 
tian of  his  profession,  rebuilding  the  churches, 
and  enriching  them  with  splendid  offerings  :  he 
also  either  closed  or  destroyed  the  temples  of 
the  pagans,^  and  exposed  the  images  which  were 
in  them  to  popular  contempt.  But  his  colleague 
Licinius,  holding  his  pagan  'tenets,  hated  Chris- 
tians ;  and  although  from  fear  of  the  emperor 
Constantine  he  avoided  exciting  open  persecu- 
tion, yet  he  managed  to  plot  against  them  cov- 
ertly, and  at  length  proceeded  to  harass  them 
without  disguise.  I'his  persecution,  however, 
was  local,  extending  only  to  those  districts  where 
Licinius  himself  was  :  but  as  these  and  other 
public  outrages  did  not  long  remain  concealed 
from  Constantine,  finding  out  that  the  latter  was 
indignant  at  his  conduct,  Licinius  had  recourse 
to  an  apology.  Having  thus  propitiated  him, 
he  entered  into  a  feigned  league  of  friendship, 
pledging  himself  by  many  oaths  not  to  act  again 
tyrannically.  But  no  sooner  did  he  pledge  him- 
self than  he  committed  perjury ;  for  he  neither 
changed  his  tyrannical  mood  nor  ceased  perse- 
cuting Christians.  Indeed,  he  even  prohibited 
the  bishops  by  law  from  visiting  the  unconverted 
pagans,  lest  it  should  be  made  a  pretext  for 
proselyting  them  to  the  Christian  faith.  And 
the  persecution  was  thus  at  the  same  time  well 
known  and  secret.  It  was  concealed  in  name 
but  manifest  in  fact ;  for  those  who  were  exposed 
to  his  persecution  suffered  most  severely  both 
in  their  persons  and  property. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

War  arises  between    Constantine  and  Licinius 
on  Accotint  of  the  Christians. 

By  this  course  he  drew  upon  himself  the 
emperor  Constantine's  heaviest  displeasure  ;  and 
they  became  enemies,  the  pretended  treaty  of 
friendship  between  them  having  been  violated. 
Not  long  afterwards  they  took  up  arms  against 
each  other  as  declared  enemies.  And  after 
several  engagements  both  by  sea  and  land, 
Licinius  was  at  last  utterly  defeated  near  Chry- 
sopolis  in  Bithynia,  a  port  of  the  Chalcedonians, 
and  surrendered  himself  to  Constantine.  Ac- 
cordingly he  having  taken  him  alive,  treated 
him  with  the  utmost  humanity,  and  would  by  no 
means  put  him  to  death,  but  ordered  him  to 

1  '  EAATji/cor:  the  word  is  used  without  the  sense  of  nationality. 
So  also  in  the  New  Testament  often:  Mark  vii.  26;  Gal.  ii.  3  and 
iii.  28,  where  the  Syriac  (Peschitto)  version  renders,  more  according 
to  sense  than  according  to  the  letter,  '  an  Aramaean.' 


I.  6.] 


RISE    OF    THE    ARIAN    HERESY. 


-1 


take  up  his  abode  and  live  in  tranfiuillity  at 
Thessalonica.  He  having,  however,  remained 
quiet  a  short  time,  managed  afterwards  to  col- 
lect some  barbarian  mercenaries  and  made  an 
effort  to  repair  his  late  disaster  by  a  fresh  appeal 
to  arms.  The  emperor  being  made  acquainted 
with  his  proceedings,  directed  that  he  should  be 
slain,  which  was  carried  into  effect.  Constan- 
tine  thus  became  possessed  of  the  sole  dominion, 
and  was  accordingly  proclaimed  sovereign  Auto- 
crat,^ and  again  sought  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  Christians.  This  he  did  in  a  wiriety  of  ways, 
and  Christianity  enjoyed  unbroken  peace  by 
reason  of  his  efforts.  But  an  internal  dissension 
soon  succeeded  this  state  of  repose,  the  nature 
and  origin  of  which  I  shall  now  endeavor  to 
describe. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Dispute  of  Aritis  with  Alexander,  his  Bishop. 

After  Peter,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  had  suf- 
fered martyrdom  under  Diocletian,  Achillas  was 
installed  in  the  episcopal  office,  whom  Alexander 
succeeded,  during  the  period  of  peace  above 
referred  to.  He,  in  the  fearless  exercise  of  his 
functions  for  the  instruction  and  government  of 
the  Church,  attempted  one  day  in  the  presence 
of  the  presbytery  and  the  rest  of  his  clergy,  to 
explain,  with  perhaps  too  philosophical  minute- 
I  ness,  that  great  theological  mystery — the  Unity 
of  the  Holy  Trinity.  A  certain  one  of  the  pres- 
byters under  his  jurisdiction,  whose  name  was 
Arius,  possessed  of  no  inconsiderable  logical 
acumen,  imagining  that  the  bishop  was  subtly 
teaching  tVie  same  view  of  this  subject  as  Sabel- 
lius  the  Libyan,^  frcflii  love  of  controversy  took 
the  opposite  opinion  to  that  of  the  Libyan,  and 
as  he  thought  vigorously  responded  to  what  was 
said  by  the  bishop.  '  If,'  said  he,  '  the  Father 
begat  the  Son,  he  that  was  begotten  had  a  be- 
ginning of  existence  :  and  from  this  it  is  evident, 
that  there  was  a  time  when  the  Son  was  not.  It 
therefore  necessarily  follows,  that  he  had  his  sub- 
sistence- from  nothing.' 


1  After  a  victory  the  soldiers  greeted  their  prince  with  acclama- 
tions of  '  Emperor!  '  'Augustus!'  So  also  did  the  citizens  on  his 
triumphal  entry  into  the  city.  So  it  appears  Constantine  was  for- 
mally greeted  on  assuming  the  sole  control  of  affairs. 

1  Though  Sabellius  was  the  originator  of  one  of  the  earliest  and 
most  plausible  attempts  at  explanation  of  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity 
(for  which  see  life  of  Sabellius  in  Smith  and  Wace,  Did.  of  Chris- 
tiaii  Biog.,  and  Hodge,  System.  Theol.  Vol.  I.  p.  452,  459),  noth- 
ing is  known  of  him,  not  even  why  he  is  called  a  Libyan  here  (also 
by  other  ancient  writers,  e.g.  Philastrius,  de  Hieres.  26,  and  Aste- 
rius,  quoted  by  Phot.  Biblioth.  Cod.  27).  Some  saj'  that  he  was  a 
native  and  resident  of  Libya,  others  that  he  was  an  ecclesiastic 
appointed  to  some  position  there;  linr  is  it  known  whether  the  Libya 
meant  is  the  Libyan  Pentapolis  or  the  Pentapolitan  Ptolemais. 

-  u7ro(rTa(Tit'.  Through  the  Arian  controversy  this  word  is  used 
in  its  metaphysical  sense  of  '  real  nature  of  a  thing  as  underlying 
and  supporting  its  outward  form  and  properties ';  hence  it  is  equiv- 
alent to  the  Latin  substantia,  Eng.  essence  and  Sreek  ovcria.  Cf. 
below  in.  7.  Later  it  was  applied  to  the  '  special  or  characteristic 
nature  of  a  thing,'  and  so  became  the  very  opposite  of  ovcria  (the 
general  nature) ;   hence  equivalent  \o person. 


CHAPTER   VL 

Division  begins  in  the  Church  from  this  Contro- 
versy ;  and  Alexander  Bishop  of  Alexandria 
excommunicates  Arius  and  his  Adherents. 

Having  drawn  this  inference  from  his  novel 
train  of  reasoning,  he  excited  many  to  a  consid- 
eration of  the  question  ;  and  thus  from  a  little 
spark  a  large  fire  was  kindled  :  for  the  evil  which 
began  in  the  Church  at  .Vlexandria,  ran  through- 
out all  Egypt,  Libya,  and  the  upper  Thebes,  and 
at  length  diffused  itself  over  the  rest  of  the  prov- 
inces and  cities.  Many  others  also  adopted  the 
opinion  of  Arius  ;  but  Eusebius  in  particular  was 
a  zealous  defender  of  it :  not  he  of  Ceesarea,  but 
the  one  w^ho  had  before  been  bishop  of  the 
church  at  Berytus,  and  was  then  somehow  in 
possession  of  the  bishopric  of  Nicomedia  in 
Bithynia.  When  Alexander  became  conscious 
of  these  things,  both  from  his  own  obsen^ation 
and  from  report,  being  exasperatCvd  to  the  high- 
est degree,  he  convened  a  council  of  many  pre- 
lates ;  and  excommunicated  Arius  and  the  abet- 
tors of  his  heresy  ;  at  the  same  time  he  wTOte  as 
follows  to  the  bishops  constituted  in  the  several 
cities  :  — 

The  Epistle  of  Alexander  Bishop  of  Alexandria. 

To  our  beloved  and  most  honored  fellow- 
Ministers  of  the  Catholic  Church  everpvhere, 
Alexander  sends  greeting  in  the  Lord. 

Inasmuch  as  the  Catholic  Church  is  one 
body,  and  we  are  commanded  in  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures to  maintain  '  the  bond  of  unity  and  peace,'  ^ 
it  becomes  us  to  write,  and  mutually  acquaint 
one  another  with  the  condition  of  things  among 
each  of  us,  in  order  that  '  if  one  member  suffers 
or  rejoices,  we  may  either  sympathize  with  each 
other,  or  rejoice  together.'  -  Know  therefore 
that  there  have  recently  arisen  in  our  diocese 
lawless  and  anti-christian  men,  teaching  apostasy 
such  as  one  may  justly  consider  and  denominate 
the  forerunner  of  Antichrist.  I  wished  indeed 
to  consign  this  disorder  to  silence,  that  if  possi- 
ble the  evil  might  be  confined  to  the  apostates 
alone,  and  not  go  forth  into  other  districts  and 
contaminate  the  ears  of  some  of  the  simple. 
But  since  Eusebius,  now  in  Nicomedia,  thinks 
that  the  affairs  of  the  Church  are  under  his  con- 
trol because,  forsooth,  he  deserted  his  charge  at 
Berytus  and  assumed  authority  over  the  church  at 
Nicomedia  with  impunity,  and  has  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  these  apostates,  daring  even  to  send 
commendatory  letters  in  all  directions  concern- 
ing them,  if  by  any  means  he  might  inveigle 
some  of  the  ignorant  into  this  most  impious  and 
anti-christian  heresy,  I  felt  imperatively  called 


1  Eph.  iv.  3. 


Cor. 


26. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1.6. 


on  to  be  silent  no  longer,  knowing  what  is 
written  in  the  law,  but  to  inform  you  of  all  cf 
these  things,  that  ye  might  understand  both  who 
the  apostates  are,  and  also  the  contemptible 
character  of  their  heresy,  and  pay  no  attention  to 
anything  that  Eusebius  should  write  to  you.  For 
now  wishing  to  renew  his  former  malev'..lence, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  buried  in  oblivion 
by  time,  he  affects  to  write  in  their  behalf; 
while  the  fact  itself  plainly  shows  that  he  does 
this  for  the  promotion  of  his  own  purposes. 
These  then  are  those  who  have  become  apos- 
tates :  Arius,  Achillas,  Aithales,  and  Carpones, 
another  Arius,  Sarmates,  Euzoius,  Lucius,  Julian, 
Menas,  Helladius,  and  Gains ;  with  these  also 
must  be  reckoned  Secundus  and  Theonas,  who 
■once  were  called  bishops.  The  dogmas  they 
have  invented  and  assert,  contrary  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, are  these  :  That  God  was  not  always  the 
Father,  but  that  there  was  a  period  when  he 
was  not  the  Father  ;  that  the  Word  of  God  was 
not  from  eternity,  but  was  made  out  of  nothing  ;  ^ 
for  that  the  ever-existing  God  ('the  I  AM'  — 
the  eternal  One)  made  him  who  did  not  pre- 
viously exist,  out  of  nothing ;  wherefore  there 
was  a  time  when  he  did  not  exist,  inasmuch  as 
the  Son  is  a  creature  and  a  work.  That  he  is 
neither  like  the  Father  as  it  regards  his  essence, 
nor  is  by  nature  either  the  Father's  true  Word, 
or  true  Wisdom,  but  indeed  one  of  his  works 
and  creatures,  being  erroneously  called  Word 
and  Wisdom,  since  he  was  himself  made  by 
God's  own  Word  and  the  Wisdom  which  is  in 
God,  whereby  God  both  made  all  things  and 
him  also.  Wherefore  he  is  as  to  his  nature  mu- 
table and  susceptible  of  change,  as  all  other 
rational  creatures  are  :  hence  the  Word  is  alien 
to  and  other  than  the  essence  of  God ;  and  the 
Father  is  inexplicable  by  the  Son,  and  invisible 
to  him,  for  neither  does  the  Word  perfectly  and 
accurately  know  the  Father,  neither  can  he  dis- 
tinctly see  him.  The  Son  knows  not  the  nature 
of  his  own  essence  :  for  he  was  made  on  our  ac- 
count, in  order  that  God  might  create  us  by  him, 
as  by  an  instrument ;  nor  would  he  ever  have 
existed,  unless  God  had  wished  to  create  us. 

Some  one  accordingly  asked  them  whether 
the  Word  of  God  could  be  changed,  as  the  devil 
has  been  ?  and  they  feared  not  to  say,  '  Yes,  he 
could ;  for  being  begotten,  he  is  susceptible  of 
^  change.'  ^Ve  then,  with  the  bishops  of  I">gypt 
and  Libya,  being  assembled  together  to  the 
number  of  nearly  a  hundred,  have  anathematized 
Arius  for  his  shameless  avowal  of  these  heresies, 
together  with  all  such  as  have  countenanced 
them.  Yet  the  partisans  of  Eusebius  have  re- 
ceived them ;  endeavoring  to  blend  falsehood 
with  truth,  and  that  which  is  impious  with  what 

3  e^  ovK  hvTuiv  yeyovei-,  lit.  '  came  into  existence  from  nothing.' 


is  sacred.  But  they  shall  not  prevail,  for  the 
truth  must  triumph ;  and  '  light  has  no  fellow- 
ship with  darkness,  nor  has  Christ  any  con- 
cord with  BeHal.' ^  Whoever  heard  such  blas- 
phemies? or  what  man  of  any  piety  is  there  now 
hearing  them  that  is  not  horror-struck,  and  stops 
his  ears,  lest  the  filth  of  these  expressions  should 
pollute  his  sense  of  hearing?  Who  that  hears 
John  saying,  '  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,'  ^ 
does  not  condemn  those  that  say,  '  There  was  a 
period  when  the  Word  was  not '  ?  or  who,  hear- 
ing in  the  Gospel  of '  the  onl3'-begotten  Son,'  and 
that  '  all  things  were  made  by  him,'  will  not  ab- 
hor those  that  pronounce  the  Son  to  be  one  of 
the  things  made?  How  can  he  be  one  of  the 
things  which  were  made  by  himself?  Or  how 
can  he  be  the  only-begotten,  if  he  is  reckoned 
among  created  things?  And  how  could  he 
have  had  his  existence  from  nonentities,  since 
the  Father  has  said,  '  My  heart  has  indited  a 
good  matter '  ;  '^  and  '  I  begat  thee  out  of  my 
bosom  before  the  dawn  '?'  Or  how  is  he  unlike 
the  Father's  essence,  who  is  '  his  perfect  image,'  ^ 
and  '  the  brightness  of  his  glory ' "  and  says  : 
'  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father '  ? 
Again,  how  if  the  Son  is  the  Word  and  \\'isdom 
of  God,  was  there  a  period  when  he  did  not 
exist?  for  that  is  equivalent  to  their  saying  that 
God  was  once  destitute  both  of  Word  and  Wis- 
dom. How  can  he  be  mutable  and  susceptible 
of  change,  who  says  of  himself,  '  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  in  me ' ;  ^"  and  '  I  and 
the  Father  are  one ' ; "  and  again  by  the 
Prophet,^-  '  Behold  me  because  I  am,  and  have 
not  changed  '  ?  But  if  any  one  may  also  apply 
the  expression  to  the  Father  himself,,  yet  would 
it  now  be  even  more  fitly  said  of  the  Word  ;  be- 
cause he  was  not  changed  by  having  become 
man,  but  as  the  Apostle  says,^''  '  Jesus  Christ,  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever.'  But  what 
could  persuade  them  to  say  that  he  was  made 
on  our  account,  when  Paul  has  expressly  de- 
clared "  that  '  all  things  are  for  him,  and  by 
him  '  ?  One  need  not  wonder  indeed  at  their 
blasphemous  assertion  that  the  Son  does  not 
perfectly  know  the  Father ;  for  having  once 
determined  to  fight  against  Christ,  they  reject 
even  the  words  of  the  Lord  himself,  when  he 
says,'^  '  As  the  Father  knows  me,  even  so  know 
I  the  Father.'  If  therefore  the  Father  but  par- 
tially knows  the  Son,  it  is  manifest  that  the  Son 
also  knows  the  Father  but  in  part.  But  if  it 
would  be  improper  to  affirm  this,  and  it  be 
admitted  that  the  Father  perfectly  knows  the 

*  2  Cor.  vi.  14.  "'  John  i.  1-3,  18. 

"  Ps.  xliv.  I,  according  to  the  LXX. 

"  '  Kojci/jopoi',  the  morning-star  ;  taken  from  Ps.  cix.  3.     Cf.  the 
LXX,  quoted  from  Ps.  Ixxii. 

»  Col.  i.  15.  1=  Mai.  iii.  6. 

"  Heb.  i,  3.  "  Heb.  xiii.  8. 

'"  John  xiv.  10.  1*  Heb.  ii.  10. 

^'  John  X.  30.  J''  John  x.  15. 


1.6.] 


ALEXANDER'S   LETTER   ON   THE   HERESY   OF  ARIUS. 


Son,  it  is  evident  that  as  the  Fathc  '  nows  his 
own  Word,  so  also  does  the  Word  know  '.lis  own 
Father,  whose  Word  he  is.  And  we,  y/  stating 
these  things,  and  unfolding  the  divine  Scriptures, 
have  often  confuted  them  :  but  again  as  chame- 
leons they  were  changed,  striving  to  apply  to 
themselves  that  which  is  written,  '  When  the 
ungodly  has  reached  the  depths  of  iniquity,  he 
becomes  contemptuous.' '"  Many  heresies  have 
arisen  before  these,  which  exceeding  all  bounds 
in  daring,  have  lapsed  into  complete  infatuation  : 
but  these  persons,  by  attempting  in  all  their 
discourses  to  subvert  the  Divinity  of  the  Word, 
as  having  made  a  nearer  approach  to  Antichrist, 
have  comparatively  lessened  the  odium  of  for- 
mer ones.  Wherefore  they  have  been  publicly 
repudiated  by  the  Church,  and  anathematized. 
We  are  indeed  grieved  on  account  of  the  perdi- 
tion of  these  persons,  and  especially  so  because, 
after  having  been  previously  instructed  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church,  they  have  now  aposta- 
tized from  them.  Nevertheless  we  are  not 
greatly  surprised  at  this,  for  Hymengeus  and 
Philetus  ^'  fell  in  like  manner ;  and  before  them 
Judas,  who  had  been  a  follower  of  the  Saviour, 
but  afterwards  deserted  him  and  became  his 
betrayer.  Nor  were  we  without  forewarning 
respecting  these  very  persons :  for  the  Lord 
himself  said  :  '  Take  heed  that  no  man  deceive 
you  :  for  many  shall  come  in  my  name,  saying, 
I  am  Christ :  and  shall  deceive  many ' ;  ^^  and 
'  the  time  is  at  hand  ;  Go  ye  not  therefore  after 
them.'  ^^  And  Paul,  having  learned  these  things 
from  the  Saviour,  wrote,  '  That  in  the  latter 
times  some  should  apostatize  from  the  faith, 
giving  heed  to  deceiving  spirits,  and  doctrines 
of  devils,'  -"  who  pervert  the  truth.  Seeing  then 
that  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  has  him- 
self enjoined  this,  and  has  also  by  the  apostle 
given  us  intimation  respecting  such  men,  we 
having  ourselves  heard  their  impiety,  have  in 
consequence  anathematized  them,  as  we  before 
said,  and  declared  them  to  be  aUenated  from 
the  Catholic  Church  and  faith.  Moreover  we 
have  intimated  this  to  your  piety,  beloved  and 
most  honored  fellow-ministers,  in  order  that  ye 
might  neither  receive  any  of  them,  if  they  should 
presume  to  come  to  you,  nor  be  induced  to  put 
confidence  in  Eusebius,  or  any  other  who  may 
write  to  you  about  them.  For  it  is  incumbent 
on  us  who  are  Christians,  to  turn  away  from  all 
those  who  speak  or  entertain  a  thought  against 
Christ,  as  from  those  who  are  resisting  God,  and 
are  destroyers  of  the  souls  of  men  :  neither  does 
it  become  us  even  '  to  salute  such  men,'  -^  as  the 
blessed  John  has  prohibited,  '  lest  we  should  at 


^^  Prov.  xviii.  3,  according  to  the  LXX. 

^^  2  Tim.  ii.  17,  18. 

18  Matt.  xxiv.  4.  20  I  Tim.  iv.  i ;  Tit.  i.  14. 

10  Luke  xxi.  8.  "  2  John  10,  ii. 


any  time  be  made  partakers  of  their  sins.' 
Greet  the  brethren  which  are  with  you ;  those 
who  are  with  me  salute  you. 

Upon  Alexander's  thus  addressing  the  bishops 
in  every  city,  the  evil  only  became  worse,  inas- 
much as  those  to  whom  he  made  this  communi- 
cation were  thereby  excited  to  contention.  And 
some  indeed  fully  concurred  in  and  subscribed 
to  the  sentiments  expressed  in  this  letter,  while 
others  did  the  reverse.  But  Eusebius,  bishop 
of  Nicomedia,  was  beyond  all  others  moved  to 
controversy,  inasmuch  as  Alexander  in  his  letter 
had  made  a  personal  and  censorious  allusion  to 
him.  Now  at  this  juncture  Eusebius  possessed 
great  influence,  because  the  emperor  resided  at 
Nicomedia.  For  in  fact  Diocletian  had  a  short 
time  previously  built  a  palace  there.  On  this 
account  therefore  many  of  the  bishops  paid  their 
court  to  Eusebius.  And  he  repeatedly  wTote 
both  to  Alexander,  that  he  might  set  aside  the 
discussion  which  had  been  excited,  and  again 
receive  Arius  and  his  adherents  into  commun- 
ion ;  and  also  to  the  bishops  in  each  city,  that 
they  might  not  concur  in  the  proceedings  of 
Alexander.  By  these  means  confusion  every- 
where prevailed  :  for  one  saw  not  only  the  prel- 
ates of  the  churches  engaged  in  disputing,  but 
the  people  also  divided,  some  siding  with  one 
party,  and  some  with  the  other.  To  so  disgrace- 
ful an  extent  was  this  affair  carried,  that  Chris- 
tianity became  a  subject  of  popular  ridicule, 
even  in  the  very  theatres.  Those  who  were  at 
Alexandria  sharply  disputed  about  the  highest 
points  of  doctrine,  and  sent  deputations  to  the 
bishops  of  the  several  dioceses  ;  while  those  who 
were  of  the  opposite  faction  created  a  similar 
disturbance. 

With  the  Arians  the  Melitians  mingled  them- 
selves, who  a  little  while  before  had  been  separa- 
ted from  the  Church  :  but  who  these  [Mehtians] 
are  must  now  be  stated. 

By  Peter,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  who  in  the 
reign  of  Diocletian  suffered  martyrdom,  a  cer- 
tain Melitius,  bishop  of  one  of  the  cities  in 
Egypt,  in  consequence  of  many  other  charges, 
and  more  especially  because  during  the  perse- 
cution he  had  denied  the  faith  and  sacrificed, 
was  deposed.  This  person,  being  stripped  of 
his  dignity,  and  having  nevertheless  many  fol- 
lowers, became  the  leader  of  the  heresy  of  those 
who  are  to  this  day  called  from  him  Melitiags 
throughout  Egypt.  And  as  he  had  no  rational 
excuse  for  his  separation  from  the  Church,  he 
pretended  that  he  had  simply  been  wronged 
and  loaded  Peter  with  calumnious  reproaches. 
Now  Peter  died  the  death  of  a  martyr  during 
the  persecution,  and  so  Melitius  transferred  his 
abuse  first  to  Achillas,  who  succeeded  Peter  in 
the  bishopric,  and  afterwards  again  to  Alexan- 


6 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  6. 


der,  the  successor  of  Achillas.  In  this  state  of 
things  among  them,  the  discussion  in  relation  to 
Arius  arose ;  and  IMelitius  with  his  adherents 
took  part  with  Arius,"  entering  into  a  conspiracy 
with  him  against  the  bishop.  But  as  many  as 
regarded  the  opinion  of  Arius  as  untenable, 
justified  Alexander's  decision  against  him,  and 
thought  that  those  who  fivored  his  views  were 
justly  condemned.  Meanwhile  Eusebius  of  Ni- 
comedia  and  his  partisans,  with  such  as  fovored 
the  sentiments  of  Arius,  demanded  by  letter 
that  the  sentence  of  excommunication  which 
had  been  pronounced  against  him  should  be 
rescinded ;  and  that  those  who  had  been  ex- 
cluded should  be  readmitted  into  the  Church, 
as  they  held  no  unsound  doctrine.  Thus  letters 
from  the  opposite  parties  were  sent  to  the  bish- 
op of  Alexandria  ;  and  Arius  made  a  collection 
of  those  which  were  favorable  to  himself,  while 
Alexander  did  the  same  with  those  which  were 
adverse.  This  therefore  afforded  a  plausible 
opportunity  of  defense  to  the  sects,  which  are 
now  prevalent,  of  the  Arians,  Eunomians,  and 
such  as  receive  their  name  from  Macedonius ; 
for  these  severally  make  use  of  these  epistles  in 
vindication  of  their  heresies. ' 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Empero?-  Constantine  being  grieved  at  the 
Disturbance  of  the  Churches,  sends  Hosius 
the  Spaniard  to  Alexandria,  exhorting  the 
Bishop  and  Arius  to  Reconciliation  and  Unity. 

When  the  emperor  was  made  acquainted  with 
these  disorders,  he  was  very  deeply  grieved ; 
aiid  regarding  the  niatter  as  a  personal  mis- 
fortune, immediately  exerted  himself  to  extin- 
guish the  conflagration  which  had  been  kindled, 
and  sent  a  letter  to  Alexander  and  Arius  by  a 
trustworthy  person  named  Hosius,  wlio  was 
bishop  of  Cordova,  in  Spain.  The  emperor 
greatly  loved  this  man  and  held  him  in  the 
highest  estimation.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place 
to  introduce  here  a  ])ortion  of  this  letter,  the 
whole  of  which  is  given  in  the  life  of  Constan- 
tine by  Eusebius.' 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus  to 
Alexander  and  Arius. 

I  am  informed  that  your  present  controversy 
originated  thus.  When  you,  Alexander,  inquired 
of  your  presbyters  what  each  thought  on  a  cer- 

22  Valcsius  makes  the  assertion  that  Socrates  is- mistaken  here, 
that  the  Mehtians  joined  themselves  to  the  Arians  after  the  council 
of  Nica;a,  and  were  induced  by  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  to 
cast  slanderous  aspersion  upon  Athanasius,  as  lie  himself  testifies  in 
his  second  apology  against  the  Arians.  It  appears  unlikely  that  the 
Fathers  of  the  Nicene  Council  would  have  treated  the  Melitians  as 
leniently  as  they  did  had  they  sided  with  Arius  before  the  council. 

1  Euseb.  Life  o/Cotist.  II.  64-72. 


tain  inexplicable  passage  of  the  written  ^Vord, 
rather  on  a  subject  improper  for  discussion  ;  and 
you,  Arius,  rashly  gave  expression  to  a  view  of 
the  matter  such  as  ought  either  never  to  have 
been  conceived,  or  when  suggested  to  your 
mind,  it  became  you  to  bury  it  in  silence.  This 
dispute  having  thus  been  excited  among  you, 
communion  -  has  been  denied ;  and  the  most 
holy  people  being  rent  into  two  factions,  have 
departed  from  the  harmony  of  the  common 
body.  Wherefore  let  each  one  of  you,  showing 
consideration  for  the  other,  listen  to  the  impar- 
tial exhortation  of  your  fellow-servant.  And 
what  counsel  does  he  offer?  It  was  neither 
prudent  at  first  to  agitate  such  a  question,  nor 
to  reply  to  such  a  question  when  proposed  :  for 
the  claim  of  no  law  demands  the  investigation 
of  such  subjects,  but  the  idle  useless  talk  of 
leisure  occasions  them.  And  even  if  they  should 
exist  for  the  sake  of  exercising  our  natural  f.icul- 
ties,  yet  we  ought  to  confine  them  to  our  own 
consideration,  and  not  incautiously  bring  them 
forth  in  pubHc  assemblies,  nor  thoughtlessly  con- 
fide them  to  the  ears  oi  everybody.  Indeed 
how  few  are  capable  either  of  adequately  ex- 
pounding, or  even  accurately  understanding  the 
import  of  matters  so  vast  and  profound  ! 

And  even  if  any  one  should  be  considered  able 
to  satisfactorily  accomplish  this,  how  large  a 
portion  of  the  people  would  he  succeed  in  con- 
vincing? Or  who  can  grapple  with  the  subtil- 
ties  of  such  investigations  without  danger  of 
lapsing  into  error?  It  becomes  us  therefore  on 
such  topics  to  check  loquacity,  lest  either  on 
account  of  the  weakness  of  our  nature  we 
should  be  incompetent  to  ex])lain  the  subject 
proposed ;  or  the  dull  understanding  of  the 
audience  should  make  them  unable  to  appre- 
hend clearly  what  is  attempted  to  be  taught : 
and  in  the  case  of  one  or  the  other  of  these 
failures,  the  people  must  be  necessarily  involved 
either  in  blasphemy  or  schism.  \\'herefore  let 
an  unguarded  question,  and  an  inconsiderate 
answer,  on  the  part  of  each  of  )ou,  procure 
equal  forgiveness  from  one  another.  No  cause 
of  difference  has  been  started  by  you  bearing 
on  any  important  precept  contained  in  the  Law  ; 
nor  has  any  new  heresy  been  introduced  by  you 
in  connection  with  the  worshij)  of  God  ;  but  ye 
both  hold  one  and  the  same  judgment  on  these 
points,  which  is  the  Creed."  Moreover,  while 
you  thus  pertinaciously  contend  with  one  another 
about  matters  of  small  or  scarcely  the  least  im- 
portance, it  is  unsuitable  for  you  to  have  charge 
of  so  many  people  of  God,  because  you  are 
divided  in  opinion  :  '  and  not  only  is  it  unbe- 


2  (Tui'oSo?;  lit.,  '  coming  together.' 

3  Koci'iui'ias  (jvv6r\ixa=  cii/x/ioAoi'  T))s  TricrTew;.  Cf.  Eiis.   Life  of 
Const    II    /o. 

■•  For  the  textual  variation  at  this  place,  see  Valesius,  note. 


1. 70      CONSTANTINE'S    LETTER    TO    ALEXANDER    AND    ARIUS. 


7 


coming,  but  it  is  also  believed  to  be  altogether 
unlawful. 

In  order  to  remind  you  of  )'Our  duty  Ijy  an 
example  of  an  inferior  kind,  I  may  say  :  you 
are  well  aware  that  even  the  i)hilosophers  them- 
selves are  united  under  one  sect.  Yet  they 
often  differ  from  each  other  on  some  parts  of 
their  theories  :  but  although  they  may  differ  on 
the  very  highest  branches  of  science,  in  order 
to  maintain  the  unity  of  their  body,  they  still 
agree  to  coalesce.  Now,  if  this  is  done  amongst 
them,  how  much  more  equitable  will  it  be  for 
you,  who  have  been  constituted  ministers  of  the 
Most  High  God,  to  become  unanimous  with 
one  another  in  such  a  religious  profession.  But 
let  us  examine  with  closer  consideration,  and 
deeper  attention,  what  has  been  already  stated. 
Is  it  right  on  account  of  insignificant  and  vain 
contentions  between  you  about  words,  that 
brethren  should  be  set  in  opposition  against 
brethren ;  and  that  the  honorable  communion 
should  be  distracted  by  xnihallowed  dissension, 
through  our  stri\-ing  with  one  another  respect- 
ing things  so  unimportant,  and  by  no  means 
essential?  These  quarrels  are  vulgar  and  rather 
consistent  with  puerile  thoughtlessness,  than 
suitable  to  the  intelligence  of  priests  and  pru- 
dent men.  We  should  spontaneously  turn  aside 
from  the  temptations  of  the  devil.  The  great 
God  and  Saviour  of  us  all  has  extended  to  all 
the  common  light.  Under  his  providence,  allow 
me,  his  servant,  to  bring  this  effort  of  mine  to  a 
successful  issue  ;  that  by  my  exhortation,  min- 
istry, and  earnest  admonition,  I  may  lead  you, 
his  people,  back  to  unity  of  communion.''  For 
since,  as  I  have  said,  there  is  but  one  fliith 
among  you,  and  one  sentiment  respecting  re- 
ligion,*^ and  since  the  precept  of  the  law,"  in 
all  its  parts,  combines  all  in  one  purpose  of 
soul,  let  not  this  diversity  of  opinion,  which 
has  excited  dissension  among  you,  by  any 
means  cause  discord  and  schism,  inasmuch 
as  it  does  not  affect  the  force  of  the  law  as  a 
•whole.  Now,  I  say  these  things,  not  as  com- 
pelling you  all  to  see  exactly  alike  on  this  very 
insignificant  subject  of  controversy,  whatever  it 
may  be;  since  the  dignity®  of  the  communion 
may  be  preserved  unaffected,  and  the  same 
fellowship  with  all  be  retained,  even  though 
there  should  exist  among  you  some  dissimilarity 
of  sentiment  on  unimportant  matters.  For,  of 
course,  we  do  not  all  desire  the  same  thing  in 
every  respect ;  nor  is  there  one  unvarying 
nature,  or  standard  of  judgment  in  us.     There- 

^  avvoSov  KOLVOiviaV.  , 

"  aipecreui;  (TtJi-eai;:  lit.  'understanding  of  heresy.'  On  the 
various  uses  of  the  word  aipetri?,  see  Sophocles,  Creek  Lex.  of  the 
Rom.  and  Byz.  Per-iods.  Here  it  evidently  means  the  common 
creed  of  the  whole  Church  looked  at  as  a  sect. 

'  vQij.o%,  used  in  analogy  to  the  law  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
Jaw  here  is  the  ethical  system  of  Christianity. 

*  TiV""',  '  honor.' 


fore,  in  regard  to  di\ine  providence,  let  there 
be  one  (liith,  one  sentiment,  and  one  covenant 
of  the  Ciodhead  :  '•'  but  those  minute  investiga- 
tions which  ye  enter  into  among  yourselves  with 
so  much  nicety,  even  if  ye  should  not  concur 
in  one  judgment  in  regard  to  them,  should  re- 
main within  the  sphere  of  )'our  own  reflection, 
kept  in  the  secret  recesses  of  the  mind.  Let 
then  an  ineffable  and  select  bond  of  general 
friendship,  with  faith  in  the  truth,  reverence  for 
God,  and  a  devout  observance  of  his  law,  re- 
main unshaken  among  you.  Resume  mutual 
friendship  and  grace ;  restore  to  the  whole 
people  their  accustomed  familiar  embraces  ;  and 
do  ye  )'ourselves,  on  the  strength  of  having 
purified  your  own  souls,  again  recognize  one 
another.  For  friendship  often  becomes  sweeter 
after  the  removal  of  animosity.  Thus  restore 
to  me  tranquil  days,  and  nights  free  from  care ; 
that  to  me  also  some  pleasure  in  the  pure  light 
may  be  preserved,  and  a  cheerful  serenity  dur- 
ing the  rest  of  my  life  :  otherwise,  I  must  neces- 
sarily groan,  and  be  wholly  suffused  with  tears  ; 
neither  will  the  remaining  period  of  my  earthly 
existence  be  peacefully  sustained.  For  while 
the  people  of  God  (I  speak  of  my  fellow-ser- 
vants) are  severed  from  one  another  by  so  un- 
worthy and  injurious  a  contest,  how  is  it  pos- 
sible for  me  to  maintain  my  usual  equanimity  ? 
But  in  order  that  you  may  have  some  idea  of 
my  excessive  grief  on  account  of  this  unhappy 
difference,  listen  to  what  I  am  about  to  state. 
On  my  recent  arrival  at  the  city  of  Nicomedia, 
it  was  my  intention  immediately  after  to  pro- 
ceed into  the  East :  but  while  I  was  hastening 
toward  you,  and  had  advanced  a  considerable 
distance  on  my  way,  intelligence  of  this  affair 
altogether  reversed  my  purpose,  lest  I  should''''' 
be  obliged  to  see  with  my  own  eyes  a  condition 
of  things  such  as  I  could  scarcely  bear  the 
report  of  Open  to  me  therefore  by  your  rec- 
onciliation henceforth,  the  way  into  the  East, 
which  ye  have  obstructed  by  your  contentions 
against  one  another  :  and  permit  me  speedily  to 
behold  both  you  and  all  the  rest  of  the  people 
rejoicing  together ;  and  to  express  my  due 
thanks  to  the  Divine  Being,  because  of  the  gen- 
eral harmony  and  liberty  of  all  parties,  accom- 
panied by  the  cordial  utterance  of  your  praise.  ^^ 


"  Toi;  KpeiTToi'o?:  for  this  use  of  the  word,  see  Eus.  Liye  of 
Const.  II.  24  et  al.;  Greg.  Naz.  III.  iioi  B;  Jul.  398  A;  Clem. 
Horn.  V.  5. 

1"  Socrates'  lack  of  theological  training  can  be  inferred  from  his 
admiration  for  this  rather  superficial  letter  of  Constnntine's;  so  also 
the  rudimentary  character  of  Constaiuine's  views  of  Gospel  truth  and 
his  want  of  appreciation  for  the  vital  nature  of  the  question  in  the 
Arian  controversy.  It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  the  statesmanship 
shown  in  the  tone  and  recommendations  of  the  letter  is  just  as  far- 
sighted  as  the  theology  of  it  is  superficial.  Constantine  had  sought 
to  unite  the  empire  through  the  church,  and  now  that  very  church 
threatened  to  diNrupt  the  empire:  and  this,  at  the  verj'  time,  when 
by  his  final  victory  over  Licinius  and  the  foundation  of  his  new 
capital,  he  seemed  to  have  realized  the  ideal  of  a  reunited  em- 
pire. 


8 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  s. 


CHAPTER    Vin. 

Of  the  Synod  which    ivas   held  at  Niccca    iti 
Bithynia,  and  the  Creed  there^  put  forth. 

Such  admirable  and  wise  counsel  did  the  em- 
peror's letter  contain.  But  the  evil  had  become 
too  strong  both  for  the  exhortations  of  the 
emperor,  and  the  authority  of  him  who  was 
the  bearer  of  his  letter  :  for  neither  was  Alex- 
ander nor  Arius  softened  by  this  appeal ;  and 
moreover  there  was  incessant  strife  and  tumult 
among  the  people.  Moreover  another  local 
source  of  disquietude  had  pre-existed  there, 
which  sen-ed  to  trouble  the  churches,  —  the  dis- 
pute namely  in  regard  to  the  Passover,  which 
was  carried  on  in  the  regions  of  the  East  only.- 
This  arose  from  some  desiring  to  keep  the  Feast 
more  in  accordance  witli  the  custom  of  the 
Jews ;  while  others  preferred  its  mode  of  cele- 
bration by  Christians  in  general  throughout  the 
world.  This  difference,  however,  did  not  inter- 
fere with  their  communion,  although  their  mu- 
tual joy  was  necessarily  hindered.  When, 
therefore,  the  emperor  beheld  the  Church  agi- 
tated on  account  of  both  of  these  causes,  he 
convoked  a  General  Council,'^  summoning  all 
the  bishops  by  letter  to  meet  him  at  Nicgea  in 
Bithynia.  Accordingly  the  bishops  assembled 
out  of  the  various  provinces  and  cities  ;  respect- 
ing whom  Eusebius  Pamphilus  thus  writes,  word 
for  word,  in  his  third  book  of  the  life  of  Con- 
stantine  :  * 

'  Wherefore  the  most  eminent  of  the  ministers 
of  God  in  all  the  churches  which  have  filled 
Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia,  were  convened.  And 
one  sacred  edifice,  dilated  as  it  were  by  God, 
contained  within  it  on  the  same  occasion  both 
Syrians  and  Cilicians,  Phoenicians,  Arabs  and 
Palestinians,  and  in  addition  to  these,  Egyptians, 
Thebans,  Libyans,  and  those  who  came  from 
Mesopotamia.  At  this  synod  a  Persian  bishop 
was  also  present,  neither  was  the  Scythian  absent 
from  this  assemblage.  Pontus  also  and  Galatia, 
Pamphylia,  Cappadocia,  Asia  and  Phrygia,  sup- 
plied those  who  were  most  distinguished  among 
them.  Besides,  there  met  there  Thracians  and 
Macedonians,  Achaians  and  Epirots,  and  even 
those  who  dwelt  still  further  away  than  these, 
and  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Spaniards  him- 
self' took  his  seat  among  the  rest.  The  prel- 
ate ®  of  the  imperial  city  was  absent  on  account 

'  Cf.  the  parallel  account  in  5ozom.  I.  17. 

-  In  a  single  sentence  this  controversy  was  as  to  whether  the 
Easter  should  be  observed  on  a  fixed  day  in  every  year  or  on  the 
14th  of  the  lunar  month  Nisan  of  the  Jews,  on  whatever  day  of 
the  week  that  might  happen  to  fall.  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the 
controversy,  see  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  and  the  literature  there 
referred  to. 

3  oi.Kov\Livi.K-i\v:  hence  this  is  called  the  first  Ecumenical  Council. 

<  Euseb.  Life  of  Const.  III.  7-9. 

^  Hosius  mentioned  before  in  chap.  7. 

*  According  to  Valesius,  who  follows  Musculus,  the  prelate  here 


of  age  ;  but  some  of  his  presbyters  were  present 
and  filled  his  place.  Such  a  crown,  composed 
as  a  bond  of  peace,  the  emperor  Constantine 
alone  has  ever  dedicated  to  Christ  his  Saviour, 
as  a  thank-offering  worthy  of  God  for  victory 
over  his  enemies,  having  appointed  this  convo- 
cation among  us  in  imitation  of  the  Apostolic 
Assembly.'^  For  among  them  it  is  said  were 
convened  "  devout  men  of  every  nation  under 
heaven ;  Parthians,  Medes  and  Elamites,  and 
those  who  dwelt  in  Mesopotamia,  Judaea  and 
Cappadocia,  Pontus  and  Asia,  Phrygia  and  Pam- 
phylia, Egypt  and  the  part  of  Libya  which  is 
toward  Cyrene,  strangers  from  Rome  also,  both 
Jews  and  proselytes,  with  Cretans  and  Arabs." 
That  congregation,  however,  was  inferior  in  this 
respect,  that  all  present  were  not  ministers  of 
God  :  whereas  in  this  assembly  the  number  of 
bishops  exceeded  three  hundred ;  ^  while  the 
number  of  the  presbyters,  deacons,  and  acolyths  ^ 
and  others  who  attended  them  was  almost  incal- 
culable. Some  of  these  ministers  of  God  were 
eminent  for  their  wisdom,  some  for  the  strict- 
ness of  their  life,  and  patient  endurance  [of  per- 
secution], and  others  united  in  themselves  all 
these  distinguished  characteristics :  some  were 
venerable  from  their  advanced  age,  others  were 
conspicuous  for  their  youth  and  vigor  of  mind, 
and  others  had  but  recently  entered  on  their 
ministerial  career.^°  For  all  these  the  emperor 
appointed  an  abundant  supply  of  daily  food  to 
be  provided.' 

Such  is  Eusebius'  account  of  those  who  met 
on  this  occasion.  The  emperor  having  com- 
pleted the  festal  solemnization  of  his  triumph 
over  Licinius,  came  also  in  person  to  Nice. 

There  were  among  the  bishops  two  of  ex- 
traordinary celebrity,  Paphnutius,  bishop  of 
Upper  Thebes,  and  Spyridon,  bishop  of  Cyprus  : 
why  I  have  so  particularly  referred  to  these  two 
individuals,  I  shall  state  hereafter.  Many  of  the 
laity  were  also  present,  who  were  practiced  in 
the  art  of  reasoning,"  and  each  eager  to  advo- 
cate the  cause  of  his  own  party.  Eusebius, 
bishop  of  Nicomedia,  as  was  before  said,  sup- 


meant  was  the  bishop  of  Rome.  The  reason  alleged  is  that  at  the 
time  of  the  meeting  of  the  council,  Constantinople  had  not  >;et  been 
made  the  '  imperial  city.'  But  considering  the  general  indifference 
of  Socrates  to  the  affairs  of  the  Western  Church,  and  the  fact  that 
when  he  wrote,  the  imperial  city  was  actually  Constantinople,  it  is 
very  probable  that  it  is  the  bishop  of  that  city  he  means  to  name 
here,  and  not  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

"  Acts  ii.  5-n. 

"  The  exact  number  is  variously  given  as  250  by  Eusebius  (^Life 
of  Const.  III.  8) ;  270  by  Eustathius;  318  by  Evagrius  {H.  E.  III. 
31);  Athanasius  {Kfi.  to  the  African  bishops);  Hilarius  {Contra 
Constantium):  Jerome  (C/ironicon) ,  and  Rufinus. 

"  Young  priests;   lit.  '  followers,'  from  aKoAonCo!. 

1"  TO)  fifo-u)  rpniTiti:  besides  the  meaning  given  to  these  words 
here  they  fliay  be  taken  (i)  as  describing  the  temperate  and  genial 
character  of  the  men  so  characterized,  on  the  assumption  that 
Hieao?  =  ne'Tpio!  as  often  elsewhere,  or  (2)  as  applicable  to  those 
who  occupied  the  middle  ground  in  the  controversy;  of  these,  (2) 
is  not  admissible,  as  notliing  has  been  said  in  the  immediate  context 
about  the  controversy,  and  as  age  is  the  main  basis  of  classification  in 
the  passage:   (i)  also  is  less  probable  than  the  rendering  given  above. 

"  Dialectics. 


I.  8.] 


THE    COUNCIL    OF    NIC/EA. 


ported  the  opinion  of  Arius,  together  with  The- 
ognis  and  Maris  ;  of  these  the  former  was  bishop 
of  Nicaea,  and  Maris  of  Chalcedon  in  Bithynia. 
These  were  powerfully  opposed  by  Athanasius, 
a  deacon  of  the  Alexandrian  church,  who  was 
highly  esteemed  by  Alexander,  his  bishop,  and 
on  that  account  was  much  envied,  as  will  be 
seen  hereafter.  Now  a  short  time  previous  to 
the  general  assembling  of  the  bishops,  the  dis- 
putants engaged  in  preparatory  logical  contests 
before  the  multitudes ;  and  when  many  were 
attracted  by  the  interest  of  their  discourse,  one 
of  the  laity,  a  confessor}'-  who  was  a  man  of 
unsophisticated  understanding,  reproved  these 
reasoners,  telling  them  that  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles did  not  teach  us  dialectics,  art,  nor  vain 
subtilties,  but  simple-mindedness,  which  is  pre- 
served by  faith  and  good  works.  As  he  said 
this,  all  present  admired  the  speaker,  and  as- 
sented to  the  justice  of  his  remarks ;  and  the 
disputants  themselves,  after  hearing  his  plain 
statement  of  the  truth,  exercised  a  greater  de- 
gree of  moderation  :  thus  then  was  the  disturb- 
ance caused  by  these  logical  debates  suppressed 
at  this  time. 

On  the  following  day  all  the  bishops  were  as- 
sembled together  in  one  place ;  the  emperor 
arrived  soon  after,  and^on^his  entrance  stood  in 
their  midst,  and  would  not  take  his  place,  until 
the  bishops  by  bowing  intimated  their  desire 
that  he  "should  be  seated  :  such  was  the  respect 
and  reverence  which  the  emperor  entertained 
for  these  men.  When  a  silence  suitable  to  the 
occasion  had  been  obsen^ed,  the  emperor  from 
his  seat  began  to  address  them  words  of  exhor- 
tation to  harmony  and  unity,  and  entreated  each 
to  lay  aside  all  private  pique.  For  several  of 
them  had  brought  accusations  against  one 
another,  and  many  had  even  presented  petitions 
to  the  emperor  the  day  before.  But  he,  direct- 
ing their  attention  to  the  matter  before  them, 
and  on  account  of  which  they  were  assembled, 
ordered  these  petitions  to  be  burnt ;  merely  ob- 
serving that  '  Christ  enjoins  him  who  is  anx- 
ious to  obtain  forgiveness,  to  forgive  his  brother.' 
When  therefore  he  had  strongly  insisted  on  the 
maintenance  of  harmony  and  peace,  he  sanc- 
tioned again  their  purpose  of  more  closely  in- 
vestigating the  questions  at  issue.  But  it  may 
be  well  to  hear  what  Eusebius  says  on  this  sub- 
ject, in  his  third  book  of  the  Life  of  Constan- 
tine.^^     His  words  are  these  : 

*  A  variety  of  topics  having  been  introduced 
by  each  party,  and  much  controversy  being  ex- 
cited from  the  very  commencement,  the  emperor 
listened  to  all  with  patient  attention,  deUberately 

'-  et?  -riav  6iJLo\oyr)Tu)V.  the  term  6/joAoy7)T>)s  was  applied  to  those 
who  during  the  persecutions  had  refused  to  sacrifice  to  idols,  per- 
sisting in  his  profession  of  Christianity  in  spite  of  suffering.  Cf. 
Clem.  Strom.  IV.  12;   Petr.  Ale.\.  Epist.  Can.  14. 

^3  Euseb.  Life  of  Const.  III.  13. 


and  impartially  considering  whatever  was  ad- 
vanced. He  in  part  supported  the  statements 
which  were  made  on  either  side,  and  gradually 
softened  the  asperity  of  those  who  contentiously 
opposed  each  other,  conciliating  each  by  his 
mildness  and  affability.  And  as  he  addressed 
them  in  the  Creek  language,  for  he  was  not  un- 
acquainted with  it,  he  was  at  once  interesting 
and  persuasive,  and  wrought  conviction  on  the 
minds  of  some,  and  prevailed  on  others  by 
entreaty,  those  who  spoke  well  he  applauded. 
And  inciting  all  to  unanimity  at  length  he  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  them  into  similarity  of  judg- 
ment, and  conformity  of  opinion  on  all  the 
controverted  points  :  so  that  there  was  not  only 
unity  in  the  confession  of  faith,  but  also  a  gen- 
eral agreement  as  to  the  time  for  the  celebration 
of  the  feast  of  Salvation."  Moreover  the  doc- 
trines which  had  thus  the  common  consent,  were 
confirmed  by  the  signature  of  each  individual.' 

Such  in  his  own  words  is  the  testimony  re- 
specting these  things  which  Eusebius  has  left 
us  in  writing ;  and  we  not  unfitly  have  used  it, 
but  treating  what  he  has  said  as  an  authority, 
have  introduced  it  here  for  the  fidelity  of  this 
history.  With  this  end  also  in  view,  that  if  any 
one  should  condemn  as  erroneous  the  faith  pro- 
fessed at  this  council  of  Nicsea,  we  might  be  un- 
affected by  it,  and  put  no  confidence  in  Sabinus 
the  Macedonian,^^  who  calls  all  those  who  were 
convened  there  ignoramuses  and  simpletons.  For 
this  Sabinus,  who  was  bishop  of  the  Alacedonians 
at  Heraclea  in  Thrace,  having  made  a  collection 
of  the  decrees  pubhshed  by  various  Synods  of 
bishops,  has  treated  those  who  composed  the 
Nicene  Council  in  particular  with  contempt  and 
derision  ;  not  perceiving  that  he  thereby  charges 
Eusebius  himself  with  ignorance,  who  made  a 
like  confession  after  the  closest  scrutiny.  And 
in  fact  some  things  he  has  willfully  passed  over, 
others  he  has  perverted,  and  on  all  he  has  put 
a  construction  favorable  to  his  own  views.  Yet 
he  commends  Eusebius  Pamphilus  as  a  trust- 
worthy witness,  and  praises  the  emperor  as 
capable  in  stating  Christian  doctrines  :  but  he 
still  brands  the  faith  which  was  declared  at 
Nicaea,  as  having  been  set  forth  by  ignorant  per- 
sons, and  such  as  had  no  intelligence  in  the 
matter.  And  thus  he  voluntarily  contemns  the 
words  of  a  man  whom  he  himself  pronounces  a 
wise  and  true  witness  :  for  Eusebius  declares, 
that  of  the  ministers  of  God  who  were  present 
at  the  Nicene  Synod,  some  were  eminent  for 
the  word  of  wisdom,  others  for  the  strictness  of 
their  life ;  and  that  the  emperor  himself  being 

!■*  The  Passover,  or  Easter. 

^s  Macedonian  =  follower  of  Macedonius,  not  a  native  resident  of 
Macedonia.  Sabinus  was  the  author  of  a  collection  of  the  acts  of 
the  Synod  used  by  Socrates  quite  freely  (cf.  I.  9;  II.  15,  17  et  al.). 
Socrates,  however,  criticises  him  for  prejudice  against  the  orthodox. 
Sabinus  was  bishop  of  the  church  of  the  Macedonians  in  Heraclea, 
a  city  in  Thrace. 


lO 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1.8. 


present,  leading  all  into  unanimity,  established 
unity 'of  judgment,  and  agreement  of  opinion 
among  them.  Of  Sabinus,  however,  we.  shall 
make  further  mention  as  occasion  may  require. 
But -the  agreement  of  faith,  assented  to  with  loud 
acclamation  at  the  great  council  of  Nicaea  is  this  : 

'  We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible  :  — and 
in  one '"^  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  that  is  of  the 
substance  of  the  Father ;  God  of  God  and 
Light  of  light ;  true  God  of  true  God  ;  begotten, 
not  made,  consubstantiaL' with  the  Father:  by 
whom  all  things  were  made,  both  which  are  in 
heaven  and  on  earth  :  who  for  the  sake  of  us 
men,  and  on  account  of  our  salvation,  descended, 
became  incarnate,  and  was  made  man ;  suf- 
fered, arose  again  the  third  day,  and  ascended 
into  the  heavens,  and  will  come  again  to  judge  the 
living  and  the  dead.  [We]  also  [believe]  in  the 
Holy  Spirit.  But  the  holy  Catholic  and  Apos- 
tolic church  anathematizes  those  who  say  "  There 
was  a  time  when  he  was  not,"  and  "  He  was  not 
before  he  was  begotten,"  and  "  He  was  made 
from  that  which  did  not  exist,"  and  those  who 
assert  that  he  is  of  other  substance  or  essence 
than  the  Father,  or  that  he  was  created,  or  is 
susceptible  of  change.'^* 

This  creed  was  recognized  and  acquiesced  in 
by  three  hundred  and  eighteen  [bishops]  ;  and 
being,  as  Eusebius  says,  unanimous  in  expression 
and  sentiment,  they  subscribed  it.  Five  only 
would  not  receive  it,  objecting  to  the  term 
ho7noousios, '  of  the  same  essence,'  or  consitbstan- 
tial :  these  were  Eusebius  bishop  of  Nicomedia, 
Theognis  of  Nice,  Maris  of  Chalcedon,  Theonas 
of  Marmarica,  and  Secundus  of  Ptolemais. 
*  For,'  said  they,  '  since  that  is  consubstantial 
which  is  from  another  either  by  partition,  der- 
ivation or  germination ;  by  germination,  as  a 
shoot  from  the  roots  ;  by  derivation,  as  children 
from  their  parents ;  by  division,  as  two  or  three 
vessels  of  gold  from  a  mass,  and  the  Son  is  from 
the  Father  bv  none  of  these  modes  :  therefore 
they  declared  themselves  unable  to  assent  to 
this  creed.'  Thus  having  scoffed  at  the  word 
consubsta7itial,  they  would  not  subscribe  to  the 
deposition  of  Arhis.  Upon  this  the  Synod  anath- 
ematized Arius,  and  all  who  adhered  to  his  opin- 


'"■  This  is  according  to  the  reading  of  Valesius,  Hussey,  and 
Bright.  The  rcidiiig,  'our  Lord,'  &c. ,  of  the  English  translations 
in  Hagster  and  Buhn's  series  is  probably  a  typographical  error, 
though  strangely  perpetuated  down  to  the  reprint  of  1888. 

••  .  I  )ji' .iioi',  '  of  the  same  essence';  the  word  has  become  a 
historic  landmark  in  theological  debate,  and  one  of  the  stock  words 
of  thological  terminology. 

•  '*  This  creed  is  found  twelve  times  in  eleven  ancient  sources, 
two  versions  being  given  in  the  Acts  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon. 
'I'he  second  version  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  contains  certain 
additions  from  the  creed  of  Constantinople;  all  tlie  re.^t  substanlially 
agree.  Cf.  Schaff,  Creeds  of  Cliristeiidom,  Vol.  I.  p.  24,  and  Vol. 
II.  p.  So,  91;  Walch,  Aittiqiiitates  Symbolicce  (1772),  p.  87  seq.; 
Hahn,  Bibliothck  tier  Symbnlc,  p.  40-107,  and  other  literature 
referred  to  in  SchafTs  Creeds,  &c. 


ions,  prohibiting  him  at  the  same  time  from  en- 
tering into  Alexandria.  At  the  same  time  an 
edict  of  the  emperor  sent  Arius  himself  into 
exile,  together  with  Eusebius  and  Theognis  and 
their  followers  ;  Eusebius  and  Theognis,  how- 
ever, a  short  time  after  their  banishment,  ten- 
dered a  written  declaration  of  their  change  of 
sentiment,  and  concurrence  in  the  faith  of  the 
consuhstantiality  of  the  Son  with  the  Father,  as 
we  shall  show  as  we  proceed. 

At  this  time  during  the  session  of  the  Synod, 
Eusebius,  surnamed  Pamphilus,  bishop  of  Caesa- 
rea  in  Palestine,  who  had  held  aloof  for  a  short 
time,  after  mature  consideration  whether  he 
ought  to  receive  this  definition  of  the  faith,  at 
length  acquiesced  in  it,  and  subscribed  it  v/ith 
all  the  rest :  he  also  sent  to  the  people  under 
his  charge  a  copy  of  the  Creed,  with  an  explana- 
tion of  the  word  homooitsios,  that  no  one  might 
impugn  his  motives  on  account  of  his  previous 
hesitation.  Now  what  was  written  bv  Eusebius 
was  as  follows  in  his  own  words  : 

'  You  have  probably  had  some  intimation, 
beloved,  of  the  transactions  of  the  great  council 
convened  at  Nicsea,  in  relation  to  the  faith  of  the 
Church,  inasmuch  as  rumor  generally  outruns 
true  account  of  that  which  has  really  taken 
place.  But  lest  from  such  report  alone  you 
might  form  an  incorrect  estimate  of  the  matter, 
we  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  submit  to  you, 
in  the  first  place,  an  exposition  of  the  faith  pro- 
posed by  us  in  written  form  ;  and  then  a  second 
which  has  been  promulgated,  consisting  of  ours 
with  certain  additions  to  its  expression.  The 
declaration  of  faith  set  forth  by  us,  which  when 
read  in  the  presence  of  our  most  pious  emperor, 
seemed  to  meet  with  universal  approbation,  was 
thus  expressed  : 

*  "  According  as  we  received  from  the  bishops 
who  preceded  us,  both  in  our  instruction^^  [in 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth],  and  when  we  were 
baptized;  as  also  we  have  ourselves  learned, 
from  the  sacred  Scriptures  :  and  in  accordance 
with  what  we  have  both  believed  and  taught 
while  discharging  the  duties  of  presbyter  and 
the  episcopal  ofifice  itself,  so  now  we  believe 
and  present  to  you  the  distinct  avowal  of  our 
faith.     It  is  this  : 

' "  We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible  :  —  and 
in  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Word  of  God,  God 
of  (jod.  Light  of  light.  Life  of  life,  the  only- 
begotten  Son,  born  before  all  creation,^  begot- 
ten of  God  the  Father,  before  all  ages,  by  whom 
also  all  things  were  made ;  who  on  account 
of  our  salvation  became    incarnate,  and   lived 

t"  KttTTjY'io'ei;  the  word  is  used  of  the  steps  preliminary'  to  bap- 
tism, chief  among  which  was  instruction  in  the  truth.  Cf.  VII.  17, 
and  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible. 


-"  TrpoiToTo'coi'  TTaTTj^  KTtVeui?,  taken  from  Col. 
uses  of  n-pu)T05  instead  of  n-porepo?,  see  John  i.  15. 


For  the 


I.  8.] 


EUSEBIUS'   REPORT   OF   TH1-:    NICENE    COUNCIL. 


1 1 


among  men ;  and  who  suffered  and  rose  again 
on  the  third  day,  and  ascended  to  the  Father, 
and  shall  come  again  in  glory  to  judge  the  living 
and  the  dead.  We  believe  also  in  one  Holy  Spirit. 
We  believe  in  the  existence  and  subsistence  of 
each  of  these  [persons]  :  that  the  Father  is 
truly  Father,  the  Son  truly  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  truly  Holy  Spirit ;  even  as  our  Lord  also, 
when  he  sent  forth  his  disciples  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  said,-^  '  Go  and  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.'  Concerning 
these  doctrines  we  steadfastly  maintain  their 
truth,  and  avow  our  full  confidence  in  them ; 
such  also  have  been  our  sentiments  hitherto, 
and  such  we  shall  continue  to  hold  until  death  : 
and  in  an  unshaken  adherence  to  this  faith,  we 
anathematize  every  impious  heresy.  In  the 
presence  of  God  Almighty,  and  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  we  testify,  that  thus  we  have  be- 
heved  and  thought  from  our  heart  and  soul, 
since  we  have  possessed  a  right  estimate  of  our- 
selves ;  and  that  we  now  think  and  speak  what 
is  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  truth.  We 
are  moreover  prepared  to  pro\"e  to  you  by  un- 
deniable evidences,  and  to  convince  you  that 
in  time  past  we  have  thus  believed,  and  so 
preached." 

'  When  these  articles  of  faith  were  proposed, 
there  seemed  to  be  no  ground  of  opposition  : 
nay,  our  most  pious  emperor  himself  was  the 
first  to  admit  that  they  were  perfectly  correct, 
and  that  he  himself  had  entertained  the  senti- 
ments contained  in  them  ;  exhorting  all  present 
to  give  them  their  assent,  and  subscribe  to 
these  very  articles,  thus  agreeing  in  a  unanimous 
profession  of  them,  with  the  insertion,  however,  of 
that  single  word" /lomoousios"  (consubstantial), 
an  expression  which  the  emperor  himself  ex- 
plained, as  not  indicating  corporeal  affections  or 
properties ;  and  consequently  that  the  Son  did 
not  subsist  from  the  Father  either  by  division  or 
abscission  :  for,  said  he,  a  nature  which  is  imma- 
terial and  incorporeal  cannot  possibly  be  subject 
to  any  corporeal  affection ;  hence  our  concep- 
tion of  such  things  can  only  be  in  divine  and 
mysterious  terms.  Such  was  the  philosophical 
view  of  the  sul)ject  taken  by  our  most  wise  and 
pious  sovereign  ;  and  the  bishops  on  account  of 
the  word  homooiisios,  drew  up  this  formula  of 
faith. 

The  Creed." 

' "  We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Al- 
mighty, Maker  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible  : 
—  and  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  that  is 
of  the  substance  of  the   Father ;  God  of  God, 

21  na0TiTev(TaTe.  from  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 
^2  TO  iMaBrjfxa:   lit.  '  lesson.' 


Light  of  light,  true  God  of  true  God  ;  begotten 
not  made,  consubstantial  with  the  Father;  by"' 
whom  all  things  were  made  both  which  are  in 
heaven  and  on  earth  ;  who  for  the  sake  of  us 
men,  and  on  account  of  our  salvation,  descended, 
became  incarnate,  was  made  man,  suffered  and 
rose  again  on  the  third  day ;  he  ascended  into 
the  heavens,  and  will  come  to  judge  the  living 
and  the  dead.  [We  believe]  also  in  the  Holy 
Spirit.  But  those  who  say  '  There  was  a  time 
when  he  was  not,'  or  *  He  did  not  exist  before 
he  was  begotten,'  or  '  He  was  made  of  nothing,' 
or  assert  that  '  He  is  of  other  substance  or  es- 
sence than  the  Father,'  or  that  the  Son  of  God 
is  created,  or  mutable,  or  susceptible  of  change, 
the  Catholic  and  apostolic  Church  of  God  anathe- 
matizes." 

'  Now  this  declaration  of  faith  being  pro- 
pounded by  them,  we  did  not  neglect  to  investi- 
gate the  distinct  sense  of  the  expressions  "  of  the 
substance  of  the  Father,  and  consubstantial  with 
the  Father.'/  Whereupon  questions  were  put 
forth  and  answers,  and  the  meaning  of  these 
terms  was  clearly  defined  ;  when  it  was  generally 
admitted  that  ousias  (of  the  essence  or  sub- 
stance) simply  implied  that  the  Son  is  of  the 
Father  indeed,  but  does  not  subsist  as  a  part  of 
the  Father.  To  this  interpretation  of  the  sacred 
doctrine  which  declares  that  the  Son  is  of  the 
Father,  but  is  not  a  part  of  his  substance,  it 
seemed  right  to  us  to  assent.  We  ourselves 
therefore  concurred  in  this  exposition ;  nor  do 
we  cavil  at  the  word  "  Jioniooiisios''^  having  regard 
to  peace,  and  fearing  to  lose  a  right  understand- 
ing of  the  matter.  On  the  same  grounds  we  ad- 
mitted also  the  expression  "  begotten,  not  made  " : 
'•  for  Jiiade,'"  said  they,  "  is  a  term  applicable  in 
common  to  all  the  creatures  which  were  made 
by  the  Son,  to  whom  the  Son  has  no  resemblance. 
Consequently  he  is  no  creature  like  those  which 
were  made  by  him,  but  is  of  a  substance  far  ex- 
celling any  creature  ;  which  substance  the  Divine 
Oracles  teach  was  begotten  of  the  Father  by 
such  a  mode  of  generation  as  cannot  be  explained 
nor  even  conceived  by  any  creature."  Thus  also 
the  declaration  that  "  the  Son  is  consubstantial 
with  the  Father"  having  been  discussed,  it  was 
agreed  that  this  must  not  be  understood  in  a 
corporeal  sense,  or  in  any  way  analogous  to  mor- 
tal creatures ;  inasmuch  as  it  is  neither  by  divi- 
sion of  substance,  nor  by  abscission,  nor  by  any 
change  of  the  Father's  substance  and  power, 
since  the  underived  nature  of  the  Father  is  in- 
consistent with  all  these  things.  ,'J'hat  he  is 
consubstantial  with  the  Father  then  simply  im- 
plies, that  the  Son  of  God  has  no  resemblance 
to  created  things,  but  is  in  every  respect  like  the 
Father  only  who  begat  him  ;  and  that  he  is  of 

""  Through. 


12 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1.8. 


no  other  substance  or  essence  but  of  the  Father) 
To  which  doctrine,  explained  in  this  way,  it 
appeared  right  to  assent,  especially  since  we 
knew  that  some  eminent  bishops  and  learned 
writers  among  the  ancients  have  used  the  term 
'^ho/nooi/sios'"  in  their  theological  discourses  con- 
cerning the  nature  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
Such  is  what  I  have  to  state  to  you  in  reference 
to  the  articles  of  faith  which  have  been  promul- 
gated ;  and  in  which  we  have  all  concurred,  not 
without  due  examination,  but  according  to  the 
senses  assigned,  which  were  investigated  in  the 
presence  of  our  most  highly  favored  emperor, 
and  for  the  reasons  mentioned  approved.  We 
have  also  considered  the  anathema  pronounced 
by  them  after  the  declaration  of  faith  inoffensive  ; 
because  it  prohibits  the  use  of  illegitimate  -■* 
terms,  from  which  almost  all  the  distraction  and 
commotion  of  the  churches  have  arisen.  Accord- 
ingly, since  no  divinely  inspired  Scripture  con- 
tains the  expressions,  "  of  things  which  do  not 
exist,"  and  "  there  was  a  time  when  he  was  not," 
and  such  other  phrases  as  are  therein  subjoined, 
it  seemed  unwarrantable  to  utter  and  teach 
them  :  and  moreover  this  decision  received  our 
sanction  the  rather  from  the  consideration  that 
we  have  never  heretofore  been  accustomed  to 
employ  these  terms.  We  deemed  it  incumbent 
on  us,  beloved,  to  acquaint  you  with  the  caution 
which  has  characterized  both  our  examination 
of  and  concurrence  in  these  things  :  and  that 
on  justifiable  grounds  we  resisted  to  the  last 
moment  the  introduction  of  certain  objectionable 
expressions  as  long  as  these  were  not  acceptable  ; 
and  received  them  without  dispute,  when  on 
mature  deliberation  as  we  examined  the  sense 
of  the  words,  they  appeared  to  agree  with  what 
we  had  originally  proj^osed  as  a  sound  confes- 
sion of  faith.' 

Such  was  the  letter  addressed  by  Eusebius 
Pamphilus  to  the  Christians  at  Caesarea  in  Pales- 
tine. At  the  same  time  the  Synod  itself  also, 
with  one  accord,  wrote  the  following  epistle  to 
the  church  of  the  Alexandrians,  and  to  believers 
in  Egypt,  Libya,  and  Pentapolis. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Letter  of  the  Synod,  relative  to  its  Decisions  : 
and  the  Condcnination  of  Ariiis  and  those 
who  agreed  with  him. 

To  the  holy,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  great 
church  of  the  Alexandrians,  and  to  our  beloved 
brethren  throughout  Egypt,  Libya,  and  Pentapo- 
lis, the  bishops  assembled  at  Nicsea,  constituting 

-''  aypa<j>ois:  lit.  'unwritten,'  but  defined  by  Hesychius  as 
above. 


the  great  and  holy  Synod,  send  greeting  in  the 
Lord. 

Since,  by  the  grace  of  God,  a  great  and  holy 
Synod  has  been  convened  at  Nicsea,  our  most 
pious  sovereign  Constantine  having  summoned 
us  out  of  various  cities  and  provinces  for  that 
purpose,  it  appeared  to  us  indispensably  neces- 
sary that  a  letter  should  be  written  to  you  on  the 
part  of  the  sacred  Synod  ;  in  order  that  ye  may 
know  what  subjects  were  brought  under  consid- 
eration and  examined,  and  what  was  eventually 
determined  on  and  decreed. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  the  impiety  and  guilt 
of  Arius  and  his  adherents  were  examined  into, 
in  the  presence  of  our  most  religious  emperor 
Constantine  :  and  it  was  unanimously  decided 
that  his  impious  opinion  should  be  anathema- 
tized, with  all  the  blasphemous  expressions  he 
has  uttered,  in  affirming  that  '  the  Son  of  God 
sprang  from  nothing,'  and  that '  there  was  a  time 
when  he  was  not '  ;  saying  moreover  that '  the  Son 
of  God,  because  possessed  of  free  will,  was  capa- 
ble either  of  vice  or  virtue;  and  calling  him  a 
creature  and  a  work.  All  these  sentiments  the 
holy  Synod  has  anathematized,  having  scarcely 
patience  to  endure  the  hearing  of  such  an  im- 
pious opinion,  or,  rather,  madness,  and  such 
l3lasphemous  words.  But  the  conclusion  of  our 
proceedings  against  him  you  must  either  have 
been  informed  of  already  or  will  soon  learn  ;  for 
we  would  not  seem  to  trample  on  a  man  who 
has  received  the  chastisement  which  his  crime 
deserved.  Yet  so  contagious  has  his  pestilential 
error  proved,  as  to  drag  into  perdition  Theonas, 
bishop  of  Marmarica,  and  Secundus  of  Ptole- 
ma'is  ;  for  they  have  suffered  the  same  condem- 
nation as  himself.  But  when  the  grace  of  God 
delivered  us  from  those  execrable  dogmas,  with 
all  their  impiety  and  blasphemy,  and  from  those 
persons,  who  had  dared  to  cause  discord  and 
division  among  a  people  previously  at  peace, 
there  still  remained  the  contumacy  of  Melitius 
[to  be  dealt  with]  and  those  who  had  been  or- 
dained by  him ;  and  we  now  state  to  you,  be- 
loved brethren,  what  resolution  the  Synod  came 
to  on  this  point.  It  was  decreed,  the  Synod 
being  moved  to  great  clemency  towards  Melitius, 
although  strictly  speaking  he  was  wholly  unde- 
ser\'ing  of  favor,  that  he  remain  in  his  own  city, 
but  exercise  no  authority  either  to  ordain  or 
nominate  for  ordination ;  and  that  he  appear 
in  no  other  district  or  city  on  this  pretense,  but 
simply  retain  a  nominal  dignity.  That  those  who 
had  received  appointments  from  him,  after  hav- 
ing been  confirmed  by  a  more  legitimate  ordina- 
tion, should  be  admitted  to  communion  on  these 
conditions  :  that  they  should  continue  to  hold 
their  rank  and  ministry,  but  regard  themselves 
as  inferior  in  every  respect  to  all  those  who  have 
been  ordained  and  established  in  each  place  and 


I.  9] 


LETTERS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  AND  OF  CONSTANTINE. 


13 


church  by  our  most-honored  fellow-minister, 
Alexander,  so  that  they  shall  have  no  authority 
to  propose  or  nominate  whom  they  please,  or  to 
do  anything  at  all  without  the  concurrence  of 
some  bishop  of  the  Catholic  Church  who  is  one 
of  Alexander's  suffragans.  On  the  other  hand, 
such  as  by  the  grace  of  God  and  your  prayers 
have  been  found  in  no  schism,  but  have  con- 
tinued in  the  Catholic  Church  blameless,  shall 
have  authority  to  nominate  and  ordain  those 
who  are  worthy  of  the  sacred  office,'  and  to  act 
in  all  things  according  to  ecclesiastical  law  and 
usage.  When  it  may  happen  that  any  of  those 
holding  preferments  in  the  church  die,  then  let 
these  who  have  been  thus  recently  admitted  be 
advanced  to  the  dignity  of  the  deceased,  pro- 
vided that  they  should  appear  worthy,  and  that 
the  people  should  elect  them,  the  bishop  of  Al- 
exandria also  ratifying  their  choice.  This  privi- 
lege is  conceded  to  all  the  others  indeed,  but  to 
jMelitius  personally  we  by  no  means  grant  the 
same  license,  on  account  of  his  former  disorderly 
conduct,  and  because  of  the  rashness  and  levity 
of  his  character,  in  order  that  no  authority  or 
jurisdiction  should  be  given  him  as  a  man  liable 
again  to  create  similar  disturbances.  These  are 
the  things  which  specially  affect  Egypt,  and  the 
most  holy  church  of  the  Alexandrians  :  and  if 
any  other  canon  or  ordinance  has  been  estab- 
lished, our  Lord  and  most-honored  fellow-minis- 
ter and  brother  Alexander  being  present  with  us, 
will  on  his  return  to  you  enter  into  more  minute 
details,  inasmuch  as  he  has  been  a  participator  in 
whatever  is  transacted,  and  has  had  the  principal 
direction  of  it.  We  have  also  gratifying  intelli- 
gence to  communicate  to  you  relative  to  unity 
of  judgment  on  the  subject  of  the  most  holy 
feast  of  Easter  :  for  this  point  also  has  been  hap- 
pily settled  through  your  prayers  ;  so  that  all  the 
brethren  in  the  East  who  have  heretofore  kept 
this  festival  when  the  Jews  did,  will  henceforth 
conform  to  the  Romans  and  to  us,  and  to  all  who 
from  the  earliest  time  have  observed  our  period 
of  celebrating  Easter.  Rejoicing  therefore  in 
these  conclusions  and  in  the  general  unanimity 
and  peace,  as  well  as  in  the  extirpation  of  all 
heresy,  receive  with  the  greater  honor  and 
more  abundant  love  our  fellow-minister  and  your 
bishop  Alexander,  who  has  greatly  delighted  us 
by  his  presence,  and  even  at  his  advanced  age 
has  undergone  extraordinary  exertions  in  order 
that  peace  might  be  re-established  among  you. 
Pray  on  behalf  of  us  all,  that  the  things  decided 
as  just  may  be  inviolably  maintained  through 
Almighty  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to- 
gether with  the  Holy  Spirit ;  to  whom  be  glory 
for  ever.     Amen. 

This  epistle  of  the  Synod  makes  it  plain  that 
they  not  only  anathematized  Arius  and  his  ad- 


herents, but  the  very  expressions  of  his  tenets ; 
and  that  having  agreed  among  themselves  re- 
specting the  ceiebration  of  Easter,  they  read- 
mitted the  heresiarch  Melitius  into  communion, 
suffering  him  to  retain  his  episcopal  rank,  but 
divesting  him  of  all  authority  to  act  as  a  bishop. 
It  is  for  this  reason  I  suppose  that  even  at  the 
present  time  the  Melitians  in  Egypt  are  separated 
from  the  church,  because  the  Synod  deprived 
iVlelitius  of  all  power.  It  should  be  observed 
moreover  that  Arius  had  written  a  treatise  on 
his  -own  opinion  which  he  entitled  Thalia  ;  but 
the  character  of  the  book  is  loose  and  dissolute, 
similar  in  its  style  and  metres  to  the  songs  of 
Sotades.-  This  production  also  the  Synod  con- 
demned at  the  same  time.  Nor  was  it  the  Synod 
alone  that  took  the  trouble  to  write  letters  to 
the  churches  announcing  the  restoration  of  peace, 
but  the  emperor  Constantine  himself  also  wrote 
personally  and  sent  the  following  address  to  the 
church  of  the  Alexandrians. 

The  Emperor^ s  Letter. 

Constantine  Augustus,  to  the  Catholic  church 
of  the  Alexandrians.  Beloved  brethren,  hail  ! 
We  have  received  from  Divine  Providence  the 
inestimable  blessing  of  being  reheved  from  all 
error,  and  united  in  the  acknowledgment  of  one 
and  the  same  faith.  The  devil  will  no  longer 
have  any  power  against  us,  since  all  that  which 
he  had  malignantly  devised  for  our  destruction 
has  been  entirely  overthrown  from  the  founda- 
tions. The  splendor  of  truth  has  dissipated  at 
the  command  of  God  those  dissensions,  schisms, 
tumults,  and  so  to  speak,  deadly  poisons  of  dis- 
cord. Wherefore  we  all  worship  one  true  God, 
and  believe  that  he  is.  But  in  order  that  this 
might  be  done,  by  divine  admonition  I  assem- 
bled at  the  city  of  Nicgea  most  of  the  bishops ; 
with  whom  I  myself  also,  who  am  but  one  of 
you,  and  who  rejoice  exceedingly  in  being  your 
fellow-servant,  undertook  the  investigation  of 
the  truth.  Accordingly,  all  points  which  seemed 
in  consequence  of  ambiguity  to  furnish  any  pre- 
text for  dissension,  have  been  discussed  and 
accurately  examined.  And  may  the  Divine 
Majesty  pardon  the  fearful  enormity  of  the 
blasphemies  which  some  were  shamelessly  utter- 
ing concerning  the  mighty  Saviour,  our  life  and 
hope  ;  declaring  and  confessing  that  they  believe 
things  contrary  to  the  divinely  inspired  Scrip- 
tures. While  more  than  three  hundred  bishops 
remarkable  for  their  moderation  and  intellectual 
keenness,  were  unanimous  in  their  confirmation 
of  one  and  the  same  faith,  which  according  to 
the  truth  and  legitimate  construction  of  the  law 

1  itAtjpov:  cf.  Bingham,  Eccl.  Antif).  I.  5. 

2  Sotades,  a  Maronite,  characterized  a«  obscene.  On  the  doctrines 
of  the  Maronites,  cf.  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  Ch.  XLVII. 
sect.  3. 


14 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1-9- 


of  God  can  only  be  the  faith ;  Arius  alone 
beguiled  by  the  subtlety  of  the  devil,  was  dis- 
covered to  be  the  sole  disseminator  of  this 
mischief,  first  among  you,  ana  afterwards  with 
unhallowed  purposes  among  others  also.  Let 
us  therefore  embrace  that  doctrine  which  the 
Almighty  has  presented  to  us  :  let  us  return  to 
our  beloved  brethren  from  whom  an  irreverent 
servant  of  the  devil  has  separated  us  :  let  us  go 
with  all  speed  to  the  common  body  and  our 
own  natural  members.  For  this  is  becoming 
your  penetration,  faith  and  sanctity  ;  that  since 
the  error  has  been  proved  to  be  due  to  him 
who  is  an  enemy  to  the  truth,  ye  should  return 
to  the  divine  favor.  For  that  which  has  com- 
mended itself  to  the  judgment  of  three  hundred 
bishops  cannot  be  other  than  the  doctrine  of 
God ;  seeing  that  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in 
the^ minds  of  so  many  dignified  persons  has  ef- 
fectually enlightened  them  respecting  the  Divine 
will.  Wherefore  let  no  one  vacillate  or  linger, 
but  let  all  with  alacrity  return  to  the  undoubted 
path  of  duty  ;  that  when  I  shall  arrive  among 
you,  which  will  be  as  soon  as  possible,  I  may 
with  you  return  due  thanks  to  God,  the  inspector 
of  all  things,  for  having  revealed  the  pure  faith, 
and  restored  to  you  that  love  for  which  ye  have 
prayed.    May  God  protect  you,  beloved  brethren. 

Thus  wrote  the  emperor  to  the  Christians  of 
Alexandria,  assuring  them  that  the  exposition 
of  the  faith  was  neither  made  rashly  nor  at 
random,  but  that  it  was  dictated  with  much 
research,  and  after  strict  investigation  :  and  not 
that  some  things  were  spoken  of,  while  others 
were  suppressed  in  silence  ;  but  that  whatever 
could  be  fittingly  advanced  in  su])port  of  any 
opinion  was  fully  stated.  That  nothing  indeed 
was  precipitately  determined,  but  all  was  pre- 
viously discussed  with  minute  accuracy  ;  so  that 
every  point  which  seemed  to  furnish  a  pretext 
for  ambiguity  of  meaning,  or  difference  of  opin- 
ion, was  thoroughly  sifted,  and  its  difficulties 
removed.  In  short  he  terms  the  thought  of  all 
those  who  were  assembled  there  the  thought  of 
God,  and  does  not  doubt  that  the  unanimity  of 
so  many  eminent  bishops  was  effected  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Sabinus,  however,  the  chief  of  the 
heresy  of  the  Macedonians,  willfully  rejects  these 
authorities,  and  calls  those  who  were  convened 
there  ignorant  and  illiterate  persons  ;  nay,  he 
almost  accuses  Eusebius  of  C^esarea,  himself  of 
ignprance  :  nor  does  he  reflect,  that  even  if  those 
who  constituted  that  synod  had  been  laymen, 
yet  as  being  illuminated  by  God,  and  the  grace 
of  the  'Holy  Spirit,  they  were  utterly  unable  to 
err  from  the  truth.''     Nevertheless,  hear  farther 

^  It  has  always  been  the  common  belief  of  the  Eastern  Church 
that  the  ecumenical  councils  wore  inspired  in  the  same  sense  as  the 
writers  of  the  Sacred  .Scriptures.  Socrates  in  this  respect  simply 
reflects  the  opinion  of  the  age  and  region. 


what  the  emperor  decreed  in  another  circular 
both  against  Arius  and  those  who  held  his  opin- 
ions, sending  it  in  all  directions  to  the  bishops 
and  people. 

Another  Epistle  of  Cojisfantine. 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus,  to  the 
bishops  and  people.  — ISince  Arius  has  imita- 
ted wicked  and  impious  persons,  it  Is  just  that 
he  should  undergo  the  like  ignominy.  Where- 
fore as  Porphyry,^  that  enemy  of  piety,  for  hav- 
ing composed  licentious  treatises  against  relig- 
ion, found  a  suitable  recompense,  and  such  as 
thenceforth  branded  him  with  infamy,  over- 
whelming him  with  deserved  reproach,  his  im- 
pious writings  also  having  been  destroyed  ;  so 
now  it  seems  fit  both  that  Arius  and  such  as 
hold  his  sentiments  should  be  denominated 
Porphyrians,  that  they  may  take  their  appella- 
tion from  those  whose  conduct  they  have  imi- 
tated. And  in  addition  to  this,  if  any  treatise 
composed  by  Arius  should  be  discovered,  let  it 
be  consigned  to  the  flames,  in  order  that  not 
only  his  depraved  doctrine  may  be  suppressed, 
but  also  that  no  memorial  of  him  may  be  by  any 
means  left.  This  therefore  I  decree,  that  if  any 
one  shall  be  detected  in  concealing  a  book  com- 
piled by  Arius,  and  shall  not  instantly  bring  it 
forward  and  burn  it,  the  penalty  for  this  offense 
shall  be  death;  for  immediately  after  conviction 
the  criminal  shall  suffer  capital  punishment. 
May  God  preserve  you  ! 

Another  Epistle^ 

Constantine  Augustus,  to  the  Churches. 

Having  experienced  from  the  flourishing  con- 
dition of  public  affairs,  how  great  has  been  the 
grace  of  divine  power,  I  judged  this  to  be  an 
object  above  all  things  claiming  my  care,  that 
one  faith,  with  sincere  love,  and  uniform  piety 
toward  Almighty  God  should  be  maintained 
amongst  the  most  blessed  assemblies  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  But  inasmuch  as  I  perceived 
that  this  could  not  be  firmly  and  permanently 
established,  unless  all,  or  at  least  the  greatest 
part  of  the  bishops  could  be  convened  in  the 
same  place,  and  every  point  of  our  most  holy 
religion  should  be  discussed  by  them  in  council  ; 
therefore  as  many  as  possible  were  assembled, 
and  I  myself  also  as  one  of  you  was  present ; 
for  I  will  not  deny  what  I  especially  rejoice  in, 
that  I  am  your  fellow-servant.  All  points  were 
then  minutely  investigated,  until  a  decision  ac- 
ceptable to  Him  who  is  the  inspector  of  all 
things,  was  published  for  the  promotion  of  uni- 

<  Cf.  III.  23,  where  the  author  makes  further  mention  of  Por- 
phyry and  his  writings;  see  also  Smith,  Diet. of  Greek  and  Ro7nan. 
Biog. 

'  Euseb.  Life  0/ Const.  III.  17-19. 


I.  9.] 


CONSTANTINE'S    CIRCULAR    TO    THE    CHURCHES. 


15 


formity  of  judgment  and  practice  ;  so  that  noth- 
ina:  misrht  be  henceforth  left  for  dissension  or 
controversy  in  matters  of  faitli.  There  also  the 
question  having  been  considered  relative  to  the 
most  holy  day  of  Easter,  it  was  determined  by 
common  consent  that  it  should  be  proper  that 
all  should  celebrate  it  on  one  and  the  same  day 
everywhere.  For  what  can  be  more  appropriate, 
or  what  more  solemn,  than  that  this  feast  from 
which  we  have  received  the  hope  of  immortality, 
should  be  invariably  kept  in  one  order,  and  for 
an  obvious  reason  among  all  ?  And  in  the  first 
place,  it  seemed  very  unworthy  of  this  most  sa- 
cred feast,  that  we  should  keep  it  following  the 
custom  of  the  Jews ;  a  people  who  having  im- 
brued their  hands  in  a  most  heinous  outrage, 
have  thus  polluted  their  souls,  and  are  deserv- 
edly blind.  Having  then  cast  aside  their  usage, 
we  are  free  to  see  to  it  that  the  celebration  of 
this  observance  should  occur  in  future  in  the 
more  correct  order  which  we  have  kept  from  the 
first  day  of  the  Passion  until  the  present  time. 
Therefore  have  nothing  in  common  with  that 
most  hostile  people  the  Jews.  We  have  received 
from  the  Saviour  another  way ;  for  there  is  set 
before  us  both  a  legitimate  and  accurate  course 
in  our  hply  religion  :  unanimously  pursuing  this, 
let  us,  most  honored  brethren,  withdraw  our- 
selves from  that  detestable  association.  For  it 
is  truly  absurd  for  them  to  boast  that  we  are  in- 
capable of  rightly  observing  these  things  without 
their  instruction.  For  on  what  subject  will  they 
be  competent  to  form  a  correct  judgment,  who 
after  that  murder  of  their  Lord,  having  been 
bereft  of  their  senses,  are  led  not  by  any  rational 
motive,  but  by  an  ungovernable  impulse,  wher- 
ever their  innate  fury  may  drive  them?  Thence 
it  is  therefore,  that  even  in  this  particular  they 
do  not  perceive  the  tmth,  so  that  they  constantly 
erring  in  the  utmost  degree,  instead  of  making 
a  suitable  correction,  celebrate  the  Feast  of 
Passover  a  second  time  in  the  same  year.''  Why 
then  should  we  follow  the  example  of  those  who 
are  acknowledged  to  be  infected  with  grievous 
error?  Surely  we  should  never  suffer  Easter  to 
be  kept  twice  in  one  and  the  same  year  !  But 
even  if  these  considerations  were  not  laid  before 
you,  it  became  your  prudence  at  all  times  to  take 
heed,  both  by  diligence  and  prayer,  that  the  pu- 
rity of  your  soul  should  in  nothing  have  com- 
munion, or  seem  to  do  so  with  the  customs  of 
men  so  utterly  depraved.  Moreover  this  should 
also  be  considered,  that  in  a  matter  so  important 
and  of  such  religious  significance,  the  slightest 
disagreement  is  most  irreverent.     For  our  Sa- 

^  As  the  Jewish  Passover  month  was  a  lunar  month  and  began 
on  the  fifth  day  of  March  and  ended  on  the  third  of  April,  it  hap- 
pened sometimes  that  their  Passover  began  before  the  equinox  (the 
beginning  of  the  solar  year),  so  that  they  celebrated  two  Passovers 
during  the  same  solar  year.  Their  own  year  being  lunar,  of  course 
they  never  celebrated  the  Passover  twice  in  a  year  according  to  their 
point  of  view. 


viour  left  us  but  one  day  to  be  observed  in  com- 
memoration of  our  deliverance,  that  is  the  day 
of  his  most  holy  Passion  :  he  also  wished  his 
Catholic  Church  to  be  one  ;  the  members  of 
which,  however  much  they  may  be  scattered  in 
various  places,  are  notwithstanding  cherished  by 
one  Spirit,  that  is  by  the  will  of  God.  Let  the 
pnidence  consistent  with  your  sacred  character 
consider  how  grievous  and  indecorous  it  is,  that 
on  the  same  days  some  should  be  obsening 
fasts,  while  others  are  celebrating  feasts ;  and 
after  the  days  of  Easter  some  should  indulge  in 
festivities  and  enjoyments,  and  others  submit  to 
appointed  fastings.  On  this  account  therefore 
Divine  Providence  directed  that  an  appropriate 
correction  should  be  effected,  and  uniformity 
of  practice  established,  as  I  suppose  you  are  all 
aware. 

Since  then  it  was  desirable  that  this  should 
be  so  amended  that  we  should  have  nothing  in 
common  with  that  nation  of  parricides,  and  of 
those  who  slew  their  Lord ;  and  since  the  order 
is  a  becoming  one  which  is  observed  by  all  the 
churches  of  the  western,  southern,  and  northern 
parts,  and  by  some  also  in  the  eastern  ;  from 
these  considerations  for  the  present  all  thought 
it  to  be  proper,  and  I  pledged  myself  that  it 
would  be  satisfactory  to  your  prudent  penetra- 
tion, that  what  is  observed  with  such  general 
unanimity  of  sentiment  in  the  city  of  Rome, 
throughout  Italy,  Africa,  all  Egypt,  Spain,  France, 
Britain,  Libya,  the  whole  of  Greece,  and  the 
dioceses  of  Asia,  Pontus,  and  Cilicia,  your  intel- 
Hgence  also  would  cheerfully  accept ;  reflecting 
too  that  not  only  is  there  a  greater  number  of 
churches  in  the  places  before  mentioned,  but 
also  that  this  in  particular  is  a  most  sacred  obli- 
gation, that  all  should  in  common  desire  what- 
ever strict  reason  seems  to  demand,  and  what 
has  no  communion  with  the  perjury  of  the  Jews. 
But  to  sum  up  matters  briefly,  it  was  determined 
by  common  consent  that  the  most  holy  festival 
of  Easter  should  be  solemnized  on  one  and  the 
same  day ;  for  it  is  not  even  seemly  that  there 
should  be  in  such  a  hallowed  solemnity  any 
difference  :  and  it  is  more  commendable  to  adopt 
that  opinion  in  which  there  will  be  no  intermix- 
ture of  strange  error,  or  deviation  from  what  is 
right.  These  things  therefore  being  thus  con- 
sistent, do  you  gladly  receive  this  heavenly  and 
truly  divine  command  :  for  whatever  is  done  in 
the  sacred  assemblies  of  the  bishops  is  referable 
to  the  Divine  will.  Wherefore,  when  ye  have 
indicated  the  things  which  have  been  prescribed 
to  all  our  beloved  brethren,  it  behooves  you  ta 
publish  the  above  written  statements  and  to 
accept  the  reasoning  which  has  been  adduced, 
and  to  establish  this  observance  of  the  most  holy 
day  :  that  when  I  arrive  at  the  long  and  earnestly 
desired  view  of  your   order,  I  may  be  able  to 


i6 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1.9. 


celebrate  the  sacred  festival  with  you  on  one  and 
the  same  day ;  and  may  rejoice  with  you  for  all 
things,  in  seeing  Satanic  cruelty  frustrated  by 
divine  power  through  our  efforts,  while  your  faith, 
peace  and  concord  are  everywhere  flourishing. 
May  God  preserve  you,  beloved  brethren. 

Another  Epistle  to  Eusebiusl 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus,  to 
Eusebius. 

Since  an  impious  purpose  and  tyranny  have 
•even  to  the  present  time  persecuted  the  servants 
of  God  our  Saviour,  I  have  been  credibly  in- 
formed and  am  fully  persuaded,  most  beloved 
brother,  that  all  our  sacred  edifices  have  either 
by  neglect  gone  to  decay,  or  from  dread  of 
impending  danger  have  not  been  adorned  with 
becoming  dignity.  But  now  that  liberty  has 
been  restored,  and  that  persecuting  dragon  Li- 
cinius  has  by  the  providence  of  the  Most  High 
God,  and  our  instrumentahty,  been  removed 
from  the  administration  of  public  affairs,  I  imag- 
ine that  the  divine  power  has  been  made  man- 
ifest to  all,  and  at  the  same  time  that  those  who 
either  through  fear  or  unbelief  fell  into  any  sins, 
having  acknowledged  the  living  God,  will  come 
to  the  true  and  right  course  of  life.  Wherefore 
enjoin  the  churches  over  which  you  yourself 
preside,  as  well  as  the  other  bishops  presiding 
in  various  places,  together  with  the  presbyters 
and  deacons  whom  you  know,  to  be  diligent 
about  the  sacred  edifices,  either  by  repairing 
those  which  remain  standing,  or  enlarging  them, 
or  by  erecting  new  ones  wherever  it  may  be 
requisite.  And  do  you  yourself  ask,  and  the 
rest  through  you,  the  necessary  supplies  both 
from  the  governors  of  the  provinces,  and  the 
officers  of  the  prjetorian  prefecture  :  for  direc- 
tions have  been  given  to  them  to  execute  with 
all  diligence  the  orders  of  your  holiness.  May 
God  preserve  you,  beloved  brother. 

These  instructions,  concerning  the  building 
of  churches  were  sent  by  the  emperor  to  the 
bishops  in  every  province  :  but  what  he  wrote 
to  Eusebius  of  Palestine  respecting  the  prepara- 
tion of  some  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  we  may 
ascertain  from  the  letters  themselves  :  * 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus,  to 
Eusebius  of  Csesarea. 

In  the  city  which  derives  its  name  from  us, 
a  very  great  multitude  of  persons,  through  the 
assisting  providence  of  our  Saviour  God,  have 
united  themselves  to  the  most  holy  Church,  so 
that  it  has  received  much  increase  there.     It  is 

'■  Valesius  thinks  this  letter  is  misplaced;  as  it  alludes  to  the 
death  of  Licinius  as  a  recent  event,  he  thinks  it  must  have  been 
written  about  315-316  a.d.,  hence  ten  years  before  the  Council  of 
Isiica;a.     Cf.  Euseb.  Life  0/ Const.  II.  46. 

*  Euseb.  Lilfe  of  Const.  IV,  36. 


therefore  requisite  that  more  churches  should 
be  furnished  in  that  place  :  wherefore  do  you 
most  cordially  enter  into  the  purpose  which  I 
have  conceived.  I  have  thought  fit  to  intimate 
this  to  your  prudence,  that  you  should  order  to 
be  transcribed  on  well-prepared  parchment,  by 
competent  writers  accurately  acquainted  with 
their  art,  fifty  copies  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
both  legibly  described,  and  of  a  portable  size, 
the  provision  and  use  of  which  you  know  to  be 
needful  for  the  instruction  of  the  Church.  Let- 
ters have  also  been  despatched  from  our  clem- 
ency, to  the  financial  agent '-•  of  the  diocese  that 
he  be  careful  to  provide  all  things  necessary  for 
the  preparation  of  them.  That  these  copies 
may  be  got  ready  as  quickly  as  possible,  let  it 
be  a  task  for  your  diligence  :  and  you  are  au- 
thorized, on  the  warrant  of  this  our  letter,  to 
use  two  of  the  public  carriages  for  their  convey- 
ance ;  for  thus  the  copies  which  are  most  satis- 
factorily transcribed,  may  be  easily  conveyed  for 
our  inspection,  one  of  the  deacons  of  your 
church  fulfilling  this  commission ;  who  when  he 
has  reached  us  shall  experience  our  bounty. 
May  God  preserve  you,  beloved  brother. 

Another  Epistle  to  Alacariusy^ 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus,  to 
Macarius  of  Jerusalem.  —  Such  is  the  grace  of 
our  Saviour,  that  no  supply  of  words  seems  to 
be  adequate  to  the  expression  of  its  present 
manifestation.  For  that  the  monument  "  of  his 
most  holy  passion,  long  since  hidden  under  the 
earth,  should  have  lain  concealed  for  a  period 
of  so  many  years,  until,  through  the  destruction 
of  the  common  enemy  of  all,'-  it  should  shine 
forth  to  his  own  servants  after  their  having  re- 
gained their  freedom,  exceeds  all  admiration. 
For  if  all  those  who  throughout  the  whole  habi- 
table earth  are  accounted  wise,  should  be  con- 
vened in  one  and  the  same  place,  desiring  to 
say  something  worthy  of  the  event,  they  would 
fall  infinitely  short  of  the  least  part  of  it ;  for  the 
apprehension  of  this  wonder  as  far  transcends 
every  nature  capable  of  human  reasoning,  as 
heavenly  things  are  mightier  than  human.  Hence 
therefore  this  is -always  my  especial  aim,  that  as 
the  credibility  of  the  truth  daily  demonstrates 
itself  by  fresh  miracles,  so  the  souls  of  us  all 
should  become  more  diligent  respecting  the  holy 


^  6iotK>j<reu!  KoBokiKov:  this  office  was  peculiar  to  the  Eastern 
Church.  The  nearest  equivalent  to  it  in  the  terminology  of  the 
Western  Church  is  that  of  vicar-general:  but  as  the  nim-technical 
expression  '  financial  agent '  describes  the  official  to  the  modern 
reader,  it  has  been  adopted  in  the  present  translation.  Concerning 
the  office,  cf.  Euseb.  //.  E.  VII.  10.  It  may  be  also  noted  that  the 
very  common  ecclesiastical  term  diocese  (Sioncrjcri?)  originated  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Constantine,  as  becomes  evident  from  his  letters. 
See  Eureb.  Lifr  of  Const.  III.  36. 

'"  Euseb.  Li/c  of  Const.  III.  30. 

"  -yriopio-Ma:  the  sepulchre  near  Calvary  commonly  known  as 
the  Saviour's  is  meant. 

'-  Licinius. 


T.  lo.] 


CONSTANTINE'S    PATRONAGE    OF   THE    CHURCH. 


17 


law,  with  modesty  and  unanimous  eagerness. 
But  I  desire  that  you  should  be  fully  aware  of 
what  I  conceive  is  i)retty  generally  known,  that 
it  is  now  my  chief  care,  that  we  should  adorn 
with  magnificent  structures  that  hallowed  spot, 
which  by  God's  appointment  I  have  disencum- 
bered of  a  most  disgraceful  addition  ^'^  of  an 
idol,  as  of  some  grievous  burden ;  which  was 
consecrated  indeed  from  the  beginning  in  the 
purpose  of  (iod,  but  has  been  more  manifestly 
sanctified  since  he  has  brought  to  light  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Saviour's  passion.  Wherefore  it 
is  becoming  your  prudence  to  make  such  ar- 
rangements, and  provision  of  everything  neces- 
sary, that  not  only  a  church"  should  be  built 
in  itself  superior  to  any  elsewhere,  but  that  the 
rest  of  its  parts  also  may  be  such  that  all  the 
most  splendid  edifices  in  every  city  may  be  ex- 
celled by  this.  With  regard  to  the  workmanship 
and  chaste  execution  of  the  walls,  know  that  we 
have  entrusted  the  care  of  these  things  to  our 
friend  Dracilian,  deputy  to  the  most  illustrious 
prefects  of  the  pr?etorium,  and  to  the  governor 
of  the  province  :  for  my  piety  has  ordered  that 
artificers  and  workmen,  and  whatever  other 
things  they  may  be  informed  from  your  sagacity 
to  be  necessary  for  the  structure,  shall  through 
their  care  be  immediately  sent.  Respecting  the 
columns  or  the  marbles,  whatever  you  may  judge 
to  be  more  precious  and  useful,  do  you  yourself 
after  having  inspected  the  plan  take  care  to  write 
to  us ;  that  when  we  shall  understand  from  your 
letter  how  many  things  and  of  what  kind  there 
may  be  need  of,  these  may  be  conveyed  to  you 
from  all  quarters  :  for  it  is  but  just  that  the  most 
wonderful  place  in  the  world,  should  be  adorned 
in  accordance  with  its  dignity.  But  I  wish  to 
know  from  you,  whether  you  consider  that  the 
vault  of  the  basilica  should  be  fretted,  or  con- 
structed on  some  other  plan  :  for  if  it  is  to  be 
fretted,  it  can  also  be  decorated  with  gold.  It 
remains  that  your  holiness  should  inform  the 
officers  before  mentioned  as  soon  as  possible, 
how  many  workmen  and  artificers,  and  what 
money  for  expenses  you  will  want.  Be  careful 
at  the  same  time  to  report  to  me  speedily, 
not  only  concerning  the  marbles  and  columns, 
but  also  concerning  the  fretted  vault,  if  indeed 
you  should  decide  this  to  be  the  more  beautiful. 
May  God  preserve  you,  beloved  brother 

The  emperor  having  also  written  other  letters 
of  a  more  oratorical  character  against  Arius  and 
his  adherents,  caused  them  to  be  everywhere 
published  throughout  the  cities,  exposing  him  to 
ridicule,  and  taunting  him  with    irony.     More- 

^3  A  temple  of  Venus  built  by  Adrian,  the  emperor,  on  Mount 
Calvary. 

1*  ^ao-iAticTji/,  'basilica  ';  the  ancient  Roman  basilicas  were  often 
turned  into  churches.  The  term  has  become  familiar  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal architecture. 


over,  writing  to  the  Nicomedians  against  Euse- 
bius  and  Theognis,  he  censures  the  misconduct 
of  Eusebius,  not  only  on  account  of  his  Arian- 
ism,  but  because  also  having  formerly  been  well- 
affected  to  the  ruler,  he  had  traitorously  con- 
spired against  his  affairs.  Ele  then  exhorts  them 
to  elect  another  bishop  instead  of  him.  But  I 
thought  it  would  be  superfluous  to  insert  here 
the  letters  respecting  these  things,  because  of 
their  length  :  those  who  wish  to  do  so  may 
find  them  elsewhere  and  give  them  a  perusal. 
This  is  sufficient  notice  of  these  transactions. 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  Emperor  also  summons  to  the  Synod  Ace- 
sius,  Bishop  of  the  Novatians. 

The  emperor's  diligence  induces  me  to  men- 
tion another  circumstance  expressive  of  his 
mind,  and  serving  to  show  how  much  he  desired 
peace.  For  aiming  at  ecclesiastical  harmony, 
he  summoned  to  the  council  Acesius  also,  a 
bishop  of  the  sect  of  Novatians.  Now,  when 
the  declaration  of  faith  had  been  written  out 
and  subscribed  by  the  Synod,  the  emperor  asked 
Acesius  whether  he  would  also  agree  to  this 
creed  to  the  settlement  of  the  day  on  which 
Easter  should  be  observed.  He  replied,  '  The 
Synod  has  determined  nothing  new,  my  prince  : 
for  thus  heretofore,  even  from  the  beginning, 
from  the  times  of  the  apostles,  I  traditionally 
received  the  definition  of  the  faith,  and  the 
time  of  the  celebration  of  Easter.'  When, 
therefore,  the  emperor  further  asked  him,  '  For 
what  reason  then  do  you  separate  yourself  from 
communion  with  the  rest  of  the  Church?'  he 
related  what  had  taken  place  during  the  per- 
secution under  Decius ;  and  referred  to  the 
rigidness  of  that  austere  canon  which  declares, 
that  it  is  not  right  persons  who  after  baptism 
have  committed  a  sin,  which  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures denominate  '  a  sin  unto  death  '  ^  to  be 
considered  worthy  of  participation  in  the  sacra- 
ments :  -  that  they  should  indeed  be  exhorted  to 
repentance,  but  were  not  to  expect  remission 
from  the  priests,  but  from  God,  who  is  able  and 
has  authority  to  forgive  sins.^  When  Acesius 
had  thus  spoken,  the  emperor  said  to  him, 
'  Place  a  ladder,  Acesius,  and  climb  alone  into 
heaven.' ■*  Neither  Eusebius  Pamphilus  nor 
any  other  has  ever  mentioned  these  things  :  but 
I  heard  them  from  a  man  by  no  means  prone 
to  falsehood,  who  was  very  old,  and  simply  stated 
what  had  taken  place  in  the  council  in  the 
course  of  a  narrative.  From  which  I  conjec- 
ture that  those  who  have  passed  by  this  occur- 


^  John  V.  16. 

-    OciUll'  IJ.V(TTr]pCuH', 


3   Cf.  IV.  28. 
■•  Sozom.  I.  22. 


i8 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.    lO, 


rence  in  silence,  were  actuated  by  motives 
which  have  influenced  many  other  historians  : 
for  they  frequently  suppress  important  facts, 
either  from  prejudice  against  some,  or  partiality 
towards  others. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Of  the  Bishop  Paphiuttiiis. 

As  we  have  promised  above  ^  to  make  some 
mention  of  Paphnutius  and  Spyridon,  it  is  time 
to  speak  of  them   here.     Paphnutius   then  was 
bishop  of  one  of  the  cities  in  Upper  Thebes  : 
he  was  a  man  so  favored  divinely  that  extraor- 
dinary miracles  were  done  by  him.     In  the  time 
of  the  persecudon  he  had  been  deprived  of  one 
of  his   eyes.     The   emperor    honored  this   man 
exceedingly,    and    often    sent     for    him    to    the 
palace,  and  kissed  the  part  where  the  eye  had 
been  torn  out.     So  great  devoutness  character- 
ized the  emperor  Constantine.     Let  this  single 
fact  respecting  Paphnutius  suffice  :  I  shall  now 
explain    another    thing  which    came  to  pass  in 
consequence   of  his  advice,   both  for  the  good 
of  the   Church    and    the    honor    of  the    clergy. 
It  seemed  fit  to  the  bishops  to  introduce  a  new 
law  into   the    Church,  that  those  who  were   in 
holy  orders,  I  speak  of  bishops,  presbyters,  and 
deacons,  should   have   no  conjugal  intercourse 
with   the  wives  whom   they  had  married  while 
still    laymen.-      Now   when    discussion    on    this 
matter  was  impending,  Paphnutius  having  arisen 
in  the  midst  of  the  assembly  of  bishops,  earnesdy 
entreated  them  not  to  impose  so  heavy  a  yoke 
on    the    ministers    of    religion  :     asserting    that 
'  marriage    itself    is    honorable,    and     the     bed 
undefiled  '  ;^  urging  before  God  that  they  ought 
not   to   injure  the  Church  by  too  stringent  re- 
strictions.     '  For    all    men,'    said    he,    '  cannot 
bear  the  practice  of  rigid  condnence  ;    neither 
perhaps  would  the  chastity  of  the  wife  of  each 
be  preserved '  :  and  he  termed  the  intercourse 
of   a    man    with    his    lawful    wife    chastity.      It 
would    be    sufficient,  he    thought,  that  such  as 
had  previously  entered  on  their  sacred  calling 
should  abjure  matrimony,  according  to  the  an- 
cient tradition  of  the   Church  :    but   that  none 
should  be  separated   from  her  to  whom,  while 
yet  unordained,  he  had  been  united.     And  these 
sentiments  he  expressed,  although  himself  with- 
out    experience    of    marriage,    and,    to    speak 
]ilainly,  without  ever  having  known  a  woman  : 
for   from  a  boy  he  had   been  brought  up  in  a 
monastery,'*  and  was  specially  renowned  above 


'  Above,  chap.  8. 

-  Cf.  Apost.  Caiin.  5,  17,  26,  51.     In  general,  voluntary  celibacy 
of  the  clergy  was  encouraged  in  the  ancient  Church. 
•'  Heb.  xiii.  4. 
■•  acrKi)Tt)pnu:  lit.  '  place  for  the  exercise  '  0/  virtue. 


all  men  for  his  chastity.  The  whole  assembly 
of  the  clergy  assented  to  the  reasoning  of  Paph- 
nutius :  wherefore  they  silenced  all  further  de- 
bate on  this  point,  leaving  it  to  the  discretion 
of  those  who  were  husbands  to  exercise  absti- 
nence if  they  so  wished  in  reference  to  their 
wives.     Thus  much  concerning  Paphnutius. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Of  Spyridon,  Bishop  of  the   Cypriots. 

With  respect  to  Spyridon,  so  great  was  his 
sanctity  while  a  shepherd,  that  he  was  thought 
worthy  of  being  made  a  Pastor  of  men  :    and 
having  been  assigned  the  bishopric   of  one  of 
the  cities  in  Cyprus  named  Trimithus,  on  ac- 
count of  his  extreme  humility  he  continued  to 
feed   his  sheep  during   his   incumbency  of  the 
bishopric.      Many  extraordinary  things  are   re- 
lated of  him  :   I  shall  however  record  but  one  or 
two,  lest  I  should  seem  to  wander  from  my  sub- 
ject.   Once  about  midnight,  thieves  having  clan- 
destinely entered    his    sheepfold    attempted   to 
carry  off   some   of  the    sheep.     But   God    who 
protected    the    shepherd    preserved    his    sheep 
also ;  for  the  thieves  were  by  an  invisible  power 
bound   to   the   folds.     At     daybreak,   when    he 
came    to    the    sheep   and   found  the   men   with 
their    hands   tied   behind   them,  he    understood 
what  was  done  :   and    after   having   prayed   he 
liberated  the  thieves,  earnestly  admonishing  and 
exhorting  them  to  support  themselves  by  honest 
labor,  and   not  to   take  anything  unjusdy.     He 
then   gave    them   a   ram,   and    sent  them   away, 
humorously  adding,  '  that  ye  may  not  appear  to 
have  watched  all  night  in  vain.'      This   is   one 
of  the   miracles  in  connection   with    Spyridon. 
Another  was   of   this    kind.     He  had   a  virgin 
daughter  named   Irene,  who  was  a  partaker  of 
her  father's  piety.     An  acquaintance   entrusted 
to    her    keeping    an    ornament    of  considerable 
value  :   she,  to  guard  it  more   securely,  hid  what 
had  been  deposited  with  her  in  the  ground,  and 
not    long    afterwards    died.       Subsequently   the 
owner  of  the  property  came  to   claim   it  ;    and 
not  finding  the  virgin,  he  began  an  excited  conver- 
sation   widi    the  "father,   at  times   accusing  him 
of  an  attempt  to   defraud   him,  and  then  again 
beseeching   him    to    restore    the    deposit.     The 
old  man,  regarding  this  person's  loss  as  his  own 
misfortune,  went  to  the  tomb  of  his  daughter, 
and  called  upon  God  to   show  him   before   its 
proper  season  the  promised   resurrection.     Nor 
was  he  disappointed  in  his  hope  :    for  the  virgin 
again  reviving  ajipeared  to  her  father,  and  having 
pointed  out  to  him  the  spot  where  she  had  hidden 
the  ornament,  she  once  more  departed.     Such 
characters  as  these  adorned  the  churches  in  the 


1. 14.] 


EUTYCHIAN'S    MIRACLES. 


19 


time  of  the  emperor  Constantine.  These  details 
I  obtained  from  many  inhabitants  of  Cyprus.  I 
hav^e  also  found  a  treatise  composed  in  Latin  by 
the  presbyter  Rufinus,  from  which  I  have  col- 
lected these  and  some  other  things  which  will 
be  hereafter  adduced.^ 


CHAPTER   XIIL 

Of  Eutychian  the  Monk. 

I  HAVE  heard  moreover  concerning  Euty- 
chian, a  devout  person  who  flourished  about 
the  same  time  ;  who  also  belonged  to  the  Nova- 
tian  church,  yet  was  venerated  for  the  perform- 
ance of  similar  miracles.  I  shall  unequivocally 
state  my  authority  for  this  narrative,  nor  will  I 
attempt  to  conceal  it,  even  though  I  give  offense 
to  some  parties.  It  was  Auxanon,  a  very  aged 
presbyter  of  the  Novatian  church  ;  who  when 
quite  a  youth  accompanied  Acesius  to  the  Synod 
at  Nic?ea,  and  related  to  me  what  I  have  said 
concerning  him.  His  life  extended  from  that 
period  to  the  reign  of  Theodosius  the  Younger ; 
and  when  I  was  a  mere  youth  he  recounted  to 
me  the  acts  of  Eutychian,  enlarging  much  on 
the  divine  grace  which  was  manifested  in  him  : 
but  one  circumstance  he  alluded  to,  which  oc- 
curred in  the  reign  of  Constantine,  peculiarly 
worthy  of  mention.  One  of  those  military  at- 
tendants, whom  the  emperor  calls  his  domestic 
[or  body]  guards  having  been  suspected  of 
treasonable  practices,  sought  his  safety  in  flight. 
The  indignant  monarch  ordered  that  he  should 
be  put  to  death,  wherever  he  might  be  found  : 
who,  having  been  arrested  on  the  Bithynian 
Olympus,  was  bound  with  heavy  and  painful 
chains  and  kept  imprisoned  near  those  parts  of 
Olympus  where  Eutychian  was  leading  a  solitary 
life,  and  healing  both  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
many.  The  aged  Auxanon  being  then  very 
young  was  with  him,  and  was  being  trained  by 
him  in  the  discipline  of  the  monastic  life. 
Many  persons  came  to  this  Eutychian,  entreat- 
ing hiui  to  procure  the  release  of  the  prisoner 
by  interceding  for  him  with  the  emperor.  For 
the  fame  of  the  miracles  done  by  Eut3'chian  had 
reached  the  ears  of  the  emperor.  He  readily 
proaiised  to  go  to  the  sovereign ;  but  as  the 
chiins  inflicted  intolerable  suffering,  those  who 
interested  themselves  on  his  behalf  declared  that 
death  caused  by  the  effect  of  his  chains  would 
anticipate  both  the  emperor's  vengeance  and 
any  intercession  that  might  be  made  for  the 
prisoner.  Accordingly  Eutycliian  sent  to  the 
jailers  requesting  them  to  relieve  the  man  ;  but 
they    having    answered    that   they  should    bring 

'  On  the  use  Socrates  made  of  Rufinus,  and  the  question  of  his 
knowledge  of  Latin  therein  involved,  see  Introd.  p.  x. 


themselves  into  danger  by  relieving  a  criminal, 
he  went  himself  to  the  prison,  attended  by  Aux- 
anon ;  and  as  they  refused  to  open  the  jail,  the 
grace  which  rested  on  Eutychian  was  rendered 
more  conspicuous  :  for  the  gates  of  the  ])rison 
opened  of  their  own  accord,  while  the  jailers 
had  the  keys  in  their  custody.  As  soon  as 
Eutychian,  together  with  Auxanon,  had  entered 
the  prison,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  all  then 
present  the  fetters  spontaneously  feU  from  the 
prisoner's  limbs.  He  then  proceeded  with  Aux- 
anon to  the  city  which  was  anciently  called 
Byzantium  but  afterwards  Constantinople,  where 
having  been  admitted  into  the  imperial  palace, 
he  saved  the  man  from  death ;  for  the  emperor, 
entertaining  great  veneration  for  Eutychian, 
readily  granted  his  request.  This  indeed  oc- 
curred some  time  after  [the  period  to  which 
this  part  of  our  history  refers]. 

The  bishops  who  were  convened  at  the  coun- 
cil of  Nicaea,  after  having  drawn  up  and  enrolled 
certain  other  ecclesiastical  regulations  which 
they  are  accustomed  to  term  canons,  again  de- 
parted to  their  respective  cities  :  and  as  I  con- 
ceive it  will  be  appreciated  by  lovers  of  learning, 
I  shall  here  subjoin  the  names  of  such  as  were 
present,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain 
them,  with  the  province  and  city  over  which 
they  severally  presided,  and  hkewise  the  date 
at  which  this  assembly  took  place.  Hosius,  who 
was  I  believe  bishop  of  Cordova  in  Spain,  as  I 
have  before  stated.  Vito  and  Vicentius,  pres- 
byters of  Rome,  Alexander,  bishop  of  Egypt, 
Eustathius  of  Antiochia  Magna,  Macarius  of 
Jerusalem,  and  Harpocration  of  Cynopolis  :  the 
names  of  the  rest  are  fully  reported  in  The  Sy- 
nodicon  ^  of  Athanasius,  bishop  of  Alexandria. 
This  Synod  was  convened  (as  we  have  discov- 
ered from  the  notation  of  the  date  prefixed  to 
the  record  of  the  Synod)  in  the  consulate  of 
Paulinus  and  Julian,  on  the  20th  day  of  May, 
and  in  the  636th  year  from  the  reign  of  Alexan- 
der the  Macedonian."  Accordingly  the  work  of 
the  council  was  accomplished.  It  should  be 
noted  that  after  the  council  the  emperor  went 
into  the  western  parts  of  the  empire. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Eiisebius  Bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis 
Bishop  of  Niccea,  icdio  had  been  banished  for 
agreeing  in  Opinion  with  Arius,  having  pub- 
lished their  Reeantation,  and  assented  to  the 
Creed,  are  reinstated  in  their  Sees. 

EusEBius^and  Theognis  having  sent  a  peni- 
tential confession  to  the  principal  bishops,  were 

1  This  work  of  Athanasius  is  not  now  extant. 

-  May  20,  325  A.D. 

'  This  is  not  in  its  place  according  to  chronological  order,  inas- 
much as  it  occurred  in  328  a.d.     It  appears  also  from  the  accounts 


20 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  14. 


by  an  imperial  edict  recalled  from  exile  and  re- 
stored to  their  own  churches,  displacing  those 
who  had  been  ordained  in  their  places  ;  Euse- 
bius  [displacing]  Amphion,  and  Theognis  Chres- 
tus.    This  is  a  copy  of  their  written  retraction  : 

'  We  having  been  sometime  since  condemned 
by  your  piety,  without  a  formal  trial,  ought  to 
bear  in   silence    the   decisions  of  your   sacred 
adjudication.     But  since  it  is  unreasonable  that 
•we  by  silence  should  countenance  caluminators 
against   ourselves,  we  on   this   account    declare 
that  we  entirely  concur  with  you  in  the  faith ; 
and  also  that,  after  having  closely  considered 
the  import  of  the  term  consiibstantial,  we  have 
been  wholly   studious   of  peace,   having   never 
followed  the  heresy.     After  suggesting  whatever 
entered    our   thought   for   the    security   of   the 
churches,  and  fully  assuring  those  under  our  in- 
fluence, we  subscribed  the  declaration  of  faith  ; 
we  did  not  subscribe   the   anathematizing  ;  not 
as  objecting  to  the  creed,  but  as  disbelieving  the 
party  accused  to  be   such  as  was   represented, 
having  been  satisfied  on  this  point,  both   from 
his  own  letters  to  us,  and  from  personal  conver- 
sations.    But  if  your  holy  council  was  convinced, 
vi^e  not  opposing  but  concurring  in  your  decis- 
ions, by  this  statement  give  them  our  full  assent 
and  confirmation  :  and  this  we  do  not  as  wearied 
with  our  exile,  but  to  shake  off  the  suspicion  of 
heresy.     If  therefore  ye  should  now  think  fit  to 
restore  us  to  your  presence,  ye  will  have  us  on 
all  points  conformable,  and  acquiescent  in  your 
decrees  :  especially  since  it  has  seemed  good  to 
your  piety  to  deal  tenderly  with  and  recall  even 
him  who  was  primarily  accused.     It  would  be 
absurd  for  us  to  be  silent,  and  thus  give  pre- 
sumptive evidence  against  ourselves,  when  the 
one  who  seemed  responsible  has  been  permitted 
to  clear  himself  from  the  charges  brought  against 
him.     Vouchsafe  then,  as  is  consistent  with  that 
Christ-loving  piety  of  yours,  to  remind  our  most 
religious  emperor,  to  present  our  petitions,  and 
to  determine  speedily  concerning  us  in  a  way 
becoming  yourselves.' 

Such  was  the  language  of  the  recantation  of 
Eusebius  and  Theognis;  from  which  I  infer 
that  they  had  subscribed  the  articles  of  feith 
which  had  been  set  forth,  but  would  not  become 
parties  to  the  condemnation  of  Arius.  It  ap- 
pears also  that  Arius  was  recalled  before  them  ; 
but,  although  this  may  be  true,  yet  he  had  been 
forbidden  to  enter  Alexandria.  This  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  he  afterwards  devised  a  way 
of  return  for  himself,  both  into  the  church  and 
into  Alexandria,  by  having  made  a  fictitious 
repentance,  as  we  shall  show  in  its  proper  place. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Afte7-  the  Sytwd,  on  the  Death  of  Alexander, 
Athanasius  is  constituted  Bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria. 

A  LITTLE  after  this,  Alexander  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria  having   died,^  Athanasius  was    set   over 
that  church.     Rufinus  relates,  that  this  [Athana- 
sius] when  quite  a  boy,  played  with  others  of  his 
own  age  at  a  sacred  game  :  this  was  an  imitation 
of  the  priesthood  and  the  order  of  consecrated 
persons.       In    this    game    therefore    Athanasius 
was  allotted  the  episcopal  chair,  and  each  of  the 
other  lads  personated  either  a  presbyter  or  a 
deacon.      The   children   engaged    in   this   sport 
on  the  day  in  which  the  memory  of  the  martyr 
and  bishop  Peter  was  celebrated.     Now  at  that 
time  Alexander  bishop  of  Alexandria  happening 
to  pass   by,  observed   the   play   in   which    they 
were  engaged,  and  having  sent  for  the  children, 
enquired   from    them    the   part  each  had   been 
assigned  in  the  game,  conceiving  that  something 
might  be   portended    by   that   which   had   been 
done.     He  then  gave  directions  that  the  chil- 
dren  should   be   taken   to  the  church,  and   in- 
structed in  learning,  but  especially  Athanasius ; 
and  having  afterwards  ordained  him  deacon  on 
his  becoming  of  adult  age,  he  brought  him  to 
Nicaea   to  assist  him  in  the  disputations   there 
when  the  Synod  was  convened.     This  account 
of  Athanasius    Rufinus    has    given    in    his   own 
writings  ;  nor  is  it  improbable  that  it  took  place, 
for  many  transactions  of  this  kind   have   often 
occurred.     Concerning  this  matter  it  will  suffice 
to  have  said  the  above.- 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  Emperor  Coustantine  having  enlarged  the 
Ancient  Byzantium,  calls  it  Constanti^iople. 

After  the  Synod  the  emperor  spent  some 
time  in  recreation,  and  after  the  public  celebra- 
tion of  his  twentieth  anniversary  of  his  acces- 
sion,^ he  immediately  devoted  himself  to  the 
reparation  of  the  churches.  This  he  carried 
into  effect  in  other  cities  as  well  as  in  the  city 
named  after  him,  which  being  previously  called 
Byzantium,  he  enlarged,  surrounded  with  mas- 
sive walls,^  and  adorned  with  various  edifices; 


of  the  other  historians  of  this  period  that  Socrates  does  not  give  the 
correct  reason  for  the  banishment  of  Ensebius  and  Theognis.  Cf. 
Theodoret,  H.  E.  \.  20;  also  Sozom.  L  21. 


1  Socrates  and  Sozomcn  are  both  mistaken  in  putting  the  death 
of  Alexander  and  ordination  of  Athanasius  after  the  return  of  Euse- 
bius and  Theognis  from  exile.  According  to  1  heodoiet  Ov.  h. 
\.  26),  Alexander  died  a  few  months  after  the  Council  of  Nicsea, 
hence  in  325  A.D.,  and  Athanasius  succeeded  him  at  the  end  of  the 
same  year,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  next. 

2  Sec,  for  additional  features  of  the  story  not  reproduced  by 
Socrates,  Rufinus,  H.  E.  \.  14. 

>  The  Vicennalia.  ,,     ,    •■         j 

=  These  walls  were  superseded  by  the  great  walls  built  under 
Theodosius  the  Younger;  see  VIL  31. 


1. 17.]   RECOVERY  OF  THE  CROSS  OF  CHRIST  BY  HELENA. 


21 


and  having  rendered  it  equal  to  imperial  Rome, 
he  named  it  Constantinople,  establishing  by  law 
that  It  should  be  designated  New  Rome.  This  law 
was  engraven  on  a  pillar  of  stone  erected  in  public 
view  in  the  Strategium,'*  near  the  emperor's  eques- 
trian statue.*  He  built  also  in  the  same  city  two 
churches,  one  of  which  he  named  Irene,  and  the 
other  The  Apostles!'  Nor  did  he  only  improve 
the  affiiirs  of  the  Christians,  as  I  have  said,  but  he 
also  destroyed  the  superstition  of  the  heathens ; 
for  he  brought  forth  their  images  into  public 
view  to  ornament  the  city  of  Constantinople, 
and  set  up  the  Delphic  tripods  publicly  in  the 
Hippodrome.  It  may  indeed  seem  now  super- 
fluous to  mention  these  things,  since  they  are 
seen  before  they  are  heard  of.  But  at  that  time 
the  Christian  cause  received  its  greatest  aug- 
mentation ;  for  Divine  Providence  preser\^ed 
very  many  other  things  during  the  times  of  the 
emperor  Constantine.*^  Eusebius  Pamphilus  has 
in  magnificent  terras  recorded  the  praises  of  the 
emperor ; '  and  I  considered  it  would  not  be  ill- 
timed  to  advert  thus  to  them  as  concisely  as 
possible. 

/ 
CHAPTER   XVH. 

The  Emperor's  Mother  Helena  having  come  to 
Jerusalem,  searches  for  and  finds  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  and  builds  a  Church. 

Helena,  the  emperor's  mother  (from  whose 
name  having  made  Drepanum,  once  a  village,  a 
city,  the  emperor  called  it  Helenopolis),  being 
divinely  directed  by  dreams  went  to  Jerusalem. 
Finding  that  which  was  once  Jerusalem,  desolate 
'  as  a  Presence  for  autumnal  fruits,'  ^  according  to 
the  prophet,  she  sought  carefully  the  sepulchre 
of  Christ,  from  which  he  arose  after  his  burial ; 
and  after  much  difficulty,  by  God's  help  she 
discovered  it.  ^^'hat  the  cause  of  the  difficulty 
was  I  will  explain  in  a  few  words.  Those  who 
embraced  the  Christian  faith,  after  the  period 
of  his  passion,  greatly  venerated  this  tomb  ;  but 
those  who  hated  Christianity,  having  covered 
the  spot  with  a  mound  of  earth,  erected  on  it  a 
temple  to  Venus,  and  set  up  her  image  there, 
not  caring  for  the  memory  of  the  place.-  This 
succeeded  for  a  long  time ;  and  it  became 
known  to  the  emperor's  mother.     Accordingly 


'  '  Mansion  house,'  the  building  in  which  the  two  chief  magis- 
trates had  their  headquarters. 

*  The  city  was  formally  dedicated  as  the  capital  of  the  empire 
in  330  A.D. 

.^  Cf.  II.  16,  and  I.  40. 

"  The  text  seems  somewhat  doubtful  here.  Valesius  conjectures 
TO.  T€  aWa  TrAficTTa  Kai  toOto  naAtcrra,  idiomatically,  '  this  among 
many  other  things ';  but  the  MSS.  read  more  obscurely,  ical  aAAa 
TrAeKTra. 

'  Euseb.  Liye  0/ Const.  III.  33;   cf.  also  52-55. 

^  Isa.  i.  8.  6— ujpo'iuAaKior,  '  a  lodge  in  a  garden  of  cucumbers,' 
according  to  the  English  versions  (both  authorized  and  revised), 
which  follows  the  Hebrew;  in  the  LXX  the  words  kv  o-tKi/JipaTw 
are  added. 

2  See  the  Ep.  of  Constantine  to  Macarius,  in  chap.  9  above. 


she  having  caused  the  statue  ^  to  be  thrown 
down,  the  earth  to  be  removed,  and  the  ground 
entirely  cleared,  found  three  crosses  in  the  sepul- 
chre :  one  of  these  was  that  blessed  cross  on 
which  Christ  had  hung,  the  other  two  were  those 
on  which  the  two  thieves  that  were  crucified 
with  him  had  died,  ^^'ith  these  was  also  found 
the  tablet  "*  of  Pilate,  on  which  he  had  inscribed 
in  various  characters,  that  the  Christ  who  was 
crucified  was  king  of  the  Jews.  Since,  however, 
it  was  doubtful  which  was  the  cross  they  were 
in  search  of,  the  emperor's  mother  was  not  a 
little  distressed  ;  but  from  this  trouble  the  bishop 
of  Jerusalem,  Macarius,  shortly  relieved  her. 
And  he  solved  the  doubt  by  faith,  for  he  sought 
a  sign  from  God  and  obtained  it.  The  sign  was 
this  :  a  certain  woman  of  the  neighborhood,  who 
had  been  long  afflicted  with  disease,  was  now 
just  at  the  point  of  death  ;  the  bishop  therefore 
arranged  it  so  that  each  of  the  crosses  should  be 
brought  to  the  dying  woman,  believing  that  she 
would  be  healed  on  touching  the  precious  cross. 
Nor  was  he  disappointed  in  his  expectation  :  for 
the  two  crosses  having  been  applied  which  were 
not  the  Lord's,  the  woman  still  continued  in  a 
dying  state ;  but  when  the  third,  which  was  the 
true  cross,  touched  her,  she  was  immediately 
healed,  and  recovered  her  former  strength.  In 
this  manner  then  was  the  genuine  cross  discov- 
ered. The  emperor's  mother  erected  over  the 
place  of  the  sepulchre  a  magnificent  church,'' 
and  named  it  New  Jei'usalem,  having  built  it 
facing  that  old  and  deserted  city.  There  she 
left  a  portion  of  the  cross,  enclosed  in  a  silver 
case,  as  a  memorial  to  those  who  might  wish  to 
see  it :  the  other  part  she  sent  to  the  emperor, 
who  being  persuaded  that  the  city  would  be 
perfectly  secure  where  that  relic  should  be  pre- 
served, privately  enclosed  it  in  his  own  statue, 
which  stands  on  a  large  column  of  porphyry  in 
the  forum  called  Constantine's  at  Constanti- 
nople. I  have  written  this  from  report  indeed  ; 
but  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  Constantinople 
affirm  that  it  is  true.  Moreover  the  nails  with 
which  Christ's  hands  were  fastened  to  the  cross 
(for  his  mother  having  found  these  also  in  the 
sepulchre  had  sent  them)  Constantine  took  and 
had  made  into  bridle-bits  and  a  helmet,  which 
he  used  in  his  military  expeditions.  The  em- 
peror supplied  all  materials  for  the  construction 
of  the  churches,  and  wrote  to  Macarius  the 
bishop  to  expedite  these  edifices.  When  the 
emperor's  mother  had  completed  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, she  reared  another  church  not  at  all 
inferior,  over  the  cave  at  Bethlehem  where 
Christ  was  born  according  to  the  flesh :  nor 
did   she   stop    here,   but  built    a    third    on    the 

^  ^6a.vov,  as  distinguished  from  dyaAua,  or  ai'Spioi?,  used  with 
less  reverence;  the  word  is  derived  from  fc'w,  '  to  polish.' 
*  aa.vi'i,  '  board.' 
5  oXkov  eiiKTiripiov,  '  house  of  prayer.' 


22 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  17. 


mount  of  his  Ascension.  So  devoutly  was  she 
affected  in  these  matters,  that  she  would  pray 
in  the  company  of  women  ;  and  inviting  the 
virgins  enrolled''in  the  register"  of  the  churches 
to  a  repast,  serving  them  herself,  she  brought 
the  dishes  to  table.  She  was  also  very  munifi- 
cent to  the  churches  and  to  the  poor  ;  and  having 
lived  a  life  of  piety,  she  died  when  about  eighty 
years  old.  Her  remains  were  conveyed  to  New 
Rome,  the  capital,  and  deposited  in  the  imperial 
sepulchres. 


CHAPTER   XVni. 

The  Emperor   Constantine  abolishes  Paganism 
and  erects  many  Churches  in  Different  Places. 


After  this  the  emperor  became  increasingly 
attentive  to  the  interests  of  the  Christians,  and 
abandoned  the  heathen  superstitions.     He  abol- 
ished the  combats  of  the  gladiators,  and  set  up 
his  own  statues  in  the  temples.      And  as  the 
heathens  affirmed  that  it  was  Serapis  who  brought 
up  the  Nile  for  the  purpose  of  irrigating  Egypt, 
because  a   cubit   was   usually   carried   into    his 
temple,  he  directed  Alexander  to  transfer  the 
cubit  to  the  church.     And  although   they  pre- 
dicted that  the  Nile  would  not  overflow  because 
of  the  displeasure  of  Serapis,  nevertheless  there 
was  an   inundation   in   the    following   year  and 
afterwards,  taking   place   regularly  :    thus  it  was 
proved  by  fact  that  the  rising  of  the  Nile  was 
not  in  consequence  of  their  superstition,  but  by 
reason  of  the    decrees  of  Providence.     About 
the  same  time  those  barbarians  the  Sarmatians 
and  Goths  made  incursions  on  the  Roman  terri- 
tory ;  yet  the  emperor's  earnestness  respecting 
the    churches  was  by  no  means  abated,  but  he 
made  suitable  provision  for  both  these  matters. 
Placing  his  confidence  in  the  Christian  banner,^ 
he  completely  vanquished   his  enemies,  so   as 
even  to  cast  off  the  tribute  of  gold  which  preced- 
ing emperors  were  accustomed  to  pay  the  barba- 
rians :  while  they  themselves,  being  terror-struck 
at  the  unexpectedness  of  their  defeat,  then  for 
the  first  time  embraced  the  Christian  religion, 
by  means  of  which  Constantine  had  been  pro- 
tected.    Again  he  built  other  churches,  one  of 
which   was    erected    near    the    Oak*  of   Mamre, 
under   which    the  Sacred  Oracles    declare    that 
Abraham  entertained  angels.     For  the  emperor 
having    been    informed    that    altars    had    been 
reared  under  that  oak,  and  that  pagan  sacrifices 
were    offered    upon   them,   censured    by   letter 
Eusebius  bishop  of  Caesarea,  and  ordered  that 
the  altars  should  be  demolished,  and  a  house  of 

"  K<xv6vi:  a  word  of  many  meanings;  see  Sophocles' Lex.  and  a 
dissertation  on  the  word  in  VVestcott  Oti  the  Canon  Appendix  K, 
p.  499. 

'  TpoTraiai:  see  above,  chap.  2. 


prayer  erected  beside  the  oak.  He  also  di- 
rected that  another  church  should  be  constructed 
in  Heliopolis  in  Phoenicia,  for  this  reason.  Who 
originally  legislated  for  the  inhabitants  of  Heli- 
opolis I  am  unable  to  state,  but  his  character  and 
morals  may  be  judged  of  from  the  [practice  of 
that]  city ;  for  the  laws  of  the  country  ordered 
the  women  among  them  to  be  common,  and 
therefore  the  children  born  there  were  of  doubt- 
ful descent,  so  that  there  was  no  distinction  of 
fathers  and  their  offspring.  Their  virgms  also 
were  presented  for  prostitution  to  the  strangers 
who  resorted  thither.  The  emperor  hastened  to 
correct  this  evil  which  had  long  prevailed  among 
them.  And  passing  a  solemn  law  of  chastity, 
he  removed  the  shameful  evil  and  provided  for 
the  mutual  recognition  of  families.  And  having 
built  churches  there,  he  took  care  that  a  bishop 


and   sacred  clergy  should   be  ordained.      Thus 
he  reformed  the  corrupt  manners  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Heliopolis.     He  likewise  demolished  the 
temple  of  Venus  at  Aphaca  on  Mount  Libanus, 
and  abolished  the  infamous  deeds  which  were 
there  celebrated.     Why  need  I  describe  his  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Pythonic  demon  from  Cilicia,  by 
commanding  the  mansion  in  which  he  was  lurk- 
ing to  be  razed  from  its  foundations  ?     So  great 
indeed  was  the  emperor's  devotion  to  Christian- 
ity, that  when  he  was  about  to  enter  on  a  war 
with  Persia,  he  prepared  a  tabernacle  formed  of 
embroidered  linen  on  the  model  of  a  church, 
just  as  Moses  had  done  in  the  wilderness  ;  -  and 
this  so  constructed  as  to  be  adapted  to  convey- 
ance from  place  to  place,  in  order  that  he  might 
have  a  house  of  prayer  even  in  the  most  desert 
regions.       But    the  war  was   not   at    that    time 
carried  on,  being   prevented   through   dread  of 
the  emperor.     It  would,  I  conceive,  be  out  of 
place  here  to  describe  the  emperor's  diligence 
in  rebuilding  cities  and  converting  many  villages 
into  cities  ;  as  for  example  Drepanum,  to  which 
he  gave  his  mother's  name,  and  Constantia  in 
Palestine,  so  called  from  his  sister.     For  my  task 
is  not  to  enumerate  of  the  emperor's  actions,  but 
simply  such  as  are  connected  witli  Christianity, 
and  especially  those  which  relate  to  the  churches. 
^Vherefore   I  leave   to   others  more    competent 
to  detail  such  matters,  the  emperor's   glorious 
achievements,  inasmuch  as  they  belong  to  a  dif- 
ferent subject,   and   require  a  distinct    treatise. 
But   1   myself  should   have   been   silent,   if   the 
Church  had  remained  undisturbed  by  divisions  : 
for  where  the  sul)ject  does   not   supply   matter 
for  relation,  there  is  no  necessity  for  a  narrator. 
Since  however  subde  and  vain  disputation  has 
confused  and  at  the  same  time  scattered  the 
apostolic  faith  of  Christianity,  I  thought  it  desir- 
able to  record  these  things,  in  order  that  the 


"-    Ex.  XXXV. -xl 


1. 19.] 


CONVERSION    OF    ETHIOPIA    TO    CHRISTIANITY. 


23 


transactions  of  the  churches  might  not  be  lost  in 
obscurity.  For  accurate  information  on  these 
points  procures  celebrity  among  tlie  many,  and 
at  the  same  time  renders  him  who  is  acquainted 
with  them  more  secure  from  error,  and  instructs 
him  not  to  be  carried  away  by  any  empty  sound 
of  sophistical  argumentation  which  he  may 
■chance  to  hear. 


CHAPTER   XIX.^ 

In  7iihat  MajDicr  the  Nations  in  the  Interior 
of  India  zvere  Christianized  in  tJie  Times  of 
Constanti?ie. 

We  must  now  mention  in  what  manner  Chris- 
tianity was  spread  in  this  emperor's  reign :  for 
it  was  in  his  time  that  the  nations  both  of  the 
Indians  in  the  interior,  and  of  the  Iberians  first 
embraced  the  Christian  faith.  But  I  shall  briefly 
explain  why  I  have  used  the  appended  ex- 
pression /;;  the  interior,  ^^'hen  the  apostles 
went  forth  by  lot  among  the  nations,  Thomas 
received  the  apostleship  of  the  Parthians  ;  Mat- 
thew was  allotted  Ethiopia;  and  Bartholomew 
the  part  of  India  contiguous  to  that  country  : 
but  the  interior  India,  in  which  many  barbarous 
nations  using  different  languages  lived,  was  not 
enlightened  by  Christian  doctrine  before  the 
times  of  Constantine.  I  now  come  to  speak  of 
the  cause  which  led  them  to  become  converts 
to  Christianity.  A  certain  philosopher,  Mero- 
pius,  a  Tyrian  by  race,  determined  to  acquaint 
himself  with  the  country  of  the  Indians,  being 
stimulated  to  this  by  the  example  of  the  philos- 
opher Metrodorus,  who  had  previously  traveled 
through  the  region  of  India.  Having  taken 
with  him  therefore  two  youths  to  whom  he  was 
related,  who  were  by  no  means  ignorant  of  the 
Greek  language,  Meropius  reached  the  country 
by  ship  ;  and  when  he  had  inspected  whatever 
he  wished,  he  touched  at  a  certain  place  which 
had  a  safe  harbor,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
some  necessaries.  It  so  happened  that  a  little 
before  that  time  the  treaty  between  the  Romans 
and  Indians  had  been  violated.  The  Indians, 
therefore,  having  seized  the  philosopher  and 
those  who  sailed  with  him,  killed  them  all 
except  his  two  youthful  kinsmen ;  but  sparing 
them  from  compassion  for  their  tender  age, 
they  sent  them  as  a  gift  to  the  king  of  the 
Indians.     He   being   pleased  with  the  personal 

'  '  In  this  chapter  Socrates  has  translated  Rufinus  (  H.  E.  I.  9) 
almost  word  for  word;  and  calls  those  tottou?  lhia.C,ovro.<i,  which  Ru- 
finus has  termed  C07iventiciila.  Now  conveiiticjila  are  properly 
private  places  wherein  collects  or  short  prayers  are  made;  and  from 
these  places  churches  are  distinguished,  which  belong  to  the  right  of 
the  public,  and  are  not  in  the  power  of  any  private  person.  It  is  to 
Tje  observed  that  there  are  reasons  for  thinking  that  this  conversion 
of  the  Indians  by  Frumentius  happened  in  the  reign  of  Constantius 
and  not  of  Constantine  '  (Valesius).  See  also  Euseb.  //.  E.  V.  10, 
attributing  an  earlier  work  to  the  apostles  Matthew  and  Bartholomew ; 


appearance  of  the  youths,  constituted  one  of 
them,  whose  name  was  Edesius,  cup-bearer  at 
his  table  ;  the  other,  named  Frumentius,  he 
entrusted  with  the  care  of  the  royal  records. 
The  king  dying  soon  after,  left  them  free,  the 
government  devolving  on  his  wife  and  infant 
son.  Now  the  (jueen  seeing  her  son  thus  left 
in  his  minority,  begged  the  young  men  to  under- 
take the  charge  of  him,  until  he  should  become 
of  adult  age.  Accordingly,  the  youths  accepted 
the  task,  and  entered  on  the  administration  of 
the  kingdom.  Thus  Frumentius  controlled  all 
things  and  made  it  a  task  to  enquire  whether 
among  the  Roman  merchants  trafficking  with 
that  country,  there  were  any  Christians  to  be 
found  :  and  having  discovered  some,  he  informed 
them  who  he  was,  and  exhorted  them  to  select 
and  occupy  some  appropriate  places  for  the 
celebration  of  Christian  worship.  In  the  course 
of  a  little  while  he  built  a  house  of  prayer ;  and 
having  instructed  some  of  the  Indians  in  the 
principles  of  Christianity,  they  fitted  them  for 
participation  in  the  worship.  On  the  young 
king's  reaching  maturity,  Frumentius  and  his 
associates  resigned  to  him  the  administration  of 
public  affairs,  in  the  management  of  which  they 
had  honorably  acquitted  themselves,  and  be- 
sought permission  to  return  to  their  own  coun- 
try. Both  the  king  and  his  mother  entreated 
them  to  remain  ;  but  being  desirous  of  revisit- 
ing their  native  place,  they  could  not  be  pre- 
vailed on,  and  consequently  departed.  Edesius 
for  his  part  hastened  to  Tyre  to  see  his  parents 
and  kindred  ;  but  Frumentius  arriving  at  Alex- 
andria, reported  the  affair  to  Athanasius  the 
bishop,  who  had  but  recently  been  invested 
with  that  dignity  ;  and  acquainting  him  both 
with  the  particulars  of  his  wanderings  and  the 
hopes  Indians  had  of  receiving  Christianity.- 
He  also  begged  him  to  send  a  bishop  and  clergy 
there,  and  by  no  means  to  neglect  those  who 
might  thus  be  brought  to  salvation.  Athanasius 
having  considered  how  this  could  be  most  profit- 
ably effected,  requested  Frumentius  himself  to 
accept  the  bishopric,  declaring  that  he  could  ap- 
point no  one  more  suitable  than  he  was.  Accord- 
ingly this  was  done ;  Frumentius  invested  with 
episcopal  authority,  returned  to  India  and  be- 
came there  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  built 
several  churches,  being  aided  also  by  divine 
grace,  he  performed  various  miracles,  healing 
with  the  souls  also  the  bodily  diseases  of  many. 
Rufinus  assures  us  that  he  heard  these  facts 
from  Edesius,  who  was  afterwards  ordained  to 
the  priesthood  at  Tyre.^ 

■Ax\iiC2.vit,  Lh'cs  of  the  Apostles.  The  Indians  mentioned  in  this 
chapter  are  no  other  than  the  Abyssinians.  The  name  India  is 
used  as  an  equivalent  of  Ethiopia.  The  christianization  of  Ethiopia 
is  attributed  by  the  Ethiopians  in  their  own  records  to  Fremonatos 
and   Sydracos.     See    Ludolf ///>/.  Eth.  III.  2. 

-  Christianity  here  must  mean  Christian  instruction. 

3  eiiKTJJpca;    see  note  5,  chap.  17  above. 


24 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  20. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

In  what  Manner  the  Iberians  were  converted  to 
Christianity. 

It  is  now  proper  to  relate  how  the  Iberians  ^ 
about  the  same  time  became  proselytes  to  the 
faith.  A  certain  woman  leading  a  devout  and 
chaste  life,  was,  in  the  providential  ordering  of 
God,  taken  captive  by  the  Iberians.  Now  these 
Iberians  dwell  near  the  Euxine  Sea,  and  are  a 
colony  of  the  Iberians  of  Spain.  Accordingly 
the  woman  in  her  captivity  exercised-  herself 
among  the  barbarians  in  the  practice  of  virtue  : 
for  she  not  only  maintained  the  most  rigid  con- 
tinence, but  spent  much  time  in  fastings  and 
prayers.  The  barbarians  observing  this  were 
astonished  at  the  strangeness  of  her  conduct. 
It  happened  then  that  the  king's  son,  then  a 
mere  babe,  was  attacked  with  disease  ;  the  queen, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  sent 
the  child  to  other  women  to  be  cured,  in  the 
hope  that  their  experience  would  supply  a 
remedy.  After  the  infant  had  been  carried 
around  by  its  nurse  without  obtaining  relief 
from  any  of  the  women,  he  was  at  length 
brought  to  this  captive.  She  had  no  knowledge 
of  the  medical  art,  and  applied  no  material 
remedy ;  but  taking  the  child  and  laying  it  on 
her  bed  which  was  made  of  horsecloth,  in  the 
presence  of  other  females,  she  simply  said, 
'  Christ,  who  healed  manv,  will  heal  this  child 
also  ' ;  then  having  prayed  in  addition  to  this 
expression  of  faith,  and  called  upon  God,  the 
boy  was  immediately  restored,  and  continued 
well  from  that  period.  The  report  of  this 
miracle  spread  itself  far  and  wide  among  the 
barbarian  women,  and  soon  reached  the  queen, 
so  that  the  captive  became  very  celebrated. 
Not  long  afterwards  the  queen  herself  having 
fallen  sick  sent  for  the  captive  woman.  Inas- 
much as  she  being  a  person  of  modest  and  re- 
tiring manners  excused  herself  from  going,  the 
queen  was  conveyed  to  her.  The  captive  did 
the  same  to  her  as  she  had  done  to  her  son 
before ;  and  immediately  the  disease  was  re- 
moved. And  the  queen  thanked  the  stranger ; 
but  she  replied,  '  this  work  is  not  mine,  but 
Christ's,  who  is  the  Son  of  God  that  made  the 
world '  ;  she  therefore  exhorted  her  to  call 
upon  him,  and  acknowledge  the  true  God. 
Amazed  at  his  wife's  sudden  restoration  to  health, 
the  king  of  the  Iberians  wished  to  requite  with 


1  These  Iberians  dwelt  on  the  east  shore  of  the  Black  Sea  in  the 
present  region  of  Georgia.  What  their  relation  to  the  Spanish  Ibe- 
rians was,  or  why  both  the  peoples  had  the  same  name  it  is  not 
possible  to  know  at  present.  It  was  probably  not  the  one  suggested 
by  Socrates.  For  a  similar  identity  of  name  in  peoples  living  widely 
apart,  compare  the  Gauls  of  Europe  and  the  Galata;  of  Asia. 

'  e'f)iAo(ro!j)n :  the  ethical  sense  here  attached  to  the  word  became 
very  common  after  the  time  of  the  Stoics  and  their  attempt  to  make 
ethics  the  basis  and  starting-point  of  philosophy. 


gifts  her  whom  he  had  understood  to  be  the 
means  of  effecting  these  cures ;  she  however 
said  that  she  needed  not  riches,  inasmuch  as 
she  possessed  as  riches  the  consolations  of  re- 
ligion ;  but  that  she  would  regard  as  the  greatest, 
present  he  could  offer  her,  his  recognition  of 
the  God  whom  she  worshiped  and  declared. 
With  this  she  sent  back  the  gifts.  This  answer 
the  king  treasured  up  in  his  mind,  and  going 
forth  to  the  chase  the  next  day,  the  following 
circumstance  occurred  :  a  mist  and  thick  dark- 
ness covered  the  mountain  tops  and  forests 
where  he  was  hunting,  so  that  their  sport  was 
embarrassed,  and  their  path  became  inextricable. 
In  this  perplexity  the  prince  earnestly  invoked 
the  gods  whom  he  worshiped ;  and  as  it  availed 
nothing,  he  at  last  determined  to  implore  the 
assistance  of  the  captive's  God ;  when  scarcely 
had  he  begun  to  pray,  ere  the  darkness  arising 
from  the  mist  was  completely  dissipated.  Won- 
dering at  that  which  was  done,  he  returned  to 
his  palace  rejoicing,  and  related  to  his  wife 
what  had  happened  ;  he  also  immediately  sent 
for  the  captive  stranger,  and  begged  her  to  in- 
form him  who  that  God  was  whom  she  adored. 
The  woman  on  her  arrival  caused  the  king  of 
the  Iberians  to  become  a  preacher  of  Christ : 
for  having  believed  in  Christ  through  this  de- 
voted woman,  he  convened  all  the  Iberians  who 
were  under  his  authority ;  and  when  he  had 
declared  to  them  what  had  taken  place  in  refer- 
ence to  the  cure  of  his  wife  and  child  not 
only,  but  also  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  chase,  he  exhorted  them  to  worship  the 
God  of  the  captive.  Thus,  therefore,  both  the 
king  and  the  queen  were  made  preachers  of 
Christ,  the  one  addressing  their  male,  and  the 
other  their  female  subjects.  Moreover,  the  king 
having  ascertained  from  his  prisoner  the  plan 
on  which  churches  were  constructed  among  the 
Romans,  ordered  a  church  to  be  built,  and  im- 
mediately provided  all  things  necessary  for  its 
erection  ;  and  the  edifice  was  accordingly  com- 
menced. But  when  they  came  to  set  up  the 
pillars.  Divine  Providence  interposed  for  the 
confirmation  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  faith ; 
for  one  of  the  columns  remained  immovable, 
and  no  means  were  found  capable  of  moving 
it ;  but  their  ropes  broke  and  their  machinery 
fell  to  pieces  ;  at  length  the  workmen  gave  up 
all  further  effort  and  departed.  Then  was 
proved  the  reality  of  the  captive's  faith  in  the 
following  manner  :  going  to  the  place  at  night 
without  the  knowledge  of  any  one,  she  spent 
the  whole  time  in  prayer ;  and  by  the  power  of 
God  the  pillar  was  raised,  and  stood  erect  in 
the  air  above  its  base,  yet  so  as  not  to  touch  it. 
At  daybreak  the  king,  who  was  an  intelligent 
person,  came  himself  to  inspect  the  work,  and 
seeing  the   pillar    suspended    in   this    position 


22.] 


ORIGIN    OF   MANICH^ISM. 


without  support,  both  he  and  his  attendants 
were  amazed.  Shortly  after,  in  fact  before 
their  very  eyes,  the  pillar  descended  on  its  own 
pedestal,  and  there  remained  fixed.  Upon  this 
the  people  shouted,  attesting  the  truth  of  the 
king's  faith,  and  hymning  the  praise  of  the  God 
of  the  captive.  They  beheved  thenceforth,  and 
with  eagerness  raised  the  rest  of  the  columns, 
and  the  whole  building  was  soon  completed. 
An  embassy  was  afterwards  sent  to  the  Emperor 
Constantine,  requesting  that  henceforth  they 
might  be  in  alliance  with  the  Romans,  and  re- 
ceive from  them  a  bishop  and  consecrated 
clergy,  since  they  sincerely  believed  in  Christ. 
Rufinus  says  that  he  learned  these  facts  from 
Bacurius,'^  who  was  formerly  one  of  the  petty 
princes'*  of  the  Iberians,  but  subsequently  went 
over  to  the  Romans,  and  was  made  a  captain 
of  the  military  force  in  Palestine  ;  being  at 
length  entrusted  with  the  supreme  command  in 
the  war  against  the  tyrant  IVIaximus,  he  assisted 
the  Emperor  Theodosius.  In  this  way  then, 
during  the  days  of  Constantine,  were  the  Ibe- 
rians also  converted  to  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Of  Anthony  the  Monk. 

What  sort  of  a  man  the  monk  Anthony  was, 
who  lived  in  the  same  age,  in  the  Egyptian 
desert,  and  how  he  openly  contended  with 
devils,  clearly  detecting  their  devices  and  wily 
modes  of  warfare,  and  how  he  performed  many 
miracles,  it  would  be  superfluous  for  us  to  say ; 
for  Athanasius.  bishop  of  /\lexandria,  has  antici- 
pated us,  having  devoted  an  entire  book  to  his 
biography.^  Of  such  good  men  there  was  a 
large  number  at  one  time  during  the  years  of 
the  Emperor  Constantine. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Of  Manes,  the  Founder  of  the  AIanichcca7i 
Heresy,  and  on  his   Origin. 

But  amidst  the  good  wheat,  tares  are  accus- 
tomed to  spring  up ;  for  envy  loves  to  plot  in- 
sidiously against  the  good.  Hence  it  was  that 
a  little  while  before  the  time  of  Constantine,  a 
species  of  heathenish  Christianity  made  its  ap- 
pearance together  with  that  which  was  real ; 
just  as  false  prophets  sprang  up  among  the  true, 

*  Rufinus,  H.  E.  I.  lo,  gives  their  story  and  adds  that  Bacurius 
was  a  faithful  and  religious  person  and  rendered  service  to  Theo- 
dosius in  his  war  with  Eugenius. 

*  3acriAio-(co5:   lit.  '  little  king.' 

1  Athanasius'  Life  of  Ant/tony  is  included  in  the  editions  of  his 
works,  such  as  the  Benedictine  (1698),  that  of  Padua  (1777).  On 
Anthony,  see  also  Soz.  I.  3;   II.  31,  34. 


and  folse  apostles  among  the  true  apostles.  For 
at  that  time  a  dogma  of  Empedocles,  the  hea- 
then philosopher,  by  means  of  Manichaeus,  as- 
sumed the  form  of  Christian  doctrine.  Euse- 
bius  Pamphilus  has  indeed  mentioned  this  per- 
son in  the  seventh  book  of  his  Ecclesiastical 
History,^  but  has  not  entered  into  minute  details 
concerning  him.  Wherefore,  I  deem  it  incum- 
bent on  me  to  supply  some  particulars  which  he 
has  left  unnoticed  :  thus  it  will  be  known  who 
this  Manichseus  was,  whence  he  came,  and  what 
was  the  nature  of  his  presumptuous  daring. 

A  Saracen  named  Scythian  married  a  captive 
from  the  Upper  Thebes.  On  her  account  he 
dwelt  in  Egypt,  and  having  versed  himself  in 
the  learning  of  the  Egyptians,  he  subdy  intro- 
duced the  theory  of  Empedocles  and  Pythago- 
ras among  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith. 
Asserting  that  there  were  two  natures,  a  good 
and  an  evil  one,  he  termed,  as  Empedocles  had 
done,  the  latter  Discord,  and  the  former  Friend- 
ship. Of  this  Scythian,  Buddas,  who  had  been, 
previously  called  Terebinthus,  became  a  disciple  ; 
and  he  having  proceeded  to  Babylon,  which  the 
Persians  inhabit,  made  many  extravagant  state- 
ments respecting  himself,  declaring  that  he  was 
born  of  a  virgin,  and  brought  up  in  the  moun- 
tains. The  same  man  afterwards  composed 
four  books,  one  he  entitled  The  Mxsteries,. 
another  The  Gospel,  a  third  77^,?  Treasure^ 
and  the  fourth  Heads  \_Summaries~\  ;  but  pre- 
tending to  perform  some  mystic  rites,  he  was 
hurled  down  a  precipice  by  a  spirit,"  and  so 
perished.  A  certain  woman  at  whose  house  he 
had  lodged  buried  him,  and  taking  possession 
of  his  property,  bought  a  boy  about  seven  years 
old  whose  name  was  Cubricus  :  this  lad  she  en- 
franchised, and  having  given  him  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, she  soon  after  died,  leaving  him  all  that 
belonged  to  Terebinthus,  including  the  books  he 
had  written  on  the  principles  inculcated  by 
Scythian.  Cubricus,  the  freedman,  taking  these 
things  with  him  and  having  withdrawn  into  the 
regions  of  Persia,  changed  his  name,  calling  him- 
self Manes;  and  disseminated  the  books  of 
Buddas  or  Terebinthus  among  his  deluded  fol- 
lowers as  his  own.  Now  the  contents  of  these 
treatises  apparently  agree  with  Christianity  in 
expression,  but  are  pagan  in  sentiment :  for 
Manichasus  being  an  atheist,  incited  his  disci- 
ples to  acknowledge  a  plurality  of  gods,  and 
taught  them  to  worship  the  sun.  He  also  intro- 
duced the  doctrine  of  Fate,  denying  human 
free-will ;  and  affirmed  a  transmutation  ^  of 
bodies,  clearly  following  the  opinions  of  Empe- 
docles,   Pythagoras,    and    the    Egyptians.      He 

1  Cf.  Ens.  H.  E.  VII.  31.  The  literature  of  TManichaeism  is 
voluminous  and  will  be  found  in  Smith,  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  as 
well  as  encyclopaedias  like  Herzog,  McClintock  and  Strong,  &c. 

-  T!viv\La.To%:  possibly  '  wind.' 

3  fj.iTcva^oiixa.Tijjcrii' ,  the  converse  of  metempsychosis. 


26 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  22. 


denied  that  Christ  existed  in  the  flesh,  asserting 
that  he  was  an  apparition  ;  and  rejected  more- 
over the  law  and  the  prophets,  calling  himself  the 
<  Comforter,'  —  all   of  which  dogmas  are  totally 
at  variance  with  the  orthodo.x  faith  of  the  church. 
In  his  epistles  he  even  dared  to  call  himself  an 
apostle  ;  but  for  a  pretension  so  unfounded  he 
brought   upon    himself    merited    retribution   in 
the  following  manner.     The   son  of  the  Persian 
monarch  having  been   attacked  with  disease,  his 
father  became  anxious  for  his  recovery,  and  left 
no  means  untried  in   order  to  effect  it ;   and  as 
he  had  heard  of  the  wonder-working  of  Mani- 
ch^us,  and    thinking    that   these  miracles  were 
real,  he  sent  for  him  as  an  apostle,  trusting  that 
through  him  his  son  might  be  restored.     He  ac- 
cordingly presented   himself  at  court,  and  with 
his    assumed    manner  undertook  the   treatment 
of  the  young  prince.     But  the  king  seeing  that 
the  child  died  in  his  hands  shut  up  the  deceiver 
in  prison,  with  the  intention  of  putting  him  to 
death.     However,  he  contrived  to  escape,  and 
fled  into  Mesopotamia ;  but  the  king  of  Persia 
having    discovered   that  he  was.  dwelling  there, 
caused  him  to  be  brought  thence  by  force,  and 
after  having  flayed  him  alive,  he  stuffed  his  skin 
with  chaff,  and  suspended  it  in  front  of  the  gate 
of  the  city.     These  things  we  state  not  having 
manufactured  them  ourselves,  but  collected  from 
a  book  entitled   The  disputation    of  Archelaus 
bishop    of    Caschara    (one    of    the    cities    of 
Mesopotamia).''      For   Archelaus  himself  states 
that  he  disputed  with  Manichasus  face  to  face, 
and  mentions  the  circumstances  connected  with 
his  life  to  which  we  have  now  alluded.     Envy 
thus  delights,  as  we  before  remarked,  to  be  in- 
sidiously at  work  in  the  midst  of  a  prosperous 
condition   of  affairs.     But    for  what   reason  the 
goodness    of    (iod     permits    this    to    be    done, 
whether  he  wishes  thereby  to  bring  into  activity 
the  excellence  of  the  principles  of  the  church, 
and  to  utterly  break  down  the  self-importance 
which  is  wont  to  unite  itself  with  faith  ;  or  for 
what  other  cause,  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  difficult 
question,  and  not  relevant  to  the  present  discus- 
sion.    For  our  object  is  neither  to  examine  the 
soundness  of  doctrinal  views,  nor  to  analyze  the 
mysterious    reasons    for    the    providences     and 
judgments  of  (iod  ;  but  to  detail  as  fiiithfully  as 
possible  the  history  of  transactions  which  have 
taken  place  in  the  cliurches.     The  way  in  which 
the  superstition  of  the  Manichaians  sprang  up  a 
little  before  the  time  of  Constantine  has  been 
thus  described  ;  now  let  us  return  to  the  times 
and  events  which  are  the  proper  subjects  of  this 
history. 

••  The  more  commonly  known  name  of  the  town  is  '  Carrha,'  and 
the  exact  title  of  Archelaus'  work  as  it  .-ippears  in  Valesiiis'  Auuo- 
iationcs  [ed.  of  1677,  see   Introd.   p.  xvi.J   is  Disputatio  adversus 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Eusebiiis  Bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Tiieognis 
Bishop  of  Niccea,  Jiaving  recovered  Confidence, 
endeavor  to  subvert  the  Nicene  Creed,  by  p/ot- 
ti?jg  against  Athauasius. 

The  partisans  of  Eusebius  and  Theognis  hav- 
ing returned  from  their  exile,  these  latter  were 
reinstated  in  their  churches,  having  expelled,  as 
we  observed,  those  who  had  been  ordained  in 
their   stead.     Moreover,  they  came   into  great 
consideration  with   the   emperor,  who   honored 
them   exceedingly,  as  those  who   had  returned 
from  error  to  the  orthodox  faith.     They,  how- 
ever, abused  the  license  thus  afforded  them,  by 
exciting  greater  commotions  in  the  world  than 
they  had  done  before  ;  being  instigated  to  this 
by  two   causes  —  on    the   one    hand   the   Arian 
heresy  with    which    they    had    been    previously 
infected,  and   bitter   animosity   against  Athana- 
sius  on  the  other,  because  he  had  so  vigorously 
withstood  them  in  the  Synod  while  the  articles 
of  faith  were  under  discussion.     And  in  the  first 
place  they  objected  to  the  ordination  of  Athaua- 
sius partly  as  a  person  unworthy  of  the  prelacy, 
and  partly  because  he  had  been  elected  by  dis- 
qualified   persons.     But   when    Athanasius    had 
shown    himself   superior   to    this    calumny    (for 
having  assumed  control  of  the  church  of  Alex- 
andria, he  ardently  contended   for  the  Nicene 
creed),  then  Eusebius    exerted   himself  to   the 
utmost  insidiously  to  cause  the  removal  of  Atha- 
nasius and  to  bring  Arius  back  to  Alexandria ; 
for  he  thought  that  thus  only  he  should  be  able 
to  expunge    the    doctrine    of  consubstantiality, 
and    introduce    Arianism.       Eusebius    therefore 
wrote  to  Athanasius,  desiring   him  to   re-admit 
Arius  and  his  adherents  into  the  church.     Now 
the  tone  of  his  letter  indeed  was  that  of  entreaty, 
but  openly  he  menaced  him.     And  as  Athana- 
sius would  by  no  means  accede  to  this,  he  en- 
deavored to  induce  the  emperor  to  give  Arius 
an  audience,  and  then  permit  him  to  return  to 
Alexandria  :  and  by  what  means  he  attained  his 
object,    I    shall    mention    in    its    proper    place. 
Meanwhile  before  this  another  commotion  was 
raised  in  the  church.     In  fact,  her  own  children 
again  disturbed  her  peace.     Eusebius  Pamphilus 
says,^  that  immediately  after  the  Synod,  Egypt 
became  agitated  by  intestine  divisions  :  not  as- 
signing,  however,  the   reason   for   this,   so   that 
hence' he  has  won  the  reputation  of  disingenu- 
ousness,  and  of  avoiding  to  specify  the  causes  of 


Manich<eum.  It  constitutes  p.  197-203  of  the  A nnotationrs ,  and 
is  in  Latin.  It  has  beeu  published  also  m  Latin  by  L.  A.  Zacagui 
in  his  coUcctanea  iiionuMoitoriim  vctcruin  Ecclcsice  Grtecce  ac 
Latitice,  i6p8. 

'  Kuseb.  Life  of  Const.  III.  23. 


1. 24.] 


EUSTATHIUS    OF    ANTIOCH    DEPOSED. 


27 


these  dissensions,  from  a  determination  on  his 
part  not  to  give  his  sanction  to  the  proceedings 
at  Niccea.  Yet  as  we  ourselves  have  discovered 
from  various  letters  which  the  bishops  wrote  to 
one  another  after  the  Synod,  the  term  homoou- 
sios  troubled  some  of  them.  So  that  while  they 
occupied  themselves  in  a  too  minute  investiga- 
tion of  its  import,  they  roused  the  strife  against 
each  other  ;  it  seemed  not  unlike  a  contest  in 
the  dark ;  for  neither  party  appeared  to  under- 
stand distinctly  the  grounds  on  which  they  calum- 
niated one  another.  Those  who  objected  to 
the  word  lioinoousios,  conceived  that  those  who 
approved  it  favored  the  opinion  of  Sabellius' 
and  Montanus ;  '  they  therefore  called  them 
blasphemers,  as  subverting  the  existence  of  the 
Son  of  God.  And  again  the  advocates  of  this 
term,  charging  their  opponents  with  polytheism, 
inveighed  against  them  as  introducers  of  heathen 
superstitions.  Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  ac- 
cuses Eusebius  Pamphilus  of  perverting  the  Ni- 
cene  Creed  ;  Eusebius  again  denies  that  he  vio- 
lates that  exposition  of  the  faith,  and  recrimi- 
nates, saying  that  Eustathius  was  a  defender  of 
the  opinion  of  Sabellius.  In  consequence  of 
these  misunderstandings,  each  of  them  wrote  as 
if  contending  against  adversaries  :  and  although 
it  was  admitted  on  both  sides  that  the  Son  of 
God  has  a  distinct  person  and  existence,  and  all 
acknowledged  that  there  is  one  God  in  three 
Persons,  yet  from  what  cause  I  am  unable  to 
divine,  they  could  not  agree  among  themselves, 
and  therefore  could  in  no  way  endure  to  be  at 
peace. 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Of  tJic  Sxnod  held  at  AutiocJi,  loJucJi  deposed 
Eustathius,  Bishop  of  Aiitioeh,  on  whose 
account  a  Sedition  broke  out  and  almost 
ruined  the  City. 

Having  therefore  convened  a  Synod  at  An- 
tioch, they  deposed  Eustathius,  as  a  supporter 
of  the  Sabellian  heresy,  rather  than  of  the  tenets 
which  the  council  at  Nicaea  had  formulated. 
As  some  affirm  [this  measure  was  taken]  for 
other  and  unsatisfactory  reasons,  though  none 
other  have  been  openly  assigned :  this  is  a 
matter  of  common  occurrence  ;  the  bishops  are 
^  accustomed  to  do  this  in  all  cases,  accusing  and 
pronouncing  impious  those  whom  tliey  depose, 
but  not  explaining  their  warrant  for  so  doing. 
George,  bishop  of  Laodicea  in  Syria,  one  of  the 

^  Cf.  ch.  5,  and  note. 

2  It  is  not  clear  why  Socrates  joins  the  name  of  Montanus  to  that 
of  Sabellius;  the  former  was  undoubtedly  in  accord  with  the  com- 
mon doctrine  of  the  church  as  to  the  Trinity.  Cf.  Epiphan.  Hisr, 
XLVIII.  and  Tertullian  ad.  Fraxeavi.  It  was,  however,  fre- 
quently alleged  by  various  writers  of  the  age  that  Montanus  and  the 
Montanists  held  erroneous  views  concerning  the  Godhead.  See 
Eus.  H.  E.  V.  16. 


number  of  those  who  abominated  the  term  homo- 
ousios,  assures  us  in  his  Encomium  of  Eusebius 
Eniisenus,  that  they  deposed  Eustathius  as 
favoring  Sabellianism,  on  the  impeachment  of 
Cyrus,  bishop  of  Beroea.  Of  Eusebius  Emise- 
nus  we  shall  speak  elsewhere  in  due  order. ^ 
George  has  written  of  luistathius  [somewhat 
inconsistently]  ;  for  after  asserting  that  he  was 
accused  by  Cyrus  of  maintaining  the  heresy  of 
Sabellius,  he  tells  us  again  that  Cyrus  himself 
was  convicted  of  the  same  error,  and  degraded 
for  it.  Now  how  was  it  possible  that  Cyrus 
should  accuse  Eustathius  as  a  Sabellian,  when 
he  inclined  to  Sabellianism  himself?  It  appears 
likely  therefore  that  Eustathius  must  have  been 
condemned  on  other  grounds.  At  that  time, 
however,  there  arose  a  dangerous  sedition  at 
Antioch  on  account  of  his  deposition  :  for  when 
they  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  successor, 
so  fierce  a  dissension  was  kindled,  as  to  threaten 
the  whole  city  with  destruction.  The  populace 
was  divided  into  two  factions,  one  of  which 
vehemently  contended  for  the  translation  of 
Eusebius  Pamphilus  from  Csesarea  in  Palestine 
to  Antioch ;  the  other  equally  insisted  on  the 
reinstatement  of  Eustathius.  And  the  popu- 
lace of  the  city  were  infected  with  the  spirit 
of  partisanship  in  this  quarrel  among  the  Chris- 
tians, a  military  force  was  arrayed  on  both  sides 
with  hostile  intent,  so  that  a  bloody  collision 
would  have  taken  place,  had  not  God  and  the 
dread  of  the  emperor  repressed  the  violence  of 
the  multitude.  For  the  emperor  through  letters, 
and  Eusebius  by  refusing  to  accept  the  bishop- 
ric, served  to  allay  the  ferment :  on  which  ac- 
count that  prelate  was  exceedingly  admired  by 
the  emperor,  who  wrote  to  him  commending  his 
prudent  determination,  and  congratulating  him 
as  one  who  was  considered  worthy  of  being 
bishop  not  of  one  city  merely,  but  of  almost  the 
whole  world.  Consequently  it  is  said  that  the 
episcopal  chair  of  the  church  at  .\ntioch  was 
vacant  for  eight  consecutive  years  after  this 
period  ;  -  but  at  length  by  the  exertions  of  those 
who  aimed  at  the  subversion  of  the  Nicene 
creed,  Euphronius  was  duly  installed.  This  is 
the  amount  of  my  information  respecting  the 
Synod  held  at  Antioch  on  account  of  Eustathius. 
Immediately  after  these  events  Eusebius,  who 
had  long  before  left  Berytus,  and  was  at  that 
time  presiding  over  the  church  at  Nicomedia, 
strenuously  exerted  himself  in  connection  to 
those  of  his  party,  to  bring  back  Arius  to 
Alexandria.  But  how  they  managed  to  effect 
this,  and  by  what  means  the  emperor  was  pre- 


1  See  II.  9. 

2  Socrates  is  in  error  here,  as  according  to  Eusebius  (H.  E. 
X.  i),  immediately  after  the  deposition  of  Eustathius  and  his  own 
refusal  of  the  bishopric  of  Antioch,  Paulinus  was  transferred  there 
from  the  see  of  Tyre.  This  was  in  329  a.d.,  so  that  no  vacancy  of 
eight  years  intervened. 


28 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  24. 


vailed  on   to   admit   both   Arius   and   with   him 
Euzoius  into  his  presence  must  now  be  related. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

0/  the  Presbyter  ivho  exerted  himself  for  the 
Recall  of  Arius} 

The  Emperor  Constantine  had  a  sister  named 
Constantia,  the  widow  of  Licinius,  who  had  for 
some  time  shared  the  imperial  dignity  with  Con- 
stantine, but  had  assumed  tyrannical  powers  and 
had  been  put  to  death  in  consequence.  This  prin- 
cess maintained  in  her  household  establishment 
a  certain  confidential  presbyter,  tinctured  with 
the  dogmas  of  Arianism ;  Eusebius  and  others 
having  prompted  him,  he  took  occasion  in  his 
familiar  conversations  with  Constantia,  to  insinu- 
ate that  the  Synod  had  done  Arius  injustice,  and 
that  the  common  report  concerning  him  was  not 
true.  Constantia  gave  full  credence  to  the  pres- 
byter's assertions,  but  durst  not  report  them  to 
the  emperor.  Now  it  happened  that  she  be- 
came dangerously  ill,  and  her  brother  visited  her 
daily.  As  the  disease  became  aggravated  and 
she  expected  to  die,  she  commended  this  pres- 
byter to  the  emperor,  testifying  to  his  diligence 
and  ]:)iety,  as  well  as  his  devoted  loyalty  to  his 
sovereign.  She  died  soon 'after,  whereupon  the 
presbyter  became  one  of  the  most  confidential 
persons  about  the  emperor ;  and  having  gradu- 
ally increased  in  freedom  of  speech,  he  repeated 
to  the  emperor  what  he  had  before  stated  to  his 
sister,  affirming  that  Arius  had  no  other  views 
than  the  sentiments  avowed  by  the  Synod  ;  and 
that  if  he  were  admitted  to  the  imperial  pres- 
ence, he  would  give  his  full  assent  to  what  the 
Synod  had  decreed  :  he  added,  moreover,  that 
he  had  been  unreasonably  slandered.  The  pres- 
byter's words  appeared  strange  to  the  emperor, 
and  he  said,  'If  Arius  subscribes  with  the  Synod 
and  holds  its  views,  I  will  both  gi\e  him  an  au- 
dience, and  send  him  back  to  Alexandria  with 
honor.'  Having  thus  said,  he  immediately  wrote 
to  him  in  these  words  : 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus,  to  Arius. 

It  was  intimated  to  your  reverence  some 
time  since,  that  you  might  come  to  my  court,  in 
order  to  obtain  an  interview  with  us.  We  are 
not  a  little  surjirised  that  you  did  not  do  this 
immediately.  Wherefore  having  at  once  mounted 
a  public  vehicle,  hasten  to  arrive  at  our  court ; 
that  when  you  have  experienced  our  clemency 
and  regard  for  you,  you  may  return  to  your  own 


1  Cf.  Rufinus,  H.  E.  I.  n.  The  fact  that  the  name  of  this 
presbyter  is  not  mentioned,  and  Athanasius'  apparent  ignorance  of 
the  story,  together  with  the  untrussworthiness  of  Riifinus,  throw  sus- 
picion on  the  authenticity  of  this  account.     Cf.  also  ch.  39,  note  2. 


country.     May  God  protect  you,  beloved.    Dated 
the  twenty-fifth  of  November. 

This  was  the  letter  of  the  emperor  to  Arius. 
And  I  cannot  but  admire  the  ardent  zeal  which 
the  prince  manifested  for  religion  :  for  it  appears 
from  this  document  that  he  had  often  before  ex- 
horted Arius  to  change  his  views,  inasmuch  as 
he  censures  his  delaying  to  return  to  the  truth, 
although  he  had  himself  written  frequently  to 
him.  Now  on  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  Arius 
came  to  Constantinople  accompanied  by  Euzoius, 
whom  Alexander  had  divested  of  his  deaconship 
when  he  excommunicated  Arius  and  his  parti- 
sans. The  emperor  accordingly  admitted  them 
to  his  presence,  and  asked  them  whether  they 
would  agree  to  the  creed.  And  when  they 
readily  gave  their  assent,  he  ordered  them  to 
deliver  to  him  a  written  statement  of  their  faith. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Arius,  on  being  recalled,  presents  a  Recantation 
to  the  Emperor,  and  pretends   to  accept  the 

Nicene  Creed. 

Thev  having  drawn  up  a  declaration  to  the 
following  effect,  presented  it  to  the  emperor. 

'  Arius  and  Euzoius,  to  our  Most  Religious 
and  Pious  Lord,  the  Emperor  Constantine. 

'  In  accordance  with  the  command  of  your 
devout  piety,  sovereign  lord,  we  declare  our 
faith,  and  before  God  profess  in  writing,  that  we 
and  our  adherents  believe  as  follows  : 

'We  believe  in  one  God  the  Father  Almighty  : 
and  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  his  Son,  who  was 
begotten  ^  of  him  before  all  ages,  God  the  Word 
through  whom  all  things  were  made,  both  those 
which  are  in  the  heavens  and  those  upon  the 
earth ;  who  descended,  and  became  incarnate, 
and  suffered,  and  rose  again,  ascended  into  the 
heavens,  and  will  again  come  to  judge  the  living 
and  the  dead.  [We  believe]  also  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  in  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  and 
in  the  life  of  the  corning  age,  and  in  the  king- 
dom of  the  heavens,  and  in  one  ("atholic  Church 
of  God,  extending  from  one  end  of-  the  earth  to 
the  other. 

'  This  faith  we  have  received  from  the  holy 
gospels,  the  Lord  therein  saying  to  his  disci])les  :  ^ 
"  Go  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit."  If  we  do  not  so  believe  and  truly 
receive  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as   the  whole   Catholic    Church    and    the   holy 


'  The  old  English  translation  rendered  '  made '  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  Greek  was  ye-ytrrjiiiei'oi',  not  yeyevvt\txivov.  So  also 
Valesius  read  and  translated  '  factum  ';  but  Bright  without  men- 
tioning any  variant  reading,  gives  yeyevvTiiJiivov ,  and  we  have  ven- 
tured to  translate  accordingly. 

-  Matt,  xxviii.  9. 


1. 27.] 


DISPUTE    IN    ALEXANDRIA   ABOUT    ARIUS. 


29 


Scriptures  teach  (in  which  we  beHe\-e  in  every 
respect),  God  is  our  judge  both  now,  and  in  the 
coming  judgment.  U'herefore  we  beseech  your 
piety,  most  devout  emperor,  that  we  who  are 
persons  consecrated  to  the  ministry,  and  holding 
the  faith  and  sentiments  of  the  church  and  of 
the  holy  Scriptures,  may  by  your  pacific  and 
devoted  piety  be  reunited  to  our  mother,  the 
Church,  all  superfluous  questions  and  disputings 
being  avoided  :  that  so  both  we  and  the  whole 
church  being  at  peace,  may  in  common  offer 
our  accustomed  prayers  for  your  tranquil  reign, 
and  on  behalf  of  your  whole  family.' 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Ariiis  having  returned  to  Alexandria  ivitJi  the 
Emperor's  Consetif,  and  not  being  received  by 
Athanasius,  the  Partisans  of  Eiisebius  bring 
Manx  Charges  against  Athanasius  before  the 
Emperor. 

Arius  having  thus  satisfied  the  emperor,  re- 
turned to  Alexandria.  But  his  artifice  for  sup- 
pressing the  truth  did  not  succeed ;  for  on  his 
arrival  at  Alexandria,  as  Athanasius  would  not 
receive  him,  but  turned  away  from  him  as  a  pest, 
he  attempted  to  excite  a  fresh  commotion  in 
that  city  by  disseminating  his  heresy.  Then  in- 
deed both  Eusebius  himself  wrote,  and  prevailed 
on  the  emperor  also  to  write,  in  order  that  Arius 
and  his  partisans  might  be  readmitted  into  the 
church.  Athanasius  nevertheless  wholly  refused 
to  receive  them,  and  wrote  to  inform  the  empe- 
ror in  reply,  that  it  was  impossible  for  those  who 
had  once  rejected  the  faith,  and  had  been  anath- 
ematized, to  be  again  received  into  communion 
on  their  return.  But  the  emperor,  provoked  at 
this  answer,  menaced  Athanasius  in  these  terms  : 

'  Since  you  have  been  apprised  of  my  will,  afford 
•unhindered  access  into  the  church  to  all  those 
who  are  desirous  of  entering  it.  For  if  it  shall 
be  intimated  to  me  that  you  have  prohibited  any 
of  those  claiming  to  be  reunited  to  the  church, 
or  have  hindered  their  admission,  I  will  forth- 
with send  some  one  who  at  my  command  shall 
depose  you,  and  drive  you  into  exile.' 

The  emperor  wrote  thus  from  a  desire  of 
promoting  the  public  good,  and  because  he  did 
not  wish  to  see  the  church  ruptured ;  for  he 
labored  earnestly  to  bring  them  all  into  harmony. 
Then  indeed  the  partisans  of  Eusebius,  ill-dis- 
posed towards  Athanasius,  imagining  they  had 
found  a  seasonable  opportunity,  welcomed  the 
emperor's  displeasure  as  an  auxiliary  to  their 
own  purpose  :  and  on  this  account  they  raised 
a  great  disturbance,  endeavoring  to  eject  him 
from  his  bishopric  ;  for  they  entertained  the  hope 


that  the  Arian  doctrine  would  prevail  only  upon 
tlie  removal  of  Athanasius.  The  chief  conspir- 
ators against  him  were  Eusebius  bishop  of  Nico- 
media,  Theognis  of  Nicaea,  Maris  ofChalcedon, 
Ursacius  of  Singidnum  in  Upper  Moesia,  and 
Valens  of  Mursa  in  Upper  Pannonia.  These 
persons  suborn  by  bribes  certain  of  the  Melitian 
heresy  to  fabricate  various  charges  against  Atha- 
nasius ;  and  first  they  accuse  him  through  the 
Melitians  Ision,  Eudaemon  and  Callinicus,  of 
having  ordered  the  Egyptians  to  pay  a  linen 
garment  as  tribute  to  the  church  at  Alexandria. 
But  this  calumny  was  immediately  disproved  by 
Alypius  and  Macarius,  presbyters  of  the  Alexan- 
drian church,  who  tlien  happened  to  be  at  Ni- 
comedia ;  they  having  convinced  the  emperor 
that  these  statements  to  the  prejudice  of  Atha- 
nasius were  false.  Wherefore  the  emperor  by 
letter  severely  censured  his  accusers,  but  urged 
Athanasius  to  come  to  him.  But  before  he 
came  the  Eusebian  faction  anticipating  his  arri- 
val, added  to  their  former  accusation  the  charge 
of  another  crime  of  a  still  more  serious  nature 
than  the  former ;  charging  Athanasius  with  plot- 
ting against  his  sovereign,  and  with  having  sent 
for  treasonable  purposes  a  chest  full  of  gold  to 
one  Philumenus.  When,  however,  the  emperor 
had  himself  investigated  this  matter  at  Psama- 
thia,  which  is  in  the  suburbs  of  Nicomedia,  and 
had  found  Athanasius  innocent,  he  dismissed 
him  with  honor ;  and  wrote  with  his  own  hand 
to  the  church  at  Alexandria  to  assure  them  that 
their  bishop  had  been  falsely  accused.  It  would 
indeed  have  been  both  proper  and  desirable  to 
have  passed  over  in  silence  the  subsequent  at- 
tacks which  the  Eusebians  made  upon  Athana- 
sius, lest  from  these  circumstances  the  Church 
of  Christ  should  be  judged  unfavorably  of  by 
those  who  are  -adverse  to  its  interests.^  But 
since  having  been  already  committed  to  writing, 
they  have  become  known  to  everybody,  I  have 
on  that  account  deemed  it  necessary  to  make 
as  cursory  allusion  to  these  things  as  possible, 
the  particulars  of  which  would  require  a  special 
treatise.  Whence  the  slanderous  accusation 
originated,  and  the  character  of  those  who 
devised  it,  I  shall  now  therefore  state  in  brief. 
Mareotes  -  is  a  district  of  Alexandria ;  there  are 
contained  in  it  very  many  villages,  and  an 
abundant  population,  with  numerous  splendid 
churches ;  these  churches  are  all  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  are 


1  From  the  sentiments  expressed  here  may  be  inferred  the  respect 
of  the  author  for  the  church.  His  view  on  the  suppression  of  facts 
which  did  not  redound  to  the  honor  of  the  church  does  not  show  a 
very  high  ideal  of  history,  but  it  bespeaks  a  laudable  regard  for  the 
good  name  of  Christianity. 

-  This  description  is  probably  dependent  on  Athanasius,  who 
says  in  his  Apologia  co^itra  Arz'anos,  85,  'Mareotes  is  a  re- 
gion of  Alexandria.  In  that  region  there  never  was  a  bishop  or  a 
deputy  bishop;  but  the  churches  of  the  whole  region  are  subject 
to  the  bishop  of  Alexandria.  Each  of  the  presbyters  has  separate 
villages,  which  are  numerous,  —  sometimes  ten  or  more.'  Ischyras 
was  probably  a  resident  of  one  of  the  obscurest  of  these  villages; 


\o 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  27. 


subject  to  his  city  as  parishes.^  There  was  in 
this  region  a  person  named  Ischyras,  who  had 
been  guilty  of  an  act  deserving  of  many  deaths  ;■* 
for  although  he  had  never  been  admitted  to  holy 
orders,  he  had  the  audacity  to  assume  the  title 
of  presbyter,  and  to  exercise  sacred  functions 
belonging  to  the  priesthood.  But  having  been 
detected  in  his  sacrilegious  career,  he  made  his 
escape  thence  and  sought  refuge  in  Nicomedia, 
where  he  implored  the  protection  of  the  party 
of  Eusebius  ;  who  from  their  hatred  to  Athana- 
sius,  not  only  received  him  as  a  presbyter,  but 
even  promised  to  confer  upon  him  the  dignity 
of  the  episcopacy,  if  he  would  frame  an  accusa- 
tion against  Athanasius,  listening  as  a  pretext 
for  this  to  whatever  stories  Ischyras  had  invented. 
For  he  spread  a  report  that  he  had  suffered 
dreadfully  in  consequence  of  an  assault ;  and 
that  Macarius  had  rushed  furiously  toward  the 
altar,  had  overturned  the  table,  and  broken  a 
mystical  cup  :  he  added  also  that  he  had  burnt 
the  sacred  books.  As  a  reward  for  this  accu- 
sation, the  Eusebian  faction,  as  I  have  said, 
promised  him  a  bishopric  ;  foreseeing  that  the 
charges  against  Macarius  would  involve,  along 
with  the  accused  party,  Athanasius,  under  whose 
orders  he  would  seem  to  have  acted.  But  this 
charge  they  formulated  later  ;  before  it  they  de- 
vised another  full  of  the  bitterest  malignity,  to 
which  I  shall  now  advert.  Having  by  some 
means,  I  know  not  what,  obtained  a  man's  hand  ; 
whether  they  themselves  had  murdered  any  one, 
and  cut  off  his  hand,  or  had  severed  it  from 
some  dead  body,  God  knows  and  the  authors  of 
the  deed  :  but  be  that  as  it  may,  they  publicly 
exposed  it  as  the  hand  of  Arsenius,  a  Melitian 
bishop,  while  they  kept  the  alleged  owner  of  it 
concealed.  This  hand,  they  asserted,  had  been 
made  use  of  by  Athanasius  in  the  performance 
of  certain  magic  arts  ;  and  therefore  it  was  made 
the  gravest  ground  of  accusation  which  these  ca- 
lumniators had  concerted  against  him  :  but  as  it 
generally  happens,  all  those  who  entertained  any 
])ique  against  Athanasius  came  forward  at  the 
same  time  with  a  variety  of  other  charges. 
When  the  emperor  was  informed  of  these  pro- 
ceedings, he  wrote  to  his  nephew  Dalmatius  the 
censor,- who  then  had  his  residence  at  Antioch 
in  Syria,  directing  him  to  order  the  accused 
parties  to  be  brought  before  him,  and  after  due 
investigation,  to  inflict  i)unishment  on  such  as 
might  be  convicted.  He  also  sent  thither  F^u- 
sebius  and  Theognis,  that  the  case  might  be 
tried  in  their  presence.  When  Athanasius  knew 
that  he  was  to  be  summoned  before  the  censor, 
he  sent  into  Egypt  to  make  a  strict  search  after 

and  it  can  be  seen  that  what  is  said  of  his  doings  here  could  easily 
come  to  pass. 

•''  !7api>t<ia=  later  '  parochia  ':  hence  the  derivatives. 

*  .Another  evidence  of  the  author's  reverence  for  the  institutions 
of  religion.     For  subsequent  history  of  Ischyras,  see  II.  20. 


Arsenius ;  and  he  ascertained  indeed  that  he 
was  secreted  there,  but  was  unable  to  appre- 
hend him,  because  he  often  changed  his  place 
of  concealment.  Meanwhile  the  emperor  sup- 
pressed the  trial  which  was  to  have  been  held 
before  the  censor,  on  the  following  account. 


CHAPTER   XXVni. 

O/i  Account  of  the  Charges  against  Athanasius, 
the  Emperor  convokes  a  Synod  of  Bishops  at 
Tyre. 

The  emperor  had  ordered  a  Synod  of  bishops 
to  be  present  at  the  consecration  of  the  church 
which  he  had  erected  at  Jerusalem.  He  there- 
fore directed  that,  as  a  secondary  matter,  they 
should  on  their  way  first  assemble  at  Tyre,  to 
examine  into  the  charges  against  Athanasius ; 
in  order  that  all  cause  of  contention  being  re- 
moved there,  they  might  the  more  peacefully 
perform  the  inaugural  ceremonies^  in  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  church  of  God.  This  was  the 
thirtieth  year  of  Constantine's  reign,  and  sixty 
bishops  were  thus  convened  at  Tyre  from  various 
places,  on  the  summons  of  Dionysius  the  con- 
sul. As  to  Macarius  the  presbyter,  he  was  con- 
ducted from  Alexandria  in  chains,  under  a  mili- 
tary escort  ;  while  Athanasius  was  unwilling  to 
go  thither,  not  so  much  from  dread,  because  he 
was  innocent  of  the  charges  made,  as  because 
he  feared  lest  any  innovations  should  be  made 
on  the  decisions  of  the  council  at  Nicaea ;  he 
was,  however,  constrained  to  be  present  by  the 
menacing  letters  of  the  emperor.  For  it  had 
been  written  him  that  if  he  did  not  come  volun- 
tarily, he  should  l)e  brought  by  force. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

Of  Arsenii/s,  and  his  Hajid  7ohich  was  said  to 
have  been  cut  off. 

The  sjjecial  providence  of  (iod  drove  Arse-- 
nius  also  to  Tyre ;  for,  disregarding  the  injunc- 
tions he  had  received  from  the  accusers  who 
had  bribed  him,  he  went  thither  disguised  to 
see  what  would  be  done.  It  by  some  means 
happened  that  the  servants  of  Archelaus,  the 
governor  of  the  province,  heard  some  persons 
at  an  inn  affirm  that  Arsenius,  who  was  reported 
to  have  been  murdered,  was  concealed  in  the 
house  of  one  of  the  citizens.  Having  heard 
this  and  marked  the  individuals  by  whom  this 
statement  was  made,  they  communicated  the 
information  to  their  master,  who  causing  strict 
search  to   be   made  for   the   man   immediately, 

1  tnijSarijpia:  lit.  'ceremonies  performed  at  enrtjarkation.' 


I-  32.] 


INTRIGUES    AGAINST    ATHANASIUS    FAIL. 


31 


discovered  and  properly  secured  him  •  after 
wliich  lie  gave  notice  to  Athanasius  that  he  need 
not  be  under  any  alarm,  inasmuch  as  Arsenius 
was  alive  and  there  present.  Arsenius  on  being 
apprehended,  at  first  denied  that  he  was  the 
person ;  but  Paul,  bishop  of  lyre,  who  had 
formerly  known  him,  established  his  identity. 
Divine  providence  having  thus  disposed  matters, 
Athanasius  was  shortly  after  summoned  by  the 
Synod  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  presented  himself,  his 
traducers  exhibited  the  hand,  and  pressed  their 
charge.  He  managed  the  affair  with  great  pru- 
dence, for  he  enquired  of  those  present,  as  well 
as  of  his  accusers,  who  were  the  persons  who 
knew  Arsenius?  and  several  having  answered 
that  they  knew  him,  he  caused  Arsenius  to  be 
introduced,  having  his  hands  covered  by  his 
cloak.  Then  he  again  asked  them,  '  Is  this  the 
person  who  has  lost  a  hand  ?  '  All  were  aston- 
ished at  the  unexpectedness  of  this  procedure, 
except  those  who  knew  whence  the  hand  had 
been  cut  off;  for  the  rest  thought  that  Arsenius 
was  really  deficient  of  a  hand,  and  expected 
that  the  accused  would  make  his  defense  in 
some  other  way.  But  Athanasius  turning  back 
the  cloak  of  Arsenius  on  one  side  showed  one 
of  the  man's  hands  ;  again,  while  some  were 
supposing  that  the  other  hand  was  wanting,  per- 
mitting them  to  remain  a  short  time  in  doubt, 
afterward  he  turned  back  the  cloak  on  the 
other  side  and  exposed  the  other  hand.  Then, 
addressing  himself  to  those  present,  he  said, 
'  Arsenius,  as  you  see,  is  found  to  have  two 
hands  :  let  my  accusers  show  the  place  whence 
the  third  was  cut  off.'  ^ 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

Athanasius  is  found  Innocent  of  what  he  was 
accused ;  his  Accusers  take  to  Flight. 

Matters  having  been  brought  to  this  issue 
with  regard  to  Arsenius,  the  contrivers  of  this 
imposture  were  reduced  to  perplexity ;  and 
Achab,^  who  was  also  called  John,  one  of  the 
principal  accusers,  having  slipped  out  of  court 
in  the  tumult,  effected  his  escape.  Thus  Athana- 
sius cleared  himself  from  this  charge,  without 
having  recourse  to  any  pleading ;  -  for  he  was 
confident  that  the  sight  only  of  Arsenius  alive 
would  confound  his  calumniators. 

e 

1  A  full  account  of  the  circumstances  narrated  in  this  and  the 
following  chapters  is  given  by  Athanasius  in  his  Apol.  contra  A  ria- 
nos,  65,  71  and  72.  Parallel  accounts  mav  also  be  found  in  Sozom. 
II.  25;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  I.  28;  Rufinus, '//.  E.  X.  17;  Philostor- 
gius,  II.  II. 

'  In  Athanasius'  account  {Apol.  c.  Ariaii.  65)  this  man's  name 
is  given  as  ' \pxo-<t>  (Archaph),  which  is  an  Egyptian  name;  its  as- 
sonance with  the  biblical  'A^aaS  may  have  made  the  latter  a  current 
appellation.     John  was  no  doubt  his  monastic  name. 

-  -apay(iaL(iiri,  legal  term;  ypacir;  =' indictment,"  irapaypaipij  = 
'demurrer,'  so  used  by  Isocrates,  Demosthenes,  &c.,  of  the  classi- 
cal authors. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

When  the  Bishops  7i.nll  not  listen  to  Athanasius'' 
Defense  on  the  Second  Charge,  he  betakes 
himself  to  the  Emperor. 

But  in  refuting  the  false  allegations  against 
Macarius,  he  made  use  of  legal  forms ;  taking 
exception  in  the  first  place  to  Eusebius  and  his 
party,  as  his  enemies,  protesting  against  the  in- 
justice of  any  man's  being  tried  by  his  adver- 
saries. He  next  insisted  on  its  being  proved 
that  his  accuser  Ischyras  had  really  obtained 
the  dignity  of  presbyter ;  for  so  he  had  been 
designated  in  the  indictment.  But  as  the  judges 
would  not  allow  any  of  these  objections,  the 
case  of  Macarius  was  entered  into,  and  the  in- 
formers being  found  deficient  of  proofs,  the 
hearing  of  the  matter  was  postponed,  until  some 
persons  should  ha\-e  gone  into  Mareotis,  in  order 
that  all  doubtful  points  might  be  examined  on 
the  spot.  Athanasius  seeing  that  those  very 
individuals  were  to  be  sent  to  whom  he  had 
taken  exception  (for  the  persons  sent  were 
Theognis,  Claris,  Theodorus,  Macedonius,  Valens, 
and  Ursacius),  exclaimed  that  'their  procedure 
was  both  treacherous  and  fraudulent ;  for  that  it 
was  unjust  that  the  presbyter  Macarius  should 
be  detained  in  bonds,  while  the  accuser  together 
with  the  judges  who  were  his  adversaries,  were 
permitted  to  go,  in  order  ,that  an  ex  parte  col- 
lection of  the  facts  in  evidence  might  be  made.* 
Having  made  this  protest  before  the  whole  Synod 
and  Dionysius  the  governor  of  the  province,  and 
finding  that  no  one  paid  any  attention  to  his 
appeal,  he  privately  withdrew.  Those,  therefore, 
who  were  sent  to  Mareotis,  having  made  an  ex 
parte  investigation,  held  that  what  the  accuser 
said  was  true. 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

On   the  Departure    of  Athanasius,  those    7vho 
composed  the  Synod  vote  his  Deposition. 

Thus  Athanasius  departed,  hastening  to  the 
emperor,  and  the  Synod  in  the  first  place  con- 
demned him  in  his  absence  ;  and  when  the  re- 
sult of  the  enquiry  which  had  been  instituted  at 
Mareotis  was  presented,  they  voted  to  depose 
him  ;  loading  him  with  opprobrious  epithets  in 
their  sentence  of  deposition,  but  being  wholly 
silent  respecting  the  disgraceful  defeat  of  the 
charge  of  murder  brought  by  his  calumniators. 
They  naoreover  received  into  communion  Arse- 

1  ex  fxopoixepovi,  Lat.  e.r  parte;  the  term,  however,  is  not  re- 
stricted to  this  technical  sense,  but  may  be  used  of  any  form  of 
partiality.  Cf.  Sophocles'  Creek  Lex.  of  Rom.  and  Byz.  As  al- 
ready noted  in  the  Intro,  p.  ix,  Harnack  denies  that  there  is  any 
special  juristic  knowledge  shown  here;  it  must  be  conceded  that  the 
language  used  is  such  as  might  have  been  at  the  command  of  any 
intelligent  and  educated  non-professional  man. 


32 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[1-32. 


nius,  who  was  reported  to  have  been  murdered  ; 
and  he  who  had  formerly  been  a  bishop  of  the 
MeUtian  heresy  subscribed  to  the  deposition  of 
Athanasius  as  bishop  of  the  city  of  HypselopoUs. 
Thus  by  an  ex^aordinary  course  of  circumstan- 
ces, the  alleged  victim  of  assassination  by  Atha- 
nasius, was  found  aliv'e  to  assist  in  deposing  him. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

The  Membeis  of  the  Synod  proceed  from  Tyre 
to  Jeriisalein,  and  having  celebrated  the  Dedi- 
cation of  the  '  New  Jerusalem,'  receive  Arius 
and  his  FoUoivers  into  Communion. 

Letters  in  the  meantime  were  brought  from 
the  emperor  directing  those  who  composed  the 
Synod  to  hasten  to  the  New  Jerusalem  :'^  having 
therefore  immediately  left  Tyre,  they  set  forward 
with  all  despatch  to  Jerusalem,  where,  after  cel- 
ebrating a  festival  in  connection  with  the  conse- 
cration of  the  place,  they  readmitted  Arius  ^  and 
his  adherents  into  commimion,  in  obedience,  as 
they  said,  to  the  wishes  of  the  emperor,  who  had 
signified  in  his  communication  to  them,  that  he 
was  fully  satisfied  respecting  the  faith  of  Arius 
and  Euzoius.  They  moreover  wrote  to  the 
church  at  Alexandria,^  stating  that  all  envy  be- 
ing now  banished,  the  affairs  of  the  church  were 
established  in  peace  :  and  that  since  Arius  had 
by  his  recantation  acknowledged  the  truth,  it 
was  but  just  that,  being  thenceforth  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church,  he  should  also  be  henceforth 
received  by  them,  alluding  to  the  banishment 
of  Athanasius  [in  their  statement  that  '  all  envy 
was  now  banished '].  At  the  same  time  they 
sent  information  of  what  had  been  done  to  the 
emperor,  in  terms  nearly  to  the  same  effect. 
But  whilst  the  bishops  were  engaged  in  these 
transactions,  other  letters  came  unexpectedly 
from  the  emperor,  intimating  that  Athanasius 
had  fled  to  him  for  protection ;  and  that  it  was 
necessary  for  them  on  his  account  to  come  to 
Constantinople.  This  unanticipated  communi- 
cation from  the  emperor  was  as  follows. 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

llie  Emperor  summons  the  Synod  to  himself  by 
Letter,  in  order  that  the  Chai'ges  agaifist 
Athanasius  might  be  carefully  examitied  before 
him. 

Victor  Constantine  Maximus  Augustus,  to 
the  bishops  convened  at  Tyre. 

'  See  above,  ch.  17. 

2  Ariiis,  the  originator  of  the  Arian  heresy,  died  before  the  council 
at  Jerusalem;  hence  Valesius  infers  that  this  Arius  must  be  another 
man  of  the  same  name  mentioned  in  the  encyclical  of  Alexander 
of  Alexandria  as  a  partisan  of  the  arch-heretic.     Cf.  ch.  6. 

3  This  letter  is  contained  in  Athanasius"  de  Synod,  21,  and  a 
portion  of  it  in  Apol.  contra  Arian,  84. 


I  am  indeed  ignorant  of  the  decisions  which 
have  been  made  by  your  Council  with  so  much 
turbulence  and  storm  :  but  the  truth  seems  to 
have  been  perverted  by  some  tumultuous  and 
disorderly  proceedings  :  because,  that  is  to  say, 
in  your  mutual  love  of  contention,  which  you 
seem  desirous  of  perpetuating,  you  disregard 
the  consideration  of  those  things  which  are 
acceptable  to  God.  It  will,  however,  I  trust, 
be  the  work  of  Divine  Providence  to  dissipate 
the  mischiefs  resulting  from  this  jealous  rivalry, 
as  soon  as  they  shall  have  been  detected  ;  and 
to  make  it  apparent  to  us,  whether  ye  who  have 
been  convened  have  had  regard  to  truth,  and 
whether  your  decisions  on  the  subjects  which 
have  been  submitted  to  your  judgment  have 
been  made  apart  from  partiality  or  prejudice. 
Wherefore  it  is  indispensable  that  you  should 
all  without  delay  attend  upon  my  piety,  that 
you  may  yourselves  give  a  strict  account  of  your 
transactions.  For  what  reason  I  have  deemed 
it  proper  to  WTite  thus,  and  to  summon  you 
before  me,  you  will  learn  from  what  follows. 
As  I  was  making  my  entry  into  the  city  which 
bears  our  name,  in  this  our  most  flourishing 
home,  Constantinople,  —  and  it  happened  that 
I  was  riding  on  horseback  at  the  time,  —  sud- 
denly the  Bishop  Athanasius,  with  certain  eccle- 
siastics whom  he  had  around  him,  presented 
himself  so  unexpectedly  in  our  path,  as  to  pro- 
duce an  occasion  of  consternation.  For  the 
Omniscient  God  is  my  witness  that  at  first  sight 
I  did  not  recognize  him  until  some  of  my  at- 
tendants, in  answer  to  my  enquiry,  informed  me,  \ 
as  was  very  natural,  both  who  he  was,  and  what  j 
injustice  he  had  suffered.  At  that  time  indeed 
I  neither  conversed,  nor  held  any  communica- 
tion with  him.  But  as  he  repeatedly  entreated 
an  audience,  and  I  had  not  only  refused  it,  but 
almost  ordered  that  he  should  be  removed  from 
my  presence,  he  said  with  greater  boldness,  that 
he  petitioned  for  nothing  more  than  that  you 
might  be  summoned  hither,  in  order  that  in  our 
presence,  he,  driven  by  necessity  to  such  a 
course,  might  have  a  fair  opportunity  afforded 
him  of  complaining  of  his  wrongs.  Wherefore 
as  this  seems  reasonable,  and  consistent  with 
the  equity  of  my  government,  I  willingly  gave 
instructions  that  these  things  should  be  written 
to  you.  My  command  therefore  is,  that  all,  as 
many  as  composed  the  Synod  convened  at  Tyre, 
should  forthwith  hasten  to  the  court  of  our 
clemency,  in  order  that  from  the  facts  them- 
selves you  may  make  clear  the  purity  and  in- 
tegrity of  your  decision  in  my  presence,  whom 
you  cannot  but  own  to  be  a  true  servant  of 
God.  It  is  in  consequence  of  the  acts  of  my 
religious  service  towards  God  that  peace  is  every- 
where reigning ;  and  that  the  name  of  God  is 
sincerely  had  in  reverence  even  among  the  bar- 


1. 36.] 


ARIANS    DISOBEY   THE    EMPEROR.     MARCELLUS. 


33 


barians  themselves,  who  until  now  were  ignorant 
of  the  truth.  Now  it  is  evident  that  he  who 
knows  not  the  truth,  does  not  have  a  true 
knowledge  of  God  also  :  yet,  as  I  before  said, 
even  the  barbarians  on  my  account,  who  am  a 
genuine  servant  of  God,  have  acknowledged  and 
learned  to  worship  him,  whom  they  have  per- 
ceived in  very  deed  protecting  and  caring  for 
me  everywhere.  So  that  from  dread  of  us 
chiefly,  they  have  been  thus  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  whom  they  now 
worship.  Nevertheless  we  who  pretend  to  have 
a  religious  veneration  for  (I  will  not  say  who 
guard)  the  holy  mysteries  of  his  church,  we,  I 
say,  do  nothing  but  what  tends  to  discord  and 
animosity,  and  to  speak  plainly,  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  human  race.  But  hasten,  as  I  have 
already  said,  all  of  you  to  us  as  speedily  as 
possible  :  and  be  assured  that  I  shall  endeavor 
with  all  my  power  to  cause  that  what  is  con- 
tained in  the  Divine  Law  may  be  preserved  in- 
violate, on  which  neither  stigma  nor  reproach 
shall  be  able  to  fasten  itself;  and -this  will  come 
to  pass  when  its  enemies,  who  under  covert  of 
the  sacred  profession  introduce  numerous  and 
diversified  blasphemies,  are  dispersed,  broken 
to  pieces,  and  altogether  annihilated. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

T/ie  Synod  not  having  come  to  the  Emperor,  the 
Partisans  of  Eitscbius  accuse  Athanasiiis  of 
having  thiratened  to  divert  the  Corn  supplied 
to  CoJistantinople  from  Alexandria :  the  Em- 
peror being  exasperated  at  this  banishes  Atha- 
nasius  i7ito  Gaul} 

This  letter  rendered  those  who  constituted 
the  Synod  very  fearful,  wherefore  most  of  them 
returned  to  their  respective  cities.  But  Euse- 
bius,  Theognis,  Maris,  Patrophilus,  Ursacius, 
and  Valens,  having  gone  to  Constantinople, 
would  not  permit  any  further  enquiry  to  be  in- 
stituted concerning  the  broken  cup,  the  over- 
turned communion  table,  and  the  murder  of 
Arsenius ;  but  they  had  recourse  to  another 
calumny,  informing  the  emperor  that  Athanasius 
had  threatened  to  prohibit  the  sending  of  corn 
which  was  usually  conveyed  from  Alexandria  to 
Constantinople.  They  affirmed  also  that  these 
menaces  were  heard  from  the  lips  of  Athanasius 
by  the  bishops  Adamantius,  Anubion,  Arbathion 
and  Peter,  for  slander  is  most  prevalent  when 
the  assertor  of  it  appears  to  be  a  person  worthy 
of  credit.  Hence  the  emperor  being  deceived, 
and  excited  to  indignation  against  Athanasius 


1  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  I.  31.     The  ancient  Gallia  or  Gaul  in- 
cluded the  modern  France,  Belgium,  Lombardy,  and  Sardinia. 


by  this  charge,  at  once  condemned  him  to  exile, 
ordering  him  to  reside  in  the  Gauls.  Now  some 
affirm  that  the  emperor  came  to  this  decision 
with  a  view  to  the  establishment  of  unity  in  the 
church,  since  Athanasius  was  inexorable  in  his 
refusal  to  hold  any  communion  with  Arius  and 
his  adherents.  He  accordingly  took  up  his 
abode  at  Treves,  a  city  of  Gaul. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

Of  Marcellus  Bishop  of  Ancyra,  and  Asterius 
the  Sophist. 

The  bishops  assembled  at  Constantinople  de- 
posed also  Marcellus  bishop  of  Ancyra,  a  city  of 
Galatia  Minor,  on  this  account.  A  certain  rhet- 
orician of  Cappadocia  named  Asterius  having 
abandoned  his  art,  and  professed  himself  a  con- 
vert to  Christianity,  undertook  the  composition 
of  some  treatises,  which  are  still  extant,  in  which 
he  commended  the  dogmas  of  Arius  ;  asserting 
that  Christ  is  the  power  of  God,  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  locust  and  the  palmer- worm  are 
said  by  Moses  to  be  the  power  of  God,^  with 
other  similar  utterances.  Now  Asterius  was  in 
constant  association  with  the  bishops,  and  es- 
pecially with  those  of  their  number  who  did  not 
discountenance  the  Arian  doctrine  :  he  also 
attended  their  Synods,  in  the  hope  of  insinuating 
himself  into  the  bishopric  of  some  city  :  but  he 
failed  to  obtain  ordination,  in  consequence  of 
having  sacrificed  during  the  persection.-  Going 
therefore  throughout  the  cities  of  Syria,  he  read 
in  public  the  books  which  he  had  composed. 
Marcellus  being  informed  of  this,  and  wishing  ten- 
counteract  his  influence,  in  his  over- anxiety  to 
confute  him,  fell  into  the  diametrically  opposite 
error;  for  he  dared  to  say,  as  the  Sainosatene^ 
had  done,  that  Christ  was  a  mere  man.  When 
the  bishops  then  convened  at  Jerusalem  had 
intelligence  of  these  things,  they  took  no  notice 
of  Asterius,  because  he  was  not  enrolled  even  in 
the  catalogue  of  ordained  priests ;  but  they  in- 
sisted that  Marcellus,  as  a  priest,  should  give  an 
account  of  the  book  which  he  had  written. 
Finding  that  he  entertained  Paul  of  Samosata's 
sentiments,    they   required    him    to    retract   his 

'  Joel  ii.  25. 

-  In  the  persecution  under  Decius  (249  A. D.).  those  who  yielded 
so  far  as  to  perform  the  heathen  rites  were  branded  with  the  title  of 
'the  lapsed';  and  a  controversy  arose  later  on  the  manner  in  which 
they  should  hs  treated.  One  o'f  the  consequences  of  lapsing  was 
disqualification  for  high  office  in  the  church.  See  Neander,  Hist. 
0/ Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  I.  p.  226  seq. 

^  Paul  of  Samosata,  who  has  been  surnamed  in  modern  times 
the  Socinus  of  the  third  century,  was  deposed  in  269  a.d.  by  a 
council  held  at  Antioch  for  unchristian  character  and  unsound  views. 
His  peculiarity  in  the  latter  respect  was  his  denial  of  the  divinity  01 
Jesus  Christ.  For  fuller  information,  see  Eus.  H.  E.  VII.  30;  Epi- 
phan.  Ha-r.  LXVII.;  Neander,  Hist,  of  the  Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  I. 
602  seq.;  Gieselee,  Hist.  0/  ike  Ch.  Vol.  I.  201;  Smith  and  Wace- 
Diet.  0/ Christ.  Biog. 


34 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[I.  36. 


opinion ;  and  he  being  thorouglily  ashamed  of 
himself,  promised  to  burn  his  book.  But  the 
convention  of  bishops  being  hastily  dissolved  by 
the  emperor's  summoning  them  to  Constanti- 
nople, the  Eusebians  on  their  arrival  at  that 
city,  again  took  the  case  of  Marcellus  into  con- 
sideration ;  and  as  Marcellus  refused  to  fulfil  his 
promise  of  burning  his  untimely  book,  those 
present  deposed  him,  and  sent  Basil  into  Ahcyra 
in  his  stead.  Moreover  Eusebius  wrote  a  refu- 
tation of  this  work  in  three  books,  in  which  he 
exposed  its  erroneous  doctrine.  Marcellus  how- 
ever was  afterwards  reinstated  ■*  in  his  bishopric 
by  the  Synod  at  Sardica,  on  his  assurance  that 
his  book  had  been  misunderstood,  and  that  on 
that  account  he  was  supposed  to  favor  the  Sa- 
mosatene's  views.  But  of  this  we  shall  speak 
more  fully  in  its  proper  place. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

After  the  Banishment  of  A  than  asms,  Arius  hav- 
ing been  seftt  for  by  the  Efiiperor,  raises  a 
Disturbance  against  Alexander  Bishop  of 
Constantinople. 

While  these  things  were  taking  place,  the 
thirtieth  year  of  Constantine's  reign  was  com- 
pleted. But  Arius  with  his  adherents  having 
returned  to  Alexandria,  again  disturbed  the 
whole  city ;  for  the  people  of  Alexandria  were 
exceedingly  indignant  both  at  the  restoration  of 
this  incorrigible  heretic  with  his  partisans,  and 
also  because  their  bishop  Athanasius  had  been 
sent  to  exile.  When  the  emperor  was  apprised 
of  the  perverse  disposition  of  Arius,  he  once 
more  ordered  him  to  repair  to  Constantinople, 
to  give  an  account  of  the  commotions  he  had 
afresh  endeavored  to  excite.  It  happened  at 
that  time  that  Alexander,  who  had  some  time 
before  succeeded  Metrophapes,  presided  over 
the  church  at  Constantinople.  That  this  prelate 
was  a  man  of  devoted  piety  was  distinctly  mani- 
fested by  the  conflict  he  entered  into  with 
Arius ;  for  when  Arius  arrived  and  the  people 
were  divided  into  two  factions  and  the  whole 
city  was  thrown  into  confusion  :  some  insisting 
that  the  Nicene  Creed  should  be  by  no  means 
infringed  on,  while  others  contended  that  the 
opinion  of  Arius  was  consonant  to  reason.  In 
this  state  of  affiiirs,  Alexander  was  driven  to 
straits  :  more  especially  since  Eusebius  of  Nico- 
media  had  violently  threatened  that  he  would 
cause  him  to  be  immediately  deposed,  unless  he 
admittetl  .\rius  and  his  followers  to  communion. 
Alexander,  however,  was  far  less  troubled  at  the 
thought  of  his  own  deposition  as  fearful  of  the 
subversion  of  the  principles  of  the  faith,  which 


*  See  II.  20. 


they  were  so  anxious  to  effect :  and  regarding 
himself  as  the  constituted  guardian  of  the  doc- 
trines recognized,  and  the  decisions  made  by 
the  council  at  Nicsea,  he  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  to  prevent  their  being  violated  or  de- 
praved. Reduced  to  this  extremity,  he  bade 
farewell  to  all  logical  resources,  and  made  God 
his  refuge,  devoting  himself  to  continued  fasting 
and  never  ceased  from  praying.  Communicat- 
ing his  purpose  to  no  one,  he  shut  himself  up 
alone  in  the  church  called  Irene  :  there  going  up 
to  the  altar,  and  prostrating  himself  on  the  ground 
beneath  the  holy  communion  table,  he  poured 
forth  his  fervent  prayers  weeping ;  and  this  he 
ceased  not  to  do  for  many  successive  nights  and 
days.  What  he  thus  earnestly  asked  from  God, 
he  received  :  for  his  petition  was  such  a  one  : 
'  If  the  opinion  of  Arius  were  correct,  he  might 
not  be  permitted  to  see  the  day  appointed  for 
its  discussion ;  but  that  if  he  himself  held  the 
true  faith,  Arius,  as  the  author  of  all  these  evils, 
might  suffer  the  punishment  due  to  his  impiety.' 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

The  Death  of  Arius} 

Such  was  the  supplication  of  Alexander. 
Meanwhile  the  emperor,  being  desirous  of  per- 
sonally examining  Arius,  sent  for  him  to  the 
palace,  and  asked  him  whether  he  would  assent 
to  the  determinations  of  the  Synod  at  Nicfea. 
He  without  hesitation  replied  in  the  affirmative, 
and  subscribed  the  declaration  of  the  faith  in 
the  emperor's  presence,  acting  with  duplicity. 
The  emperor,  surprised  at  his  ready  compliance, 
obliged  him  to  confirm  his  signature  by  aa  oath. 
This  also  he  did  with  equal  dissimulation.  The 
way  he  evaded,  as  I  have  heard,  was  this  :  he 
wrote  his  own  opinion  on  paper,  and  carried  it 
under  his  arm,  so  that  he  then  swore  truly  that 
he  really  held  the  sentiments  he  had  written. 
That  this  is  so,  however,  I  have  written  from 
hearsay,  but  that  he  added  an  oath  to  his  sub- 
scription, I  have  myself  ascertained,  from  an 
examination  of  the  emperor's  own  letters.  The 
emperor  being  thus  convinced,  ordered  that  he 
should  be  received  into  communion  by  Alexan- 
der, bishop  of  Constantinople.  It  was  then 
Saturday,  and  Arius  was  expecting  to  assemble 
with  the  church  on  the  day  following  :  but  divine 
retribution  overtook  his  daring  criminalities.  For 
going  out  of  the  imperial  palace,  attended  by  a 
crowd  of  Eusebian  partisans  like  guards,  he 
l)araded  proudly  through  the  midst  of  the  city, 
attracting  the  notice  of  all  the  people.     As  he 


^  For  a  reproduction  of  the  circumstances  related  in  this  chapter, 
together  with  a  historical  estimate  of  them  based  on  additional  evi- 
dence, see  Neander,  Hist.  0/ the  Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  II.  p.  384-388. 


1. 40.] 


DEATH    AND    FUNERAL    OF    CONSTANTINE. 


35 


approached  the  place  called  Constantine's  Forum, 
where  the  column  of  porphyry  is  erected,  a  ter- 
ror arising  from  the  remorse  of  conscience  seized 
Arius.  and  with  the  terror  a  violent  relaxation  of 
the  bowels  :  he  therefore  enquired  whether  there 
was  a  convenient  place  near,  and  being  directed 
to  the  back  of  Constantine's  Forum,  he  hastened 
thither.  Soon  after  a  faintness  came  over  him, 
and  together  with  the  evacuations  his  bowels 
protruded,  followed  by  a  copious  hemorrhage, 
and  the  descent  of  the  smaller  intestines  :  more- 
over portions  of  his  spleen  and  liver  were  brought 
off  in  the  effusion  of  blood,  so  that  he  almost 
immediately  died.  The  scene  of  this  catastrophe 
still  is  shown  at  Constantinople,  as  I  have  said, 
behind  the  shambles  in  the  colonnade  :  and  by 
persons  going  by  pointing  the  finger  at  the  place, 
there  is  a  perpetual  remembrance  preserved  of 
this  extraordinary  kind  of  death.  So  disastrous 
an  occurrence  filled  with  dread  and  alarm  the 
party  of  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia ;  and 
the  report  of  it  quickly  spread  itself  over  the  city 
and  throughout  the  whole  world.  As  the  king 
grew  more  earnest  in  Christianity  and  confessed 
that  the  confession  at  Nicfea  was  attested  by 
God,  he  rejoiced  at  the  occurrences.  He  was 
also  glad  because  of  his  three  sons  whom  he  had 
already  proclaimed  Csesars ;  one  of  each  of 
them  having  been  created  at  every  successive 
decennial  anniversary  of  his  reign.  To  the  eld- 
est, whom  he  called  Constantine,  after  his  own 
name,  he  assigned  the  government  of  the  western 
parts  of  the  empire,  on  the  completion  of  his 
first  decade.  His  second  son  Constantius,  who 
bore  his  grandfather's  name,  he  constituted  C^sar 
in  the  eastern  division,  when  the  second  decade 
had  been  completed.  And  Constans,  the  young- 
est, he  invested  with  a  similar  dignity,  in  the 
thirtieth  year  of  his  own  reign. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

The  Emperor  falls  sick  and  dies. 

A  YEAR  having  passed,  the  Emperor  Constan- 
tine having  just  entered  the  sixty-fifth  year  of 
his  age,  was  taken  with  a  sickness ;  he  therefore 
left  Constantinople,  and  made  a  voyage  to 
Helenopolis,  that  he  might  try  the  effect  of  the 
medicinal  hot  springs  which  are  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  city.  Perceiving,  however,  that 
his  illness  increased,  he  deferred  the  use  of  the 
baths  ;  and  removing  from  Helenopolis  to  Nico- 
media, he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  suburbs. 


and  there  received  Christian  baptism.^  After 
this  he  became  cheerful ;  and  making  his  will, 
appointed  his  three  sons  heirs  to  the  empire, 
allotting  to  each  one  of  them  his  portion,  in 
accordance  with  the  arrangements  he  had  made 
while  living.  He  also  granted  many  privileges 
to  the  cities  of  Rome  and  Constantinople  ;  and 
entrusting  the  custody  of  his  will  ^  to  that  pres- 
byter by  whose  means  Arius  had  been  recalled, 
and  of  whom  we  have  already  made  mention, 
he  charged  him  to  deliver  it  into  no  one's  hand, 
except  that  of  his  son  Constantius,  to  whom  he 
had  given  the  sovereignty  of  the  East.  After 
the  making  of  his  will,  he  survived  a  few  days 
and  died.  Of  his  sons  none  were  present  at 
his  death.  A  courier  was  therefore  immedi- 
ately despatched  into  the  East,  to  inform  Con- 
stantius of  his  father's  decease. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

The  Funeral  of  the  Emperor  Constantine. 

The  body  of  the  emperor  was  placed  in  a 
coffin  of  gold  by  the  proper  persons,  and  then 
conveyed  to  Constantinople,  where  it  was  laid 
out  on  an  elevated  bed  of  state  in  the  palace, 
surrounded  by  a  guard,  and  treated  with  the 
same  respect  as  when  he  was  alive,  and  this  was 
done  until  the  arrival  of  one  of  his  sons.  When 
Constantius  was  come  out  of  the  eastern  parts 
of  the  empire,  it  was  honored  with  an  imperial 
sepulture,  and  deposited  in  the  church  called 
The  Apostles :  which  he  had  caused  to  be  con- 
structed for  this  very  purpose,  that  the  emperors 
and  prelates  might  receive  a  degree  of  venera- 
tion but  little  inferior  to  that  which  was  paid  to 
the  relics  of  the  aposdes.  The  Emperor  Con- 
stantine lived  sixty-five  years,  and  reigned  thirty- 
one.  He  died  in  the  consulate  of  Felician  and 
Tatian,  on  the  twenty-second  of  May,  in  the 
second  year  of  the  278th  Olympiad.^  This  book, 
therefore,  embraces  a  period  of  thirty-one  years. 


1  It  was  the  belief  of  many  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the  church  that 
baptism  had  a  certain  magical  power  purging  away  the  sins  previous 
to  it,  but  having  no  force  as  regards  those  that  might  follow;  this  led 
many  to  postpone  their  baptism  until  disease  or  age  warned  them  of 
the  nearness  of  death;  such  delayed  baptism  was  called  'clinic 
baptism,'  and  was  discouraged  by  the  more  judicious  and  spiritual- 
minded  Fathers,  some  of  whom  doubted  its  validity  and  rebuked 
those  who  delayed  as  actuated  by  selfishness  and  desire  to  indulge 
in  sin.  The  church,  however,  encouraged  it  in  the  cases  of  gross 
offenders.  Cf.  Bingham,  Ecc/.  Antiij.  IV.  3,  and  XI.  n,  and  Ben- 
nett, Christian  Archceology.,  pp.  407  and  409. 

-  Cf.  Euseb.  Life  0/  Const.  IV.  63,  and  Rufinus,  H.  E.  I.  11. 
The  story  is,  however,  doubtful,  as  Valesius  observes.  It  is  more 
likely  that  some  one  of  the  lay  officials  of  the  government,  or,  as 
Philostorgiiis  says,  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  was  entrusted  with  this 
will,  and  not  a  mere  presbyter.  That  it  was  probably  Eusebius  of 
Nicomedia  becomes  the  more  probable  when  we  consider  that  that 
bishop  also  probably  baptized  Constantine. 

'  337  A.D.     The  22d  of  JSIay  that  year  was  the  day  of  Pentecost. 


BOOK    II. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Introduction  containing  the  Reason  for  the 
Author's  Revision  of  his  First  and  Second 
Books. 

RuFiNus,  who  wrote  an  Ecclesiastical  History 
in  Latin/  has  erred  in  respect  to  chronology. 
For  he  supposes  that  what  was  done  against 
Athanasius  occurred  after  the  death  of  the  Em- 
peror Constantine  :  he  was  also  ignorant  of  his 
exile  to  the  Gauls  and  of  various  other  circum- 
stances. Now  we  in  the  iirst  place  wrote  the  first 
two  books  of  our  history  following  Rufinus ;  but 
in  writing  our  history  from  the  third  to  the 
seventh,  some  facts  we  collected  from  Rufinus, 
others  from  ^  different  authors,  and  some  from 
the  narration  of  individuals  still  living.  After- 
ward, however,  we  perused  the  writings  of  Atha- 
nasius, wherein  he  depicts  his  own  sufferings 
and  how  through  the  calumnies  of  the  Eusebian 
faction  he  was  banished,  and  judged  that  more 
credit  was  due  to  him  who  had  suffered,  and  to 
those  who  were  witnesses  of  the  things  they 
describe,  than  to  such  as  have  been  dependent 
on  conjecture,  and  had  therefore  erred.  More- 
over, having  obtained  several  letters  of  persons 
eminent  at  that  period,  we  have  availed  our- 
selves of  their  assistance  also  in  tracing  out  the 
truth  as  far  as  possible.  On  this  account  we 
were  compelled  to  revise  the  first  and  second 
books  of  this  history,  using,  however,  the  testi- 
mony of  Rufinus  where  it  is  evident  that  he 
could  riot  be  mistaken.  It  should  also  be  ob- 
served, that  in  our  former  edition,  neither  the 
sentence  of  deposition  which  was  passed  upon 
Arius,  nor  the  emperor's  letters  were  inserted, 
but  simply  the  narration  or  f^icts  in  order  that 
the  history  might  not  become  bulky  and  weary 
the  readers  with  tedious  matters  of  detail.  But 
in  the  present  edition,  such  alterations  and 
additions  have  been  made  for  your  sake,  O 
sacred  man  of  God,  Theodore,-  in  order  that 
you  might  not  be  ignorant  what  the  princes 
wrote  in  their  own  words,  as  well  as  the  decis- 
ions of  the    bishops    in   their   various   Synods, 

'  Rufinus'  Hisloria  Ecclesiastica,  in  two  books,  begins  with 
Arius  and  ends  with  Theodosius  the  Great.  It  is  not  very  accurate, 
but  written  largely  from  memory.  It  is  dedicated  to  Chromatins, 
bishop  of  Aquileja,  and  translated  into  Greek  by  Gelasius  and  Cyril 
of  Jerusalem.  On  the  edition  used  by  Socrates,  see  Introd.  and  I. 
12,  note  I.     Cf.  also  on  his  knowledge  of  Latin,  II.  23,  30,  and  37. 

'  u>  iepe  Tou   WtoO   ai-Spcuire   ©eoiicope ;    cf.    Introd.  p.   .\,  also  VI 
Introd.  and  VII.  48. 


wherein  they  continually  altered  the  confession 
of  faith.  Wherefore,  whatever  we  have  deemed 
necessary  we  have  inserted  in  this  later  edition. 
Having  adopted  this  course  in  the  first  book, 
we  shall  endeavor  to  do  the  same  in  the  consec- 
utive portion  of  our  history,  I  mean  the  second. 
On  this  let  us  now  enter. 


CHAPTER   n. 

Euscbius,  Bishop  of  Niconiedia,  and  his  Partv, 
by  again  endeaz>oring  to  introduce  the  Arian 
Heresy,  create  Disturbances  in  the  Chiirches. 

After  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Constantine, 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis  of 
Niccca,  imagining  that  a  favorable  opportunity 
had  arisen,  used  their  utmost  efforts  to  expunge 
the  doctrine  of  honioousion,  and  to  introduce 
Arianism  in  its  place.  They,  nevertheless,  de- 
spaired of  effecting  this,  if  Athanasius  should 
return  to  Alexandria :  in  order  therefore  to 
accomplish  their  designs,  they  sought  the  assist- 
ance of  that  presbyter  by  whose  means  Arius 
had  been  recalled  from  exile  a  little  before. 
How  this  was  done  shall  now  be  described.  The 
presbyter  in  question  presented  the  will  and  the 
request  of  the  deceased  king  to  his  son  Con- 
stantius ;  who  finding  those  dispositions  in  it 
which  he  was  most  desirous  of,  for  the  empire 
of  the  East  was  by  his  father's  will  apportioned 
to  him,  treated  the  presbyter  with  great  con- 
sideration, loaded  him  with  favors,  and  ordered 
that  free  access  should  be  given  him  both  to 
the  palace  and  to  himself.  This  license  soon 
obtained  for  him  familiar  intercourse  with  the 
empress,  as  well  as  with  her  eunuchs.  There 
was  at  that  time  a  chief  eunuch  of  the  imperial 
bed-chamber  named  Eusebius ;  him  the  pres- 
byter persuaded  to  adopt  Arian's  views,  after 
which  the  rest  of  the  eunuchs  were  also  pre- 
vailed on  to  adopt  the  same  sentiments.  Not 
only  this  but  the  empress  also,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  eunuchs  and  the  ])resbyters,  be- 
came favorable  to  the  tenets  of  Arius  ;  and  not 
long  after  the  subject  was  introduced  to  the 
emperor  himself.  Thus  it  became  gradually 
diffused  throughout  the  court,  and  among  the 
officers  of  the  imperial  household  and  guards, 
until  at  length  it  si)read  itself  over  the  whole 
population    of  the    city.     The    chamberlains  in 


n-  5-] 


ATHANASIUS'    RETURN    TO    ALEXANDRIA. 


Z7 


the  palace  discussed  this  doctrine  with  the 
women  ;  and  in  the  family  of  every  citizen  there 
was  a  logical  contest.  Moreover,  the  mischief 
quickly  extended  to  other  provinces  and  cities, 
the  controversy,  like  a  spark,  insignificant  at 
first,  exciting  in  the  auditors  a  spirit  of  conten- 
tion :  for  every  one  who  inquired  the  cause  of 
the  tumult,  found  immediately  occasion  for  dis- 
puting, and  determined  to  take  part  in  the  strife 
at  the  moment  of  making  the  inquiry.  By  gen- 
eral altercation  of  this  kind  all  order  was  sub- 
verted ;  the  agitation,  however,  was  confined  to 
the  cities  of  the  East,  those  of  Illyricum  and 
the  western  parts  of  the  empire  meanwhile  were 
perfectly  tranquil,  because  they  would  not  annul 
the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Nicsea.  As  this 
affair  increased,  going  from  bad  to  worse,  Euse- 
bius  of  Nicomedia  and  his  party  looked  upon 
popular  ferment  as  a  piece  of  good  fortune. 
For  only  thus  they  thought  they  would  be  enabled 
to  constitute  some  one  who  held  their  own 
sentiments  bishop  of  Alexandria.  But  the  re- 
turn of  Athanasius  at  that  time  defeated  their 
purpose ;  for  he  came  thither  fortified  by  a 
letter  from  one  of  the  Augusti,  which  the  younger 
Constantine,  who  bore  his  father's  name,  ad- 
dressed to  the  people  of  Alexandria,  from  Treves, 
a  city  in  Gaul.^  A  copy  of  this  epistle  is  here 
subjoined. 

CHAPTER   III. 

Athanasius,  encouraged  by  the  Letter   of  Coti- 
stantine  the  Younger,  returns  to  Alexandria. 

Constantine  C.^sar  to  the  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church  of  the  Alexandrians. 

It  cannot,  I  conceive,  have  escaped  the 
knowledge  of  your  devout  minds,  that  Atha- 
nasius, the  expositor  of  the  venerated  law,  was 
sent  for  a  while  unto  the  Gauls,  lest  he  should 
sustain  some  irreparable  injury  from  the  per- 
verseness  of  his  blood-thirsty  adversaries,  whose 
ferocity  continually  endangered  his  sacred  life. 
To  evade  this  [perverseness],  therefore,  he  was 
taken  from  the  jaws  of  the  men  who  threatened 
him  into  a  city  under  my  jurisdiction,  where,  as 
long  as  it  was  his  appointed  residence,  he  has 
been  abundantly  supplied  with  every  necessity : 
although  his  distinguished  virtue  trusting  in 
divine  aid  would  have  made  light  of  the  pres- 
sure of  a  more  rigorous  fortune.  And  since  our 
sovereign,  ray  father,   Constantine  Augustus  of 

'  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  exact  year  of  the 
recall  of  Athanasius.  Baronius  and  others  allege  that  this  took 
place  in  338  a.d.,  the  year  after  the  death  of  Constantine;  but  Vale- 
sius  maintains  that  Athanasius  was  recalled  the  year  preceding. 
This  he  infers  from  the  words  of  Athanasius  (Afiol.  c.  Arian,  61), 
and  the  title  of  the  letter  which  Constantine  the  younger  addressed 
to  the  church  in  Alexandria. 


blessed  memory,  was  prevented  by  death  from 
accom])lishing  his  purpose  of  restoring  this 
bishop  to  his  see,  and  to  your  most  sanctified 
piety,  I  have  deemed  it  proper  to  carry  his 
wishes  into  eff'ect,  having  inherited  the  task 
from  him.  With  how  great  veneration  he  has 
been  regarded  by  us,  ye  will  learn  on  his  arrival 
among  you ;  nor  need  any  one  be  surprised  at 
the  honor  I  have  put  upon  him,  since  I  have 
been  alike  influenced  by  a  sense  of  what  was 
due  to  so  excellent  a  personage,  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  your  affectionate  solicitude  respecting 
him.  May  Divine  Providence  preserve  you, 
beloved  brethren. 

Relying  on  this  letter,  Athanasius  came  to 
Alexandria,  and  was  most  joyfully  received  by 
the  people  of  the  city.  Nevertheless  ^as  many 
in  it  as  had  embraced  Arianism,  combining 
together,  entered  into  conspiracies  against  him, 
by  which  frequent  seditions  were  excited,  afford- 
ing a  pretext  to  the  Eusebians  for  accusing  him 
to  the  emperor  of  having  taken  possession  of 
the  Alexandrian  church  on  his  own  responsi- 
biHty,  in  spite  of  the  adverse  judgment  of  a 
general  council  of  bishops.  So  far  indeed  did 
they  succeed  in  pressing  their  charges,  that  the 
emperor  became  exasperated,  and  banished  him 
from  Alexandria.  How  indeed  this  came  about 
I  shall  hereafter  explain. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

On  the  Death  of  Eusebius  Pamphilus,  Acacius 
succeeds  to  the  Bishopric  of  Ccesarea. 

At  this  time  Eusebius,  who  was  bishop  of 
Caesarea  in  Palestine,  and  had  the  surname  of 
Pamphilus,  having  died,  Acacius,  his  disciple, 
succeeded  him  in  the  bishopric.  This  individ- 
ual pubhshed  several  books,  and  among  others 
a  biographical  sketch  of  his  master. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Death  of  Constantine  the  Younger. 

Not  long  after  this  the  brother  of  the  Em- 
peror Constantius,  Constantine  the  younger,  who 
bore  his  father's  name,  having  invaded  those 
parts  of  the  empire  which  were  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  his  younger  brother  Constans,  en- 
gaging in  a  conflict  with  his  brother's  soldiery, 
was  slain  by  them.  This  took  place  under  the 
consulship  of  Acindynus  and  Proclus.^ 


1    340  A.D. 


3^ 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  6. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Alexander,  Bis/top  of  Constantinople,  when  at 
the  Pohit  of  Death  proposes  the  Election  either 
of  Paul  or  of  AIacedo7iitis  as  his  Successor. 

About  the  same  time  another  disturbance  in 
addition  to  those  we  have  recorded,  was  raised 
at  Constantinople  on  the  following  account. 
Alexander,  who  had  presided  over  the  churches 
in  that  city,  and  had  strenuously  opposed  Arius, 
departed  this  life,^  having  occupied  the  bishop- 
ric for  twenty-three  years  and  lived  ninet\'-eight 
years  in  all,  without  having  ordained  any  one  to 
succeed  him.  But  he  had  enjoined  the  proper 
persons  to  choose  one  of  the  two  whom  he 
named ;  that  is  to  sav,  if  they  desired  one  who 
was  competent  to  teach,  and  of  eminent  piety, 
they  should  elect  Paul,  whom  he  had  himself 
ordained  presbyter,  a  man  young  indeed  in 
years,  but  of  advanced  intelligence  and  pru- 
dence ;  but  if  they  wished  a  man  of  venerable 
aspect,  and  external  show  only  of  sanctity,  they 
might  appoint  Macedonius,  who  had  long  been 
a  deacon  among  them  and  was  aged.  Hence 
there  arose  a  great  contest  respecting  the  choice 
of  a  bishop  which  troubled  the  church  exceed- 
ingly ;  for  ever  since  the  people  were  divided 
into  two  parties,  one  of  which  favored  the  tenets 
of  Arius,  while  the  other  held  what  the  Nicene 
Synod  had  defined,  those  who  held  the  doctrine 
of  consubstantiality  always  had  the  advantage 
during  the  life  of  Alexander,  the  Arians  disagree- 
ing among  themselves  and  perpetually  conflict- 
ing in  opinion.  But  after  the  death  of  that 
prelate,  the  issue  of  the  struggle  bqcame  doubt- 
ful, the  defenders  of  the  orthodox  faith  insisting 
on  the  ordination  of  Paul,  and  all  the  x^rian 
party  espousing  the  cause  of  Macedonius.  Paul 
therefore  .  was  ordained  bishop  in  the  church 
called  Jrene^  which  is  situated  near  the  great 
church  of  Sophia;  whose  election  appeared 
to  be  more  in  accordance  with  the  suffrage  of 
the  deceased. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Emperor  Constantius  ejects  Paul  after  his 
Election  to  the  Bishopric,  and  sending  for 
Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  invests  him  with  the 
Bishopric  of  Constantinople. 

Not  long  afterwards  the  emperor  having 
arrived  at  Constantinople  was   highly  incensed 

1  Socrates  is  undoubtedly  mistaken  in  setting  the  date  of  Alex- 
ander's death  as  late  as  340  a.d.  The  council  convened  to  exam- 
ine and  confute  the  charges  against  Athanasius  met  in  339  a.d., 
and  the  record  at  that  date  has  it  (see  chap.  7)  that  Kusebius 
had  taken  possession  of  the  see  of  Constantinople.  Alexander  must 
therefore  have  died  before  33q. 

^  So  called,  not  because  there  was  a  saint  or  eminent  person  of 
that  name,  but  on  the  same  principle  as  the'  church  called  Sophia. 


at  the  consecration  [of  Paul]  ;  and  having  con- 
vened an  assembly  of  bishops  of  Arian  senti- 
ments, he  divested  Paul  of  his  dignity,  and 
translating  Eusebius  from  the  see  of  Nicomedia, 
he  appointed  him  bishop  of  Constantinople. 
Having  done  this  the  emperor  proceeded  to 
Antioch. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Eusebius  having  convened  Another  Synod  at 
Antioch  in  Syria,  causes  a  New  Creed  to  be 
promulgated. 

Eusebius,  however,  could  by  no  means  remain 
quiet,  but  as  the  saying  is,  left  no  stone  un- 
turned, in  order  to  effect  the  purpose  he  had  in 
view.  He  therefore  causes  a  Synod  to  be  con- 
vened at  Antioch  in  Syria,  under  pretense 
of  dedicating  the  church  which  the  father  of 
the  Augusti  had  commenced,  and  which  his 
son  Constantius  had  finished  in  the  tenth  year 
after  its  foundations  were  laid,  but  with  the 
real  intention  of  subverting  and  abolishing  the 
doctrine  of  the  homoousion.  There  were  present 
at  this  Synod  ninety  bishops  from  various  cities. 
Maximus,  however,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  who  had 
succeeded  Macarius,  did  not  attend,  recollecting 
that  he  had  been  deceived  and  induced  to  sub- 
scribe the  deposition  of  Athanasius.  Neither 
was  Julius,  bishop  of  the  great  Rome,^  there,  nor 
had  he  sent  a  substitute,  although  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal canon-  commands  that  the  churches  shall  not 
make  any  ordinances  against  the  opinion  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome.  This  Synod  assembled  at  An- 
tioch in  presence  of  the  emperor  Constantius 
in  the  consulate  of  Marcellus  and  Probinus,'' 
which  was  the  fifth  year  after  the  death  of  Con- 
stantine,  father  of  the  Augusti.  Placitus,  other- 
wise called  Flaccillus,  successor  to  Euphronius, 
at  that  time  presided  over  the  church  at  Antioch. 
The  confederates  of  Eusebius  had  previously 
designed  to  calumniate  Athanasius ;  accusing 
him  in  the  first  place  of  having  acted  contrary 
to  a  canon  which  they  then  constituted,  in 
resuming  his  episcopal  authority  without  the 
license  of  a  general  council  of  bishops,  inasmuch 
as  on  his  return  from  exile  he  had  on  his  own 
responsibility  taken  possession  of  the  church ; 
and  then  because  a  tumult  had  been  excited 
on  his  entrance  and  many  were  killed  in  the  riot ; 

For  the  history  of  the  latter  church,  see  Dehio  and  Bezold, 
Die  Kirchliclie  Baitkuns  des  A/>fndla>ides,  I.  p.  21. 

^  So  called  in  distinction  from  the  "  New  Rome,"  or  Constanti- 
nople.    Cf.  Canons  of  Council 0/  Clialcedon.  XXVIII. 

-  The  word  '  canon  '  ht;re  is  evidently  used  in  its  general  sense. 
There  is  no  record  of  any  enactment  requiring  the  consent  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome  to  the  decisions  of  the  councils  before  they  could  be 
considered  valid.  There  may  have  been  a  general  understanding  to 
that  effect,  having  the  force  of  an  unwritten  law.  In  any  case  the 
use  of  the  word  by  Socrates  is  quite  singular,  unless  we  assume  that 
he  supposed  there  was  such  an  enactment  somewhere,  as  is  implied 
by  its  use  ordinarily. 

3   341  A.D. 


II.    lO.] 


EUSEBIUS   OF   EMISA. 


39 


moreover  that  some  had  been  scourged  by  him, 
and  others  brought  before  the  tribunals.  Besides 
they  brought  forward  what  had  been  deter- 
mined against  Athanasius  at  Tyre. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Of  Eusebiiis  of  E  mis  a. 

On  the  grounci  of  such  charges  as  these,  they 
proposed  another  bishop  for  the  Alexandrian 
church,  and  first  indeed  Eusebius  surnamed 
Emisenus.  Who  this  person  was,  George,  bishop 
of  Laodicea,  who  was  present  on  this  occasion, 
informs  us.  For  he  says  in  the  book  which  he 
has  composed  on  his  life,  that  Eusebius  was 
descended  from  the  nobility  of  Edessa  in  Mes- 
opotamia, and  that  from  a  child  he  had  studied 
the  holy  Scriptures ;  ^  that  he  was  afterwards 
instructed  in  Greek  literature  by  a  master  resi- 
dent at  Edessa ;  and  finally  that  the  sacred 
books  were  expounded  to  him  by  Patrophilus 
and  Eusebius,  of  whom  the  latter  presided  over 
the  church  at  Ccesarea,  and  the  former  over  that 
at  Scythopolis.  Afterwards  when  he  dwelt  in 
Antioch,  it  happened  that  Eustathius  was  de- 
posed on  the  accusation  of  Cyrus  of  Beroea  for 
holding  the  tenets  of  SabeUius.  Then  again  he 
associated  with  Euphronius,  successor  of  Eusta- 
thius, and  avoiding  a  bishopric,  he  retired  to 
Alexandria,  and  there  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  philosophy.  On  his  return  to  Antioch, 
he  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Placi- 
tus  [or  Flaccillus],  the  successor  of  Euphronius. 
At  length  he  was  ordained  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
by  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Constantinople  ;  but  did 
not  go  thither  in  consequence  of  the  attachment 
of  the  people  of  that  city  to  Athanasius,  and 
was  therefore  sent  to  Emisa.  As  the  inhabitants 
of  Emisa  excited  a  sedition  on  account  of  his  ap- 
pointment, —  for  he  was  commonly  charged  with 
the  study  and  practice  of  judicial  astrology,"  — 
he  fled  and  came  to  Laodicea,  to  George,  who 
has  given  so  many  historical  details  of  him. 
George  having  taken  him  to  Antioch,  procured 
his  being  again  brought  back  to  Emisa  by  Placi- 
tus  and  Narcissus  ;  but  he  was  afterwards  charged 
with  holding  the  Sabellian  views.  George  more 
elaborately  describes  the  circumstances  of  his 
ordination  and  adds  at  the  close  that  the  em- 
peror took  him  with  him  in  his  expedition 
against  the  barbarians,  and  that  miracles  were 

1  Sozom.  H.  E.  III.  6.  From  the  passage  in  Sozomen  it  appears 
that  it  was  customary  in  Edessa  to  teach  the  Scriptures  to  boys,  and 
that  many  of  them  thus  became  quite  familiar  with  the  Bible,  know- 
ing many  passages  by  heart. 

-  /liafltj/iiaTiicTJi'.  From  its  use  in  astronomy  the  science  of  mathe- 
matics soon  came  to  be  identified  with  that  counterfeit  of  astronomy, 
—  astrology.  It  is  so  used  by  Sextus  Empiricus  (6i6.  20;  728.20) 
and  by  lamblichus,  Myrt.  277.  2. 


wrought  by  his  hand.  I'he  information  given 
by  George  concerning  iMisebius  of  Emisa  may 
be  considered  reproduced  at  sufficient  length 
by  me  here. 

CHAPTER   X.      ^ 

The  Bishops  assembled  at  Aniioch,  on  the  Re- 
fusal of  Eusebius    of  Emisa    to    accept   the 
Bishopric   of   Alexandria,    ordain     Gregory, 
and  change  the  Language  of  the  Nicene  Creed. 

Now  at  that  time  Eusebius  having  been  pro- 
posed and  fearing  to  go  to  Alexandria,  the 
Synod  at  Antioch  designated  Gregory  as  bishop 
of  that  church.  This  being  done,  they  altered 
the  creed  ;  not  as  condemning  anything  in  that 
which  was  set  forth  at  Nicsea,  but  in  fact  with  a 
determination  to  subvert  and  nullify  the  doctrine 
of  consubstantiality  by  means  of  frequent  coun- 
cils, and  the  publication  of  various  expositions 
of  the  faith,  so  as  gradually  to  establish  the  Arian 
views.  How  these  things  issued  we  will  set 
forth  in  the  course  of  our  narrative  ;  but  the 
epistle  then  promulgated  respecting  the  faith 
was  as  follows  :  ^ 

'  We  have  neither  become  followers  of  Arius, 
—  for  how  should  we  who  are  bishops  be  guided 
by  a  presbyter? — nor  have  we  embraced  any 
other  faith  than  that  which  was  set  forth  from 
the  beginning.  But  being  constituted  examiners 
and  judges  of  his  sentiments,  we  admit  their 
soundness,  rather  than  adopt  them  from  him  : 
and  you  will  recognize  this  from  what  we  are 
about  to  state.  We  have  learned  from  the 
beginning  to  believe  in  one  God  of  the  Universe, 
the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  all  things  both  those 
thought  of  and  those  perceived  by  the  senses  : 
and  in  one  only-begotten  Son  of  God,  subsisting 
before  all  ages,  and  co-existing  with  the  Father 
who  begat  him,  through  whom  also  all  things 
visible  and  invisible  were  made  ;  who  in  the  last 
days  according  to  the  Father's  good  pleasure, 
descended,  and  assumed  flesh  from  the  holy 
virgin,  and  having  fully  accomplished  his  Father's 
will,  that  he  should  suffer,  and  rise  again,  and 
ascend  into  the  heavens,  and  sit  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father  ;  and  is  coming  to  judge  the 
living  and  the  dead,  continuing  King  and  God 
for  ever.  We  believe  also  in  the  Holy  Spirit. 
And  if  it  is  necessary  to  add  this,  we  believe  in 
the  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  and  the  life  ever- 
lasting.' 

Having  thus  written  in  their  first  epistle,  they 
sent  it  to  the  bishops  of  every  city.  But  after 
remainins:  some  time  at  Antioch,  as  if  to  con- 
demn  the  former,  they  published  another  letter 
in  these  words  : 

I  Athanas.  de  Synodd.  22,  23. 


40 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.    lO. 


Another  Expositiott  of  the  Faith. 

In  conformity  with  evangelic  and  apostolic 
tradition,  we  believe  in  one  God  the  Father 
Almighty,  the  Creator  and  Framer  of  the  uni- 
verse. And  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son, 
God  the  only- begotten,  through  whom  all  things 
were  made  :  begotten  of  the  Father  before  all 
ages,  God  of  God,  Whole  of  Whole,  Only  of 
Only,  Perfect  of  Perfect,  King  of  King,  Lord 
of  Lord;  the  living  Word,  the  Wisdom,  the 
Life,  the  True  Light,  the  Way  of  Truth,  the 
Resurrection,  the  Shepherd,  the  Gate ;  immu- 
table and  inconvertible ;  the  unaltering  image 
of  the  Divinity,  Substance  and  Power,  and  Coun- 
sel and  Glory  of  the  Father ;  born  '  before  all 
creation  ' ;  who  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 
God  the  U'ord,  according  as  it  is  declared  in 
the  Gospel,"  and  the  Word  was  God,  by  whom 
all  things  were  made,  and  in,  whom  all  things 
subsist :  who  in  the  last  days  came  down  from 
above,  and  was  born  of  the  virgin  according  to 
the  Scriptures  ;  and  was  made  man,  the  Mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  Apostle  of  our  Faith, 
and  the  Prince  of  Life,  as  he  says,^  '  I  came  down 
from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the 
will  of  him  that  sent  me.'  Who  suffered  on  our 
behalf,  and  rose  again  for  us  on  the  third  day, 
and  ascended  into  the  heavens,  and  is  seated  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father ;  and  will  come 
again  with  glory  and  power  to  judge  the  living 
and  the  dead.  [We  believe]  also  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  is  given  to  believers  for  their  conso- 
lation, sanctification,  and  perfection ;  even  as 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  commanded  his  disci- 
ples, saying,*  '  Go  and  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit ' ;  that  is 
to  say  of  the  Father  who  is  truly  the  Father,  of 
the  Son  who  is  truly  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  is  truly  the  Holy  Spirit,  these  words 
not  being  simply  or  insignificantly  applied,  but 
accurately  expressing  the  proper  sul)sistence, 
glory,  and  order,  of  each  of  these  who  are 
named  :  so  that  there  are  three  in  person,  but 
one  in  concordance.  Holding  therefore  this 
faith  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  Christ,  we 
anathematize  all  heretical  and  false  doctrine. 
And  if  any  one  shall  teach  contrary  to  the  sound 
and  right  faith  of  the  Scriptures,  affirming  that 
there  is  or  was  a  period  or  an  age  before  the 
Son  of  God  existed,  let  him  be  accursed.  And 
if  any  one  shall  say  that  the  Son  is  a  creature  as 
one  of  the  creatures,  or  that  he  is  offspring  as 
one  of  the  offsprings,  and  shall  not  hold  each  of 
the  aforesaid  doctrines  as  the  Divine  Scriptures 
have  delivered  them  to  us:  or  if  .any  one  shall 
teach  or  preach  any  other  doctrine  contrary  to 
that  which  we  have  received,  let  him  be  accursed. 


2  John  i.  I. 


2  John  vi.  38. 


^  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 


For  we  truly  and  unreservedly  believe  and  follow 
all  things  handed  down  to  us  from  the  sacred 
Scriptures  by  the  prophets  and  apostles. 

Such  was  the  exposition  of  the  faith  published 
by  those  then  assembled  at  Antioch,  to  which 
Gregory  also  subscribed  as  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
although  he  had  not  yet  entered  that  city.  The 
Synod  having  done  these  things,  and  legislated 
some  other  canons,  was  dissolved.  At  this  time 
it  happened  that  public  affairs  also  were  dis- 
turbed. The  nation  called  Franks  made  incur- 
sions into  the  Roman  territories  in  Gaul,  and  at 
the  same  time  there  occurred  violent  earthquakes 
in  the  East,  and  especially  at  Antioch,  which 
continued  to  suffer  concussions  during  a  whole 
year. 

CHAPTER  XL 

On  the  Arrival  of  Gregory  at  Alexandria,  at- 
tended by  a  Military  Escort,  Athanasius  flees. 

After  these  things,  Syrian,  the  military  com- 
mander, and  the  corps  of  heavy  armed  soldiers, 
five  thousand  in  number,  conducted  Gregory  to 
Alexandria ;  and  such  of  the  citizens  as  were  of 
Arian  sentiments  combined  with  them.  But  it 
will  be  proper  here  to  relate  by  what  means 
Athanasius  escaped  the  hands  of  those  who 
wished  to  apprehend  him,  after  his  expulsion 
from  the  church.  It  was  evening,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  attending  the  vigil  there,  a  service  ^  be- 
ing expected.  The  commander  arrived,  and 
posted  his  forces  in  order  of  battle  on  every 
side  of  the  church.  Athanasius  having  observed 
what  was  done,  considered  within  himself  how 
he  might  prevent  the  people's  suffering  in  any 
degree  on  his  account :  accordingly  having  di- 
rected the  deacon  to  give  notice  of  prayer,  after 
that  he  ordered  the  recitation  of  a  psalm  ;  and 
when  the  melodious  chant  of  the  psalm  arose,  all 
went  out  through  one  of  the  church  doors. 
\A'hile  this  was  doing,  the  troops  remained  in- 
active spectators,  and  Athanasius  thus  escaped 
unhurt  in  the  midst  of  those  who  were  chanting 
the  psalm,  and  immediately  hastened  to  Rome. 
Gregory  then  prevailed  in  the  church  :  but  the 
people  of  Alexandria,  being  indignant  at  this 
procedure,  set  the  church  called  that  of  Diony- 
sius  on  fire.  Let  this  be  sufficient  on  this  sub- 
ject. Now  Eusebius,  having  thus  far  obtained 
his  object,  sent  a  deputation  to  Julius,  bishop  of 
Rome,-  begging  that  he  would  himself  take  cog- 


'  crin-afetu?:  literally  'congregation,'  from  (rvroyw;  but  later 
applied  to  any  service  held  in  the  church.  In  mod.  Sui'afapioi-, 
'  Prayer-book.' 

-  So  also  Sozom.  IIT.  7.  But  according  to  Valesius,  both  Soc- 
rates and  Sozomen  are  here  mistaken,  and  Eusebius  sent  the  depu- 
tation before  the  council  at  Antioch,  as  is  shown  by  the  words  of 
Athanasius  in  his  ApoL  contra  Arian.,  21. 


II.   14.] 


DISTURBANCES    AT    CONSTANTINOPLE. 


41 


nizance  of  the  charges  against  Athanasius,  and 
order  a  judicial  investigation  to  be  made  in  his 
presence.^ 

CHAPTER   XXL 

The  People  of  Constantiiiople  restore  Paul  to  his 
See  after  the  Death  of  JSttsebius,  while  the 
Arians  elect  Macedonius . 

But  Eusebius  did  not  live  to  learn  the  decis- 
ion of  Julius  concerning  Athanasius,  for  he  died 
a  short  time  after  that  Synod  was  held.  Where- 
upon the  people  introduced  Paul  again  into  the 
church  of  Constantinople  :  the  Arians,  however, 
ordained  Macedonius  at  the  same  time,  in  the 
church  dedicated  to  Paul.  This  those  who  had 
formerly  co-operated  with  Eusebius  (that  dis- 
turber of  the  public  peace)  brought  about,  as- 
suming all  his  authority.  These  were  Theognis, 
bishop  of  Nicfea,  Maris  of  Chalcedon,  Theodore 
of  Heraclea  in  Thrace,  Ursax;ius  of  Singidunum 
in  Upper  Mysia,  and  Valens  of  Mursa  in  Upper 
Pannonia.  Ursacius  and  Valens  indeed  after- 
ward altered  their  opinions,  and  presented  a 
written  recantation  of  them  to  bishop  Julius,  so 
that  on  subscribing  the  doctrine  of  consubstan- 
tiability  they  were  again  admitted  to  commun- 
ion ;  but  at  that  time  they  warmly  supported 
the  Arian  error,  and  were  instigators  of  the  most 
violent  conflicts  in  the  churches,  one  of  which 
was  connected  with  Macedonius  at  Constantino- 
ple. By  this  intestine  war  among  the  Christians, 
continuous  seditions  arose  in  that  city,  and  many 
lives  were  sacrificed  in  consequence  of  these 
occurrences. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Paul  is  again  ejected  f-om  the  Church  by  Con- 
stantius,  in  consequence  of  the  Slaughter  of 
Hertnogenes,  his  General. 

Intelligence  of  these  proceedings  reached 
the  ears  of  the  Emperor  Constantius,  whose 
residence  was  then  at  Antioch.  Accordingly  he 
ordered  his  general  Hermogenes,  who  had  been 
despatched  to  Thrace,  to  pass  through  Constan- 
tinople on  his  way,  and  expel  Paul  from  the 
church.  He,  on  arriving  at  Constantinople,  threw 
the  whole  city  into  confusion,  attempting  to  cast 
out  the  bishops  ;  for  sedition  immediately  arose 
from  the  people  in  their  eagerness  to  defend  the 
bishop.  And  when  Hermogenes  persisted  in 
his  efforts  to  drive  out  Paul  by  means  of  his 
military  force,  the  people  became  exasperated 


'  See  Hammond,  Canons  of  the  Church  (notes  on  the  Canons 
of  Nicsea),  for  the  prerogatives  of  the  see  of  Rome  recognized  at 
this  time. 


as  is  usual  in  such  cases ;  and  making  a  desper- 
ate attack  upon  him,  they  set  his  house  on  fire, 
and  after  dragging  through  the  city,  they  at  last 
put  him  to  death.  This  took  place  in  the  con- 
sulate ^  of  the  two  Augusti,  —  that  is  to  say,  the 
third  consulship,  —  Constantius,  and  the  second 
of  Constans  :  at  which  time  Constans,  having 
subdued  the  Franks,  compelled  them  to  enter 
into  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Romans.  The 
Emperor  Constantius,  on  being  informed  of  the 
assassination  of  Hermogenes,  set  off  on  horse- 
back from  Antioch,  and  arriving  at  Constanti- 
nople immediately  expelled  Paul,  and  then 
punished  the  inhabitants  by  withdrawing  from 
them  more  than  40,000  measures  of  the  daily 
allowance  of  wheat  which  had  been  granted  by 
his  father  for  gratuitous  distribution  among 
them  :  for  prior  to  this  catastrophe,  nearly 
80,000  measures  of  wheat  brought  from  Alex- 
andria had  been  bestowed  on  the  citizens.^  He 
hesitated,  however,  to  ratify  ^  the  appointment 
of  Macedonius  to  the  bishopric  of  that  city, 
being  irritated  against  him  not  only  because  he 
had  been  ordained  without  his  own  consent ; 
but  also  because  on  account  of  the  contests  in 
which  he  had  been  engaged  with  Paul,  Hermo- 
genes, his  general,  and  many  other  persons  had 
been  slain.  But  having  given  him  permission 
to  minister  in  the  church  in  which  he  had  been 
consecrated,  he  returned  to  Antioch. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Arians   remove    Gregory  from   the  See  of 
Alexandria,  and  appoint  George  in  his  Place} 

About  the  same  time  the  Arians  ejected 
Gregory  from  the  see  of  Alexandria,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  unpopular  and  at  the  same 
time  because  he  had  set  a  church  -  on  fire,  and  did 
not  manifest  sufficient  zeal  in  promoting  the 
interests  of  their  party .^  They  therefore  inducted 
George  into  his  see,  who  was  a  native  of  Cap- 
padocia,  and  had  acquired  the  reputation  of 
being  an  able  advocate  cJf  their  tenets. 


'  342  A.D.  This  assassination  of  Hermogenes  was  evidently- 
recorded  in  that  portion  of  Am.  jSIarcellinus'  work  which  has  been 
lost;  at  least  a  record  of  it  is  referred  to  in  that  ^.v.'Caox's  Rcrum 
Gestarum,  XIV.  x.  2  (ed.  Eyssenhart). 

-  On  the  gratuitous  distribution  of  grain  or  bread  practised  under 
Constantine  and  lat.;r  under  Theodosius,  see  Cod.  Theod.  XIV.  tit. 
XVI.,  and  cf.  Eunap.  Acdes.  par.  22. 

3  Cf.  Bingham,  Christ.  Atitiq.  IV.  xi.  19,  on  the  control  over 
the  appointment  of  bishops  by  the  emperor  at  this  time. 

1  There  is  an  error  here,  repeated  also  by  Sozomen  (III.  7),  but 
corrected  by  Theodoret,  H.  E.  II.  4  and  12,  without  the  mention  of 
the  names  of  his  predecessors.  The  error  consists  in  the  statement 
that  Gregory  was  ejected  at  this  tirne.  It  appears  that  he  remained 
in  his  position  until  the  Council  of  Sardica,  by  which  he  was  deposed 
and  excommunicated.     He  survived  this  council  by  six  months. 

2  That  of  Dionysius. 

'  This  is  the  same  Gregory  that  is  mentioned  in  ch.  10  as  vio- 
lently put  into  possession  of  the  sea  of  Alexandria  by  the  Arians. 
It  is  evident  that  they  were  disappointed  in  him. 


42 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  15. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Athanasiiis  and  Paul^  g(^i^^S  ^^  Rome,  and  hav- 
ing obtained  Letters  from  Bishop  Julius,  re- 
cover their  respective  Dioceses. 

Athanasius,  meanwhile,  after  a  lengthened 
journey,  at  last  reached  Italy.  The  western 
division  of  the  empire  was  then  under  the  sole 
power  of  Constans,  the  youngest  of  Constan- 
tine's  sons,  his  lirother  Constantine  having  been 
slain  by  the  soldiers,  as  was  before  stated.  At 
the  same  time  also  Paul,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, Asclepas  of  Gaza,  Marcellus  of  Ancyra, 
a  city  of  the  Lesser  Galatia,  and  Lucius  of 
Adrianople,  having  been  accused  on  various 
charges,  and  expelled  from  their  several  churches, 
arrived  at  the  imperial  city.  Tliere  each  laid- 
his  case  before  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome.  He  on 
his  part,  by  virtue  of  the  Church  of  Rome's 
peculiar  privilege,  sent  them  back  again  into 
the  East,  fortifying  them  with  commendatory 
letters  ;  and  at  the  same  time  restored  to  each 
his  own  place,  and  sharply  rebuked  those  by 
whom  they  had  been  deposed.  Relying  on  the 
signature  of  the  bishop  Julius,  the  bishops  de- 
parted from  Rome,  and  again  took  possession 
of  their  own  churches,  forwarding  the  letters  to 
the  parties  to  whom  they  were  addressed.  These 
persons  considering  themselves  treated  with  in- 
dignity by  the  reproaches  of  Julius,  called  a 
council  at  Antioch,  assembled  themselves  and 
dictated  a  reply  to  his  letters  as  the  expression 
of  the  unanimous  feeling  of  the  whole  Synod." 
It  was  not  his  province,  they  said,  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  their  decisions  in  reference  to  any 
whom  they  might  wish  to  expel  from  their 
churches ;  seeing  that  they  had  not  opposed 
themselves  to  him,  when  Novatus  was  ejected 
from  the  church.  These  things  the  bishops  of 
the  Eastern  church  communicated  to  Julius, 
bishop  of  Rome.  But,  as  on  the  entry  of  Atha- 
nasius into  Alexandria,  a  tumult  was  raised  by 
the  partisans  of  George  the  Arian,  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  it  is  affirmed,  many  persons 
were  killed  ;  and  since  the  Arians  endeavor  to 
throw  the  whole  odium  of  this  transaction  on 
Athanasius  as  the  author  of  it,  it  behooves  us  to 
make  a  few  remarks  on  the  subject.  God  the 
Judge  of  all  only  knows  the  true  causes  of  these 

1  Julius,  in  his  letter  to  the  Eastern  bishops  {Efi.  I.  adv.  Euse- 
bianos,  4  and  5),  mentions  Athanasius  and  Marcellus,  ex-bishop  of 
Ancyra,  as  with  him  at  this  time,  but  does  not  allude  to  Paul;  from 
which  it  has  been  inferred  that  Socrates  is  in  error  here  in  setting 
the  date  oi  Paul's  visit  to  Rome  at  this  time,  as  otherwise  Julius 
would  have  named  him  also  with  Athanasius  and  Marcellus.  Sozo- 
men,  as  usual,  copies  the  mistake  of  Socrates;  cf.  Sozom.  III.  15. 

_  2  It  appears  from  this  that  there  was  no  recognition  of  any  spe- 
cial prerogative  or  right  belonging  to  the  bishop  of  Rome  as  yet. 
The  position  of  that  bishop  during  these  agitations  in  the  Eastern 
church,  when -the  Western  church  was  in  comparative  peace,  seems 
to  be  that  of  an  arbitrator  voluntarily  invoked,  rather  than  of  an 
official  judge.  Cf.  Neander,  Hist.  0/ the  Christ.  Church,  Vol.  II. 
p.  171,  172. 


disorders ;  but  no  one  of  any  experience  can 
•be  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  such  fatal  accidents 
are  for  the  most  part  concomitants  of  the  fac- 
tious movements  of  the  populace.  It  is  vain, 
therefore,  for  the  calumniators  of  Athanasius  to 
attribute  the  blame  to  him ;  and  especially 
Sabinus,^  bishop  of  the  Macedonian  heresy.  For 
had  the  latter  reflected  on  the  number  and 
magnitude  of  the  wrongs  which  Athanasius,  in 
conjunction  with  the  rest  who  hold  the  doctrine 
of  consubstantiality,  had  suffered  from  the  Arians, 
or  on  the  many  complaints  made  of  these  things 
by  the  Synods  convened  on  account  of  x'Vtha- 
nasius,  or  in  short  on  what  that  arch-heretic 
Macedonius  himself  has  done  throughout  all  the 
churches,  he  would  either  have  been  wholly 
silent,  or  if  constrained  to  speak,  would  have 
spoken  more  plausible  words,  instead  of  these 
reproaches.  But  as  it  is  intentionally  overlook- 
ing all  these  things,  he  willfully  misrepresents 
the  facts.  He  makes,  however,  no  mention 
whatever  of  the  heresiarch,  desiring  by  all  means 
to  conceal  the  daring  enormities  of  which  he 
knew  him  to  be  guilty.  And  what  is  still  more 
extraordinaryj  he  has  not  said  one  word  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  Arians,  although  he  was 
far  from  entertaining  their  sentiments.  The  or- 
dination of  Macedonius,  whose  heretical  views 
he  had  adopted,  he  has  also  passed  over  in 
silence  ;  for  had  he  mentioned  it,  he  must  neces- 
sarily have  recorded  his  impieties  also,  which 
were  most  distinctly  manifested  on  that  occa- 
sion.    Let  this  suffice  on  this  subject. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  Emperor  Constantius,  thjvi/gh  an  Order 
to  Philip  the  PrcEtorian  Prefect,  secures  the 
Exile  of  Paul,  and  the  Installation  of  Mace- 
donius in  his  See. 

When  the  Emperor  Constantius,  who  then 
held  his  court  at  Antioch,  heard  that  Paul  had 
again  obtained  possession  of  the  episcopal  throne, 
he  was  excessively  enraged  at  his  presumption. 
He  therefore  despatched  a  written  order  to 
Philip,  the  Praetorian  Prefect,  whose  power  ex- 
ceeded that  of  the  other  governors  of  provinces, 
and  who  was  styled  the  second  person  from  the 
emperor,-"  to  drive  Paul  out  of  the  church  again, 
and  introduce  Macedonius  into  it  in  his  place. 
Now  the  prefect  Philip,  dreading  an  insurrec- 
tionary movement  among  the  people,  used  arti- 
fice to  entrap  the  bishop  :  keeping,  therefore, 
the  emperor's  mandate  secret,  he  went  to  the 


'  i.e.  in  his  Collection  of  Synodic  al  Transactions ,  mentioned  in 
chap.  17. 

'  tViiTfpo!  MfTrt  |3ao-tAe'a;  not  only  second  in  rank,  but  first  after 
him  in  power,  '  his  right-hand  man.'  Cf.  Vergil's  alter  ab  illo. 
Eel.  V.  49,  and  Vlll.  39. 


II.  17.] 


PAUL,    BISHOP    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE,    EXILED. 


43 


public  bath  called  Zeuxippus,  and  on  pretense 
of  attending  to  some  ])ublic  affairs,  sent  to  Paul 
with  every  demonstration  of  respect,  requesting 
his  attendance  there,  on  the  ground  that  his 
presence  was  indispensable.  The  bishop  came  ; 
and  as  he  came  in  obedience  to  this  summons, 
the  prefect  immediately  showed  him  the  em- 
peror's order ;  the  bishop  patiently  submitted 
condemnation  without  a  hearing.  But  as  Philip 
was  afraid  of  the  violence  of  the  multitude  — 
for  great  numbers  had  gathered  around  the 
building  to  see  what  would  take  place,  for  their 
suspicions  had  been  aroused  by  current  reports 
—  he  commanded  one  of  the  bath  doors  to  be 
opened  which  communicated  with  the  imperial 
palace,  and  through  that  Paul  was  carried  off, 
put  on  board  a  vessel  provided  for  the  purpose, 
and  so  sent  into  exile  immediately.  The  pre- 
fect directed  him  to  go  to  Thessalonica,  the 
metropolis  of  Macedonia,  whence  he  had  de- 
rived his  origin  from  his  ancestors  ;  command- 
ing him  to  reside  in  that  city,  but  granting  him 
permission  to  visit  other  cities  of  Illyricum, 
while  he  strictly  forbade  his  passing  into  any 
portion  of  the  Eastern  empire.  Thus  was  Paul, 
contrary  to  his  expectation,  at  once  expelled 
from  the  church,  and  from  the  city,  and  again 
hurried  off  into  exile.  Philip,  the  imperial  pre- 
fect, leaving  the  bath,  immediately  proceeded 
to  the  church.  Together  with  him,  as  if  thrown 
there  by  an  engine,  Macedonius  rode  seated  in 
the  same  seat  with  the  prefect  in  the  chariot 
seen  by  everybody,  and  a  miUtary  guard  with 
drawn  swords  was  about  them.  The  multitude 
was  completely  overawed  by  this  spectacle,  and 
both  Arians  and  Homoousians  hastened  to  the 
church,  every  one  endeavoring  to  secure  an 
entrance  there.  As  the  prefect  with  Macedonius 
came  near  the  church,  an  irrational  panic  seized 
the  multitude  and  even  the  soldiers  themselves ; 
for  as  the  assemblage  was  so  numerous  and  no 
room  to  admit  the  passage  of  the  prefect  and 
Macedonius  was  found,  the  soldiers  attempted 
to  thrust  aside  the  people  by  force.  But  the 
confined  space  into  which  they  were  crowded 
together  rendering  it  impossible  to  recede,  the 
soldiers  imagined  that  resistance  was  offered, 
and  that  the  populace  intentionally  stopped  the 
passage ;  they  accordingly  began  to  use  their 
naked  swords,  and  to  cut  down  those  that  stood 
in  their  way.  It  is  affirmed  that  about  3150 
persons  were  massacred  on  this  occasion ;  of 
whom  the  greater  part  fell  under  the  weapons 
of  the  soldiers,  and  the  rest  were  crushed  to 
death  by  the  desperate  efforts  of  the  multitude 
to  escape  their  violence.  After  such  distin- 
guished achievements,  Macedonius,  as  if  he  had 
not  been  the  author  of  any  calamity,  but  was 
altogether  guiltless  of  what  had  been  perpetrated, 
was  seated  in  the  episcopal  chair  by  the  prefect. 


rather  than  by  the  ecclesiastical  canon.  Thus, 
then,  by  means  of  so  many  murders  in  the 
church,  Macedonius  and  the  Arians  grasped  the 
supremacy  in  the  churches.  About  this  period 
the  emperor  built  the  great  church  called  Sophia, 
adjoining  to  that  named  rlrene,  which  being 
originally  of  small  dimensions,  the  emperor's 
father  had  considerably  enlarged  and  adorned. 
In  the  present  day  both  are  seen  within  one 
enclosure,  and  have  but  one  appellation. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Athanasius,  iritimidated  by  the  Empei'or's 
Threats,  returns  to  Rotne  again. 

At  this  time  another  accusation  was  concocted 
against  Athanasius  by  the  Arians,  who  invented 
this  pretext  for  it.  The  father  of  the  August! 
had  long  before  granted  an  allowance  of  corn  to 
the  church  of  the  Alexandrians  for  the  relief  of 
the  indigent.  This,  they  asserted,  had  usually 
been  sold  by  Athanasius,  and  the  proceeds  con- 
verted to  his  own  advantage.  The  emperor, 
giving  credence  to  this  slanderous  report,  threat- 
ened Athanasius  with  death,  as  a  penalty  ;  who, 
becoming  alarmed  at  the  intimation  of  this 
threat,  took  to  flight,  and  kept  himself  con- 
cealed. When  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome,  was  ap- 
prised of  these  fresh  machinations  of  the  Arians 
against  Athanasius,  and  had  also  received  the 
letter  of  the  then  deceased  Eusebius,  he  invited 
the  persecuted  Athanasius  to  come  to  him,  hav- 
ing ascertained  where  he  was  secreted.  The 
epistle  also  of  the  bishops  who  had  been  some 
time  before  assembled  at  Antioch,  just  then 
reached  him  ;  and  at  the  same  time  others  from 
the  bishops  in  Egypt,  assuring  him  that  the  en- 
tire charge  against  Athanasius  was  a  fabrication. 
On  the  receipt  of  these  contradictory  communi- 
cations, Julius  first  replied  to  the  bishops  who 
had  written  to  him  from  Antioch,  complaining 
of  the  acrimonious  feeling  they  had  evinced  in 
their  letter,  and  charging  them  with  a  violation 
of  the  canons,  because  they  had  not  requested 
his  attendance  at  the  council,^  seeing  that  the 
ecclesiastical  law  required  that  the  churches 
should  pass  no  decisions  contrary  to  the  views 
of  the  bishop  of  Rome  :  he  then  censured  them 
with  great  severity  for  clandestinely  attempting 
to  pervert  the  faith  ;  in  addition,  that  their  for- 
mer proceedings  at  Tyre  were  fraudulent,  be- 
cause the  investigation  of  what  had  taken  place 
at  ]\Iareotes  was  on  one  side  of  the  question 
only ;  not  only  this,  but  that  tj;ie  charge  respect- 

1  Sozom.  X.  3  follows  Socrates.  The  contents  of  the  letter  writ- 
ten by  Julius  to  the  Eusebians,  found  in  Athanasius'  Apologia 
contra  Arianos,  c.  20,  are  different  from  those  here  given  by  Socra- 
tes. Julius  there  complains  of  their  ignoring  his  invitation  to  the 
synod  at  Rome,  but  says  nothing  of  any  canon  such  as  is  mentioned 
here.     Cf.  ch.  8,  note  2. 


44 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  17. 


ing  Arsenius  had  plainly  been  proved  a  false 
charge.  Such  and  similar  sentiments  did  Julius 
write  in  his  answer  to  the  bishops  convened  at 
Antioch  ;  we  should  have  inserted  here  at  length, 
these  as  well  as  those  letters  which  were  addressed 
to  Julius,  did  not  their  prolixity  interfere  with 
our  purpose.  But  Sabinus,  the.  advocate  of  the 
Macedonian  heresy,  of  whom  we  have  before 
spoken,  has  not  incorporated  the  letters  of 
Julius  in  his  Collection  of  Synodical  Transac- 
tions ;  -  although  he  has  not  omitted  that  which 
the  bishops  of  Antioch  sent  to  Julius.  This, 
however,  is  usual  with  him  ;  he  carefully  intro- 
duces such  letters  as  make  no  reference  to,  or 
wholly  repudiate  the  term  Jiomoousion ;  while 
he  purposely  passes  over  in  silence  those  of  a 
contrary  tendency.  This  is  sufficient  on  this 
subject.  Not  long  after  this,  Paul,  pretending  to 
make  a  journey  from  Thessalonica  to  Corinth, 
arrived  in  Italy  :  upon  which  both  the  bishops " 
made  an  appeal  to  the  emperor  of  those  parts, 
laying  their  respective  cases  before  him. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

The  Emperor  of  the  West  requests  his  Brother 
to  send  him  TJiree  Persons  luiio  could  give  an 
Account  of  the  Deposition  of  Athafiasius  and 
Paul.  Those  who  are  sent  publish  Another 
Form  of  the  Creed. 

When  the  Western  emperor  ^  was  informed  of 
their  affairs,  he  sympathized  with  their  sufferings  ; 
and  wrote  to  his  brother  [Constantius],  begging 
him  to  send  three  bishops  who  should  explain 
to  him  the  reason  for  the  deposition  of  Athana- 
sius  and  Paul.  In  compliance  with  this  request, 
Narcissus  the  Cilician,  Theodore  the  Thracian, 
Maris  of  Chalcedon,  and  Mark  the  Syrian,  were 
deputed  to  execute  this  commission ;  who  on 
their  arrival  refused  to  hold  any  communication 
with  Athanasius  or  his  friends,  but  suppressing 
the  creed  which  had  been  promulgated  at  An- 
tioch, presented  to  the  Emperor  Constans  another 
declaration  of  faith  composed  by  themselves,  in 
the  following  terms  : 

Another  Exposition  of  the  Faith. 

We  believe  in  one  God  the  Father  Almighty, 
the  Creator  and  Maker  of  all  things,  of  whom 
the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  upon  earth  is 
named ;  -  and  in  his  only-begotten  Son,  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  begotten  of  the 
Father  before  all  ages  ;  (iod  of  God  ;  Light  of 
Light ;  through  whom  all  things  in  the  heavens 
and  upon  the  earth,  both  visible  and  invisible, 

2  See  above,  ch.  15.  '  Athanasius  and  Paul. 

1  Constaiitine  the  Younger.     .See  I.  38,  end. 
-  Ep!i.  iii.  15. 


were  made :  who  is  the  A\'ord,  and  Wisdom, 
and  Power,  and  Life,  and  true  Light :  who  in 
the  last  days  for  our  sake  was  made  man,  and 
was  born  of  the  holy  virgin ;  was  crucified,  and 
died  ;  was  buried,  arose  again  from  the  dead  on 
the  third  day,  ascended  into  the  heavens,  is 
seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  shall 
come  at  the  consummation  of  the  ages,  to  judge 
the  living  and  the  dead,  and  to  render  to  every 
one  according  to  his  works  :  whose  kingdom 
being  perpetual,  shall  continue  to  infinite  ages ; 
for  he  shall  sit  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 
not  only  in  this  age,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to 
come.  [We  believe]  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  is, 
in  the  Comforter,  whom  the  Lord,  according  to 
his  promise,  sent  to  his  apostles  after  his  ascen- 
sion into  the  heavens,  to  teach  them,  and  bring 
all  things  to  their  remembrance  :  by  whom  also 
the  souls  of  those  who  have  sincerely  believed 
on  him  shall  be  sanctified  ;  and  those  who  assert 
that  the  Son  was  made  of  things  which  are  not, 
or  of  another  substance,  and  not  of  God,  or  that 
there  was  a  time  when  he  did  not  exist,  the 
Catholic  Church  accounts  as  aliens. 

Having  delivered  this  creed  to  the  emperor, 
and  exhibited  it  to  many  others  also,  they  de- 
parted without  attending  to  anything  besides. 
But  while  there  was  yet  an  inseparable  commun- 
ion between  the  Western  and  Eastern  churches, 
there  sprang  up  another  heresy  at  Sirmium,  a 
city  of  Illyricum  :  for  Photinus,  who  presided 
over  the  churches  in  that  district,  a  native  of 
the  Lesser  Galatia,  and  a  disciple  of  that  Mar- 
cellus  who  had  been  deposed,  adopting  his 
master's  sentiments,  asserted  that  the  Son  of 
God  was  a  mere  man.  We  shall,  however, 
enter  into  this  matter  more  fully  in  its  proper 
place." 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Of  the    Creed  sent  by  the  Eastern  Bishops  to 
those  in  Italy,  called  the  Lengthy  Creed} 

ArrER  the  lapse  of  about  three  years  from  the 
events  above  recorded,  the  Eastern  bishops  again 
assembled  a  Synod,  and  having  composed  an- 
other form  of  faith,  they  transmitted  it  to  those 
in  Italy  by  the  hands  of  Eudoxius,  at  that  time 
bishop  of  Germanicia,  and  Martyrius,  and  Mace- 
donius,  who  was  bishop  of  Mopsuestia  ^  in  Cilicia. 
This  expression  of  the  Creed,  being  written  in 
more  ^engthy  form,  contained  many  additions  to 

'  See  below,  ch.  29. 

'  This  creed  was  called  iua»cpd(rTi;(o?  from  its  length,  and  the 
date  of  its  promulgation  must  be  put  after  the  Council  of  Sardica, 
according  to  Hefele.  See  Hefele,  History  of  the  Church  Cottncils, 
Vol.  II.  p.  85,  89,  and  180  (ed.  T.  &  T.  Clafk). 

-  Mdii/ov  fiTTia,  lit.  '  the  hearth  of  Mopsus,'  son  of  Apollo  and 
Manto,  daughter  of  Tiresias,  according  to  the  Greek  mythology. 
Mopsuestia  has  become  famous  in  the  history  of  the  church  through 
its  great  citizen,  Theodore.  Cf.  Smith  and  Wace,  Diet,  of  Christ. 
Biog. 


II.  19.] 


THE    MACROSTICH    CREED. 


45 


those  which  had  preceded  it,  and  was  set  forth 
in  these  words  : 

'  We  beUeve  in  one  God,  the  Father  Ahuighty, 
the  Creator  and  Maker  of  all  things,  of  whom 
the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  upon  earth  is 
named ;  and  in  his  only-begotten  Son  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  who  was  begotten  of  the  Father 
before  all  ages ;  God  of  God ;  Light  of  Light ; 
through  whom  all  things  in  the  heavens  and 
upon  the  earth,  both  visible  and  invisible,  were 
made :  who  is  the  ^^'ord,  and  Wisdom,  and 
Power,  and  Life,  and  true  Light :  who  in  the 
last  days  for  our  sake  was  made  man,  and  was 
born  of  the  holy  virgin  ;  who  was  crucified,  and 
died,  and  was  buried,  and  rose  again  from  the 
dead  on  the  third  day,  and  ascended  into  heaven, 
and  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 
and  shall  come  at  the  consummation  of  the  ages, 
to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  to  render 
to  every  one  according  to  his  works  :  whose 
kingdom  being  perpetual  shall  continue  to  in- 
finite ages ;  for  he  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  not  only  in  this  age,  but  'also  in  that 
which  is  to  come.  We  believe  also  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  is,  in  the  Comforter,  whom  the  Lord 
according  to  his  promise  sent  to  his  apostles 
after  his  ascension  into  heaven,  to  teach  them 
and  bring  all  things  to  their  remembrance, 
through  whom  also  the  souls  of  those  who  sin- 
cerely believe  on  him  are  sanctified.  But  those 
who  assert  that  the  Son  was  made  of  things  not 
in  being,  or  of  another  substance,  and  not 
of  God,  or  that  there  was  a  time  or  age  when 
he  did  not  exist,^  the  holy  catholic  Church 
accounts  as  aliens.  ^  The  holy  and  catholic 
Church  likewise  anathematizes  those  also  who 
say  that  there  are  three  Gods,  or  that  Christ 
is  not  God  before  all  ages,  or  that  he  is 
neither  Christ,  nor  the  Son  of  God,  or  that  the 
same  person  is  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  or 
that  the  Son  was  not  begotten,  or  that  the  Father 
begat  not  the  Son  by  his  own  will  or  desire* 
Neither  is  it  safe  to  affirm  that  the  Son  had  his 
existence  from  things  that  were  not,  since  this 
is  nowhere  declared  concerning  him  in  the 
divinely  inspired  Scriptures.  Nor  are  we  taught 
that  he  had  his  being  from  any  other  pre-exist- 
ing substance  besides  the  Father,  but  that  he 
was  truly  begotten  of  God  alone  ;  for  the  Divine 
word  teaches  that  there  is  one  unbegotten  princi- 
ple without  beginning,  the  Father  of  Christ.  But 
those  who  unauthorized  by  Scripture  rashly  as- 
sert that  there  was  a  time  when  he  was  not, 
ought  not  to  preconceive  any  antecedent  inter- 
val of  time,  but  God  only  who  without  time 
begat  him  ;  for  both  times  and  ages  were  made 
through  him.     Yet  it  must  not  be  thought  that 


^  This  is  the  end  of  the  first  creed  adopted  at  Antioch,  as  given 
in  the  preceding  chapter;  it  is  couched  in  almost  identical  terms  in 
both  these  versions.  The  rest  of  the  version  here  given  is  the  addi- 
tion that  constitutes  the  characteristic  of  the  '  Lengthy  Creed.' 


the  Son  is  co-inoriginate,*  or  co-unbegotten* 
with  the  Tvather  :  for  there  is  properly  no  father 
of  the  co-inoriginate  or  co-unbegotten.  But  we 
know  that  the  Father  alone  being  inoriginate 
and  incomprehensible,''  has  ineffably  and  incom- 
prehensibly to  all  begotten,  and  that  the  Son 
was  begotten  before  the  ages,  but  is  not  unbe- 
gotten like  the  Father,  but  has  a  beginning,  viz. 
the  Father  who  begat  him,  for  "  the  head  of 
Christ  is  God." ''  Now  although  according  to 
the  Scriptures  we  acknowledge  three  things  or 
persons,  viz.  that  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  do  not  on  that  ac- 
count make  three  Gods  :  since  we  know  that 
that  there  is  but  one  God  perfect  in  himself, 
unbegotten,  inoriginate,  and  invisible,  the  God 
and  Father  of  the  only-begotten,  who  alone  has 
existence  from  himself,  and  alone  affords  exist- 
ence abundantly  to  all  other  things.  But  neither 
while  we  assert  that  there  is  one  God,  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only-begotten,  do 
we  therefore  deny  that  Christ  is  God  before 
the  ages,  as  the  followers  of  Paul  of  Samosata 
do,  who  affirm  that  after  his  incarnation  he 
was  by  exaltation  deified,  in  that  he  was  by 
nature  a  mere  man.  We  know  indeed  that 
he  was  subject  to  his  God  and  Father  :  never- 
theless he  was  begotten  of  God,  and  is  by 
nature  true  and  perfect  God,  and  was  not 
afterwards  made  God  out  of  man ;  but  was 
for  our  sake  made  man  out  of  God,  and  has 
never  ceased  to  be  God.  Moreover  we  execrate 
and  anathematize  those  who  falsely  style  him 
the  mere  unsubstantial  word  of  God,  having 
existence  only  in  another,  either  as  the  word  to 
which  utterance  is  given,  or  as  the  word  con- 
ceived in  the  mind :  and  who  pretend  that 
before  the  ages  he  was  neither  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Mediator,  nor  the  Image  of 
God  ;  but  that  he  became  the  Christ,  and  the 
Son  of  God,  from  the  time  he  took  our  flesh 
from  the  virgin,  about  four  hundred  years  ago.^ 
For  they  assert  that  Christ  had  the  beginning  of 
his  kingdom  from  that  time,  and  that  it  shall 
have  an  end  after  the  consummation  of  all 
things  and  the  judgment.  Such  persons  as  these 
are  the  followers  of  Marcellus  and  Photinus,  the 
Ancyro-Galatians,  who  under  pretext  of  estab- 
lishing his  sovereignty,  like  the  Jews  set  aside 

*  a-vvavapxov.  It  has  been  thought  advisable  to  retain  the  above 
uncouth  rendering  of  this  word,  as  also  of  one  or  two  others  immedi- 
ately following,  on  the  ground  that  the  etymological  precision  at 
which  they  aim  compensates  for  their  non-classical  ring. 

■''  (Xvi'ay^i'i'TiTOf.  *^  al'e*/)tKTOr.  "   I  Cor,  xi.  3. 

8  '  There  has  arisen  in  our  days  a  certain  Marcellus  of  Galatia, 
the  most  execrable  of  all  heretics,  who  with  a  sacrilegious  mind  and 
impious  mouth  and  wicked  argunient  will  needs  set  bounds  to  the 
perpetual,  eternal,  and  timeless  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Christ,  saying 
that  he  began  to  reign  four  hundred  years  since,  and  shall  end  at  the 
dissolution  of  the  present  world.'  This  is  the  description  given  of 
the  heresy  here  hinted  at  by  the  synodical  letter  of  the  Oriental 
bishops  at  Sardica.  On  Marcellus  and  the  various  opinions  con- 
cerning him,  see  Zahn,  Marcellus  von  Ancyra,  Gotha,  1867;  also 
monograplis  on  Marcellus  by  Rettberg  (1794)  and  by  Klose  (1837 
and  1859).     Cf.  Neander,  Hist.  ofChr.  Ch.  Vol.  IL  p.  394. 


46 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[II.  19. 


the  eternal  existence  and  deity  of  Christ,  and 
the  perpetuity  of  his  kingdom.  But  we  know 
him  to  be  not  simply  the  word  of  God  by  utter- 
ance or  mental  conception,  but  God  the  living 
Word  subsisting  of  himself;  and  Son  of  God 
and  Christ ;  and  who  did,  not  by  presence 
only,  co-exist  and  was  conversant  with  his 
Father  before  the  ages,  and  ministered  to  him 
at  the  creation  of  all  things,  whether  visible  or 
invisible,  but  was  the  substantial  Word  of  the 
Father,  and  God  of  God  :  for  this  is  he  to  whom 
the  Father  said,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  and  according  to  our  hkeness  :  "  who  in 
his  own  person  appeared  to  the  fathers,  gave 
the  law,  and  spake  by  the  prophets ;  and  being 
at  last  made  man,  he  manifested  his  Father  to 
all  men,  and  reigns  to  endless  ages.  Christ  has 
not  attained  any  new  dignity ;  but  we  believe 
that  he  was  perfect  from  the  beginning,  and  like 
his  Father  in  all  things  ;  knd  those  who  say  that 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are  the  same 
person,  impiously  supposing  the  three  names  to 
refer  to  one  and  the  same  thing  and  person,  we 
deservedly  expel  from  the  church  because  by 
the  incarnation  they  render  the  Father,  who  is 
incomprehensible  and  insusceptible  of  suffering, 
subject  to  comprehension  and  suffering.  Such 
are  those  denominated  Patropassians '^  among 
the  Romans,  and  by  us  Sabellians.  For  we  know 
that  the  Father  who  sent,  remained  in  the  proper 
nature  of  his  own  immutable  deity ;  but  that 
Christ  who  was  sent,  has  fulfilled  the  economy 
of  the  incarnation.  In  like  manner  those  who 
irreverently  affirm  that  Christ  was  begotten  not 
by  the  will  and  pleasure  of  his  Father ;  thus 
attributing  to  God  an  involuntary  necessity  not 
springing  from  choice,  as  if  he  begat  the  Son  by 
constraint,  we  consider  most  impious  and  stran- 
gers to  the  truth  because  they  have  dared  to 
determine  such  things  respecting  him  as  are 
inconsistent  with  our  common  notions  of  God, 
and  are  contrary  indeed  to  the  sense  of  the 
divinely-inspired  Scripture.  For  knowing  that 
God  is  self-dependent  and  Lord  of  himself  we 
devoutly  maintain  that  of  his  own  volition  and 
pleasure  he  begat  the  Son.  And  while  we  rev- 
erentially believe  what  is  spoken  concerning 
him  ; '"  "  The  Lord  created  me  the  beginning  of 
his  ways  on  account  of  his  works  "  :  yet  we  do 
not  suppose  that  he  was  made  similarly  to  the 
creatures  or  works  made  by  him.  For  it  is  im- 
pious and  repugnant  to  the  church's  faith  to 
compare  the  Creator  with  the  works  created  by 
him  ;  or  to  imagine  that  he  had  the  same  man- 
ner of  generation  as  things  of  a  nature  totally 
different  from  himself:   for  the  sacred  Scriptures 


0  Cf.  Tertull.  Adz'.  Prax.  i.  and  ii.;  Epiph.  Hcer.  LVIl. 

1"  Prov.  viii.  22.  The  .<incient  bishops  quote  the  LXX  ver- 
batim. The  English  versions  (Authorized  and  Revised)  follow  the 
Hebrew,  '  The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way, 
before  his  works  of  old. 


teach  us  that  the  alone  only-begotten  Son  was 
really  and  truly  begotten.  Nor  when  we  say 
that  the  Son  is  of  himself,  and  lives  and  subsists 
in  like  manner  to  the  Father,  do  we  therefore 
separate  him  from  the  Father,  as  if  we  supposed 
them  dissociated  by  the  intervention  of  space 
and  distance  in  a  material  sense.  For  we  be- 
lieve that  they  are  united  without  medium  or 
interval,  and  that  they  are  incapable  of  separa- 
tion from  each  other  :  the  whole  Father  embos- 
oming the  Son  ;  and  the  whole  Son  attached  to 
and  eternally  reposing  in  the  Father's  bosom. 
Believing,  therefore,  in  the  altogether  perfect 
and  most  holy  Trinity,  and  asserting  that  the 
Father  is  God,  and  that  the  Son  also  is  God,  we 
do  not  acknowledge  two  Gods,  but  one  only,  on 
account  of  the  majesty  of  the  Deity,  and  the 
perfect  blending  and  union  of  the  kingdoms  : 
the  Father  ruling  over  all  things  universally,  and 
even  over  the  Son  himself;  the  Son  being  sub- 
ject to  the  Father,  but  axcept  him,  ruling  over 
all  things  which  were  made  after  him  and  by 
him ;  and  by  the  Father's  will  bestowing  abun- 
dantly on  the  saints  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
For  the  Sacred  Oracles  inform  us  that  in  this 
consists  the  character  of  the  sovereignty  which 
Christ  exercises. 

'  We  have  been  compelled,  since  the  publi- 
cation of  our  former  epitome,  to  give  this  more 
ample  exposition  of  the  creed  ;  not  in  order  to 
gratify  a  vain  ambition,  but  to  clear  ourselves 
from  all  strange  suspicion  respecting  our  faith 
which  may  exist  among  those  who  are  ignorant 
of  our  real  sentiments.  And  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  West  may  both  be  aware  of  the  shameless 
misrepresentations  of  the  heterodox  party ;  and 
also  know  the  ecclesiastical  opinion  of  the 
Eastern  bishops  concerning  Christ,  confirmed 
by  the  unwrested  testimony  of  the  divinely- 
inspired  Scriptures,  among  all  those  of  unper- 
verted  minds.' 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Of  the  Council  at  Sardica. 

The  Western  prelates  on  account  of  their 
being  of  another  language,  and  not  understand- 
ing this  exposition,  would  not  admit  of  it ;  say- 
ing that  the  Nicene  Creed  was  sufficient,  and 
that  they  would  not  waste  time  on  anything 
beyond  it.  But  when  the  emperor  had  again 
written  to  insist  on  the  restoration  to  Paul  and 
Athanasius  of  their  respective  sees,  but  without 
effect  in  consequence  of  the  continual  agitation 
of  the  people  —  these  two  bishops  demanded 
that  another  Synod  should  be  convened,  so  that 

'  Cf.  Sozom.  ni.  11;  Theodoret, //.  .£■.  H.  7;  also  Hefele,  Hist, 
of  the  Church  Councils,  Vol.  \\.  p.  87-176. 


II.  21.] 


COUNCIL    OF    SARDICA.     EUSEBIUS    PAMPHILUS. 


47 


their  case,  as  well  as  other  questions  in  relation 
to  the  faith  might  be  settled  by  an  ecumenical 
council,  for  they  made  it  obvious  that  their 
deposition  arose  from  no  other  cause  than  that 
the  faith  might  be  the  more  easily  perverted. 
Another  general  council  was  therefore  sum- 
moned to  meet  at  Sardica,  —  a  city  of  Illyricum, 
—  by  the  joint  authority  of  the  two  emperors ; 
the  one  requesting  by  letter  that  it  might  be  so, 
and  the  other,  of  the  East,  readily  acquiescing 
in  it.  It  was  the  eleventh  year  after  the  death 
of  the  father  of  the  two  Augusti,  during  the 
consulship  of  Rufinus  and 
Synod  of  Sardica  met. 
statement    of   Athanasius " 


Eusebius,^  that  the 
According  to  the 
about  300  bishops 
from  the  western  parts  of  the  empire  were 
present ;  but  Sabinus  says  there  came  only 
seventy  from  the  eastern  parts,  among  whom 
was  Ischyras  of  Mareotes,*  who  had  been  or- 
dained bishop  of  that  country  by  those  who 
deposed  Athanasius.  Of  the  rest,  some  pre- 
tended infirmity  of  body;  others  complained 
of  the  shortness  of  the  notice  given,  casting  the 
blame  of  it  on  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome,  although 
a  year  and  a  half  had  elapsed  from  the  time  of 
its  having  been  summoned  :  in  which  interval 
Athanasius  remained  at  Rome  awaiting  the  as- 
sembling of  the  Synod.  When  at  last  they 
were  convened  at  Sardica,  the  Eastern  prelates 
refused  either  to  meet  or  to  enter  into  any  con- 
ference with  those  of  the  West,  unless  they  first 
excluded  Athanasius  and  Paul  from  the  conven- 
tion. But  as  Protogenes,  bishop  of  Sardica,  and 
Hosius,  bishop  of  Cordova,  a  city  in  Spain, 
would  by  no  means  permit  them  to  be  absent, 
the  Eastern  bishops  immediately  withdrew,  and 
returning  to  Philippopolis  in  Thrace,  held  a  sepa- 
rate council,  wherein  they  openly  anathematized 
the  term  homooitsios ;  and  having  introduced 
the  Anomoian  ^  opinion  into  their  epistles,  they 
sent  them  in  all  directions.  On  the  other  hand, 
those  who  remained  at  Sardica,  condemning  in 
the  first  place  their  departure,  afterwards  divested 
the  accusers  of  Athanasius  of  their  dignity  ;  then 
confirming  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  rejecting  the 
term  anomoion,  they  more  distinctly  recog- 
nized the  doctrine  of  consubstantiality,  which 
they  also  inserted  in  epistles  addressed  to  all 
the  churches.  Both  parties  believed  they  had 
acted  rightly  :  those  of  the  East,  because  the 
Western  bishops  had  countenanced  those  whom 
they  had  deposed  -^  and  these  again,  in  conse- 
quence not  only  of  the  retirement  of  those  who 


-   347  A.  D. 

3  Athanasius'  statement  is  that  those  who  were  present  at  the 
Council  of  Sardica,  together  with  those  who  afterwards  subscribed 
the  Synodical  Epistle  sent  to  them  and  those  who  before  the  council 
had  written  in  his  behalf  out  of  Phrygia,  Asia,  and  Isauria,  were 
in  all  about  three  hundred  and  forty.  So  in  his  Afiol.  contra 
Ariajws,  c.  50.  In  his  jE>.  ad Solitar.  c.  15,  he  gives  the  number  of 
those  who  met  at  Sardica  as  about  one  hundred  and  seventy, —  no 
more. 

Cf.  I.  27.  S  avoaolov.  'different  "  unlike.' 


had  deposed  them  before  the  matter  had  been, 
examined  into,  but  also  because  they  themselves 
were  the  defenders  of  the  Nicene  faith,  which 
the  other  party  had  dared  to  adulterate.  They 
therefore  restored  to  Paul  and  Athanasius  their 
sees,  and  also  Marcellus  of  Ancyra  in  Lesser 
Galatia,  who  had  been  deposed  long  before,  as 
we  have  stated  in  the  former  book.'''  At  that 
time  indeed  he  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost 
to  procure  the  revocation  of  the  sentence  pro- 
nounced against  him,  declaring  that  his  being 
suspected  of  entertaining  the  error  of  Paul  of 
Samosata  arose  from  a  misunderstanding  of 
some  expressions  in  his  book.  It  must,  how- 
ever, be  noticed  that  Eusebius  Pamphilus  wrote 
three  entire  books  against  Marcellus,'  in  which 
he  quotes  that  author's  own  words  to  prove 
that  he  asserts  with  Sabellius  the  Libyan,  and 
Paul  of  Samosata,  that  the  Lord  [Jesus]  was  a 
mere  man. 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

Defense  of  Eusebius  Pamphilus. 

But  since  some  have  attempted  to  stig- 
matize even  Eusebius  Pamphilus  himself  as 
having  favored  the  Arian  views  in  his  works,  it 
may  not  be  irrelevant  here  to  make  a  few  re- 
marks respecting  him.  In  the  first  place  then 
he  was  both  present  at  the  council  of  Niccca, 
which  defined  the  doctrine  of  the  lioinoousion 
and  gave  his  assent  to  what  was  there  deter- 
mined. And  in  the  third  book  of  the  Life  of 
Constantine,  he  expressed  himself  in  these 
words  :  ^  'The  emperor  incited  all  to  unanimity, 
until  he  had  rendered  them  united  in  judgment 
on  those  points  on  which  they  were  previously 
at  variance  ;  so  that  they  were  quite  agreed  at 
Nicaea  in  matters  of  faith.'  Since  therefore 
Eusebius,  in  mentioning  the  Nicene  Synod,  says 
that  all  differences  were  removed,  and  that  all 
came  to  unity  of  sentiment,  what  ground  is  there 
for  assuming  that  he  was  himself  an  Arian? 
The  i\rians  are  also  certainly  deceived  in  sup- 
posing him  to  be  a  favorer  of  their  tenets.  But 
some  one  will  perhaps  say  that  in  his  discourses 
he  seems  to  have  adopted  the  opinions  of  Arius, 
because  of  his  frequently  saying  through  Christ,^ 
to  whom  we  should  answer  that  ecclesiastical 
writers  often  use  this  mode  of  expression  and 
others  of  a  similar  kind  denoting  the  econ- 
omy of  our  Saviour's  humanity  :   and  that  before 


(Lvoixoiov,  'different,' 


I  I.   36. 

•  There  are  two  works  of  Eusebius  extant  against  Marcellus. 
The  one  described  here  is  de  Ecclesiastica  Theologia  ad^ersus 
MarceUtnn,  in  three  books;  the  other  is  entitled  cci:tra  Marcel- 
luin,  and  consists  of  two  books.  As  there  is  no  n:enticn  of  the 
latter,  it  is  doubtful  whether  Socrates  had  ever  seen  them.  At 
the  end  of  the  second  book,  Eusebius  asserts  that  he  had  written  at 
the  request  of  the  bishops  who  had  excommunicated  Marcellus. 

1  Life  of  Const.  III.  r3. 

2  Eusebius  was  accustomed  to  end  his  sermons  with  the  formula 
'  Glory  be  to  the  unborn  God  through  his  only-begotten  Sod,' &c. 
So  also  at  the  end  of  his  contra  Sabell.  I. 


48 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[II.    21. 


all  these  the  apostle  ^  made  use  of  such  expres- 
sions, and  never  has  been  accounted  a  teacher 
of  false  doctrine.  Moreover,  inasmuch  as  Arius 
has  dared  to  say  that  the  Son  is  a  creature,  as 
one  of  the  others,  observe  what  Eusebius  says 
on  this  subject,  in  his  first  book  against  Mar- 
cellus  :  ■* 

'  He  alone,  and  no  other,  has  been  declared 
to  be,  and  is  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God ; 
whence  any  one  could  justly  censure  those  who 
have  presumed  to  affirm  that  he  is  a  Creature 
made  of  nothing,  like  the  rest  of  the  creatures ; 
for  how  then  would  he  be  a  Son?  and  how 
could  he  be  God's  only-begotten,  were  he  as- 
signed the  same  nature  as  the  other  creatures 
.  .  .  and  were  he  one  of  the  many  created 
things,  seeing  that  he,  like  them,  would  in  that 
case  be  partaker  of  a  creation  from  nothing? 
But  the  Sacred  Scriptures  do  not  thus  instruct 
us.'  He  again  adds  a  little  afterwards:  'Who- 
ever then  defines  the  Son  as  made  of  things 
that  are  not,  and  as  a  creature  produced  from 
nothing  pre-existing,  forgets  that  while  he  con- 
cedes the  name  of  Son,  he  denies  him  to  be  a 
Son  in  reality.  For  he  that  is  made  of  nothing, 
cannot  truly  be  the  Son  of  God,  any  more  than 
the  other  things  which  have  been  made  ;  but 
the  true  Son  of  God,  forasmuch  as  he  is  begot- 
ten of  the  Father,  is  properly  denominated  the 
only-begotten  and  beloved  of  the  Father.  For 
this  reason  also,  he  himself  is  God ;  for  w^hat 
can  the  offspring  of  God  be,  but  the  perfect 
resemblance  of  him  who  begat  him?  A  sov- 
ereign indeed  builds  a  city,  but  does  not  beget 
it ;  and  is  said  to  beget  a  son,  not  to  build  one. 
An  artificer,  also,  may  be  called  the  framer,  but 
not  the  father  of  his  work  ;  while  he  could  by 
no  means  be  styled  the  framer  of  him  whom 
he  had  begotten.  So  also  the  God  of  the  Uni- 
verse is  the  Father  of  the  Son ;  but  might  be 
fitly  termed  the  Framer  and  Maker  of  the  world. 
And  although  it  is  once  said  in  Scripture,^  "  The 
Lord  created  me  the  beginning  of  his  ways  on 
account  of  his  works,"  yet  it  becomes  us  to 
consider  the  import  of  this  phrase,  which  I 
shall  hereafter  explain  ;  and  not,  as  Marcellus 
has  done,  from  a  single  passage  to  jeopardize 
the  most  important  doctrine  of  the  church.' 

These  and  many  other  such  expressions  Euse- 
bius Pamphilus  has  given  utterance  to  in  the 
first  book  against  Marcellus ;  and  in  his  third 
book,"  declaring  in  what  sense  the  term  creature 
is  to  be  taken,  he  says  : 

'  Accordingly,  these  things  being  thus  estab- 
lished, it  follows  that  in  the  same  sense  as  that 
which  preceded,  the  words,  "  The  Lord  created 
me  the   beginning  of  his  ways,  on   account  of 


3  I  Cor.  i.;  Eph.  iii.  9. 

*  De  Eccl.  Tkeol.  I.  8,  9,  and  10. 

■^  Prov.  viii.  22. 


6  De  Eccl.  Theol.  III.  2. 


his  works,"  must  have  been  spoken.  For  al- 
though he  says  that  he  was  created,  it  is  not  as 
if  he  should  say  that  he  had  arrived  at  existence 
from  what  was  not,  nor  that  he  himself  also  was 
made  of  nothing  hke  the  rest  of  the  creatures, 
which  some  have  erroneously  supposed  ;  but  as 
subsisting,  living,  pre-existing,  and  being  before 
the  constitution  of  the  whole  world  ;  and  hav- 
ing been  appointed  to  rule  the  universe  by  his 
Lord  and  Father  :  the  word  created  being  here 
used  instead  of  ordained  or  constituted.  Cer- 
tainly the  apostle '  expressly  called  the  rulers 
and  governors  among  men  creature,  when  he 
said,  "  Submit  yourselves  to  every  human  crea- 
ture for  the  Lord's  sake  ;  whether  to  the  king  as 
supreme,  or  to  governors  as  those  sent  by  him." 
The  prophet  also  ^  when  he  says,  "  Prepare, 
Israel,  to  invoke  thy  God.  For  behold  he  who 
confirms  the  thunder,  creates  the  Spirit,  and 
announces  his  Christ  unto  men  "  :  .  .  .  has  not 
used  the  word  "he  who  creates"  in  the  sense 
of  makes  out  of  nothing.  For  God  did  not 
then  create  the  Spirit,  when  he  declared  his 
Christ  to  all  men,  since  ^  "  There  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun  "  ;  but  the  Spirit  existed,  and  had 
being  previously  :  but  he  was  sent  at  what  time 
the  apostles  were  gathered  together,  when  like 
thunder  "  There  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as 
of  a  rushing  mighty  wind ;  and  they  were  filled 
with  the  Holy  Spirit."  ^^  And  thus  they  declared 
unto  all  men  the  Christ  of  God,  in  accordance 
with  that  prophecy  which  says,^^  "  Behold  he 
who  confirms  the  thunder,  creates  the  Spirit, 
and  announces  his  Christ  unto  men  "  :  the  word 
"  creates  "  being  used  instead  of  "  sends  down," 
or  appoints ;  and  thunder  in  another  figure  im- 
plying the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Again  he 
that  says,  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O 
God,"  ^-  said  not  this  as  if  he  had  no  heart ; 
but  prayed  that  his  mind  might  be  purified. 
Thus  also  it  is  said,^^  "  That  he  might  create 
the  two  into  one  new  man,"  instead  of  imite. 
Consider  also  whether  this  passage  is  not  of  the 
same  kind,'*  "  Clothe  yourselves  with  the  new 
man,  w^hich  is  created  according  to  God  "  ;  and 
this,''  "  If,  therefore,  any  one  be  in  Christ,  he  is 
a  new  creature  "  ;  and  whatever  other  expres- 
sions of  a  similar  nature  any  one  may  find  who 
shall  carefully  search  the  divinely  inspired  Scrip- 
ture. Wherefore,  one  should  not  be  surprised 
if  in  this  passage,  "The  Lord  created  me  the 
beginning  of  his  ways,"  the  term  "  created  "  is 
used  metaphorically,  instead  of  "  appointed  "  or 
constituted.' 

Such  words  Eusebius  uses  in  his  work  against 


"  I  Pet.  ii.  13. 

*  Amos  iv.  12,  13  (LXX). 

8  Eccl.  i.  9. 
'"  Acts  ii.  2,  4. 
"  Amos  iv.  13. 


"2  Psalms  Ii.  10  (LXX). 
'3  Eph.  ii.  15. 
'■•  Eph.  iv.  24. 
15  2  Cor.  V.  17. 


\ 


II.    23.J 


RESTORATION    OF    PAUL   AND    ATHANASIUS. 


49 


Marcellus  ;  we  have  quoted  them  on  account  of 
those  who  have  slanderously  attempted  to  tra- 
duce and  criminate  him.  Neither  can  they 
prove  that  Eusebius  attributes  a  beginning  of 
subsistence  to  the  Son  of  God,  although  they 
may  find  him  often  using  the  expressions  by 
accomodation  ;  and  especially  so,  because  he 
was  an  emulator  and  admirer  of  the  works  of 
Origen,  in  which  those  who  are  able  to  compre- 
hend the  depth  of  Origen's  writings,  will  per- 
ceive it  to  be  everywhere  stated  that  the  Son 
was  begotten  of  the  Father.  These  remarks 
have  been  made  in  passing,  in  order  to  refute 
those  who  have  misrepresented  Eusebius. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

The  Cotmcil  of  Sai'dica  restores  Paul  and  Atha- 
nasiiis  to  their  Sees ;  and  on  the  Eastern 
Ejnperor's  Refusal  to  admit  them,  the  Em- 
peror of  the  West  threatens  him  with  War. 

Those  convened  at  Sardica,  as  well  as  those 
who  had  formed  a  separate  council  at  Philippop- 
olis  in  Thrace,  having  severally  performed  what 
they  deemed  requisite,  returned  to  their  respec- 
tive cities.  From  that  time,  therefore,  the  West- 
ern church  was  severed  from  the  Eastern  ;  ^  and 
the  boundary  of  communion  between  them  was 
the  mountain  called  Soucis,"  which  divides  the 
Illyrians  from  the  Thracians.  As  far  as  this 
mountain  there  was  indiscriminate  communion, 
although  there  was  a  difference  of  faith  ;  but 
beyond  it  they  did  not  commune  with  one 
another.  Such  was  the  perturbed  condition  of 
the  churches  at  that  period.  Soon  after  these 
transactions,  the  emperor  of  the  Western  parts 
informed  his  brother  Constantius  of  what  had 
taken  place  at  Sardica,  and  begged  him  to  re- 
store Paul  and  Athanasius  to  their  sees.  But  as 
Constantius  delayed  to  carry  this  matter  into 
effect,  the  emperor  of  the  West  again  wrote  to 
him,  giving  him  the  choice  either  of  re-estab- 
lishing Paul  and  Athanasius  in  their  former 
dignity,  and  restoring  their  churches  to  them  ; 
or,  on  his  failing  to  do  this,  of  regarding  him  as 
his  enemy,  and  immediately  expecting  war.  The 
letter  which  he  addressed  to  his  brother  was  as 
follows  : 

'.Athanasius  and  Paul  are  here  with  me ;  and 
I  am  quite  satisfied  after  investigation,  that  they 
are  persecuted  for  the  sake  of  piety.  If,  there- 
fore, you  will  pledge  yourself  to  reinstate  them 
in  their  sees,  and  to  punish  those  who  have  so 

1  This  separation  was  only  temporary  and  must  be  distinguished 
from  the  great  schism,  which  grew  slowly  and  culminated  with  the 
adoption  of  the  expression  'j/iltoque '  into  the  Apostles'  Creed  by 
the  Western  church  in  the  eleventh  century.  On  the  various  de- 
grees of  unity  and  communion  recognized  in  the  ancient  church,  see 
Bingham,  Eccl.    Antiq.  Bk.  XVI.  i. 

2  TicroyKt?. 


unjustly  injured  them,  I  will  send  them  to  you  ; 
but  should  you  refuse  to  do  this,  be  assured, 
that  I  will  myself  come  thither,  and  restore  them 
to  their  own  sees,  in  spite  of  your  opposition.' 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Constantius,  being  Afraid  of  his  Brother's 
Threats,  recalls  Athanasius  by  Letter,  and 
sends  him  to  Alexandria. 

On  receiving  this  communication  the  emperor 
of  the  East  fell  into  perplexity ;  and  imme- 
diately sending  for  the  greater  part  of  the  East- 
ern bishops,  he  acquainted  them  with  the  choice 
his  brother  had  submitted  to  him,  and  asked 
what  ought  to  be  done.  They  replied,  it  was 
better  to  concede  the  churches  to  Athanasius, 
than  to  undertake  a  civil  war.  Accordingly  the 
emperor,  urged  by  necessity,  summoned  Atha- 
nasius and  his  friends  to  his  presence.  Mean- 
while the  emperor  of  the  West  sent  Paul  to 
Constantinople,  with  two  bishops  and  other 
honorable  attendance,  having  fortified  him  with 
his  own  letters,  together  with  those  of  the  Synod. 
But  while  Athanasius  was  still  apprehensive,  and 
hesitated  to  go  to  him,  —  for  he  dreaded  the 
treachery  of  his  calumniators,  —  the  emperor  of 
the  East  not  once  only,  but  even  a  second  and 
a  third  time,  invited  him  to  come  to  him  ;  this 
is  evident  from  his  letters,  which,  translated  from 
the  Latin  tongue,  are  as  follows  : 

Epistle  of  Constantius  to  Athanasius} 

Constantius  Victor  Augustus  to  Athanasius  the 
bishop. 

Our  compassionate  clemency  cannot  permit 
you  to  be  any  longer  tossed  and  disquieted  as 
it  were  by  the  boisterous  waves  of  the  sea.  Our 
unwearied  piety  has  not  been  unmindful  of  you 
driven  from  your  native  home,  despoiled  of  your 
property,  and  wandering  in  pathless  solitudes. 
And  although  I  have  too  long  deferred  acquaint- 
ing you  by  letter  with  the  purpose  of  my  mind, 
expecting  your  coming  to  us  of  your  own  accord 
to  seek  a  remedy  for  your  troubles  :  yet  since 
fear  perhaps  has  hindered  the  execution  of  your 
wishes,  we  therefore  have  sent  to  your  reverence 
letters  full  of  indulgence,  in  order  that  you  may 
fearlessly  hasten  to  appear  in  our  presence, 
whereby  after  experiencing  our  benevolence, 
you  may  attain  your  desire,  and  be  re-estab- 
lished in  your  proper  position.  For  this  reason 
I  have  requested  my  Lord  and  brother  Constans 
Victor  Augustus  to  grant  you  permission  to 
come,  to  the  end  that  by  the  consent  of  us  both 
you  may  be  restored  to  your  country,  having 
this  assurance  of  our  favor. 

1  Athan.  Apol.  c,  Arian.  51. 


50 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  23. 


Another  Epistle  to  Athaiiasiies. 

Constantius  Victor  Augustus  to  the  bishop 
Athanasius. 

Although  we  have  abundantly  intimated  in  a 
former  letter  that  you  might  confidently  come 
to  our  court,'-  as  we  are  extremely  anxious  to 
reinstate  you  in  your  proper  place,  yet  we  have 
again  addressed  this  letter  to  your  reverence. 
We  therefore  urge  you,  without  any  distrust  or 
apprehension,  to  take  a  public  vehicle  and  hasten 
to  us,  in  order  that  you  may  be  able  to  obtain 
what  you  desire. 

Another  Epistle  to  Athanasius. 

Constantius  Victor  Augustus  to  the  bishop 
Athanasius. 

While  we  were  residing  at  Edessa,  where  your 
presbyters  were  present,  it  pleased  us  to  send 
one  of  them  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of  hasten- 
ing your  arrival  at  our  court,  in  order  that  after 
having  been  introduced  to  our  presence,  you 
might  forthwith  proceed  to  Alexandria.  But 
inasmuch  as  a  considerable  time  has  elapsed 
since  you  received  our  letter,  and  yet  have  not 
come,  we  now  therefore  hasten  to  remind  you 
to  speedily  present  yourself  before  us,  that  so 
you  may  be  able  to  return  to  your  country,  and 
obtain  your  desire.  For  the  more  ample  assur- 
ance of  our  intention,  we  have  despatched  to 
you  Achetas  the  deacon,  from  whom  you  will 
learn  both  our  mind  in  regard  to  you,  and  that 
you  will  be  able  to  secure  what  you  wish ;  viz., 
our  readiness  to  facilitate  the  objects  you  have 
in  view. 

When  Athanasius  had  received  these  letters  at 
Aquileia,  —  for  there  he  abode  after  his  depart- 
ure from  Sardica,  —  he  immediately  hastened  to 
Rome  ;  and  having  shown  these  communications 
to  Julius  the  bishop,  he  caused  the  greatest  joy 
in  the  Roman  Church.  For  it  seemed  as  if 
the  emperor  of  the  East  also  had  recognized 
their  faith,  since  he  had  recalled  Athanasius. 
Julius  then  wrote  to  the  clergy  and  laity  of 
Alexandria  on  behalf  of  Athanasius  as  follows  : 

Epistle  of  Julius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  to  those  at 
Alexandria':'' 

Julius,  the  bishop,  to  the  presbyters,  deacons, 
and  people  inhabiting  Alexandria,  brethren  be- 
loved, salutations  in  the  Lord. 

I  also  rejoice  with  you,  beloved  brethren, 
because  you  at  length  see  before  your  eyes  the 
fruit  of  your  faith.  For  that  this  is  really  so,  any 
one   may  perceive  in  reference  to  my  brother 

'  ico/itTaToi'  =  Lat.  comttatics;  by  analogy  of  the  New  Test, 
words  Krji/o-o?  KovcTTiaSCa,  anexovkaTiop,  Sic,  and  frequently  in  By- 
zantine Greek  Kon^Cvevfia  <Tov<t>pdyiOf,  &c. 

^  Athan.  ^/o/.  c.  Art'ait.  52, 


and  fellow-prelate  Athanasius,  whom  God  has 
restored  to  you,  both  on  account  of  his  purity  of 
life,  and  in  answer  to  your  prayers.  From  this 
it  is  evident  that  your  supplications  to  God  have 
unceasingly  been  offered  pure  and  abounding 
with  love ;  for  mindful  of  the  divine  promises 
and  of  the  charity  connected  with  them,  which 
ye  learned  from  the  instruction  of  my  brother, 
)e  knew  assuredly,  and  according  to  the  sound 
f^ith  which  is  in  you  clearly  foresaw  that  your 
bishop  would  not  be  separated  from  you  for 
ever,  whom  ye  had  in  your  devout  hearts  as 
though  he  were  ever  present.  Wherefore  it  is 
unnecessary  for  me  to  use  many  words  in  ad- 
dressing you,  for  your  faith  has  already  antici- 
pated whatever  I  could  have  said ;  and  the 
common  prayer  of  you  all  has  been  fulfilled 
according  to  the  grace  of  Christ.  I  therefore 
rejoice  with  you,  and  repeat  that  ye  have  pre- 
served your  souls  invincible  in  the  faith.  And 
with  my  brother  Athanasius  I  rejoice  equally; 
because,  while  suffering  many  afflictions,  he  has 
never  been  unmindful  of  your  love  and  desire ; 
for  although  he  seemed  to  be  withdrawn  from 
you  in  person  for  a  season,  yet  was  he  always 
present  with  you  in  spirit.  Moreover,  I  am 
convinced,  beloved,  that  every  trial  which  he 
has  endured  has  not  been  inglorious ;  since  both 
your  faith  and  his  has  thus  been  tested  and 
made  manifest  to  all.  But  had  not  so  many 
troubles  happened  to  him,  who  would  have 
believed,  either  that  you  had  so  great  esteem 
and  love  for  this  eminent  prelate,  or  that  he 
was  endowed  with  such  distinguished  virtues, 
on  account  of  which  also  he  will  by  no  means 
be  defrauded  of  his  hope  in  the  heavens  ?  He 
has  accordingly  obtained  a  testimony  of  confes- 
sion in  every  way  glorious  both  in  the  present 
age  and  in  that  which  is  to  come.  For  having 
suffered  so  many  and  diversified  trials  both  by 
land  and  by  sea,  he  has  tramjjled  on  every 
machination  of  the  Arian  heresy ;  and  though 
often  exposed  to  danger  in  consequence  of 
envy,  he  despised  death,  being  protected  by 
Almighty  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ever 
trusting  that  he  should  not  only  escape  the  plots 
[of  his  adversaries],  but  also  be  restored  for 
your  consolation,  and  bring  back  to  you  at  the 
same  time  greater  trophies  from  your  own  con- 
science. By  which  means  he  has  been  made 
known  even  to  the  ends  of  the  whole  earth  as 
glorious,  his  worth  ha\'ing  been  approved  by 
the  purity  of  his  life,  the  firmness  of  his  pur- 
pose, and  his  steadfastness  in  the  heavenly  doc- 
trine, all  being  attested  by  your  unchanging 
esteem  and  love.  He  therefore  returns  to  you, 
more  illustrious  now  than  when  he  departed 
from  you.  For  if  the  fire  tries  the-  precious 
metals  (I  speak  of  gold  and  silver)  for  purifica- 
tion, what  can  be  said  of  so  excellent  a  man 


II.  23-] 


LETTERS    REGARDING    ATHANASIUS. 


51 


proportionate  to  his  worth,  who  after  having 
overcome  the  fire  of  so  many  calamities  and 
dangers,  is  now  restored  to  yon,  being  declared 
innocent  not  only  by  us,  but  also  b}'  the  whole 
Synod?  Receive  therefore  with  godly  honor 
and  joy,  beloved  brethren,  your  bishop  Athana- 
sius,  together  with  those  who  have  been  his 
companions  in  tribulation.  And  rejoice  in  hav- 
ing attained  the  object  of  your  prayers,  you  who 
have  suj^plied  with  meat  and  drink,  by  your 
supporting  letters,  your  pastor  hungering  and 
thirsting,  so  to  speak,  for  your  spiritual  welfare. 
And  in  fact  ye  were  a  comfort  to  him  while  he 
was  sojourning  in  a  strange  land  ;  and  ye  cher- 
ished him  in  your  most  faithful  affections  when 
he  was  plotted  against  and  persecuted.  As  for 
me,  it  makes  me  happy  even  to  picture  to  my- 
self in  imagination  the  delight  of  each  one  of 
you  at  his  return,  the  pious  greetings  of  the 
populace,  the  glorious  festivity  of  those  assem- 
bled to  meet  him,  and  indeed  what  the  entire 
aspect  of  that  day  will  be  when  my  brother  shall 
be  brought  back  to  you  again  ;  when  past  troubles 
will  be  at  an  end,  and  his  prized  and  longed-for 
return  will  unite  all  hearts  in  the  warmest  ex- 
pression of  joy.  This  feeling  will  in  a  very  high 
degree  extend  to  us,  who  regard  it  as  a  token 
of  divine  favor  that  we  should  have  been  privi- 
leged to  become  acquainted  with  so  eminent  a 
person.  It  becomes  us  therefore  to  close  this 
epistle  with  prayer.  May  God  Almighty  and 
his  Son  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
afford  you  this  grace  continually,  thus  rewarding 
the  admirable  faith  which  ye  have  manifested  in 
reference  to  your  bishop  by  an  illustrious  testi- 
mony :  that  the  things  most  excellent  which 
'  Eye  has  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  ;  even  the  things 
which  God  has  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him,'*  may  await  you  and  yours  in  the  world  to 
come,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through 
whom  be  glory  to  God  Almighty  for  ever  and 
ever,  Amen.  I  pray  that  ye  may  be  strength- 
ened, beloved  brethren. 

Athanasius,  relying  on  these  letters,  arrived  at 
the  East.  The  Emperor  Constantius  did  not  at 
that  time  receive  him  with  hostility  of  feeling ; 
nevertheless  at  the  instigation  of  the  Arians  he 
endeavored  to  circumvent  him,  and  addressed 
him  in  these  words  :  '  You  have  been  reinstated 
in  your  see  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  the 
Synod,  and  with  our  consent.  But  inasmuch  as 
some  of  the  people  of  Alexandria  refuse  to  hold 
communion  with  you,  permit  them  to  have  one 
church  in  the  city.'  To  this  demand  Athanasius 
promptly  replied  :  '  You  have  the  power,  my 
sovereign,  both  to  order,  and  to  carry  into  effect, 

*  I  Cor.  ii.  9. 


whatever  you  may  please.  I  also,  therefore, 
would  beg  you  to  grant  me  a  favor.'  'I'he  em- 
peror having  readily  promised  to  acquiesce, 
Athanasius  immediately  added,  that  he  desired 
the  same  thing  might  be  conceded  to  him,  which 
the  emperor  had  sought  from  him,  viz.  :  that 
in  every  city  one  church  should  be  assigned  to 
those  who  might  refuse  to  hold  communion  with 
the  Arians.  The  Arians  perceiving  the  purpose 
of  Athanasius  to  be  inimical  to  their  interests, 
said  that  this  affair  might  be  postponed  to 
another  time  :  but  they  suffered  the  emperor 
to  act  as  he  pleased.  He  therefore  restored 
to  Athanasius,  Paul,  and  Marcellus  their  respec- 
tive sees ;  as  also  to  Asclepas,  bishop  of  Gaza, 
and  Lucius  of  Adrianople.  For  these,  too,  had 
been  received  by  the  Council  of  Sardica  :  As- 
clepas, because  he  showed  records  from  which 
it  appeared  that  Eusebius  Pamphilus,  in  con- 
junction with  several  others,  after  having  inves- 
tigated his  case,  had  restored  him  to  his  former 
rank  ;  and  Lucius,  because  his  accusers  had  fled. 
Hereupon  the  emperor's  edicts  were  despatched 
to  their  respective  cities,  enjoining  the  inhabi- 
tants to  receive  them  readily.  At  Ancyra 
indeed,  when  Basil  was  ejected,  and  Marcellus 
was  introduced  in  his  stead,  there  was  a  consid- 
erable tumult  made,  which  afforded  his  enemies 
an  occasion  of  calumniating  him  :  but  the  people 
of  Gaza  willingly  received  Asclepas.  Macedonius 
at  Constantinople,  for  a  short  time  gave  place 
to  Paul,  convening  assemblies  by  himself  sepa- 
rately, in  a  separate  church  in  that  city.  More- 
over the  emperor  wrote  on  behalf  of  Athanasius 
to  the  bishops,  clergy,  and  laity,  in  regard  to 
receiving  him  cheerfully  :  and  at  the  same  time 
he  ordered  by  other  letters,  that  whatever  had 
been  enacted  against  him  in  the  judicial  courts 
should  be  abrogated.  The  communications 
respecting  both  these  matters  were  as  follows  : 

T/w  Epistle  of  Constantius  in  Belialf  of 
Athanasius? 

Victor  Constantius  Maximus  Augustus,  to  the 
bishops  and  presbyters  of  the  Cathohc  Church. 

The  most  reverend  bishop  Athanasius  has  not 
been  forsaken  by  the  grace  of  God.  But  al- 
though he  was  for  a  short  time  subjected  to 
trial  according  to  men,  yet  has  he  obtained  from 
an  omniscient  Providence  the  exoneration  which 
was  due  to  him  ;  having  been  restored  by  the 
will  of  God,  and  our  decision,  both  to  his  coun- 
try and  to  the  church  over  which  by  divine 
permission  he  presided.  It  was  therefore  suit- 
able that  what  is  in  accordance  with  this  should 
be  duly  attended  to  by  our  clemency  :  so  that 
all  things  which  have  been  heretofore  deter- 
mined against  those  who  held  communion  with 


^  Athan.  Apol.  c.  Artan.  54. 


'52 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY 


[II.  23. 


him  should  now  be  rescinded  ;  that  all  suspicion 
against  him  should  henceforward  cease;  and 
that  the  immunity  which  those  clergymen  who 
are  with  him  formerly  enjoyed,  should  be,  as  it 
is  meet,  confirmed  to  them.  Moreover,  we 
thought  it  just  to  add  Nihis  to  our  grace  toward 
him,  that  the  whole  ecclesiastical  body  should 
understand  that  protection  is  extended  to  all  who 
have  adhered  to  him,  whether  bishops  or  other 
clergymen  :  and  union  with  him  shall  be  a  suf- 
ficient evidence  of  each  person's  right  intention. 
Wherefore  we  have  ordered,  according  to  the 
similitude  of  the  previous  provddence,  that  as 
many  as  have  the  wisdom  to  enroll  themselves 
with  the  sounder  judgment  and  party  and  to 
choose  his  communion,  shall  enjoy  that  indul- 
gence which  we  have  now  granted  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God. 

Another  Epistle  sent  to  the  Alexandrians^ 

Victor  Constantius  Maximus  Augustus,  to  the 
people  of  the  Catholic  Church  at  Alexandria. 

Setting  before  us  as  an  aim  your  good  order 
in  all  respects,  and  knowing  that  you  have  long 
since  been  bereft  of  episcopal  oversight,  we 
thought  it  just  to  send  back  to  you  again  Atha- 
nasius  your  bishop,  a  man  known  to  all  by  the 
rectitude  and  sanctity  of  his  life  and  manners. 
Having  received  him  with  your  usual  and  be- 
coming courtesy,  and  constituted  him  the  assist- 
ant of  your  prayers  to  God,  exert  yourselves 
to  maintain  at  all  times,  according  to  the  eccle- 
siastical canon,  harmony  and  peace,  which  will 
be  alike  honorable  to  yourselves,  and  grateful 
to  us.  For  it  is  unreasonable  that  any  dissension 
or  faction  should  be  e.xcited  among  you,  hostile 
to  the  prosperity  of  our  times  ;  and  we  trust 
that  such  a  misfortune  will  be  wholly  removed 
from  you.  We  exhort  you,  therefore,  to  assidu- 
ously persevere  in  your  accustomed  devotions, 
by  his  assistance,  as  we  before  said  :  so  that 
when  this  resolution  of  yours  shall  become  gen- 
erally known,  entering  into  the  prayers  of  all, 
even  the  pagans,  who  are  still  enslaved  in  the 
ignorance  of  idolatrous  worship,  may  hasten  to 
seek  the  knowledge  of  our  sacred  religion,  most 
beloved  Alexandrians.  Again,  therefore,  we 
exhort  you  to  give  heed  to  these  things  :  heartily 
welcome  your  bishop,  as  one  appointed  you  by 
the  will  of  God  and  our  decree  ;  and  esteem 
him  worthy  of  being  embraced  with  all  the  af- 
fections of  your  souls.  For  this  becomes  you, 
and  is  consistent  with  our  clemency.  But  in 
order  to  check  all  tendency  to  seditions  and 
tumult  in  persons  of  a  factious  disposition, 
orders  have  been  issued  to  our  judges  to  give 
up  to  the  severity  of  the  laws  all  whom  they 
may  discover  to  be  seditious.     Having  regard, 

*  Athan.  Apol.  c.  Arian.  55, 


therefore,  to  our  determination  and  God's,'  as 
well  as  to  the  anxiety  we  feel  to  secure  harmony 
among  you,  and  remembering  also  the  punish- 
ment that  will  be  inflicted  on  the  disorderly, 
make  it  your  especial  care  to  act  agreeably  to 
the  sanctions  of  our  sacred  religion,  with  all 
reverence  honoring  your  bishop ;  that  so  in 
conjunction  with  him  you  may  present  your 
supphcations  to  the  God  and  Father  of  the  uni- 
verse, both  for  yourselves,  and  for  the  orderly 
government  of  the  whole  human  race. 

Aji  Epistle  respecting  the  Rescinding  of  the  En- 
actments against  At/ianasins. 

Victor  Constantius  Augustus  to  Nestorius,  and 
in  the  same  terms  to  the  governors  of  Augus- 
tamnica,  Thebais,  and  Libya. 

If  it  be  found  that  at  any  time  previously 
any  enactment  has  been  passed  prejudicial  and 
derogatory  to  those  who  hold  communion  with 
Athanasius  the  bishop,  our  pleasure  is  that  it 
should  now  be  wholly  abrogated  ;  and  that  his 
clergy  should  again  enjoy  the  same  immunity 
which  was  granted  to  them  formerly.  We  en- 
join strict  obedience  to  this  command,  to  the 
intent  that  since  the  bishop  Athanasius  has  been 
restored  to  his  church,  all  who  hold  communion 
with  him  may  possess  the  same  privileges  as 
they  had  before,  and  such  as  other  ecclesiastics 
now  enjoy :  that  so  their  aftairs  being  happily 
arranged,  they  also  may  share  in  the  general 
prosperity. 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Athanasius,  passing  throitgh  Jerusalem  on  his 
Return  to  Alexandria,  is  7'eceived  into  Com- 
munion  by  Alaximus :  and  a  SvJiod  of  Bishops, 
convened  in  that  Citv,  confirms  the  Nicejie 
Creed. 

Athanasius  the  bishop  being  fortified  with 
such  letters  as  these,  passed  through  Syria,  and 
came  into  Palestine.  On  arriving  at  Jerusalem 
he  acquainted  Maximus  the  bishop  both  with 
what  had  been  done  in  the  Council  of  Sardica, 
and  also  that  the  Emperor  Constantius  had 
confirmed  its  decision  :  he  then  proposed  that  a 
Synod  of  the  bishops  there  should  be  held. 
Maximus,'  therefore,  without  delay  sent  for  cer- 
tain of  the  bishops  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  and 
having  assembled  a  council,  he  restored  Atha- 
nasius to  commtmion,  and  to  his  former  dignity. 
After  which  the  Synod  communicated  by  letter  ^ 

"  ToO  KoeiToi'O?;   cf.  I.  7,  and  note. 

'  The  bishop  of  Jerusalem  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
metropolitan  bishop  of  Cjesarea,  and  according  to  later  usage  and 
canon,  hid  no  right  to  call  a  synod  without  the  permission  of  the 
mctropnliian.  Evidently  usage  had  not  yet  become  fixed  into  uni- 
formity in  this  respect. 

2  Cf.  Athan.  Apol.  c.  Ariau.  57. 


II.  26.] 


USURPATIONS   OF    MAGNENTIUS   AND   VETRANIO. 


53 


to  the  Alexandrians,  and  to  all  the  bishops  of 
Egypt  and  Libya,  what  had  been  determined 
respecting  Athanasius.  Whereupon  the  adver- 
saries of  Athanasius  exceedingly  derided  Maxi- 
mus,  because  having  before  assisted  in  his  depo- 
sition, he  had  suddenly  changed  his  mind,  and 
as  if  nothing  had  previously  taken  place,  had 
voted  for  his  restoration  to  communion  and 
rank.  When  Ursacius  and  Valens,  who  had 
been  fiery  partisans  of  Arianism,  ascertained 
these  things,  condemning  their  former  zeal,  they 
proceeded  to  Rome,  where  they  presented  their 
recantation  to  Julius  the  bishop,  and  gave  their 
assent  to  the  doctrine  of  consubstantiality  :  they 
also  wrote  to  Athanasius,  and  expressed  their 
readiness  to  hold  communion  with  Mm  in  future. 
Thus  Ursacius  and  Valens  were  at  that  time 
subdued  by  the  good  fortune  of  Athanasius  and 
induced  to  recognize  the  orthodox  faith.  Atha- 
nasius passed  through  Pelusium  on  his  way  to 
Alexandria,  and  admonished  the  inhabitants  of 
every  city  to  beware  of  the  Arians,  and  to  re- 
ceive those  only  that  professed  the  Homoousian 
faith.  In  some  of  the  churches  also  he  per- 
formed ordination ;  which  afforded  another 
ground  of  accusation  against  him,  because  of 
his  undertaking  to  ordain  in  the  dioceses  of 
others.'^  Such  was  the  progress  of  affairs  at  that 
period  in  reference  to  Athanasius. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Of  the  Usurpers  Magnentius  and  Veiranio. 

About  this  time  an  extraordinary  commotion 
shook  the  whole  state,  of  the  principal  heads, 
of  which  we  shall  give  a  brief  account,  deeming 
it  necessary  not  to  pass  over  them,  altogether. 
We  mentioned  in  our  first  book,^  that  after  the 
death  of  the  founder  of  Constantinople,  his 
three  sons  succeeded  him  in  the  empire  :  it 
must  now  be  also  stated,  that  a  kinsman  of 
theirs,  Dalmatius,  so  named  from  his  father, 
shared  with  them  the  imperial  authority.  This 
person  after  being  associated  with  them  in  the 
sovereignty  for  a  very  little  while,  the  soldiers  put 
to  death,-  Constantius  having  neither  commanded 
his  destruction,  nor  forbidden  it.  The  manner 
in  which  Constantine  the  younger  was  also  killed 
by  the  soldiers,  on  his  invading  that  division  of 
the  empire  which  belonged  to  his  brother,  has 
already  been  recorded ''  more  than  once.     After 

^  Cf.  Apost.  Cann.  XXXV.  '  Let  not  a  bishop  dare  to  ordain 
beyond  his  limits,  in  cities  and  places  not  subject  to  him.'  It  fol- 
lows, therefore,  that  the  whole  of  Egypt  was  not  under  the  bishop 
of  Alexandria:  otherwise  no  such  charge  as  is  here  mentioned  could 
have  been  made  against  Athanasius.  That  these  ordinations  were 
made  in  Egypt  is  evident  from  the  mention  of  Pelusium,  which 
Athanasius  had  already  passed  through. 

1  I.  38. 

2  The  same  account  is  given  by  Eunap.  X.  9,  and  by  Zosimus, 
II.  40.  "  Ch.  5,  above. 


his  death,  the  Persian  war  was  raised  against 
the  Romans,  in  which  Constantius  did  nothing 
prosperously  :  for  in  a  battle  fought  by  night  on 
the  frontiers  of  both  pardes,  the  Persians  had 
to  some^light  extent  the  advantage.  And  this  at 
a  time  when  the  affairs  of  the  Christians  became 
no  less  unsetded,  there  being  great  disturbance 
throughout  the  churches  on  account  of  Atha- 
nasius, and  the  term  ho7noousion.  Affairs  hav- 
ing reached  this  pass,  there  sprang  up  a  tyrant 
in  the  western  parts  called  Magnentius,^  who  by 
treachery  slew  Constans,  the  emperor  of  the 
western  division  of  the  empire,  at  that  time 
residing  in  the  Gauls.  This  being  done,  a  furi- 
ous civil  war  arose,  and  Magnentius  made  him- 
self master  of  all  Italy,  reduced  Africa  and 
Libya  under  his  power,  and  even  obtained  pos- 
session of  the  Gauls.  But  at  the  city  of  Sir- 
mium  in  Illyricum,  the  mihtary  set  up  another 
tyrant  whose  name  was  Vetranio  ;  ^  while  a  fresh 
trouble  threw  Rome  itself  into  commotion.  For 
there  was  a  nephew  of  Constantine's,  Nepotian 
by  name,  who,  supported  by  a  body  of  gladia- 
tors, there  assumed  the  sovereignty.  He  was, 
however,  slain  by  some  of  the  officers  of  Mag- 
nentius, who  himself  invaded  the  western  prov- 
inces, and  spread  desolation  in  every  direction. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

After  the  Death  of  Constans,  the  Western  Em- 
peror, Paul  and  Athanasius  are  again  ejected 
fro7n  their  Sees  :  the  Former  on  his  Way  into 
Exile  is  slain  ;  but  the  Latter  escapes  by  Flight. 

The  conflux  of  these  disastrous  events  occurred 
during  a  short  space  of  time  ;  for  they  happened 
in  the  fourth  year  after  the  council  at  Sardica, 
during  the  consulate  of  Sergius  and  Nigrinian.^ 
When  these  circumstances  were  published,  the 
entire  sovereignty  of  the  empire  seemed  to  de- 
volve on  Constantius  alone,  who,  being  accord- 
ingly proclaimed  in  the  East  sole  Autocrat,  made 
the  most  vigorous  preparations  against  the  usurp- 
ers. Hereupon  the  adversaries  of  Athanasius, 
thinking  a  favorable  crisis  had  arisen,  again 
framed  the  most  calumnious  charges  against 
him,  before  his  arrival  at  Alexandria ;  assuring 
the  Emperor  Constantius  that  he  was  subverting 
all  Egypt  and  Libya.  And  his  having  under- 
taken to  ordain  out  of  the  limits  of  his  own 
diocese,  tended  not  a  little  to  accredit  the  accu- 
sations against  him.  Meanwhile  in  this  conjunc- 
ture, Athanasius  entered  Alexandria  ;  and  having 
convened  a  council  of  the  bishops  in  Egypt,  they 

*  Magnentius  was  governor  of  the  provinces  of  Rhcetia,  and 
assassinated  Constans,  as  above.     Cf.  Zosimus,  II.  43. 

'  This  whole  affair  is  treated  extensively  in  Zosimus,  II.  43-48. 
1  350  A.D. 


54 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  26. 


confirmed  by  their  unanimous  vote,  what  had 
been  determined  in  the  Synod  at  Sardica,  and 
that  assembled  at  Jerusalem  by  Maximus.  But 
the  emperor,  who  had  been  long  since  imbued 
with  Arian  doctrine,  reversed  all  the  indulgent 
proceedings  he  had  so  recently  resolved  on. 
And  first  of  all  he  ordered  that  Paul,  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  should  be  sent  into  exile  ;  whom 
those  who  conducted  strangled,  at  Cucusus  in 
Cappadocia.  Marcellus  was  also  ejected,  and 
Basil  again  made  ruler  of  the  church  at  Ancyra. 
Lucius  of  Adrianople,  being  loaded  with  chains, 
died  in  prison.  The  reports  which  were  made 
concerning  Athanasius  so  wrought  on  the  em- 
peror's mind,  that  in  an  ungovernable  fury  he 
commanded  him  to  be  put  to  death  wherever 
he  might  be  found  :  he  moreover  included 
Theodulus  and  Olympius,  who  presided  over 
churches  in  Thrace,  in  the  same  proscription. 
Athanasius,  however,  was  not  ignorant  of  the 
intentions  of  the  emperor  ;  but  learning  of  them 
he  once  more  had  recourse  to  flight,  and  so 
escaped  the  emperor's  menaces.  The  Arians 
denounced  this  retreat  as  criminal,  particularly 
Narcissus,  bishop  of  Neronias  in  CiUcia,  George 
of  Laodicsea,  and  Leontius  who  then  had  the 
oversight  of  the  church  at  Antioch.  This  last 
person,  when  a  presbyter,  had  been  divested  of 
his  rank,-  because  in  order  to  remove  all  suspi- 
cion of  illicit  intercourse  with  a  woman  named 
Eustolium,  with  whom  he  spent  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  time,  he  had  castrated  himself, 
and  thenceforward  lived  more  unreservedly  with 
her,  on  the  ground  that  there  could  be  no  longer 
any  ground  for  evil  surmises.  Afterwards  how- 
ever, at  the  earnest  desire  of  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantius,  he  was  created  bishop  of  the  church  at 
Antioch,  after  Stephen,  the  successor  of  Placitus. 
So  much  respecting  this. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Macedoniiis  having  possessed  himself  of  the  See 
of  Constantinople  infliets  much  Injury  on 
those  who  differ  from  him. 

At  that  time  Paul  having  been  removed  in 
the  manner  described,  Macedonius  became  ruler 
of  the  churches  in  Constantinople  ;  who,  acquir- 


*  Cf.  Apost.  Cann.  XXII.  and  XXIII. ;  according  to  these  any 
cleric  was  to  be  deposed  if  found  guilty  of  such  a  crime.  The  Council 
of  Nicaea  also  passed  a  canon  on  the  subject  which  is  as  follows:  '  If 
a  man  has  been  mutilated  by  physicians  during  sickness,  or  by  bar- 
barians, he  may  remain  among  the  clergy;  but  if  a  man  in  good 
health  has  mutilated  himself,  he  must  resign  his  post  after  the  matter 
has  been  jjroved  among  the  clergy,  and  in  future  no  one  who  has 
thus  acted  should  be  ordained,  j^ut  as  it  is  evident  that  what  has 
just  been  said  only  concerns  those  who  have  thus  acted  with  inten- 
tion, and  have  dared  to  mutilate  themselves,  those  who  have  been 
made  eunuchs  by  barbarians  or  by  their  masters  will  be  allowed, 
conformably  to  the  canon,  to  remain  among  the  clergy,  if  in  other 
respects  they  are  worthy.'  Canon  I.  See  Hcfele,  Hist,  of  the 
Councils,  Vol.  I.  p.  375,  376. 


ing  very  great  ascendancy  over  the  emperor, 
stirred  up  a  war  among  Christians,  of  a  no  less 
grievous  kind  than  that  which  the  usurpers  them- 
selves were  waging.  For  having  prevailed  on 
his  sovereign  to  co-operate  with  him  in  devastat- 
ing the  churches,  he  procured  that  whatever 
pernicious  measures  he  determined  to  pursue 
should  be  ratified  by  law.  And  on  this  account 
throughout  the  several  cities  an  edict  was  pro- 
claimed, and  a  military  force  appointed  to  carry 
the  imperial  decrees  into  effect.  Accordingly 
those  who  acknowledged  the  doctrine  of  con- 
substantiality  were  expelled  not  only  from  the 
churches,  but  also  from  the  cities.  Now  at  first 
they  were  satisfied  with  expulsion  ;  but  as  the 
evil  grew  they  resorted  to  the  worse  extremity 
of  inducing  compulsory  communion  with  them, 
caring  but  little  for  such  a  desecration  of  the 
churches.  Their  violence  indeed  was  scarcely 
less  than  that  of  those  who  had  formerly  obliged 
the  Christians  to  worship  idols  ;  for  they  applied 
all  kinds  of  scourgings,  a  variety  of  tortures, 
and  confiscation  of  property.  Many  were  pun- 
ished with  exile  ;  some  died  under  the  torture ; 
and  others  were  put  to  death  while  they  were 
being  led  into  exile.  These  atrocities  were 
exercised  throughout  all  the  eastern  cities,  but 
especially  at  Constantinople  ;  the  internal  strife 
which  was  but  slight  before  was  thus  savagely 
increased  by  Macedonius,  as  soon  as  he  obtained 
the  bishopric.  The  cities  of  Greece,  however, 
and  Illyricum,  with  those  of  the  western  parts, 
still  enjoyed  tranquillity ;  inasmuch  as  they  pre- 
served harmony  among  themselves,  and  con- 
tinued to  adhere  to  the  rule  of  faith  promulgated 
by  the  council  of  Nicasa. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

Athanasius^  Account  of  the  Deeds  of  Violence 
committed  at  Alexandria  by  George  the  Arian. 

What  cruelties  George  perpetrated  at  Alex- 
andria at  the  same  time  may  be  learned  from 
the  narration  of  Athanasius,  who  both  suffered 
in  and  witnessed  the  occurrences.  In  his  '  Apol- 
ogy for  his  flight,' '  speaking  of  these  transac- 
tions, he  thus  expresses  himself: 

'  Moreover,  they  came  to  Alexandria,  again 
seeking  to  destroy  me  :  and  on  this  occasion 
their  proceedings  were  worse  than  before  \  for 
the  soldiery  having  suddenly  surrounded  the 
church,  there  arose  the  din  of  war,  instead  of 
the  voice  of  prayer.  Afterwards,  on  his  arrival 
during  Lent,-'  George,  sent  from  Cappadocia, 
added  to  the  evil  which  he  was    instructed  to 


*  A  than.  Apol.  de  Fuga,  6. 

2  Te<r(rapaKoiTTTi,  lit.  =  '  forty  days'    fast,'    formed  by  mistaken 
analogy  to  ttci'ttjkoo'tij. 


II.    28.] 


ATROCITIES    OF    ARIANS    IN    ALEXANDRIA. 


55 


work.  When  Easter-week  ■'  was  passed,  the 
virgins  were  cast  into  i)rison,  the  bishops  were 
led  in  chains  by  the  miUtary,  and  the  dwelHngs 
even  of  orphans  and  widows  were  forcibly 
entered  and  their  provisions  pillaged.  Christians 
were  assassinated  by  night ;  houses  were  sealed  ;* 
and  the  relatives  of  the  clergy  were  endangered 
on  their  account.  Even  these  outrages  were 
dreadful ;  but  those  that  followed  were  still 
more  so.  For  in  the  week  after  the  holy  Pente- 
cost, the  people,  having  fosted,  went  forth  to  the 
cemetery  to  pray,  because  all  were  averse  to 
communion  with  George :  that  wickedest  of 
men  being  informed  of  this,  instigated  against 
them  Sebastian,  an  officer  who  was  a  Manichsean. 
He,  accordingly,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  troops 
armed  with  drawn  swords,  bows,  and  darts, 
marched  out  to  attack  the  people,  although  it  was 
the  Lord's  day  :  finding  but  few  at  prayers,  — 
as  the  most  part  had  retired  because  of  the  late- 
ness of  the  hour,  —  he  performed  such  exploits 
as  might  be  expected  from  them.  Having 
kindled  a  fire,  he  set  the  virgins  near  it,  in 
order  to  compel  them  to  say  that  they  were  of 
the  Arian  faith :  but  seeing  they  stood  their 
ground  and  despised  the  fire,  he  then  stripped 
them,  and  so  beat  them  on  the  face,  that  for  a 
long  time  afterwards  they  could  scarcely  be 
recognized.  Seizing  also  about  forty  men,  he 
flogged  them  in  an  extraordinary  manner  :  for 
he  so  lacerated  their  backs  with  rods  fresh  cut 
from  the  palm-tree,  which  still  had  their  thorns 
on,  that  some  were  obliged  to  resort  repeatedly 
to  surgical  aid  in  order  to  have  the  thorns  ex- 
tracted from  their  flesh,  and  others,  unable  to 
bear  the  agony,  died  under  its  infliction.  All 
the  survivors  with  one  virgin  they  banished  to 
the  Great  Oasis.^  The  bodies  of  the  dead  they 
did  not  so  much  as  give  up  to  their  relatives, 
but  denying  them  the  rites  of  sepulture  they 
concealed  them  as  they  thought  fit,  that  the 
evidences  of  their  cruelty  might  not  appear. 
They  did  this  acting  as  madmen.  For  while 
the  friends  of  the  deceased  rejoiced  on  ac- 
count of  their  confession,  but  mourned  because 
their  bodies  were  uninterred,  the  impious  in- 
humanity of  these  acts  was  sounded  abroad 
the  more  conspicuously.  For  soon  after  this 
they  sent  into  exile  out  of  Egypt  and  the 
two   Libyas   the  following  bishops  :    Ammonius, 


2  Suspending,  i.e.,  all  violence  during  the  period  of  festivity  at- 
te.ading  the  observance  of  Easter. 

■*  Houses  are  often  sealed  by  state  and  municipal  officials  in  the 
East,  even  at  the  present  time,  when  their  contents  are  to  be  con- 
fiscated, or  for  any  other  reason  an  inventory  is  to  be  made  by  the 
authorities.  The  sealing  consists  in  fastening  and  securing  the  locks 
and  bolts  and  attaching  the  impression  of  the  official  seal  to  some 
sealing-wax  which  is  put  over  them.  In  this  case  the  object  of  the 
sealing  was  apparently  the  confiscation  of  the  contents. 

^  The  modern  El-Onah  or  El-Kharjeh,  situated  west  of  the 
Nile,  seven  d.iys'  journey  from  Thebes,  contains  several  small 
streams,  and  abounds  in  vegetation,  including  palm-trees,  orange 
and  citron  groves,  olive  orchards,  &c.     See  Smith,  Diet,  of  Geogr. 


Thmuis,  Caius,  Philo,  Hermes,  Pliny,  Psenosiris, 
Nilammon,  Agatho,  Anagamphus,  Mark,  Am- 
monius, another  Mark,  r)racontius,  Adelphius, 
and  Athenodorus ;  and  the  presbyters  Hierax 
and  Discorus.  And  so  harshly  did  they  treat 
them  in  conducting  them,  that  some  expired 
while  on  their  journey,  and  others  in  the  place 
of  banishment.  In  this  way  they  got  rid  of 
more  than  thirty  bishops,  for  the  anxious  desire 
of  the  Arians,  hke  Ahab's,  was  to  exterminate 
the  truth  if  possible.' 

Such  are  the  words  of  Athanasius  in  regard 
to  the  atrocities  perpetrated  by  George  at  Alex- 
andria. The  emperor  meanwhile  led  his  army 
into  lUyricum.  For  there  the  urgency  of  public 
affairs  demanded  his  presence  ;  and  especially 
the  proclamation  of  Vetranio"  as  emperor  by 
the  military.  On  arriving  at  Sirmium,  he  came 
to  a  conference  with  Vetranio  during  a  truce ; 
and  so  managed,  that  the  soldiers  who  had 
previously  declared  for  him  changed  sides,  and 
saluted  Constantius  alone  as  Augustus  and  sov- 
ereign autocrat.  In  the  acclamations,  there- 
fore, no  notice  was  taken  of  Vetranio.  Vetranio, 
perceiving  himself  to  be  abandoned,  immedi- 
ately threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  emperor ; 
Constantius,  taking  from  him  his  imperial  crown 
and  purple,  treated  him  with  great  clemency, 
and  recommended  him  to  pass  the  rest  of  his 
days  tranquilly  in  the  condition  of  a  private 
citizen  :  observing  that  a  life  of  repose  at  his 
advanced  age  was  far  more  suitable  than  a 
dignity  which  entailed  anxieties  and  care.  Ve- 
tranio's  affairs  came  to  this  issue  ;  and  the  em- 
peror ordered  that  a  liberal  provision  out  of  the 
public  revenue  should  be  given  him.  Often  after- 
wards writing  to  the  emperor  during  his  resi- 
dence at  Pmsa  in  Bithynia,  Vetranio  assured 
him  that  he  had  conferred  the  greatest  blessing 
on  him,  by  liberating  him  from  the  disquietudes 
which  are  the  inseparable  concomitants  of  sov- 
ereign power.  x\dding  that  he  himself  did  not 
act  wisely  in  depriving  himself  of  that  happi- 
ness in  retirement,  which  he  had  bestowed  upon 
him.  Let  this  suffice  on  this  point.  After 
these  things,  the  Emperor  Constantius  having 
created  Callus  his  kinsman  C?esar,  and  given 
him  his  own  name,'^  sent  him  to  Antioch  in 
Syria,  providing  thus  for  the  guarding  of  the 
eastern  parts.  When  Gallus  was  entering  this 
city,  the  Saviour's  sign  appeared  in  the  East :  * 
for  a  pillar  in  the  form  of  a  cross  seen  in  the 
heavens  gave  occasion  of  great  amazement  to 
the  spectators.     His  other  generals  the  emperor 


"  Sozomen  (IV.  4)  calls  him  GueTepai'iioi';  cf.  also  Zosimus,  II. 
44,  on  the  way  in  which  he  was  elevated  and  soon  afterwards 
reduced. 

'  See  I.  I,  and  note  on  the  name  of  Eusebius  Pamphilus;  cf. 
Smith  and  Cheetham,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Ant.  Names. 

*  Similar  to  the  appearance  mentioned  in  I.  2.  See  note  on  that 
passage. 


56 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  28. 


despatched  against  Magnentius  with  consider- 
able forces,  and  he  himself  remained  at  Sir- 
niium,  awaiting  the  course  of  events. 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

Of  the  Hercsiairh  Photinus. 

During  this  time  Photinus/  who  then  presided 
over  the  church  in  that  city,  more  openly  avowed 
the  creed  he  had  devised  ;  wherefore  a  tumult 
being  made  in  consequence,  the  emperor  ordered 
a  Synod  of  bishops  to  be  held  at  Sirmium.  There 
were  accordingly  convened  there  of  the  Oriental 
bishops,^  Mark  of  Arethusa,  George  of  Alexan- 
dria, whom  the  Arians  sent,  as  I  have  before 
said,  having  placed  him  over  that  see  on  the 
removal  of  Gregory,  Basil  who  presided  over  the 
church  at  Ancyra  after  Marcellus  was  ejected, 
Pancratius  of  Pelusium,  and  Hypatian  of  He- 
raclea.  Of  the  Western  bishops  there  were 
present  Valens  of  Mursa,  and  the  then  cele- 
brated Hosius  of  Cordova  in  Spain,  who  attended 
much  against  his  will.  These  met  at  Sirmium, 
after  the  consulate  of  Sergius  and  Nigrinian,^  in 
which  year  no  consul  celebrated  the  customary 
inaugural^  solemnities,  in  consequence  of  the 
tumults  of  war  ;  and  having  met  and  found  that 
Photinus  held  the  heresy  of  Sabellius  the  Libyan, 
and  Paul  of  Samosata,  they  immediately  deposed 
him.  This  decision  was  both  at  that  time  and 
afterwards  universally  commended  as  honorable 
and  just ;  but  those  who  continued  there,  sub- 
sequently acted  in  a  way  which  was  by  no  means 
so  generally  approved. 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Creeds  published  at  Sirmium  in  Presence  of  tlie 
Empej'or  Coustantius. 

As  if  they  would  rescind  their  former  deter- 
minations respecting  the  faith,  they  published 
anew  other  expositions 'of  the  creed,  viz. :  one 
which  Mark  of  Arethusa  composed  in  Greek ; 
and  others  in  Latin,  which  harmonized  neither 
in  expression  nor  in  sentiment  with  one  another, 
nor  with  that  dictated  by  the  bishop  of  Arethusa. 
I  shall  here  subjoin  one  of  those  drawn  up  in 
Latin,  to  that  prepared  in  Greek  by  Mark :  the 


1  A  disciple  of  Marcellus  (see  ch.  18).  See  Hilar,  de  Synod. 
61,  Cave  oa  PhoWiius. 

2  The  bishops  here  mentioned,  according  to  Valesius,  took  part 
not  in  this  council,  but  in  another  held  at  the  same  place  nine  years 
later,  under  the  consuls  Euscbius  and  Hypatius. 

••  351  A.D.     So  also  Sozonien,  IV.  6. 

*  The  Lndi circoises,  consisting  of  five  games,  leaping,  wrest- 
ling, boxing,  racing,  and  hurling, — called  in  (Ireek  TrtfTayAor, — 
with  scenic  representations  and  spectacles  nf  wild  beasts  at  the 
amphitheatre;  with  these  the  consuls  entertained  the  people  at  their 
entrance  on  the  consulate.  Alluded  to  by  Tacitus  {Ann.  I.  2) 
and  Juvenal  {Sat.  X.  i).  Cf.  Smith,  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Rom. 
A  ntiq. 


other,  which  was  afterwards  recited  at  Sirmium,^ 
will  be  g\VQ\\  when  we  describe  what  was  done 
at  Ariminum.  It  must  be  understood,  however, 
that  both  the  Latin  forms  were  translated  into 
Greek.  The  declaration  of  faith  set  forth  by 
Mark,  was  as  follows  :  - 

'  We  believe  in  one  God  the  Father  Almighty, 
the  Creator  and  Maker  of  all  things,  of  whom 
the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth  is 
named,''  and  in  his  only  begotten  Son,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  was  begotten  of  the  Father 
before  all  ages,  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  by 
whom  all  things  visible  and  invisible,  which  are  in 
the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth,  were  made  :  who 
is  the  Word,  and  the  Wisdom,  and  the  tnie  Light, 
and  the  Life ;  who  in  the  last  days  for  our 
sake  was  made  man  and  born  of  the  holy  virgin, 
and  was  crucified  and  died,  and  was  buried,  and 
rose  again  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day,  and 
was  received  up  into  heaven,  and  sat  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  is  coming  at  the 
completion  of  the  age  to  judge  the  living  and 
the  dead,  and  to  requite  every  one  according 
to  his  works  :  whose  kingdom  being  everlasting, 
endures  into  infinite  ages  ;  for  he  will  be  seated 
at  the  Father's  right  hand,  not  only  in  the  pres- 
ent age,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come. 
[We  believe]  also  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  is  to 
say  the  Comforter,  whom,  having  promised  to 
his  apostles  after  his  ascension  into  the  heavens, 
to  teach  them,  and  bring  all  things  to  their  re- 
membrance, he  sent ;  by  whom  also  the  souls 
of  those  who  have  sincerely  believed  in  him  are 
sanctified.  But  those  who  affirm  that  the  Son 
is  of  things  which  are  not,  or  of  another  sub- 
stance, and  not  of  God,  and  that  there  was  a 
time  or  an  age  when  he  was  not,  the  holy  and 
catholic  Church  recognizes  to  be  aliens.  We 
therefore  again  say,  if  any  one  affirms  that  the 
Father  and  Son  are  two  Gods,  let  him  be 
anathema.  And  if  any  one  admits  that  Christ 
is  God  and  the  Son  of  God  before  the  ages,  but 
does  not  confess  that  he  ministered  to  the 
Father  in  the  formation  of  all  things,  let  him 
be  anathema.  If  any  one  shall  dare  to  assert 
that  the  Unbegotten,  or  a  part  of  him,  was 
born  of  Mary,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any 
one  should  say  that  the  Son  was  of  Mary 
according  to  foreknowledge,  and  not  that  he 
was  with  God,  begotten  of  the  P'ather  before 
the  ages,  and  that  all  things  were  not  made  by 
him,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one  affirms 
the  essence  of  God  to  be  dilated  or  contracted, 
let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one  says  that  the 
dilated  essence  of  God  makes  the  Son,  or  shall 

'  There  were  three  councils  held  at  Sirmium:  one  in  351,  as  al- 
ready indicated  in  note  3,  ch.  29;  another  in  357,  in  which  Hosius- 
and  Potamius  composed  their  blasphemy:  and  one  in  359.  It  was  in 
this  last  council  that  that  creed  was  drawn  up  which  was  recited  ia 
.Ariminum.  The  confusion  of  Socrates  on  this  point  has  been  alluded 
to  in  the  Introd. 

-  Athan.  de  Synod.  27.  *  Eph.  iii.  15. 


II.  30.] 


CREEDS    OP^    SIRMIUM. 


57 


tenu  the  Son  the  cHlatation  of  his  essence,  let 
hhn  be  anathema.  If  any  one  calls  the  Son  of 
Clod  the  internal  or  uttered  word,  let  him  be 
anathema.  If  any  one  declares  that  the  Son 
that  was  born  of  Mary  was  man  only,  let  him 
be  anathema.  If  any  man  affirming  him  that 
was  born  of  Mary  to  be  God  and  man,  shall 
imply  the  unbegotten  God  himself,  let  him  be 
anathema.  If  any  one  shall  understand  the 
text,  "  I  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last,  and 
besides  me  there  is  no  God,"  *  whicii  was  spoken 
for  the  destruction  of  idols  and  false  gods,  in 
the  sense  the  Jews  do,  as  if  it  were  said  for  the 
subversion  of  the  only-begotten  of  God  before 
the  ages,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one 
hearing  "the  Word  was  made  flesh," ^  should 
imagine  that  the  Word  was  changed  into  flesh, 
or  that  he  underwent  any  change  in  assuming 
flesh,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one  hearing 
that  the  only- begotten  Son  of  God  was  crucified, 
should  say  that  his  divinity  underwent  any  cor- 
ruption, or  suffering,  or  change,  or  diminution, 
or  destruction,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any 
one  should  afiirm  that  the  Father  said  not  to 
the  Son,  "Let  us  make  man,"**  but  that  God 
spoke  to  himself,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any 
one  says  that  it  was  not  the  Son  that  was  seen 
by  Abraham,  but  the  unbegotten  God,  or  a  part 
of  him,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one  says 
that  it  was  not  the  Son  that  as  man  wrestled 
with  Jacob,  but  the  unbegotten  God,  or  a  part 
of  him,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one  shall 
understand  the  words,  "  The  Lord  I'ained  from 
the  Lord,"  "^  not  in  relation  to  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  but  shall  say  that  he  rained  from  him- 
self, let  him  be  anathema :  for  the  Lord  the 
Son  rained  from  the  Lord  the  Father.  If  any 
one  hearing  "  the  Lord  the  Father,  and  the 
Lord  the  Son,"  shall  term  both  the  Father  and 
the  Son  Lord,  and  saying  "  the  Lord  from  the 
Lord  "  shall  assert  that  there  are  two  Gods,  let 
him  be  anathema.  For  we  do  not  co-ordinate 
the  Son  with  the  Father,  but  [conceive  him  to 
be]  subordinate  to  the  Father.  For  he  neither 
came  down  to  the  body*  without  his  Father's 
will ;  nor  did  he  rain  from  himself,  but  from 
f/ig  Lord  (i.e.  the  Father)  who  exercises  supreme 
authority  :  nor  does  he  sit  at  the  Father's  right 
hand  of  himself,  but  in  obedience  to  the  Father 
saying,  "  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand  "  '^  [let  him 
be  anathema].  If  any  one  should  say  that  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  are  one  person, 
let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one,  speaking  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  the  Comforter,  shall  call  him  the 
unbegotten  God,  let  him  be  anathema.     If  any 

■•  Isa.  xliv.  6.  °  John  i.  14.  "  Gen.  i.  26. 

^  Gen.  xix.  24:  '  Then  the  Lord  .  .  .  rained  brimstone  and  fire 
from  the  Lord  out  of  heaven.' 

*  Athanasiiis  reads  errl  'i.oho^o.,  not  ei?  <juyu.a.  If  this  be  the  true 
reading,  we  should  translate  '  came  down  to  Sodom,'  &c. 

3  Ps.  cix.  I  (LXX). 


one,  as  he  hath  taught  us,  shall  not  say  that  the 
Comforter  is  other  than  the  Son,  when  he  has 
himself  said,  "  the  Father,  whom  I  will  ask, 
shall  send  you  another  Comforter," '"  let  him 
be  anathema.  If  any  one  afiirm  that  the  Spirit 
is  part  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  let  him  be 
anathema.  If  any  one  say  that  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit  are  three  Gods,  let  him  be 
anathema.  If  any  one  say  that  the  Son  of  God 
was  made  as  one  of  the  creatures  by  the  will 
of  God,  let  him  be  anathema.  If  any  one  shall 
say  that  the  Son  was  begotten  without  the 
Father's  will,  let  him  be  anathema :  for  the 
Father  did  not,  as  compelled  by  any  natural 
necessity,  beget  the  Son  at  a  time  when  he  was 
unwilling ;  but  as  soon  as  it  pleased  him,  he 
has  declared  that  of  himself  without  time  and 
without  passion,  he  begat  him.  If  any  one 
should  say  that  the  Son  is  unbegotten,  and  with- 
out beginning,  intimating  that  there  are  two 
without  beginning,  and  unbegotten,  so  making 
two  Gods,  let  him  be  anathema  :  for  the  Son 
is  -the  head  and  beginning  of  all  things;  but 
"the  head  of  Christ  is  God."^^  Thus  do  we 
devoutly  trace  up  all  things  by  the  Son  to  one 
source  of  all  things  who  is  without  beginning. 
Moreover,  to  give  an  accurate  conception  of 
Christian  doctrine,  we  again  say,  that  if  any  one 
shall  not  declare  Christ  Jesus  to  have  been  the 
Son  of  God  before  all  ages,  and  to  have  min- 
istered to  the  Father  in  the  creation  of  all 
things  ;  but  shall  afiirm  that  from  the  time  only 
when  he  was  born  of  Mary,  was  he  called  the 
Son  and  Christ,  and  that  he  then  received  the 
commencement  of  his  divinity,  let  him  be  anath- 
ema, as  the  Samosatan.'  '- 

Another  Exposition  of  the  Faith  set  forth  at 
Sirmiiim  in  Latin,  and  afterwards  translated 
into  Greek}''' 

Since  it  appeared  good  that  some  deliberation 
respecting  the  faith  should  be  undertaken,  all 
points  have  been  carefully  investigated  and  dis- 
cussed at  Sirmium,  in  presence  of  Valens,  Ur- 
sacius,  Germinius,  and  others. 

It  is  evident  that  there  is  one  God,  the  Father 
Almighty,  according  as  it  is  declared  over  the 
whole  world  ;  and  his  only-begotten  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord,  God,  and  Saviour,  begotten  of 
him  before  the  ages.  But  we  ought  not  to  say 
that  there  are  two  Gods,  since  the  Lord  himself 
has  said  '  I  go  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father^ 
and  unto  my  God  and  your  God.'  "  Therefore 
he  is  God  even  of  all,  as  the  apostle  also  taught, 
'Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only?     Is  he  not 

'"  John  xiv.  16,  26.  ''  I  Cor.  xi.  3. 

^-  Paul  of  Samosata,  see  L  36,  note  3. 

^^  Athan.  de  Synod.  28,  and  Hilar,  de  Synod,  calls   this  creed 
'  The  blasphemy  composed  at  Sirmium  by  Hosius  and  Potamius.' 
'^  John  XX.  17. 


58 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[II.  30. 


also  of  the  Gentiles  ?  Yea  of  the  Gentiles  also  ; 
seeing  that  it  is  one  God  who  shall  justify  the 
circumcision  by  faith. "^  And  in  all  other  mat- 
ters there  is  agreement,  nor  is  there  any  ambi- 
guity. But  since  it  troubles  very  many  to 
understand  about  that  which  is  termed  sub- 
stantia in  Latin,  and  ousia  in  Greek ;  that  is  to 
say,  in  order  to  mark  the  sense  more  accurately, 
the  word  Jiomoousion  "'  or  hoiiioioi/sioii,^~  it  is  alto- 
gether desirable  that  none  of  these  terms  should 
be  mentioned  :  nor  should  they  be  preached  on 
in  the  church,  for  this  reason,  that  nothing  is 
recorded  concerning  them  in  the  holy  Scriptures  ; 
and  because  these  things  are  above  the  knowl- 
edge of  mankind  and  human  capacity,  and  that 
no  one  can  explain  the  Son's  generation,  of 
which  it  is  written,  '  And  who  shall  declare  his 
generation?''*  It  is  manifest  that  the  Father 
only  knows  in  what  way  he  begat  the  Son  ;  and 
again  the  Son,  how  he  was  begotten  by  the 
Father.  But  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  Father 
is  greater  in  honor,  dignity,  and  divinity,  and 
in  the  very  name  of  Father ;  the  Son  himself 
testifying  '  My  Father  who  hath  sent  me  is  greater 
than  I.'  '^  And  no  one  is  ignorant  that  this  is 
also  catholic  doctrine,-"  that  there  are  two  per- 
sons of  the  Father  and  Son,  and  that  the  Father 
is  the  greater  :  but  that  the  Son  is  subject,  to- 
gether with  all  things  which  the  Father  has 
subjected  to  him.  That  the  Father  had  no 
beginning,  and  is  invisible,  immortal,  and  im- 
passible :  but  that  the  Son  was  begotten  of  the 
Father,  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light;  and  that 
no  one  comprehends  his  generation,  as  was 
before  said,  but  the  Father  alone.  That  the 
Son  himself,  our  Lord  and  God,  took  flesh  or 
a  body,  that  is  to  say  human  nature,  according 
as  the  angel  brought  glad  tidings  :  and  as  the 
whole  Scriptures  teaches,  and  especially  the  apos- 
tle who  was  the  great  teacher  of  the  Gentiles, 
Christ  assumed  the  human  nature  through  which 
.he  suffered,  from  the  Virgin  Mary.  But  the  sum- 
mary and  confirmation  of  the  entire  faith  is, 
that  [the  doctrine  of]  the  Trinity  should  be 
always  maintained,  according  as  we  have  read 
in  the  gospel,  '  Go  ye  and  disciple  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.'  -^  Thus  the 
number  of  the  Trinity  is  complete  and  perfect. 
Now  the  Comforter,  the  Holy  Spirit,  sent  by 
the  Son,  came  according  to  his  promise,  in 
order  to  sanctify  and  instruct  the  apostles  and 
all  believers. 

They  endeavored  to  induce  Photinus,  even 
after  his  deposition,  to  assent  to  and  subscribe 
these  things,  promising  to  restore  him  his  bish- 


is  Rom.  iii.  29,  30. 
"  Of  the  same  substance. 
"  Of  similar  substance. 
*'  Isa.  liii.  5. 


^^  John  xiv.  28. 
20  (cadoAiKor,    '  universally  ac- 
cepted.' 
'I  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 


opric,  if  by  recantation  he  would  anathematize 
the  dogma  he  had  invented,  and  adopt  their 
opinion.  But  he  did  not  accept  their  proposal, 
and  on  the  other  hand  he  challenged  them  to  a 
disputation  : "  and  a  day  being  appointed  by 
the  emperor's  arrangement,  the  bishops  who 
were  there  present  assembled,  and  not  a  few  of 
the  senators,  whom  the  emperor  had  directed 
to  attend  to  the  discussion.  In  their  presence, 
Basil,  who  at  that  time  presided  over  the  church 
at  Ancyra,  was  appointed  to  oppose  Photinus, 
and  short-hand  writers  took  down  their  respec- 
tive speeches.  The  conflict  of  arguments  on 
both  sides  was  extremely  severe  ;  but  Photinus 
having  been  worsted,  was  condemned,  aaid  spent 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  exile,  during  which  time 
he  composed  treatises  in  both  languages  —  for 
he  was  not  unskilled  in  Latin  —  against  all  here- 
sies, and  in  favor  of  his  own  views.  Concerning 
Photinus  let  this  sufifice. 

Now  the  bishops  who  were  convened  at  Sir- 
mium,  were  afterwards  dissatisfied  with  that 
form  of  the  creed  which  had  been  promul- 
gated by  them  in  Latin  ;  for  after  its  publi- 
cation, it  appeared  to  them  to  contain  many 
contradictions.  They  therefore  endeavored  to 
get  it  back  again  from  the  transcribers ;  but 
inasmuch  as  many  secreted  it,  the  emperor  by 
his  edicts  commanded  that  the  version  should 
be  sought  for,  threatening  pupishment  to  any 
one  who  should  be  detected  concealing  it. 
These  menaces,  however,  were  incapable  of  sup- 
pressing what  had  already  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  many.  Let  this  suffice  in  regard  to  these 
affairs. 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Of  Hosius,  Bishop  of  Cordova. 

Since  we  have  observed  that  Hosius  the  Span- 
iard was  present  [at  the  council  of  Sirmium] 
against  his  will,  it  is  necessary  to  give  some 
brief  account  of  him.  A  short  time  before  he 
had  been  sent  into  exile  by  the  intrigues  of  the 
Arians  :  but  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  those 
convened  at  Sirmium,  the  emperor  summoned 
him  thither,  wishing  that  by  persuasion,  or  by 
compulsion  he  should  give  his  sanction  to  their 
proceedings  ;  for  if  this  could  be  effected,  they 
considered  it  would  give  great  authority  to  their 
sentiments.  On  this  ground,  therefore,  as  I 
have  said,  he  was  most  unwillingly  obliged  to 
be  present :  and  when  he  refused  to  concur  with 
them,  stripes  and  tortures  were  inflicted  on  the 
old    man.     Wherefore   he   was    constrained   by 

--  '  Epiphanius  relates  that  Photinus,  after  he  had  been  condemned 
and  deposed  in  the  synod  of  Sirmium,  went  to  Constaiitius,  and  re- 
quested that  he  might  dispute  concerning  the  faith  before  judges 
nominated  by  him;  and  that  Constantius  enjoined  Basilius,  bishop 
of  Ancyra,  to  undertake  a  disputation  with  Photinus,  and  gave  leave 
that  Thalassiuss,  Datianus,  Cerealis,  and  Taurus  should  be  arbiters  ' 
I  (Valesjus). 


II.  34-] 


AFFAIRS    OF    THE    EMPIRE;     EAST    AND    WEST. 


59 


force  to  acquiesce  in  and  subscribe  to  their  expo- 
sition of  the  faith.  Such  was  the  issue  of  affairs 
at  that  time  transacted  at  Sirmium.  Rut  the 
emperor  Constantius  after  these  things  still  con- 
tinued to  reside  at  that  })lace,  awaiting  there  the 
result  of  the  war  against  Magnentius. 


CHAPTER   XXXI I. 

Ovet'throw  of  the  Usui-per  Magnentius. 

Magnentius  in  the  meanwhile  having  made 
himself  master  of  the  impierial  city  Rome,  put 
to  death  many  members  of  the  senatorial  coun- 
cil, as  well  as  many  of  the  populace.  But  as 
soon  as  the  commanders  under  Constantius  had 
collected  an  army  of  Romans,  and  commenced 
their  march  against  him,  he  left  Rome,  and  re- 
tired into  the  Gauls.  There  several  battles  were 
fought,  sometimes  to  the  adv^antage  of  one  party, 
and  sometimes  to  that  of  the  other  :  but  at  last 
INIagnentius  having  been  defeated  near  Mursa  — 
a  fortress  of  Gaul  —  was  there  closely  besieged. 
In  tliis  place  the  following  remarkable  incident 
is  said  to  have  occurred.  Magnentius  desiring 
to  reassure  the  courage  of  his  soldiers  who  were 
disheartened  by  their  late  overthrow,  ascended 
a  lofty  tribunal  for  this  purpose.  They,  wishing 
to  give  utterance  to  the  usual  acclamation  with 
which  they  greet  emperors,  contrary  to  their  in- 
tention simultaneously  all  shouted  the  name, 
not  of  Magnentius,  but  of  Constantius  Augustus. 
Regarding  this  as  an  omen  unfavorable  to  him- 
self, Magnentius  immediately  withdrew  from  the 
fortress,  and  retreated  to  the  remotest  parts  of 
Gaul.  Thither  the  generals  of  Constantius  has- 
tened in  pursuit.  An  engagement  having  again 
taken  place  near  Mount  Seleucus,^  Magnentius 
was  totally  routed,  and  fled  alone  to  Lyons,  a 
city  of  Gaul,  which  is  distant  three  days'  jour- 
ney from  the  fortress  at  Mursa.  Magnentius, 
having  reached  this  city,  first  slew  his  own 
mother;  then  having,  killed  his  brother  also, 
whom  he  had  created  Csesar,  he  at  last  com- 
mitted suicide  by  falling  on  his  own  sword. 
This  happened  in  the  sixth  consulate  of  Con- 
stantius, and  the  second  of  Constantius  Callus, 
on  the  fifteenth  -  day  of  August.  Not  long  after, 
the  other  brother  of  Magnentius,  named  Decen- 
tius,  put  an  end  to  his  own  life  by  hanging  him- 
self. Such  was  the  end  of  the  enterprises  of 
Magnentius.  The  affairs  of  the  empire  were 
not  altogether  quieted  ;  for  soon  after  this  an- 
other usurper  arose  whose  name  was  Silvanus  : 
but  the  generals  of  Constantius  speedily  put 
him  also  out  of  the  way,  whilst  raising  disturb- 
ances in  Gaul. 


1  So  in  the  AUat.  MS.,  with  the  variant  reading  in  other  MSS. 
MtAroo'eAeuKO?, 

2  353  A.D. ;  but  the  date  is  given  differently  in  Idatius'  Fasti. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Oftliejeti's  iiihalntiiig  Dio-  desarea  in  Pa/estifie. 

AiiouT  the  same  time  there  arose  another  in- 
testine commotion  in  the  East :  for  the  Jews 
who  inhabited  Dio-Csesarea  in  Palestine  took 
up  arms  against  the  Romans,  and  began  to 
ravage  the  adjacent  places.  But  Callus  who  was 
also  called  Constantius,  whom  the  emperor,  after 
creating  C?esar,  had  sent  into  the  East,  de- 
spatched an  army  against  them,  and  completely 
vanquished  them  :  after  which  he  ordered  that 
their  city  Dio-Csesarea  should  be  razed  to  the 
foundations. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Of  Galliis  Ccesar. 

Callus,  having  accomplished  these  things, 
was  unable  to  bear  his  success  with  moderation ; 
but  forthwith  attempted  innovations  against  the 
authoritv  of  him  who  had  constituted  him  Csesar, 
himself  aspiring  to  the  sovereign  power.  His 
purpose  was,  however,  soon  detected  by  Con- 
stantius :  for  he  had  dared  to  put  to  death,  on 
his  own  responsibility,  Domitian,  at  that  time 
Prcetorian  prefect  of  the  East,  and  Magnus  the 
qucestor,  not  having  disclosed  his  designs  to  the 
emperor.  Constantius,  extremely  incensed  at 
this  conduct,  summoned  Callus  to  his  presence, 
who  being  in  great  terror  went  very  reluctantly ; 
and  when  he  arrived  in  the  western  parts,  and 
had  reached  the  island  of  Flanona,  Constantius 
ordered  him  to  be  slain.  But  not  long  after  he 
created  Julian,  the  brother  of  Callus,  Csesar, 
and  sent  him  against  the  barbarians  in  Caul. 
It  was  in  the  seventh  consulate^  of  the  emperor 
Constantius  that  Gallus,  who  was  surnamed 
Constantius,  was  slain,  when  he  himself  was  a 
third  time  consul :  and  Julian  was  created  Caesar 
on  the  6th  of  November  in  the  following  year, 
when  Arbetion  ^  and  LoUian  were  consuls ;  of 
him  we  shall  make  farther  mention  in  the  next 
book.''  When  Constantius  was  thus  relieved 
from  the  disquietudes  which  had  occupied  him, 
his  attention  was  again  directed  to  ecclesiastical 
contentions.  Going  therefore  from  Sirmium  to 
the  imperial  city  Rome,  he  again  appointed  a 
synod  of  bishops,  summoning  some  of  the  east- 
ern prelates  to  hasten  into  Italy,'*  and  arranging 
for  those  of  the  west  to  meet  them  there.  While 
preparations  were  making  in  the  east  for  this 
purpose,  Julius  bishop  of  Rome  died,  after  hav- 
ing presided  over  the  church  in  that  place  fifteen 
years,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  episcopal  dig- 
nity by  Liberius. 


354  A.D. 


-  355  A.D. 


3  See  in.  I. 


■*  So  rightly  in  the  AUat.  MS.;  the  variant  Va.Kkia.v  is  inconsis- 
tent with  the  context. 


6o 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[n-  35. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Of  Ae tins  the  Syrian,  Teacher  of  Etinomii/s. 

At  Antioch  in  Syria  another  heresiarch  sprang 
up,  Aetius,   surnamed   Atheus.     He   agreed   in 
doctrine  with  Arius,  and  maintained  the  same 
opinions  :  but  separated  himself  from  the  Arian 
party   because   they   had   admitted   Arius   into 
communion.     For   Arius,  as  I  have  before  re- 
lated,^ entertaining   one    opinion   in    his    heart, 
professed  another  with    his    lips ;  having  hypo- 
critically assented  to  and  subscribed  the  form  of 
faith  set  forth  at  the  council  of  Nicaea,  in  order 
to  deceive  the  reigning  emperor.     On  this  ac- 
count, therefore,  Aetius  separated  himself  from 
the  Arians.     He  had,  however,  previously  been 
a  heretic,  and  a  zealous  adv'ocate  of  x\rian  views. 
After  receiving  some  very  scanty  instniction  at 
Alexandria,  he  departed  thence,  and  arrived  at 
Antioch    in    Syria,  which  was    his  native  place, 
was  ordained  deacon  by  Leontius,  who  was  then 
bishop  of  that   city.     Upon   this    he   began  to 
astonish   those  who  conversed  with   him   by  the 
singularity  of  his  discourses.     And  this  he  did 
in  dependence  on   the   precepts  of  Aristotle's 
Categories ;  there  is  a  book  of  that  name,  the 
scope  of  which  he  neither  himself  perceived,  nor 
had   been  enlightened   on   by  intercourse  with 
learned  persons  :  so  that  he  was  little  aware  that 
he  was  framing  fallacious  arguments  to  perplex 
and   deceive  himself.     For  Aristotle  had  com- 
posed this  work  to  exercise  the  ingenuity  of  his 
young    disciples,    and   to   confound    by   subtle 
argiuTients  the  sophists  who  affected   to   deride 
philosophy.     Wherefore  the  Ephectic  academi- 
cians,^ who  expound  the  writings  of  Plato  and 
Plotinus,  censure  the  vain  subtlety  which  Aris- 
totle has  displayed  in  that  book :  but  Aetius,  who 
never  had  the  advantage  of  an  academical  pre- 
ceptor, adhered  to  the  sophisms  of  the    Cate- 
gories.      For    this    reason    he   was    unable    to 
comprehend    how  there    could    be    generation 
without  a  beginning,  and    how  that   which  was 
begotten  can  be  co-eternal  with  him  who  begat. 
In  fact,  Aetius  was  a  man  of  so  superficial   at- 
tainments,   and   so   little   acquainted   with    the 
sacred   Scriptures,    and   so   extremely   fond   of 
caviling,  a   thing   which    any  clown    might    do, 
that    he  had  never  carefully  studied    those  an- 
cient writers  who  have  interpreted  the  Christian 
oracles ;   wholly  rejecting  Clemens  and  Africa- 


»  1. 26. 

2  Diogenes  I.aertius,  Proem.  XI  (16),  says:  'Philosophers 
were  generally  divided  into  two  classes,  —  the  dogmatics,  who  spoke 
of  things  as  they  might  be  comprehended;  and  the  ephectics,  who 
refused  to  define  anything,  and  disputed  so  as  to  make  the  under- 
standing of  them  impossible.'  The  word  '  ephectic '  is  derived 
from  the  verb  ine\M,  '  to  hold  back,'  and  was  used  by  the  philoso- 
phers to  whom  it  is  applied  as  a  title  because  they  claimed  to  hold 
back  their  judgment,  being  unable  to  reach  a  conclusion.  Cf.  also 
the  name  '  skeptic,'  from  cr/ceTrTo^iai.  See  Zeller,  Stoics,  Epi- 
cureans, and  Skeptics,  p.  525. 


nus  and  Origen,  men  eminent  for  their  infor- 
mation in  every  department  of  literature  and 
science.  But  he  composed  epistles  both  to  the 
emperor  Constantius,  and  to  some  other  persons, 
wherein  he  interwove  tedious  disputes  for  the 
purpose  of  displaying  his  sophisms.  He  has 
therefore  been  surnamed  Atheus.  But  although 
his  doctrinal  statements  were  similar  to  those  of 
the  Arians,  yet  from  the  abstruse  nature  of  his 
syllogisms,  which  they  were  unable  to  compre- 
hend, his  associates  in  Arianism  pronounced 
him  a  heretic.  Being  for  that  reason  expelled 
from  their  church,  he  pretended  to  have  sepa- 
rated himself  from  their  communion.  Even  in 
the  present  day  there  are  to  be  found  some  who 
from  him  were  formerly  named  Aetians,  but  now 
Eunomians.  For  some  time  later  Eunomius, 
who  had  been  his  amanuensis,  having  been 
instructed  by  his  master  in  this  heretical  mode 
of  reasoning,  afterwards  became  the  head  of 
that  sect.  But  of  Eunomius  we  shall  speak 
more  fully  in  the  proper  place.'^ 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Of  the  Synod  at  Mihin. 

Now  at  that  time  the  bishops  met  in  Italy, 
very  few  indeed  from  the  East,  most  of  them 
being  hindered  from  coming  either  by  the  in- 
firmities of  age  or  by  the  distance  ;  but  of  the 
West  there  were  more  than  three  hundred.^  It 
was  a  command  of  the  emperor  that  they  should 
be  assembled  at  ]\Iilan.  On  meeting,  the  East- 
ern prelates  opened  the  Synod  by  calling  upon 
those  convened  to  pass  a  unanimous  sentence 
of  condemnation  against  Athanasius ;  with  this 
object  in  view,  that  he  might  thenceforward  be 
utterly  shut  out  from  Alexandria.  But  Paulinus, 
bishop  of  Treves  in  Gaul,  and  Dionysius,  of 
whom  the  former  was  bishop  of  Alba,-  the 
metropolis  of  Italy,  and  Eusebius  of  Vercellae, 
a  city  of  Liguria  in  Italy,  perceiving  that  the 
Eastern  bishops,  by  demanding  a  ratification  of 
the  sentence  against  Athanasius,  were  intent  on 
subverting  the  faith,  arose  and  loudly  exclaimed 
that  *  this  proposition  indicated  a  covert  plot 
against  the  principles  of  Christian  truth.  For 
they  insisted  that  the  charges  against  Athana- 
sius were  unfounded,  and  merely  invented  by 
his  accusers  as  a  means  of  corrupting  the  faith.' 

3 IV.  7. 

•  So  also  Sozomen,  IV.  9;  but  the  number  appears  exorbitant. 
Valesius  conjectures  that  the  texts  of  Socrates  and  Sozomen  are  cor- 
rupted, and  that  we  must  read  thirty  instead  of  three  hundred. 
The  smaller  number  agrees  exactly  with  the  list  given  in  the  epistle 
of  this  council  to  Eusebius  of  Vercclla;;  in  this  list  thirty  bishops 
are  named  as  agreeing  to  the  condemnation  of  Athanasius,  Marcel- 
lus,  and  Photinus.     Cf.  Baronius,  Anna/,  year  355. 

-  Sozomen  (IV.  9)  agrees  here  also  with  Socrates;  but  Athana- 
sius, in  Epist.  ad  Solitar.,  and  after  him  Baronius  and  Valesius, 
make  Milan  and  not  Alba,  the  metropolis  of  Italy,  and  Dionysius 
bishop  of  Milan,  and  not  of  Alba. 


II-  37-J 


SYNOD    OF   ARIMINUM. 


6i 


Having  made  this  protest  witli  much  vehemence 
of  manner,  the  congress  of  bishops  was  then 
dissoh-ed. 


CHAPTER   XXXVH. 

Of  the  Synod  at  Arimiiium,  aud  the  Creed  there 
published} 

The  emperor  on  being  apprised  of  what  had 
taken  place,  sent  these  three  bishops  into  ex- 
ile ;  and  determined  to  convene  an  ecumenical 
council,  that  by  drawing  all  the  Eastern  bishops 
into  the  West,  he  might  if  possible  bring  them 
all  to  agree.     But  when,  on  consideration,  the 
length  of  the  journey  seemed  to  present  serious 
obstacles,  he   directed   that  the  Synod  should 
consist  of  two  divisions  ;  permitting  those  pres- 
ent at  Milan  to  meet  at  Ariminum  in  Italy  :   Ixit 
the  Eastern  bishops  he  instructed  by  letters  to 
assemble  at  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia.     The  em- 
peror's   object    in   these    arrangements   was   to 
effect  a  general  unity  of  opinion ;  but  the  issue 
Avas   contrary  to   his  expectation.     For  neither 
of  the  Synods  was  in  harmony  with  itself,  but 
each   was   divided   into   opposing  factions :    for 
those  convened  at  Ariminum   could  not  agree 
with    one    another;    and   the    Eastern    bishops 
assembled  at  Seleucia  in  Isauria  made  another 
schism.     The  details  of  what  took  place  in  both 
we  will  give  in  the  course  of  our  history ,2  but 
we  shall  first  make  a  few  observations  on  Eudox- 
ius.      About   that   time    Leontius    having  died, 
who  had  ordained  the  heretic  Aetius  ^  as  deacon, 
Eudoxius  bishop  of  Germanicia  —  this  city  is  in 
Syria-;- who   was    then    at    Rome,   thinking  no 
tmie  was  to  be  lost,  speciously  represented  to 
the  emperor  that  the  city  over  which  he  pre- 
sided was  in  need  of  his  counsel  and  care,  and 
requested    permission    to    return    there    imme- 
diately.    This  the  emperor  readily  acceded  to, 
having  no  suspicion  of  a  clandestine  purpose  : 
Eudoxius  having  some  of  the  principal  officers 
of  the  emperor's  bedchamber  as  coadjutors,  de- 
serted his  own  diocese,  and  fraudulently  installed 
himself  in  the  see  of  Antioch.     His  first  desire 
was  to  restore  Aetius  ;  accordingly  he  convened 
a  council  of  bishops  for  the  purpose  of  reinvest- 
ing Aetius  with   the   dignity  of  the    diaconate. 
But  this  could  in  no  way  be  brought  about,  for 
the  odium  with  which  Aetius  was  regarded  was 
more  prevalent  than  the  exertions  of  Eudoxius 
in  his  favor.     ^Vhen  the  bishops  were  assembled 

T>  c  Cf- Sozomen,  III.  19;  IV.  ig-ig;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  II.  18-21- 
Kuhn.  II.  21;  Philostorgius,  IV.  10.  Also  Hefele,  Hist,  of  the 
t/i.  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.- 246-271. 

"  Ch.  39. 

3  According  to  Theodoret  {H.  E.  II.  19)  Aetius  was  promoted  to 
the  diacorate  under  Leontius  at  Antioch;  but  Leontius,  on  bein-^ 
censured  by  Flavian  and  Diodorus  for  ordaining  one  who  was  notorU 
ous  lor  his  blasphemous  utterances,  divested  him  of  his  diaconate. 
ilence,  later,  tudoxms  attempted  to  restore  him,  as  is  here  said. 


at  Ariminum,  those  from  the  East  declared  that 
they  were  willing  to  pass  in  silence  the  case  of 
Athanasius  :  a  resolution  that  was  zealously  sup- 
ported by  Ursacius  and  Valens,  who  had  formerly 
maintained  the  tenets  of  Arius  ;  but,  as  I  have 
already  stated,  had  afterwards  presented  a  re- 
cantation of  their  opinion  to  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  and  publicly  avowed  their  assent  to  the 
doctrine  of  consubstantiality.  For  these  men 
always  inclined  to  side  with  the  dominant  party. 
Germinius,  Auxentius,  Demophilus  and  Gaius 
made  the  same  declaration  in' reference  to  Atha- 
nasius. When  therefore  some  endeavored  to 
propose  one  thing  in  the  convocation  of  bishops, 
and  some  another,  Ursacius  and  Valens  said 
that  all  former  draughts  of  the  creed  ought  to 
be  considered  as  set  aside,  and  the  last  alone, 
which  had  been  prepared  at  their  late  conven- 
tion at  Sirmium,  regarded  as  authorized.  They 
then  caused  to  be  read  a  paper  which  they  held 
in  their  hands,  containing  another  form  of  the 
creed  :  this  had  indeed  been  drawn  up  at  Sir- 
mium, but  had  been  kept  concealed,  as  we  have 
before  observed,  until  their  present  publication 
of  it  at  Ariminum.  It  has  been  translated  from 
the  Latin  into  Greek,  and  is  as  follows  :  •* 

'The  catholic  foith  was  expounded  at  Sirmium 
in  presence  of  our  lord  Constantius,'  in  the  con- 
sulate •"'  of  the  most  illustrious  Flavins  Eusebius, 
and  Hypatius,  on  the  twenty-third  of  May. 

'  We  believe  in  one  only  and  true  God,  the 
Father  Almighty,  the  Creator  and  Framer  of  all 
things  :  and  in  one  only-begotten  Son  of  God, 
before  all  ages,  before  all  beginning,  before  all 
conceivable  time,  and  before  all  comprehensible 
thought,  begotten  without  passion  :  by  whom 
the  ages  were  framed,  and  all  things  made  :  who 
was  begotten  as  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father, 
only  of  only,  God  of  God,  like  to  the  Father  who 
begat  him,  according  to  the  Scriptures  :  whose 
generation  no  one  knows,  but  the  Father  only 
who  begat  him.  We  know  that  this  His  only- 
begotten  Son  came  down  from  the  heavens  by 
his  Father's  consent  for  the  putting  away  of  sin, 
was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  conversed  with 
his  disciples,  and  fulfilled  every  dispensation 
according  to  the  Father's  will :  was  crucified 
and  died,  and  descended  into  the  lower  parts 
of  the  earth,  and  disposed  matters  there  ;  at  the 
sight   of  whom    the    (door-keepers    of    Hades 

■»  Athan.  de  Synod.  8;  but  Athanasius  does  not  say  that  this 
creed  was  translated  from  Latin,  as  he  does  whenever  he  pro- 
duces any  document  put  into  Greek  from  Latin;  whence  it  appears, 
according  to  Valesius,  that  this  is  the  form  drawn  up  in  Greek  by 
Marcus  of  Arelhusa,  and  submitted  to  the  third  Sirmium  council  in 
359,  but  read  at  Ariminum  as  here  said  (cf.  ch.  30,  and  note).  The 
argument  is  not  considered  conclusive  by  Reading  as  far  as  it  re- 
gards the  original  language  of  the  creed;  that  it  was  written  by 
Marcus  of  Arethusa,  however,  seems  to  be  proved. 

'  The  title  of  the  emperor  in  Athanasius'  version  is  '  The  most 
pioiis  and  victorious  emperor  Constantius  Augustus,  eternal  Augus- 
tus, &c.,  which  agrees  with  the  representations  of  the  ancients  on 
the  vainglory  of  Constantius.  Cf.  Amm.  Marcellin.  Rerum  Gesta- 
rinii,  XVI.  10.  2,  3  (ed.  Eyssenhardt). 

''  359  A.D. 


62 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


["•  37- 


trembled ")  :  having  arisen  on  the  third  day,  he 
again  conversed  with  his  disciples,  and  after 
forty  days  were  completed  he  ascended  into  the 
heavens,  and  is  seated  at  the  Father's  right 
hand ;  and  at  the  last  day  he  will  come  in  his 
Father's  glory  to  render  to  every  one  according 
to  his  works.  [We  believe]  also  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whom  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God 
Jesus  Christ  himself  promised  to  send  to  the 
human  race  as  the  Comforter,  according  to  that 
which  is  written:^  "I  go  away  to  my  Father, 
and  will  ask  him,  and  he  will  send  you  another 
Comforter,  the  Spirit  of  truth.  He  shall  receive 
of  mine,  and  shall  teach  you,  and  bring  all  things 
to  your  remembrance."  As  for  the  term  "  sub- 
stance," which  was  used  by  our  fathers  for  the 
sake  of  greater  simplicity,  but  not  being  under- 
stood by  the  people  has  caused  offense  on  ac- 
count of  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  do  not  con- 
tain it,  it  seemed  desirable  that  it  should  be 
wholly  abolished,  and  that  in  future  no  mention 
should  be  made  of  substance  in  reference  to 
God,  since  the  divine  Scriptures  have  nowhere^ 
spoken  concerning  the  substance  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  But  we  say  that  the  Son  is  in  all 
things  //ke  the  Father,  as  the  Holy  Scriptures 
affirm  and  teach.' 

These  statements  having  been  read,  those 
who  were  dissatisfied  with  them  rose  and  said  : 
'  We  came  not  hither  because  we  were  in  want 
of  a  creed  ;  for  we  preserve  inviolate  that  which 
we  received  from  the  beginning ;  but  we  are 
here  met  to  repress  any  innovation  upon  it 
which  may  have  been  made.  If  therefore  what 
has  been  recited  introduces  no  novelties,  now 
openly  anathematize  the  Arian  heresy,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  ancient  canon  of  the  church 
has  rejected  all  heresies  as  blasphemous  :  for  it 
is  evident  to  the  whole  world  that  the  impious 
dogma  of  Arius  has  excited  the  disturbances  of 
the  church,  and  the  troubles  which  exist  until 
now.'  This  j)roposition,  which  was  not  accepted 
by  Ursacius,  Valens,  Germinius,  Auxentius,  De- 
mophilus,  and  Gai'us,  rent  the  church  asunder 
completely  :  for  these  prelates  adhered  to  what 
had  then  been  recited  in  the  Synod  of  Arimi- 
num ;  while  the  others  again  confirmed  the 
Nicene  Creed.  They  also  ridiculed  the  super- 
scription of  the  creed  that  had  been  read ;  and 
especially  Athanasius,  in  a  letter  which  he  sent 
to  his  friends,  wherein  he  thus  expresses  him- 
self :  '•' 

'  What  point  of  doctrine  was  wanting  to  the 
piety  of  the  catholic  church,  that  they  should 
now  make  an  investigation  respecting  the  faith, 
and  prefix  moreover  the  consulate  of  the  present 
times  to  their  published  exposition  of  it?     For 


'  Job  xxxviii.  17  (LXX). 
"  Athan.  de  Synod.  8. 


'  John  xiv.  16;  xvi.  14. 


Ursacius,  Valens,  and  Germinius  have  done  what 
was  neither  done,  nor  even  heard  of,  at  any  time 
before  among  Christians :  having  composed  a 
creed  such  as  they  themselves  are  willing  to 
believe,  they  prefaced  it  with  the  consulate, 
month,  and  day  of  the  present  time,  in  order  to 
prove  to  all  discerning  persons  that  theirs  is  not 
the  ancient  faith,  but  such  as  was  originated 
under  the  reign  of  the  present  emperor  Con- 
stantius.^"  Moreover  they  have  written  all  things 
with  a  view  to  their  own  heresy :  and  besides 
this,  pretending  to  write  respecting  the  Lord, 
they  name  another  "  Lord  "  as  theirs,  even  Con- 
stantius,  who  has  countenanced  their  impiety,  so 
that  those  who  deny  the  Son  to  be  eternal,  have 
styled  him  eternal  emperor.  Thus  are  they 
proved  to  be  the  enemies  of  Christ  by  their 
profanity.  But  perhaps  the  holy  prophets' 
record  of  time  afforded  them  a  precedent  for 
[noticing]  the  consulate  !  Now  even  if  they 
should  presume  to  make  this  pretext,  they  would 
most  glaringly  expose  their  own  ignorance. 
The  prophecies  of  these  holy  men  do  indeed 
mark  the  times.  Isaiah  and  Hosea  lived  in  the 
days  of  Uzziah,  Joatham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah  ;  ^^ 
Jeremiah  in  the  time  of  Josiah  •  ^-  Ezekiel  and 
Daniel  in  the  reign  of  Cyrus  and  Darius  ;  and 
others  uttered  their  predictions  in  other  times. 
Yet  they  did  not  then  lay  the  foundations  of 
religion.  That  was  in  existence  before  them, 
and  always  was,  even  before  the  creation  of  the 
world,  God  having  prepared  it  for  us  in  Christ. 
Nor  did  they  designate  the  commencement  of 
their  own  faith  ;  for  they  were  themselves  men 
of  faith  previously  :  but  they  signified  the  times 
of  the  promises  given  through  them.  Now  the 
promises  primarily  referred  to  our  Saviour's  ad- 
vent ;  and  all  that  was  foretold  respecting  the 
course  of  future  events  in  relation  to  Israel  and 
the  Gentiles  was  collateral  and  subordinate. 
Hence  the  periods  mentioned  indicated  not 
the  beginning  of  their  faith,  as  I  before  obser\'ed, 
but  the  times  in  which  these  prophets  lived  and 
foretold  such  things.  But  these  sages  of  our 
day,  who  neither  compile  histories,  nor  predict 
future  events,  after  writing,  "  The  Catholic 
Faith  was  published,"  immediately  add  the 
consulate,  with  the  month  and  the  day  : 
and  as  the  holy  prophets  wrote  the  date  of 
their  records  and  of  their  own  ministration,  so 
these  men  intimate  the  era  of  their  own  faith. 
And  would  that  they  had  written  concerning 
f/ieir  otvu  faith  only  —  since  they  have  now 
begun  to  believe  —  and  had  not  undertaken  to 
write  respecting  the  Catholic  faith.  For  they 
have   not    written,    "Thus   we    believe";    but, 


1"  This  appeal  to  antiquity,  as  the  test  of  truth,  is  very  common 
with  the  earlier  Fathers;  cf.  Eusebius'  treatment  of  the  Scriptures 
of  the  New  Testament,  //.  E.  III.  3,  24,  25,  et  al. 

"   Isa.  i.  2;   Hos.  i.  i.  '-  Jer.  i.  2. 


11.  37J     CREED  OF  ARIMINUM  AND  LETTER  TO  THE  EMPEROR.       63 


"The  Catholic  Faith  was  pubUshed."  The 
temerity  of  purpose  herein  manifested  argues 
their  ignorance  ;  while  the  novelty  of  expression 
found  in  the  document  they  have  concocted 
shows  it  to  be  the  same  as  the  Arian  heresy. 
By  writing  in  this  manner,  they  have  declared 
when  they  themselves  began  to  believe,  and 
from  what  time  they  wish  it  to  be  understood 
their  faith  was  first  preached.  And  just  as  when 
the  evangelist  Luke  says,'''  "  A  decree  of  enrol- 
ment was  published,"  he  speaks  of  an  edict  which 
was  not  in  existence  before,  but  came  into  opera- 
tion at  that  time,  and  was  published  by  him  who 
had  written  it ;  so  these  men  by  writing  "  The 
faith  has  now  been  published,"  have  declared 
that  the  tenets  of  their  heresy  are  of  modern  in- 
vention, and  did  not  exist  previously.  But  since 
they  apply  the  term  "  Catholic  "  to  it,  they  seem 
to  have  unconsciously  fallen  into  the  extravagant 
assumption  of  the  Cataphrygians,  asserting  even 
as  they  did,  that  "  the  Christian  faith  was  first 
revealed  to  us,  and  commenced  with  us."  And 
as  those  termed  Maximilla  and  Montanus,  so 
these  style  Constantius  their  Lord,  instead  of 
Christ.  But  if  according  to  them  the  faith  had 
its  beginning  from  the  present  consulate,  what 
will  the  fathers  and  the  blessed  martyrs  do? 
Moreover  what  will  they  themselves  do  with 
those  who  were  instructed  in  religious  princi- 
ples by  them,  and  died  before  this  consulate? 
By  what  means  will  they  recall  them  to  life,  in 
order  to  obliterate  from  their  minds  what  they 
seemed  to  have  taught  them,  and  to  implant  in 
its  stead  those  new  discoveries  which  they  have 
published?  So  stupid  are  they  as  to  be  only 
capable  of  framing  pretenses,  and  these  such  as 
are  unbecoming  and  unreasonable,  and  carry 
with  them  their  own  refutation.' 

Athanasius  wrote  thus  to  his  friends  :  and  the 
interested  who  may  read  through  his  whole  epistle 
will  perceive  how  powerfully  he  treats  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  for  brevity's  sake  we  have  here  inserted 
a  part  of  it  only.  The  Synod  deposed  Valens, 
Ursacius,  Auxentius,  Germinius,  Gains,  and  De- 
mophilus  for  refusing  to  anathematize  the  Arian 
doctrine ;  who  being  very  indignant  at  their 
deposition,  hastened  direcdy  to  the  emperor, 
carrying  with  them  the  exposition  of  faith  which 
had  been  read  in  the  Synod.  The  council  also 
acquainted  the  emperor  with  their  determina- 
tions in  a  communication  which  translated  from 
the  Latin  into  Greek,  was  to  the  following 
effect :  " 

^  Luke  ii.  i. 

"  Athan.  i^e  Sy?iod.  lo.  The  Latin  original  which  is  given  in 
Hilar.  Fragm.  8,  was  adopted  by  Valesius  in  this  place,  and  subse- 
quently also  by  the  English  translators.  We  have  followed  the 
Greek  of  Socrates,  giving  the  most  important  differences  in  the  fol- 
lowing four  notes;  viz.  15,  16,  17,  and  iS.  How  these  variations 
originated  it  is  impossible  to  tell  with  assurance:  but  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  they  may  represent  two  drafts,  of  which  one  was  originally 
tentative. 


Epistle  of  the  Synod  of  Ariminiini  to  the  Em- 
peror Constantius. 

We  believe  that  it  was  by  the  appointment  of 
God,  as  well  as  at  the  command  of  your  piety, 
that  the  decrees  formerly  published  have  been 
executed.  Accordingly  we  Western  bishops 
came  out  of  various  districts  to  Ariminum,  in 
order  that  the  faith  of  the  catholic  church  might 
be  made  manifest,  and  that  those  who  held  con- 
trary views  might  be  detected.  For  on  a  con- 
siderate review  by  us  of  all  points,  our  decision 
has  been  to  adhere  to  the  ancient  faith  which 
the  prophets,  the  gospels,  and  the  apostles  have 
revealed  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
guardian  of  your  empire,  and  the  protector  of 
your  person,  which  faith  also  we  have  always 
maintained.  We  conceived  that  it  would  be 
unwarrantable  and  impious  to  mutilate  any  of 
those  things  which  have  been  justly  and  rightly 
ratified,  by  those  who  sat  in  the  Nicene  council 
with  Constantine  of  glorious  memory,  the  father 
of  your  piety.  Their  doctrine  and  views  have 
been  infused  into  the  minds  and  preached  in 
the  hearing  of  the  people,  and  found  to  be 
powerfully  opposed,  even  fatal,  to  the  Arian 
heresy.  And  not  only  this  heresy,  but  also  all 
others  have  been  put  down  by  it.  Should  there- 
fore anything  be  added  to  or  taken  away  from 
what  was  at  that  time  established,  it  would 
prove  perilous ;  for  if  either  of  these  things 
should  happen,  the  enemy  will  have  boldness  to 
do  as  they  please.'^ 

Wherefore  Ursacius  and  Valens  being  hereto- 
fore suspected  of  entertaining  Arian  sentiments, 
\Nhxt  suspended  from  communion  :  but  in  order 
to  be  restored  to  it  they  made  an  apology,  and 
claimed  that  they  had  repented  of  their  short- 
coming, as  their  written  recantation  attests : 
they  therefore  obtained  pardon  and  complete 
absolution. 

The  time  when  these  things  occurred  was 
when  the  council  was  in  session  at  Milan,  when 
the  presbyters  of  the  church  of  Rome  were 
also  present. 

At  '"^  the  same  time,  having  known  that  Con- 
stantine, who  even  after  his  death  is  worthy 
of  honorable  mention,  exposed  the  faith  with 
due  precision,  but  being  born  of  men  was 
baptized  and  departed  to  the  peace  due  to  him 
as  his  reward,  we  have  deemed  it  improper  to 
innovate  after  him    disregarding  so  many  holy 

'^  The  Latin  original  here  contains  the  following  paragraph  not 
reproduced  by  Socrates:  'These  matters  having  been  strictly  in- 
vestigated and  the  creed  drawn  up  in  the  presence  of  Constantine, 
who  after  being  baptized,  departed  to  God's  rest  in  the  faith  of  it, 
we  regard  as  an  abomination  any  infringement  thereon,  or  any 
attempt  to  invalidate  the  authority  of  so  many  saints,  confessors, 
and  successors  of  the  martyrs,  who  assisted  at  that  council,  and 
themselves  preserved  inviolate  all  the  determinations  of  the  ancient 
writers  of  the  catholic  church  :  whose  faith  has  remained  unto  these 
times  in  which  your  piety  has  received  from  God  the  Father,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  God  and  Lord,  the  power  of  ruling  the  world.' 

"J  The  Latin  original  omits  the  following  paragraph,  ending  with 
the  words  '  over  our  portion  of  the  world.' 


64 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


Cn.  37- 


confessors  and  martyrs,  who  also  were  authors 
of  this  confession,  and  persevered  in  their  faith 
in  the  ancient  system  of  the  catholic  church. 
Their  faith  God  has  perpetuated  down  to  the 
years  of  your  own  reign  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  through  whose  grace  it  also  became  pos- 
sible for  you  to  so  strengthen  your  dominion  as 
to  rule  over  one  portion  of  the  world. 

Yet  have  these  infatuated  and  wretched  per- 
sons, endued  with  an  unhappy  disposition,  again 
had  the  temerity  to  declare  themselves  the  propa- 
gators of  false  doctrine,  and  even  endeavor  to 
subvert  the  constitution  of  the  Church.  For  when 
the  letters  of  your  piety  had  ordered  us  to  as- 
semble for  the  examination  of  the  faith,  they  laid 
bare  their  intention,  stripped  of  its  deceitful 
garb.  For  they  attempted  with  certain  craft 
and  confusion  to  propose  innovations,  having 
in  this  as  allies  Germinius,  Auxentius,'"  and 
Gains,  who  continually  cause  strife  and  dissen- 
sion, and  their  single  teaching  has  surpassed 
the  whole  body  of  blasphemies.  But  when  they 
perceived  that  we  had  not  the  same  disposition 
or  mind  as  they  in  regard  to  their  false  views, 
they  changed  their  minds  during  our  council, 
and  said  another  expression  of  belief  should  be 
put  forth.  And  short  indeed  was  the  time  which 
convinced  them  of  the  falsity  of  their  views. 

In  order,  therefore,  that  the  affairs  of  the 
Church  may  not  be  continually  brought  into 
the  same  condition,  and  in  order  that  trouble 
and  tumult  may  not  continually  arise  and  con- 
fuse all  things,  it  appeared  safe  to  preserve  the 
previously  determined  views  firm  and  unalter- 
able, and  to  separate  from  our  communion  the 
persons  above  named ;  for  which  reason  we 
have  despatched  to  your  clemency  delegates 
who  will  communicate  the  opinion  of  the  coun- 
cil to  you.  And  to  our  delegates  we  have  given 
this  commission  above  all,  that  they  should 
accredit  the  truth  taking  their  motive  from  the 
ancient  and  right  decisions.  They  will  inform 
your  holiness  that  peace  will  not  be  established 
as  Ursacius  and  Valens  say  when  some  point 
of  the  right  be  overturned.  For  how  can  those 
be  at  peace  who  destroy  peace?  Rather  will 
strife  and  tumult  be  occasioned  by  these  things 
in  the  church  of  Rome  also,  as  in  the  other 
cities.  Wherefore,  now,  we  beseech  your  clem- 
ency that  you  should  look  upon  our  delegation 
with  a  calm  eye  and  listen  to  it  with  fovor,  and 
not  allow  that  anything  should  be  changed,  thus 
bringing  insult  to  the  deceased,  but  permit  us 
to  continue  in  those  things  which  have  been 
defined  and  legislated  by  our  ancestors ;  who, 
we  should  say,  acted  with  shrewdness  and  wisdom 
and  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  the  innovations 
they  introduce  at  present  fill  the  believing  with 


"  The  Latin  original  in  Hilar,  omits  the  name  of  Auxentius. 


distrust  and  the  unbelieving  with  cruelty.-'*  We 
further  implore  you  to  instruct  that  the  bishops 
who  dwell  in  foreign  parts,  whom  both  the  in- 
firmity of  age  and  the  ills  of  poverty  harass 
should  be  assisted  to  return  easily  and  speedily 
to  their  own  homes,  so  that  the  churches  may 
not  remain  bereft  of  their  bishops.  Still  further 
we  beg  of  you  this  also,  that  nothing  be  stricken 
off,  nor  anything  be  added,  to  the  articles  [of 
faith]  remaining  over  from  the  times  of  your 
pious  father  even  until  now ;  but  that  these  may 
continue  inviolate.  Permit  us  not  to  toil  and 
suffer  longer,  nor  to  be  separated  from  our 
dioceses,  but  that  together  with  our  own  peoples 
we  may  in  peace  have  time  to  offer  prayers  and 
thanksgiving,  supplicating  for  your  safety  and 
continuance  in  the  dominion,  which  may  the 
divinity  grant  unto  you  perpetually.  Our  dele- 
gates bear  the  signatures  and  greetings  of  the 
bishops.  These  [delegates]  will  from  the 
Divine  Scriptures  themselves  instruct  your  piety. 

The  Synod  then  thus  wrote  and  sent  their 
communications  to  the  emperor  by  the  bishops 
[selected  for  that  purpose].  But  the  partisans 
of  Ursacius  and  Valens  having  arrived  before 
them,  did  their  utmost  to  calumniate  the  coun- 
cil, exhibiting  the  exposition  of  the  faith  which 
they  had  brought  with  them.  The  emperor, 
prejudiced  beforehand  towards  Arianism,  be- 
came extremely  exasperated  against  the  Synod, 
but  conferred  ^reat  honor  on  Valens  and  Ur- 
sacius and  their  friends.  Those  deputed  by  the 
council  were  consequently  detained  a  consider- 
able time,  without  being  able  to  obtain  an 
answer  :  at  length,  however,  the  emperor  replied 
through  those  who  had  come  to  him,  in  the 
manner  following  : 

'  Constantius  Victor  and  Triumphator  Augus- 
tus to  all  the  bishops  convened  at  Ariminum. 

'  That  our  especial  care  is  ever  exercised  re- 
specting the  divine  and  venerated  law  even  your 
sanctity  is  not  ignorant.  Nevertheless  we  have 
hitherto  been  unable  to  give  an  audience  to  the 
twenty  bishops  sent  as  deputation  from  you,  for 
an  expedition  against  the  barbarians  has  become 
necessary.  And  since,  as  you  will  admit,  mat- 
ters relative  to  the  divine  law  ought  to  be  en- 
tered on  with  a  mind  free  from  all  anxiety ;  I 
have  therefore  ordered  these  bishops  to  await 
our  return  to  Adrianople  ;  that  when  all  public 
business  shall  have  been  duly  attended  to,  we 
may  be  able  then  to  hear  and  consider  what 
they  shall  propose.  In  the  meanwhile  let  it  not 
seem  troublesome  to  your  gravity  to  wait  for 
their  return ;  since  when  they  shall  convey  to 


1'  Instead  of  the  Greek  words  here  translated,  '  fill  the  believing 
with  distrust  and  the  unbelieving  with  cruelty,'  the  Latin  origi- 
nal reads  '  veritm  etiani  infideles  ad  credulitatem  vetantiir 
accedcre.'' 


II.  38.] 


END    OF    THE    COUNCIL   AT    ARIMINUM. 


6s 


you  our  resolution,  you  will  be  prepared  to 
carry  into  effect  such  measures  as  may  be  most 
advantageous  to  the  welfare  of  the  catholic 
church.' 

The  bishops  on  receipt  of  this  letter  wrote 
thus  in  reply  :  ''' 

'  We  have  received  your  clemency's  letter,  sov- 
ereign lord,  most  beloved  of  God,  in  which  you 
inform  us  that  the  exigencies  of  state  affairs  have 
hitherto  prevented  your  admitting  our  delegates 
to  your  presence  :  and  you  bid  us  await  their 
return,  until  your  piety  shall  have  learnt  from 
them  what  has  been  determined  on  by  us  in 
conformity  with  the  tradition  of  our  ancestors. 
But  we  again  protest  by  this  letter  that  we  can 
by  no  means  depart  from  our  primary  resolu- 
tion ;  and  this  also  we  have  commissioned  our 
deputies  to  state.  We  beseech  you  therefore, 
both  with  serene  countenance  to  order  this 
present  epistle  of  our  modesty  to  be  read  ;  and 
also  to  listen  favorably  to  the  representations 
with  which  our  delegates  have  been  charged. 
Your  mildness  doubtless  perceives,  as  well  as 
we,  to  how  great  an  extent  grief  and  sadness 
prevail,  because  of  so  many  churches  being 
bereft  of  their  bishops  in  these  most  blessed 
times  of  yours.  Again  therefore  we  entreat 
your  clemency,  sovereign  lord  most  dear  to 
God,  to  command  us  to  return  to  our  churches, 
if  it  please  your  piety,  before  the  rigor  of  winter  ; 
in  order  that  we  may  be  enabled,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  people,  to  offer  up  our  accustomed 
prayers  to  Almighty  God,  and  to  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  his  only-begotten  Son,  for 
the  prosperity  of  your  reign,  as  we  have  always 
done,  and  even  now  do  in  our  prayers.' 

The  bishops  having  waited  together  some 
time  after  this  letter  had  been  despatched,  inas- 
much as  the  emperor  deigned  no  reply,  they 
departed  to  their  respective  cities.  Now  the 
emperor  had  long  before  intended  to  dissemi- 
nate Arian  doctrine  throughout  the  churches ; 
and  was  anxious  to  give  it  the  pre-eminence  ; 
hence  he  pretended  that  their  departure  was  an 
act  of  contumely,  declaring  that  they  had  treated 
him  with  contempt  by  dissolving  the  council 
in  opposition  to  his  wishes.  He  therefore 
gave  the  partisans  of  Ursacius  unbounded  li- 
cense to  act  as  they  pleased  in  regard  to  the 
churches  :  and  directed  that  the  revised  form 
of  creed  which  had  been  read  at  Ariminum 
should  be  sent  to  the  churches  throughout 
Italy ;  ordering  that  whoever  would  not  sub- 
scribe it  should  be  ejected  from  their  sees,  and 
that  others  should  be  substituted  in  their  place.^ 
And  first  Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome,  having  re- 
fused his  assent  to    that  creed,  was  sent  into 


"»  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  II.  20. 
2»  Cf.  Theodoret.  H.  E.  II.  16. 


exile ;  the  adherents  of  Ursacius  appointing 
Felix  to  succeed  him,  who  had  been  a  deacon 
in  that  church,  but  on  embracing  the  Arian 
heresy  was  elevated  to  the  episcopate.  Some 
however  assert  that  he  was  not  favorable  to  that 
opinion,  but  was  constrained  by  force  to  receive 
the  ordination  of  bishop,  .'\fter  this  all  parts  of 
the  West  were  filled  with  agitation  and  tumult, 
some  being  ejected  and  banished,  and  others 
established  in  their  stead.  These  things  were 
effected  by  violence,  on  the  authority  of  the 
imperial  edicts,  which  were  also  sent  [into  the 
eastern  parts.  Not  long  after  indeed  Liberius 
was  recalled,  and  reinstated  in  his  see  ;  for  the 
people  of  Rome  having  raised  a  sedition,  and 
expelled  Felix  from  their  church,  the  emperor 
even  though  against  his  wish  consented.  The 
partisans  of  Ursacius,  quitting  Italy,  passed 
through  the  eastern  parts  ;  and  arriving  at  Nice, 
a  city  of  Thrace,  they  dwelt  there  a  short  time 
and  held  another  Synod,  and  after  translating 
the  form  of  faith  which  was  read  at  Ariminum 
into  Greek,  they  confirmed  and  published  it 
afresh  in  the  form  quoted  above,  giv'ing  it  the 
name  of  the  general  council,  in  this  way  attempt- 
ing to  deceive  the  more  simple  by  the  similarity 
of  names,  and  to  impose  upon  them  as  the  creed 
promulgated  at  Nicaea  in  Bithynia,  that  which 
they  had  prepared  at  Nice  in  Thrace."^  But 
this  artifice  was  of  little  advantage  to  them  ;  for 
it  was  soon  detected,  they  became  the  object  of 
derision.  Enough  now  has  been  said  of  the 
transactions  which  took  place  in  the  West :  we 
must  now  proceed  to  the  narrative  of  what  was 
done  in  the  East  at  the  same  time. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

Cruelty   of  Macedotiius,    and    Tianults   i-aised 
by  him. 

The  bishops  of  the  Arian  party  began  to  as- 
sume greater  assurance  from  the  imperial  edicts. 
In  what  manner  they  undertook  to  convene  a 
Synod,  we  will  explain  somewhat  later.  Let  us 
now  briefly  mention  a  few  of  their  previous  acts. 
Acacius  and  Patrophilus  having  ejected  Maxi- 
mus,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  installed  Cyril  in  his 
see.  Macedonius  subverted  the  order  of  things 
in  the  cities  and  provinces  adjacent  to  Constan- 
tinople, promoting  to  ecclesiastical  honors  his 
assistants  in  his  intrigues  against   the  churches.^ 

"  Hilar.  Fragm.  8;   Hefele,  Hht.  of  Ch.    Councils,  Vol.  II. 

p.  257- 

'  From  this  place  it  plainly  appears,  as  Valesius  remarks,  that 
the  authority  of  the  see  of  Constantinople  was  acknowledged,  even 
before  the  council  of  Constantinople,  throughout  the  region  of  the 
Hellespont  and  Bithvnia,  which  conclusion  is  also  confirmed  by  the 
acts  of  Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  who  made  Eunomius 
bishop  of  Cy2icus.  Two  causes  co-operated  to  secure  this  authority, 
viz.  (i)  the  official  establishment  of  the  city  as  the  capital  of  the 
empire  by  Constantine,  and  (2)   the  transference  to  it  of  Eusebius 


66 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  38. 


He  ordained  Eleusius  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  and 
Marathonius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia :    the  latter 
had   before   been  a  deacon  under   Macedonius 
himself,   and    proved    very  active    in    founding 
monasteries  both  of  men  and  women.     But  we 
must    now   mention    in    what    way   Macedonius 
desolated  the  churches  in  the  cities  and  prov- 
inces around  Constantinople.     This  man,  as  I 
have  already  said,"  having  seized  the  bishopric, 
inflicted  innumerable  calamities  on  such  as  were 
unwilling  to  adopt  his  views.     His  persecutions 
were  not  confined  to  those  who  were  recognized 
as  members   of  the    catholic    church,   but    ex- 
tended to  the  Novatians  also,  inasmuch  as  he 
knew  that  they  maintained  the  doctrine  of  the 
hofnoousion ;    they    therefore    with    the    others 
underwent  the  most   intolerable   sufferings,   but 
their    bishop,   Angelius    by   name,   effected    his 
escape  by  flight.     Many  persons    eminent   for 
their  piety  were   seized   and   tortured,  because 
they   refused    to   communicate   with    him :  and 
after  the  torture,  they  forcibly  constrained  the 
men  to  be  partakers  of  the  holy  mysteries,  their 
mouths  being  forced  open  with  a  piece  of  wood, 
and  then  the  consecrated  elements  thrust  into 
them.      Those  who  were   so    treated   regarded 
this  as  a  punishment  far  more  grievous  than  all 
others.     Moreover  they  laid  hold  of  women  'and 
children,  and  compelled  them   to  be  initiated 
[by    baptism]  ;    and    if    any   one     resisted    or 
otherwise  spoke  against  it,  stripes  immediately 
followed,  and  after  the  stripes,  bonds  and  im- 
prisonment,  and    other    violent     measures.       I 
shall  here  relate  an  instance  or  two  whereby  the 
reader  may  form  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the 
harshness  and  cruelty  exercised  by  Macedonius 
and  those  who  were  then  in  power.     They  first 
pressed  in  a  box,  and  then  sawed,  off,  the  breasts 
of  such  women  as  were  unwilling  to  communi- 
cate with  them.     The  same  parts  of  the  persons 
of  other  women  they  burnt  partly  with  iron,  and 
partly  with   eggs   intensely  heated   in   the    fire. 
This  mode  of  torture  which  was  unknown  even 
among  the  heathen,  was  invented  by  those  who 
professed  to  be  Christians.      These  facts  were 
related  to  me  by  the  aged  Auxanon,  the  presby- 
ter in  the  Novatian  church  of  whom  I  spoke  in 
the  first  book.''     He  said  also  that  he  had  him- 
self endured  not  a  {qw  severities  from  the  Arians, 
prior  to  his  reaching  the  dignity  of  presbyter ; 
having  been  thrown  into  prison  and  beaten  with 
many  stripes,  together  with  Alexander  the  Paph- 
lagonian,  his  companion  in  the  monastic  life.    He 
added  that  he  had  himself  been  able  to  sustain 
these  tortures,  but  that  Alexander  died  in  prison 
from  the  effects  of  their  infliction.      He  is  now 
buried  on  the  right  of  those  sailing  into  the  bay  of 

of  Nicomedia,  a  most  vigorous  and  aggressive  bishop,  who  missed 
no  opportunity  for  enlarging  and  consolidating  the  power  of  his  see. 
2  See  .-ibove,  ch.  16.  3  I.  13. 


Constantinople  which  is  called  Ceras,  close  by 
the  rivers,  where  there  is  a  church  of  the  Nova- 
tians   named    after   Alexander.      Moreover    the 
Arians,  at  the  instigation  of  Macedonius,  demol- 
ished with  many  other  churches  in  various  cities, 
that   of  the   Novatians  at   Constantinople    near 
Pelargus.       Why    I    particularly    mention     this 
church,  will  be  seen  from  the  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  it,  as  testified  by  the 
same  aged  Auxanon.     The  emperor's  edict  and 
the  violence    of  Macedonius    had    doomed    to 
destruction  the   churches   of  those    who   main- 
tained  the    doctrine    of   consubstantiality ;    the 
decree  and  violence  reached   this  church,  and 
those  also  who  were  charged  with  the  execution 
of  the  mandate  were  at  hand  to  carry  it  into 
effect.     I  cannot  but  admire  the  zeal  displayed 
by  the  Novatians  on  this  occasion,  as  well  as  the 
sympathy  they  experienced   from   those   whom 
the  Arians  at  that  time  ejected,  but  who  are  now 
in  peaceful  possession  of  their  churches.     For 
when   the    emissaries    of    their    enemies    were 
urgent  to  accomplish  its  destruction,  an  immense 
multitude   of  Novatians,   aided   by  numbers    of 
others  who  held  similar  sentiments,  having  as- 
sembled around  this  devoted  church,  pulled  it 
down,  and  conveyed  the  materials  of  it  to  an- 
other place  :   this  place  stands  opposite  the  city,, 
and  is  called   Sycse,   and   forms   the   thirteenth 
ward  of  the  town  of  Constantinople.     This  re- 
moval was  effected  in  a  very  short  time,  from 
the  extraordinary  ardor  of  the  numerous  persons 
engaged  in  it :   one  carried  tiles,  another  stones,  a 
third  timber  ;  some  loading  themselves  with  one 
thing,  and  some  with  another.     Even  women  and 
children  assisted  in  the  work,  regarding  it  as  the 
realization  of  their  best  wishes,  and  esteemine:  it 
the  greatest  honor  to  be   accounted  the  faithful 
guardians    of   things    consecrated   to   God.      In 
this  way    at   that  time   was   the   church   of  the 
Novatians    transported    to    Sycje.     Long   alter- 
wards  when  Constantius  was  dead,  the  emperor 
Julian    ordered    its   former   site  to   be  restored, 
and    permitted   them   to  rebuild  it  there.     The 
people  therefore,  as  before,  having  carried  back 
the   materials,   reared    the   church  in  its  former 
position  ;  and    from    this   circumstance,  and  its 
great   improvement   in   structure  and  ornament, 
they    not    inappropriately    called    it   Aiiastasia. 
The  church  as  we  before  said  was  restored  after- 
wards in  the  reign  of  Julian.      But  at  that  time 
both  the  Catholics  and"  the  Novatians  were  alike 
subjected  to  persecution  :    for  the  former  abomi- 
nated off"ering  thcM'r  devotions  in  those  churches 
in  which  the  Arians  assembled,  but  frequented 
the  other  three  ^  —  for  this  is  the  number  of  the 


*  According  to  Valesius  it  appears  incredible  that  the  Catholics 
should  have  done  what  Socrates  savs  thev  did.  '  For  there  is 
nothing  more  contrary  to  ecclesiastical  discipline  than  to  commimi- 
cate  with  heretics  either  in  the  sacraments  or  in  prayer.'  Hence 
'  Socrates  was  probably  imposed  upon  by  the  aged  Auxano,    who- 


n.39-] 


MISDEEDS    OF    MACEDONIUS. 


67 


churches  which  the  Novatians  have  in  the  city 
—  and  engaged  in  divine  service  with  them. 
In  ieed  they  would  have  been  wholly  united, 
had  not  the  Novatians  refused  from  regard  to 
their  ancient  precepts.  In  other  respects  how- 
ever, they  mutually  maintained  such  a  degree 
of  cordiality  and  affection,  as  to  be  ready  to 
lay  down  their  lives  for  one  another :  both 
parties  were  therefore  persecuted  indiscrim- 
inately, not  only  at  Constantinople,  but  also  in 
other  provinces  and  cities.  At  Cyzicus,  Eleu- 
sius,  the  bishop  of  that  place,  perpetrated  the 
same  kind  of  enormities  against  the  Christians 
there,  as  Macedonius  had  done  elsewhere,  harass- 
ing and  putting  them  to  flight  in  all  directions ; 
and  [among  other  things]  he  completely  demol- 
ished the  church  of  the  Novatians  at  Cyzicus. 
But  Macedonius  consummated  his  wickedness 
in  the  following  manner.  Hearing  that  there 
was  a  great  number  of  the  Novatian  sect  in  the 
province  of  Paphlagonia,  and  especially  at  Man- 
tinium,  and  perceiving  that  such  a  numerous 
body  could  not  be  driven  from  their  homes  by 
ecclesiastics  alone,  he  caused,  by  the  emperor's 
permission,  four  companies  of  soldiers  to  be 
sent  into  Paphlagonia,  that  through  dread  of 
the  military  they  might  receive  the  Arian  opin- 
ion. But  those  who  inhabited  Mantinium,  ani- 
mated to  desperation  by  zeal  for  their  religion, 
armed  themselves  with  long  reap-hooks,  hatchets, 
and  whatever  weapon  came  to  hand,  and  went 
forth  to  meet  the  troops  ;  on  which  a  conflict 
ensuing,  many  indeed  of  the  Paphlagonians 
were  slain,  but  nearly  all  the  soldiers  were 
destroyed.  I  learnt  these  things  from  a  Paph- 
lagonian  peasant  who  said  that  he  was  present 
at  the  engagement  ;  and  many  others  of  that 
province  corroborate  this  account.  Such  were 
the  exploits  of  Macedonius  on  behalf  of  Chris- 
tianity, consisting  of  murders,  battles,  incarcera- 
tions, and  civil  wars  :  proceedings  which  ren- 
dered him  odious  not  only  to  the  objects  of  his 
persecution,  but  even  to  his  own  party.  He 
became  obnoxious  also  to  the  emperor  on  these 
accounts,  and  particularly  so  from  the  circum- 
stance I  am  about  to  relate.  The  church  where 
the  coffin  lay  that  contained  the  relics  of  the 
emperor  Constantine  threatened  to  fell.  On 
this  account  those  that  entered,  as  well  as  those 
who  were  accustomed  to  remain  there  for  devo- 
tional purposes,  were  in  much  fear.  Mace- 
donius, therefore,  wished  to  remove  the  em- 
peror's remains,  lest  the  coffin  should  be  injured 
by  the  ruins.     The  populace  getting  intelligence 

fixed  upon  all  the  Catholics  what  was  perhaps  done  by  some  few 
Christians  who  were  less  cautious.'  But  Socrates'  own  attitude 
towards  the  Novatians  (cf.  Introd.  p.  x.)  shows  that  the  difference 
between  them  and  the  Catholics  (oi  rfi?  eKxAirja-ia?)  was  not  univer- 
sally regarded  as  an  absolute  schism  forbidding  communication  even 
during  such  times  of  trial  as  these  described  here,  which  might  cer- 
tainly have  drawn  together  parties  already  as  near  to  one  another 
as  the  Novatians  and  Catholics. 


of  this,  endeavored  to  prevent  it,  insisting 
'  that  the  emjieror's  Ijones  should  not  be  dis- 
turbed, as  such  a  disinterment  would  be  equiva- 
lent, to  their  being  dug  up '  :  many  however 
affirmed  that  its  removal  could  not  possibly 
injure  the  dead  body,  and  thus  two  parties  were 
formed  on  this  question ;  such  as  held  the 
doctrine  of  consubstantiality  joining  with  those 
who  opposed  it  on  the  ground  of  its  impiety. 
Macedonius,  in  total  disregard  of  these  preju- 
dices, caused  the  emperor's  remains  to  be  trans- 
ported to  the  church  where  those  of  the  martyr 
Acacius  lay.  Whereupon  a  vast  multitude  rushed 
toward  that  edifice  in  two  hostile  divisions,  which 
attacked  one  another  with  great  fury,  and  great 
loss  of  life  was  occasioned,  so  that  the  church- 
yard was  covered  with  gore,  and  the  well  also 
which  was  in  it  overflowed  with  blood,  which 
ran  into  the  adjacent  portico,  and  thence  even 
into  the  very  street.  When  the  emperor  was 
informed  of  this  unfortunate  occurrence,  he  was 
highly  incensed  against  Macedonius,  both  on 
account  of  the  slaughter  which  he  had  occa- 
sioned, and  because  he  had  dared  to  move  his 
father's  body  without  consulting  him.  Having 
therefore  left  the  Caesar  Julian  to  take  care  of 
the  western  parts,  he  himself  set  out  for  the 
east.  How  Macedonius.  was  a  short  time  after- 
wards deposed,  and  thus  suffered  a  most  inade- 
quate punishment  for  his  infamous  crimes,  I 
shall  hereafter  relate.'^ 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

Of  the  Synod  at  Selencia,  in  Isauria. 

But  I  must  now  give  an  account  of  the  other 
Synod,  which  the  emperor's  edict  had  convoked 
in  the  east,  as  a  rival  to  that  of  Ariminum.  It 
was  at  first  determined  that  the  bishops  should 
assemble  at  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia ;  but  a  great 
earthquake  having  nearly  destroyed  that  city, 
prevented  their  being  convened  there.  This 
happened  in  the  consulate  ^  of  Tatian  and 
Cerealis,  on  the  28th  day  of  August."  They 
were  therefore  planning  to  transfer  the  council 
to  the  neighboring  city  of  Nicaea  :  but  this  plan 
was  again  altered,  as  it  seemed  more  convenient 
to  meet  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  Being  dissatisfied 
with  this  arrangement  also,  they  at  last  assembled 
themselves  at  Seleucia,  surnamed  Aspera,'^  a  city 
of  Isauria.  This-  took  place  in  the  same  year 
[in  which  the  council  of  Ariminum  was  held]. 


3  See  below,  ch.  42. 

1  358  A.D. 

-  In  this  calamity  Cecropius,  the  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  perished, 
and  the  splendid  cathedral  of  the  city  was  ruined;  both  of  which 
misfortunes  were  attributed  by  the  heathen  to  the  wrath  of  their 
gods.     See  Sozom.  IV.  16. 

3  Tpa^eia,  on  account  of  the  neighboring  steep  mountains. 
This  Seleucia  was  the  capital  of  Isauria. 


68 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[11-  39- 


under  the  consulate  of  Eusebius  and  Hypatius/ 
the  number  of  those  convened  being  about 
i6o.  There  was  present  on  this  occasion 
Leonas,  an  officer  of  distinction  attached  to  the 
imperial  household,  before  whom  the  emperor's 
edict  had  enjoined  that  the  discussion  respect- 
ing the  faith  should  be  entered  into.  Lauricius 
also,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  troops  in 
Isauria,  was  ordered  to  be  there,  to  serve  the 
bishops  in  such  things  as  they  might  require. 
In  the  presence  of  these  personages  therefore, 
the  bishops  were  there  convened  on  the  27th 
of  the  month  of  September,  and  immediately 
began  a  discussion  on  the  basis  of  the  public 
records,  shorthand  writers  being  present  to  write 
down  what  each  might  say.  Those  who  desire 
to  learn  the  particulars  of  the  several  speeches, 
will  find  copious  details  of  them  in  the  collec- 
tion of  Sabinus ;  but  we  shall  only  notice  the 
more  important  heads.  On  the  first  day  of  their 
being  convened,  Leonas  ordered  each  one  to 
propose  what  he  thought  fit :  but  those  present 
said  that  no  question  ought  to  be  agitated  in 
the  absence  of  those  prelates  who  had  not  yet 
arrived ;  for  Macedonius,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, Basil  of  Ancyra,  and  some  others  who 
were  apprehensive  of  an  impeachment  for  their 
misconduct,  had  not  made  their  appearance. 
Macedonius  pleaded  indisposition,  and  failed  to 
attend  ;  Patrophilus  said  he  had  some  trouble 
with  his  eyes,  and  that  on  this  account  it  was 
needful  for  him  to  remain  in  the  suburbs  of 
Seleucia  ;  and  the  rest  offered  various  pretexts  to 
account  for  their  absence.  When,  however, 
Leonas  declared  that  the  subjects  which  they 
had  met  to  consider  must  be  entered  on,  not- 
withstanding the  absence  of  these  persons,  the 
bishops  replied  that  they  could  not  proceed  to 
the  discussion  of  any  question,  until  the  life  and 
conduct  of  the  parties  accused  had  been  inves- 
tigated :  for  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Eustathius  of 
Sebastia  in  Armenia,  and  some  others,  had  been 
charged  with  misconduct  on  various  grounds 
long  before.  A  sharp  contest  arose  in  conse- 
quence of  this  demur ;  some  affirming  that 
cognizance  ought  first  to  be  taken  of  all  such 
accusations,  and  others  denying  that  anything 
whatever  should  have  precedence  of  matters  of 
faith.  The  emperor's  orders  contributed  not  a 
little  to  augment  this  dispute,  inasmuch  as  let- 
ters of  his  were  produced  urging  now  this  and 
now  that  as  necessary  to  be  consitlered  first. 
The  dispute  having  arisen  on  this  subject,  a 
schism  was  thus  made,  and  the  Seleucian  coun- 
cil was  divided  into  two  factions,  one  of  which 
was  headed  by  Acacius  of  Caesarea  in  Palestine, 
George  of  Alexandria,  Uranius  of  Tyre,  and 
Eudoxius  of  Antioch,  who  were  supported  by 

See,  on  this  double  council  of  Ariminum  and  Seleu- 
efele,  Hist,  of  the  Cli.  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.  346-371. 


<  359  A.D 
a,  H 


only  about  thirty-two  other  bishops.  Of  the 
opposite  party,  which  was  by  far  the  more  nu- 
merous, the  principal  were  George  of  Laodicea 
in  Syria,  Sophronius  of  Pompeiopolis  in  Paphla- 
gonia,  and  Eleusius  of  Cyzicus.  It  being  de- 
termined by  the  majority  to  examine  doctrinal 
matters  first,  the  party  of  Acacius  openly  op- 
posed the  Nicene  Creed,  and  wished  to  intro- 
duce another  instead  of  it.  The  other  faction,^ 
which  was  considerably  more  numerous,  con- 
curred in  all  the  decisions  of  the  council  of 
Nictca,  but  criticised  its  adoption  of  the  term 
hoinoousion.  Accordingly  they  debated  on  this 
point,  much  being  said  on  each  side,  until  late 
in  the  evening,  when  Silvanus,  who  presided 
over  the  church  at  Tarsus,  insisted  with  much 
vehemence  of  manner,  '  that  there  was  no  need 
of  a  new  exposition  of  the  faith  ;  but  that  it  was 
their  duty  rather  to  confirm  that  which  was 
published  at  Antioch,*"'  at  the  consecration  of 
the  church  in  that  place.'  On  this  declaration, 
Acacius  and  his  partisans  privately  withdrew 
from  the  council ;  while  the  others,  producing 
the  creed  composed  at  Antioch,  read  it,  and 
then  separated  for  that  day.  Assembling  in  the 
church  of  Seleucia  on  the  day  following,  after 
having  closed  the  doors,  they  again  read  the 
same  creed,  and  ratified  it  by  their  signatures. 
At  this  time  the  readers  and  deacons  present 
signed  on  behalf  of  certain  absent  bishops,  who 
had  intimated  their  acquiescence  in  its  form. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

Acacius,   Bishop   of   Ccesarea,    dictates    a    new 
Form  of  Creed  in  the  Synod  at  Seleucia. 

Acacius  and  his  adherents  criticised  what  was 
done  :  because,  that  is  to  say,  they  closed  the 
church  doors  and  thus  affixed  their  signatures ; 
declaring  that  '  all  such  secret  transactions  were 
justly  to  be  suspected,  and  had  no  validity  what- 
ever.' These  objections  he  made  because  he 
was  anxious  to  bring  forward  another  exposition 
of  the  faith  drawn  up  by  himself,  which  he  had 
already  submitted  to  the  governors  Leonas  and 
Lauricius,  and  was  now  intent  on  getting  it  alone 
confirmed  and  established,  instead  of  that  which 
had  been  subscribed.  The  second  day  was  thus 
occupied  with  nothing  else  but  exertions  on  his 
part  to  effect  this  object.  On  the  third  day 
Leonas  endeavored  to  produce  an  amicable 
meeting  of  both  parties  ;  Macedonius  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  also  Basil  of  Ancyra,  having  ar- 
rived during  its  course.  But  when  the  Acacians 
found  that  both  the  parties  had  come  to  the 
same   position,    they   refused   to   meet ;    saying 

■•  Cf.  Athan.  de  Syiiodd.  12. 
"  See  chaps.  8  and  10. 


II.  40.] 


CREED    COMPOSED    BY   ACACIUS. 


69 


that  not  only  those  who  had  before  been  de- 
posed, but  also  such  as  were  at  ])resent  under 
any  accusation,  ought  to  be  excluded  from  the 
assembly.'  And  as  after  much  cavilling  on  both 
sides,  this  opinion  prevailed  ;  those  who  lay 
under  any  charge  went  out  of  the  council,  and 
the  party  of  Acacius  entered  in  their  places. 
Leonas  then  said  that  a  document  had  been  put 
into  his  hand  by  Acacius,  to  which  he  desired 
to  call  their  attention  :  but  he  did  not  state  that 
it  was  the  draught  of  a  creed,  which  in  some 
particulars  covertly,  and  in  others  unequivocally 
contradicted  the  former.  When  those  present 
became  silent,  thinking  that  the  document  con- 
tained something  else  besides  an  exposition  of  a 
creed,  the  following  creed  composed  by  Acacius, 
together  with  its  preamble,  was  read. 

'We  having  yesterday  assembled  by  the  em- 
peror's command  at  Seleucia,  a  city  of  Isauria, 
on  the  27th  day  of  September,  exerted  ourselves 
to  the  utmost,  with  all  moderation,  to  preserve 
the  peace  of  the  church,  and  to  determine  doc- 
trinal questions  on  prophetic  and  evangelical 
authority,  so  as  to  sanction  nothing  in  the  ec- 
clesiastic confession  of  faith  at  variance  with 
the  sacred  Scriptures,  as  our  Emperor  Constan- 
tius  most  beloved  of  God  has  ordered.  But 
inasmuch  as  certain  individuals  in  the  Synod 
have  acted  injuriously  toward  several  of  us,  pre- 
venting some  from  expressing  their  sentiments, 
and  excluding  others  from  the  council  against 
their  wills  ;  and  at  the  same  time  have  intro- 
duced such  as  have  been  deposed,  and  persons 
who  were  ordained  contrary  to  the  ecclesias- 
tical canon,  so  that  the  Synod  has  presented  a 
scene  of  tumult  and  disorder,  of  which  the  most 
illustrious  Leonas,  the  Comes,  and  the  most  emi- 
nent Lauricius,  governor  of  the  province,  have 
been  eye-witnesses,  we  are  therefore  under  the 
necessity  of  making  this  declaration.  That  we 
do  not  repudiate  the  faith  which  was  ratified  at 
the  consecration  of  the  church  at  Antioch  ; '  for 
we  give  it  our  decided  preference,  because  it 
received  the  concurrence  of  our  fathers  who 
were  assembled  there  to  consider  some  con- 
troverted points.  Since,  however,  the  terms 
homooiision  and  homoioiision  have  in  time 
past  troubled  the  minds  of  many,  and  still  con- 
tinue to  disquiet  them ;  and  moreover  that  a 
new  term  has  recently  been  coined  by  some  who 
assert  the  anomoion  of  the  Son  to  the  Father  : 
we  reject  the  first  two,  as  expressions  which  are 
not  found  in  the  Scriptures ;  but  we  utterly 
anathematize  the  last,  and  regard  such  as  coun- 
tenance its  use,  as  alienated  from  the  church. 
We  distinctly  acknowledge  the  homoion  of  the 
Son  to  the  Father,  in  accordance  with  what  the 

•  Athanas.  {_de  Synodd.  11^)  gives  the  following  portion  of  this 
creed  apparently  as  the  only  declaration  made  by  the  council. 


apostle  has  declared  concerning  him,^  "  Who  is 
the  image  of  the  invisible  God." 

'  We  confess  then,  and  believe  in  one  (iod 
the  Father  Almighty,  the  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  of  things  visible  and  invisible.  We 
beheve  also  in  his  Son  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  was  begotten  of  him  without  passion  before 
all  ages,  God  the  Word,  the  only-begotten  of 
God,  the  Light,  the  Life,  the  Truth,  the  Wisdom  : 
through  whom  all  things  were  made  which  are  in 
the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth,  whether  visible 
or  invisible.  We  believe  that  he  took  flesh  of 
the  holy  Virgin  Mary,  at  the- end  of  the  ages,  in 
order  to  abolish  sin;  that  he  was  made  man, 
suffered  for  our  sin,  and  rose  again,  and  was 
taken  up  into  the  heavens,  to  sit  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  whence  he  will  come  again 
in  glory  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead.  \\'e 
believe  also  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  has  denominated  the  Comforter, 
and  whom  he  sent  to  his  disciples  after  his 
departure,  according  to  his  promise  :  by  whom 
also  he  sanctifies  all  believers  in  the  church,  who 
are  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Those  who 
preach  anything  contrary  to  this  creed,  we  re- 
gard as  aliens  from  the  catholic  church.' 

This  was  the  declaration  of  faith  proposed  by 
Acacius,  and  subscribecf  by  himself  and  as  many 
as  adhered  to  his  opinion,  the  number  of  whom 
we  have  already  given.  When  this  had  been 
read,  Sophronius  bishop  of  Pompeiopolis  in 
Paphlagonia,  thus  expressed  himself :  '  If  to  ex- 
press a  separate  opinion  day  after  day,  be 
received  as  the  exposition  of  the  faith,  we  shall 
never  arrive  at  any  accurate  understanding  of 
the  truth.'  These  were  the  words  of  Sophro- 
nius. And  I  firmly  believe,  that  if  the  pred- 
ecessors of  these  prelates,  as  well  as  their 
successors,  had  entertained  similar  sentiments  in 
reference  to  the  Nicene  creed,  all  polemical 
debates  would  have  been  avoided  ;  nor  would  the 
churches  have  been  agitated  by  such  violent  and 
irrational  disturbances.  However  let  those  judge 
who  are  capable  of  understanding  how  these 
things  are.  At  that  time  after  many  remarks  on 
all  sides  had  been  made  both  in  reference  to 
this  doctrinal  statement,  and  in  relation  to  the 
parties  accused,  the  assembly  was  dissolved. 
On  the  fourth  day  they  all  again  met  in  the 
same  place,  and  resumed  their  proceedings  in 
the  same  contentious  spirit  as  before.  On  this 
occasion  Acacius  expressed  himself  in  these 
words  :  '  Since  the  Nicene  creed  has  been  al- 
tered not  once  only,  but  frequently,  there  is  no 
hindrance  to  our  publishing  another  at  this 
time.'     To  which   P21eusius   bishop   of  Cyzicus, 

=  Col.  i.  15. 


70 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[11.  40. 


replied  :  '  The  Synod  is  at  present  convened 
not  to  learn  whnt  it  had  no  previous  knowledge 
of,  nor  to  receive  a  creed  which  it  had  not  as- 
sented to  before,  but  to  confirm  the  fiiith  of  the 
fathers,  from  which  it  should  never  recede, 
either  in  life  or  death.'  Thus  Eleusius  oppos- 
ing Acacius  spoke  meaning  by  '  the  faith  of  the 
fathers,'  that  creed  which  had  been  promulgat- 
■ed  at  Antioch.  But  surely  he  too  might  have 
teen  fairly  answered  in  this  way  :  '  How  is  it, 
O  Eleusius,  that  you  call  those  convened  at 
Antioch  "  the  fathers,"  seeing  that  you  do  not 
recognize  those  who  were  their  fathers?  The 
framers  of  the  Nicene  creed,  by  whom  the  ho- 
mooi/sian  faith  was  acknowledged,  have  a  far 
higher  claim  to  the  title  of  "  the  fathers  "  ;  both 
as  having  the  priority  in  point  of  time,  and  also 
because  those  assembled  at  Antioch  were  by 
them  invested  with  the  sacerdotal  office.  Now 
if  those  at  Antioch  have  disowned  their  own 
fathers,  those  who  follow  them  are  unconsciously 
following  parricides.  Besides  how  can  they 
have  received  a  legitimate  ordination  from  those 
whose  faith  they  pronounce  unsound  and  im- 
pious? If  those,  however,  who  constituted  the 
Nicene  Synod  had  not  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is 
imparted  by  the  imposition  of  hands,'^  those  at 
Antioch  have  not  duly  received  the  priesthood  : 
for  how  could  they  have  received  it  from  those 
who  had  not  the  power  of  conferring  it?  '  Such 
considerations  as  these  might  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  Eleusius  in  reply  to  his  objections. 
But  they  then  proceeded  to  another  question, 
connected  with  the  assertion  made  by  Acacius 
in  his  exposition  of  the  faith,  '  that  the  Son  was 
like  the  Father '  ;  enquiring  of  one  another  in 
what  this  resemblance  consisted.  The  Acacian 
party  affirmed  that  the  Son  was  like  the  Father 
as  it  respected  his  will  only,  and  not  his  '  sub- 
stance '  or  '  essence  ' ;  but  the  rest  maintained 
that  the  likeness  extended  to  both  essence  and 
will.  In  altercations  on  this  point,  the  whole 
day  was  consumed  ;  and  Acacius,  being  con- 
futed by  his  own  published  works,  in  which  he 
had  asserted  that  '  the  Son  is  in  all  things  like 
the  Father,'  his  opponents  asked  him  '  how  do 
you  now  deny  the  likeness  of  the  Son  to  the^ 
Father  as  to  his  "  essence  "  ?  '  Acacius  in  reply 
said,  that  '  no  author,  ancient  or  modern,  was 
ever  condemned  out  of  his  own  writings.'  As 
they  kept  on  their  discussion  on  this  matter  to 
a  most  tedious  extent,  with  much  acrimonious 
feeling  and  subtlety  of  argument,  but  without 
any  approach  to  unity  of  judgment,  Leonas 
arose  and  dissolved  the  council :  and  this  was 
the  conclusion  of  the  Synod  at  Seleucia.  For 
on   the    following   day    [Leonas]    being   urged 


8  See  Chrysostom,  Homilies  9  and  27,  on  Acts,  and  Hoin.  i,  on 
2  Tim.,  for  the  belief  of  the  ancient  Church  in  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  on  the  ordained  in  and  through  ordination. 


to  do  SO  would  not  again  meet  with  them.  '  I 
have  been  deputed  by  the  emperor,'  said  he, 
'  to  attend  a  council  where  unanimity  was  ex- 
pected to  prevail :  but  since  you  can  by  no 
means  come  to  a  mutual  understanding,  I 
can  no  longer  be  present :  go  therefore  to  the 
church,  if  you  please,  and  indulge  in  vain  bab- 
bling there.'  The  Acacian  faction  conceiving 
this  decision  to  be  advantageous  to  themselves, 
also  refused  to  meet  with  the  others.  The  ad- 
verse party  left  alone  met  in  the  church  and 
requested  the  attendance  of  those  who  followed 
Acacius,  that  cognizance  might  be  taken  of  the 
case  of  Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem  :  for  that  prel- 
ate had  been  accused  long  before,  on  what 
grounds  however  I  am  unable  to  state.  He  had 
even  been  deposed,  because  owing  to  fear,  he 
had  not  made  his  appearance  during  two  whole 
years,  after  having  been  repeatedly  summoned 
in  order  that  the  charges  against  him  might  be 
investigated.  Nevertheless,  when  he  was  de- 
posed, he  sent  a  written  notification  to  those 
who  had  condemned  him,  that  he  should  appeal 
to  a  higher  jurisdiction  :  and  to  this  appeal  the 
emperor  Constantius  gave  his  sanction.  Cyril 
was  thus  the  first  and  indeed  only  clergyman 
who  ventured  to  break  through  ecclesiastical 
usage,  by  becoming  an  appellant,  in  the  way 
commonly  done  in  the  secular  courts  of  judica- 
ture :  ■*  and  he  was  now  present  at  Seleucia, 
ready  to  be  put  upon  his  trial ;  on  this  account 
the  other  bishops  invited  the  Acacian  party  to 
take  their  places  in  the  assembly,  that  in  a  gen- 
eral council  a  definite  judgment  might  be  pro- 
nounced on  the  case  of  those  who  were  ar- 
raigned :  for  they  cited  others  also  charged  with 
various  misdemeanors  to  appear  before  them  at 
the  same  time,  who  to  protect  themselves  had 
sought  refuge  among  the  partisans  of  Acacius. 
When  therefore  that  faction  persisted  in  their 
refusal  to  meet,  after  being  repeatedly  sum- 
moned, the  bishops  deposed  Acacius  himself, 
together  with  George  of  Alexandria,  Uranius  of 
Tyre,  Theodulus  of  Chaeretapi  in  Ihrygia,  The- 
odosius  of  Philadelphia  in  Lydia,  Evagrii;s  of  the 
island  of  Mytilene,  Leontius  of  Tripolis  in  Lydia, 
and  Eudoxius  who  had  formerly  been  bishcp  of 
Germanica,  but  had  afterwards  insinuated  him- 
self into  the  bishopric  of  Antioch  in  Syria,  lley 
also  deposed  Patrophilus  for  contumacy,  in  not 
having  presented  himself  to  answer  a  ch^nrge 
preferred  against  him  by  a  presbyter  named 
Dorotheus.  These  they  deposed  :  they  also 
excommunicated  Asterius,  Eusebius,  /Igcrus, 
Basilicus,  Phoebus,  Fidelis,  Eutychius,  Mi  gnus, 
and  Eustathius ;    determining   that   they  should 

*  He  was  the  onlv  one,  inasmuch  as  the  General  Synod  of  Con- 
stantinople (381  A.D.)  expressly  forb:ide  all  appeals  from  the  ec- 
clesiastical to  the  civil  courts,  attaching  severe  penalties  to  the 
violation  of  its  canon  on  this  siibiect.  Cf.  Canon  6  of  Council  of 
Constantinople.     Hefele,  Hist,  o/the  Ch.  Councils,  Vol.  H.  p.  364. 


11.41.] 


CREED    OF    ARIMINUM    MODIFIED. 


71 


not  be  restored  to'  communion,  until  tliey  made 
sucli  a  defense  as  would  clear  them  from  the 
imputations  under  which  they  lay.  This  being 
done,  they  addressed  explanatory  letters  to  each 
of  the  churches  whose  bishops  had  been  de- 
posed. Anianus  was  then  constituted  bishop  of 
Antioch  instead  of  Eudoxius  :  but  the  Acacians 
having  soon  after  apprehended  him,  he  was  de- 
livered into  the  hands  of  Leonas  and  Lauricius, 
by  whom  he  was  sent  into  exile.  The  bishops 
who  had  ordained  him  being  incensed  on  this 
account,  lodged  protests  against  the  Acacian 
party  with  Leonas  and  Lauricius,  in  which  they 
openly  charged  them  with  having  violated  the 
decisions  of  the  Synod.  Finding  that  no  redress 
could  be  obtained  by  this  means,  they  went  to 
Constantinople  to  lay  the  whole  matter  before 
the  emperor. 

CHAPTER   XLL 

On  the  Emperor'' s  Return  from  the  West,  the 
Acacians  assemble  at  Constantinople,  and 
confirm  the  Creed  of  Arifninum,  after  mak- 
ing Some  Additions  to  it. 

And  now  the  emperor  returned  from  the 
West  and  appointed  a  prefect  over  Constanti- 
nople, Honoratus  by  name,  having  abolished  the 
office  of  proconsul.^  But  the  Acacians  being 
beforehand  with  the  bishops,  calumniated  them 
to  the  emperor,  persuading  him  not  to  admit 
the  creed  which  they  had  proposed.  This  so 
annoyed  the  emperor  that  he  resolved  to  dis- 
perse them  ;  he  therefore  published  an  edict, 
commanding  that  such  of  them  as  were  subject 
to  fill  certain  public  offices  should  be  no  longer 
exempted  from  the  performance  of  the  duties 
attached  to  them.  For  several  of  them  were 
liable  to  be  called  on  to  occupy  various  official 
departments,'  connected  both  with  the  city 
magistracy,  and  in  subordination  to  the  presi- 
dents and  governors  of  provinces.^  While  these 
were  thus  harassed  the  partisans  of  Acacius  re- 
mained for  a  considerable  time  at  Constantino- 
ple and  held  another  Synod.  Sending  for  the 
bishops  at  Bithynia,  about  fifty  assembled  on 
this  occasion,  among  whom  was  Maris,  bishop  of 
Chalcedon  :  these  confirmed  the  creed  read  at 
Ariminum  to  which  the  names  of  the  consuls 
had  been  prefixed.*     It  would  have   been  un- 


1  On  the  distinction  between  the  prefect  and  proconsul  and  the 
different  functions  of  each,  see  Smith,  Diction,  of  Greek  and  Ro- 
man Ant.  The  statement  of  Socrates  here  that  Constantius  first 
put  Constantinople  under  a  prefect  is  borne  out  by  Athanasius'  men- 
tion of  Donatus  as  proconsul  of  Europe,  with  Constantinople  as 
chief  city. 

^  The  General  Synod  of  Chalcedon,  451  A.D.,  in  its  seventh 
canon  forbade,  under  pain  of  anathema,  the  mixing  of  the  clerical 
office  with  political  and  worldly  matters. 

^  The  tx^'k;  here  mentioned  were  classes  of  officials  appointed 
under  a  sort  of  military  law,  to  serve  for  a  given  length  of  time  as 
agents  of  the  presidents  and  governors  of  provinces.  Cf.  Justin. 
Cod.  12,  tit.  52-59. 

«  Cf.  chap.  37. 


necessary  to  repeat  it  here,  had  there  not  been 
some  additions  made  to  it ;  but  since  that  was 
done,  it  may  be  desirable  to  transcribe  it  in  its 
new  form.' 

'  We  believe  in  one  God  the  Father  Almighty, 
of  whom  are  all  things.  And  in  the  only-begot- 
ten Son  of  God,  begotten  of  God  before  all  ages, 
and  before  every  beginning ;  through  whom  all 
things  visible  and  invisible  were  made  :  who  is 
the  only-begotten  born  of  the  Father,  the  only 
of  the  only,  God  of  God,  like  to  the  Father  who 
begat  him,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and 
whose  generation  no  one  knows  but  the  Father 
only  that  begat  him.  We  know  that  this  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God,  as  sent  of  the  Father, 
came  down  from  the  heavens,  as  it  is  written, 
for  the  destruction  of  sin  and  death  :  and  that 
he  was  born  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  according  to  the  flesh,  as  it  is  written, 
and  conversed  with  his  disciples  ;  and  that  after 
every  dispensation  had  been  fulfilled  according 
to  his  Father's  will,  he  was  crucified  and  died, 
and  was  buried  and  descended  into  the  lower 
parts  of  the  earth,  at  whose  presence  hades 
itself  trembled  :  who  also  arose  from  the  dead 
on  the  third  day,  again  conversed  with  his  dis- 
ciples, and  after  the  completion  of  forty  days 
was  taken  up  into  the  heavens,  and  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father,  whence  he  will  come 
in  the  last  day,  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  in 
his  Father's  glory,  to  requite  every  one  accord- 
to  his  works.  [\Ve  believe]  also  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whom  he  himself  the  only-begotten  of 
God,  Christ  our  Lord  and  God,  promised  to 
send  to  mankind  as  the  Comforter,  according  as 
it  is  written,*^  "  the  Spirit  of  truth  "  ;  whom  he 
sent  to  them  after  he  was  received  into  the 
heavens.  But  since  the  term  ousia  \_si/I>stance 
or  essence~\,  which  was  used  by  the  fathers  in 
a  very  simple  and  intelligible  sense,  but  not 
being  understood  by  the  people,  has  been  a 
cause  of  offense,  we  have  thought  proper  to  re- 
ject it,  as  it  is  not  contained  even  in  the  sacred 
writings ;  and  that  no  mention  of  it  should  be 
made  in  future,  inasmuch  as  the  holy  Scriptures 
have  nowhere  mentioned  the  substance  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son.  Nor  ought  the  "  sub- 
sistence "  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  even  named.  But  we 
affirm  that  the  Son  is  like  the  Father,  in  such  a 
manner  as  the  sacred  Scriptures  declare  and 
teach.  Let  therefore  all  heresies  which  have 
been  already  condemned,  or  may  have  arisen  of 
late,  which  are  opposed  to  this  exposition  of  the 
faith,  be  anathema.' 

These  things  were  recognized  at  that  time  at 
Constantinople 


And  now  as  we  have  at  length 


5  Athanas.  de  Synodd.  30. 


^  John  XV.  26. 


72 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[II.  41. 


wound  our  way  through  the  labyrinth  of  all  the 
various  forms  of  faith,  let  us  reckon  the  num- 
ber of  them.  After  that  which  was  promul- 
gated at  Nicjea,  two  others  were  proposed  at 
Antioch  at  the  dedication  of  the  church  there." 
A  third  was  presented  to  the  Emperor  Constans 
in  Gaul  by  Narcissus  and  those  who  accompa- 
nied him.*  The  fourth  was  sent  by  Eudoxius 
into  Italy.^  There  were  three  forms  of  the 
creed  published  at  Sirmium,  one  of  which  hav- 
ing the  consuls'  names  prefixed  was  read  at 
Ariminum.^"  The  Acacian  party  produced  an 
eighth  at  Seleucia."  The  last  was  that  of  Con- 
stantinople, containing  the  prohibitory  clause 
respecting  the  mention  of  '  substance  '  or  '  sub- 
sistence '  in  relation  to  God.  To  this  creed 
Ulfilas  bishop  of  the  Goths  gave  his  assent, 
although  he  had  previously  adhered  to  that  of 
Nicaea ;  for  he  was  a  disciple  of  Theophilus 
bishop  of  the  Goths,  who  was  present  at  the 
Nicene  council,  and  subscribed  what  was  there 
determined.     Let  this  suffice  on  these  subjects. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

O71    the   Deposition    of  Macedoniiis,  Eudoxius 
obtains  the  Bishopric  of  Constantinople. 

AcACius,  Eudoxius,  and  those  at  Constantino- 
ple who  took  part  with  them,  became  exceed- 
ingly anxious  that  they  also  on  their  side  might 
depose  some  of  the  opposite  party.  Now  it 
should  be  observed  that  neither  of  the  factions 
were  influenced  by  religious  considerations  in 
making  depositions,  but  by  other  motives  :  for 
although  they  did  not  agree  respecting  the  faith, 
yet  the  ground  of  their  reciprocal  depositions 
was  not  error  in  doctrine.  The  Acacian  party 
therefore  availing  themselves  of  the  emperor's 
indignation  against  others,  and  especially  against 
Macedonius,  which  he  was  cherishing  and  anx- 
ious to  vent,  in  the  first  place  deposed  Macedo- 
nius, both  on  account  of  his  having  occasioned 
so  much  slaughter,  and  also  because  he  had 
admitted  to  communion  a  deacon  who  had  been 
found  guilty  of  fornication.^  They  then  depose 
Eleusius  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  for  having  baptized, 
and  afterwards  invested  with  the  diaconate,  a 
priest  of  Hercules  at  Tyre  named  Herachus, 
who  was  known  to  have  practiced  magic  arts.- 
A  like  sentence  was  pronounced  against  Basil, 
or  Basilas,  —  as  he  was  also  called,  —  who  had 
been  constituted  bishop  of  Ancyra  instead  of 
Marcellus  :  the  causes  assigned  for  this  condem- 
nation were,  that  he  had  unjustly  imprisoned  a 


'  Ch.ip.  10.  ">  Chaps.  30,  37. 

8  Chap.  18.  11  Chap.  41. 

»  Chap.  ig.  1  Cf.  Af-ost.  Canon,  XXV. 

'  Cf.  TltHiII.  fie  Idol.  TX.:  Post  evan^eiiiiiit  niiS'juaiH  invetiies 
ant  snphistas,  aiit  Chaldieos,  ant  Incantatores,  ant  Conjectores, 
aut  magos,  nisi  plane  punitos.  See  also  Bingham,  Eccl.  Anita. 
XVI.  5- 


certain  individual,  loaded  him  with  chains,  and 
put  him  to  the  torture  ;  that  he  had  traduced 
some  persons  ;  and  that  he  had  disturbed  the 
churches  of  Africa  by  his  epistles.  Dracontius 
was  also  deposed,  because  he  had  left  the 
Galatian  church  for  that  of  Pergamos.  More- 
over they  deposed,  on  various  pretenses,  Neo- 
nas  bishop  of  Seleucia,  the  city  in  which  the 
Synod  had  been  convened,  Sophronius  of  Pom- 
peiopolis  in  Paphlagonia,  Elpidius  of  Satala,  in 
Macedonia,  and  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  and  others 
for  various  reasons. 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

Of  Eustathius  Bishop  of  Sebastia. 

But  Eustathius  bishop  of  Sebastia  in  Arme- 
nia was  not  even  permitted  to  make  his  defense  ; 
because  he  had   been  long  before  deposed  by 
Eulalius,  his  own  father,  who  was  bishop  of  Caes- 
area   in    Cappadocia,    for    dressing    in   a  style 
unbecoming   the   sacerdotal  office.^     Let  it  be 
noted  that  Meletius  was  appointed  his  successor, 
of  whom  we  shall  hereafter  speak.     Eustathius 
indeed  was  subsequently  condemned  by  a  Synod 
convened  on  his  account  at  Gangra  in  Paphla- 
gonia ;    he    having,  after  his  deposition   by  the 
council  at  Caesarea,  done    many  things    repug- 
nant to  the  ecclesiastical  canons.     For  he  had 
'  forbidden    marriage,'  ^    and    maintained    that 
meats  were  to  be  abstained  from  :  he  even  sep- 
arated many  from   their  wives,  and    persuaded 
those  who  disliked  to  assemble  in  the  churches 
to  commune   at    home.     Under   the    pretext  of 
piety,  he  also  seduced  servants  from  their  mas- 
ters.    He  himself  wore  the  habit  of  a  philoso- 
pher, and  induced  his  followers  to  adopt  a  new 
and  extraordinary  garb,  directing  that  the  hair 
of  women  should  be  cropped.     He    permitted 
the  prescribed  fasts  to  be  neglected,  but  recom- 
mended fasting  on  Sundays.     In  short,  he  for- 
bade prayers    to    be    offered  in  the    houses   of 
married  persons  :  and  declared    that    both   the 
benediction  and  the  communion  of  a  presbyter 
who   continued    to   live   with   a  wife   whom    he 
might   have   lawfully  married,  while   still  a  lay- 
man, ought  to  be  shunned  as  an  abomination. 
For  doing  and  teaching  these   things   and  many 
others  of  a  similar  nature,  a  Synod   convened,  as 
we  have  said,  at  Gangra^  in    Paphlagonia   de- 

'  On  the  prescribed  dress  of  the  clergy,  and  the  puhishment  of 
those  who  did  not  constantly  adopt  it,  see  Bingham,  Eccl.  Antiq. 
VI.  4.  15. 

-  I  Tim.  iv.  3.  Cf.  Eiiseb.  H.  E.  IV.  29,  on  the  earliest  forms 
of  expression  against  marriage  in  the  Christian  Church;  also  Aposi. 
Canon,  LI.  and  Augustine,  Hierr.  XXV.,  XL.,  XLVI.  See  Bing- 
ham, Eccl.  Antiq.  XXII.  I. 

■i  On  Synod  of  Gangra,  see  Hefele,  Hist,  of  the  Ch.  Councils, 
Vol.  II.  p.  325-339.  Almost  all  the  canons  of  the  synod  seem  to  be 
addressed  against  the  te.ichings  of  Eustathius.  The  fourth  canon  is 
expressly  on  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  as  follows:  'If  any  one 
maintains  that,  when  a  married  priest  offer  the  sacrifice,  no  one 
should  take  part  in  the  service,  let  him  be  anathema.' 


II.  45-] 


p:udoxius,  meletius  and  macedonius. 


n 


posed  him,  and  anathematized  his  opinions. 
This,  however,  was  done  afterwards.  But  on 
Macedonius  being  ejected  from  the  see  of  Con- 
stantinople, Eudoxius,  who  now  looked  upon  the 
see  of  Antioch  as  secondary  in  importance,  was 
promoted  to  the  vacant  bishopric  ;  being  conse- 
crated by  the  Acacians,  who  in.  this  instance 
cared  not  to  consider  that  it  was  inconsistent 
with  their  former  proceedings.  For  they  who 
had  deposed  Dracontius  because  of  his  transla- 
tion from  Galatia  to  Pergamos,  were  clearly  act- 
ing in  contrariety  to  their  own  principles  and 
decisions,  in  ordaining  Eudoxius,  who  then  made 
a  second  change.  After  this  they  sent  their 
own  exposition  of  the  faith,  in  its  corrected  and 
supplementary  form,  to  Arminium,  ordering  that 
all  those  who  refused  to  sign  it  should  be  exiled, 
on  the  authority  of  the  emperor's  edict.  They 
also  informed  such  other  prelates  in  the  East  as 
coincided  with  them  in  opinion  of  what  they 
had  done ;  and  more  especially  Patrophilus 
bishop  of  Scythopolis,  who  on  leaving  Seleucia 
had  proceeded  directly  to  his  own  city.  Eudox- 
ius having  been  constituted  bishop  of  the  impe- 
rial city,  the  great  church  named  Sophia  was  at 
that  time  consecrated,^  in  the  tenth  consulate^  of 
Constantius,  and  the  third  of  Julian  Csesar,  on 
the  15  th  day  of  February.  It  was  while  Eu- 
doxius occupied  this  see,  that  he  first  uttered 
that  sentence  which  is  still  everywhere  current, 
'  The  Father  is  impious,  the  Son  is  pious.'  When 
the  people  seemed  startled  by  this  expression, 
and  a  disturbance  began  to  be  made,  '  Be  not 
troubled,'  said  he, '  on  account  of  what  I  have  just 
said  :  for  the  Father  is  impious,  because  he  wor- 
ships no  person ;  but  the  Son  is  pious  because 
he  worships  the  Father.'  Eudoxius  having  said 
this,  the  tumult  was  appeased,  and  great  laugh- 
ter was  excited  in  the  church  :  and  this  saying 
of  his  continues  to  be  a  jest,  even  in  the  present 
day.  The  heresiarchs  indeed  frequently  devised 
such  subtle  phrases  as  these,  and  by  them  rent 
the  church  asunder.  Thus  was  the  Synod  at 
Constantinople  terminated. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

Of  Meletius^  Bishop  0/  Antioch. 

It  becomes  us  now  to  speak  of  Meletius,  who, 
as  we  have  recently  observed,  was  created  bishop 
of  Sebastia  in  Armenia,  after  the  deposition  of 

*  This  was  evidently  the  second  consecration  of  the  earlier  church 
of  St.  Sophia  (cf.  I.  i6,  II.  6) ;  the  first  consecration  was  celebrated 
in  326  A.D.  Later,  the  structure  was  destroyed  in  a  fire,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  popular  uprising;  and  the  great  church  of  St.  Sophia,  at 
present  a  Mohammedan  mosque,  was  erected  by  Justinian,  with 
Isidore  of  Miletus  and  Anthimius  of  Tralles  as  architects. 

^   360  A.D. 

^  The  name  has  been  written  '  Melitius '  thus  far,  but  is  found 
as 'Meletius'  from  this  point,  and  through  Bk.  III.  Cf.  Euseb. 
H.  E.  VII.  32. 


Eustathius ;  from  Sebastia  he  was  transferred  to 
Beroea,  a  city  of  Syria.  Being  present  at  the 
Synod  of  Seleucia,  he  subscribed  the  creed  set 
forth  there  by  Acacius,  and  immediately  re- 
turned thence  to  Beroea.  When  the  convention 
of  the  Synod  at  Constantinople  was  held,  the 
people  of  Antioch  finding  that  Eudoxius,  capti- 
vated by  the  magnificence  of  the  see  of  Con- 
stantinople, had  contemned  their  church,  they 
sent  for  INIeletius,  and  invested  him  with  the 
bishopric  of  the  church  at  Antioch.  Now  he  at 
first  avoided  all  doctrinal  questions,  confining 
his  discourses  to  moral  subjects ;  but  subse- 
quently he  expounded  to  his  auditors  the  Nicene 
creed,  and  asserted  the  doctrine  of  the  homoou- 
sion.  The  emperor  being  informed  of  this, 
ordered  that  he  should  be  sent  into  exile  ;  and 
caused  Euzoius,  who  had  before  been  deposed 
together  with  Arius,  to  be  installed  bishop  of 
Antioch  in  his  stead.  Such,  however,  as  were 
attached  to  Meletius,  separated  themselves  from 
the  Arian  congregation,  and  held  their  assem- 
blies apart :  nevertheless,  those  who  originally 
embraced  the  homoousian  opinion  would  not 
communicate  with  them,  because  Meletius  had 
been  ordained  by  the  Arians,  and  his  adherents 
had  been  baptized  by  them.  Thus  was  the  An- 
tiochian  church  divided,  even  in  regard  to  those 
whose  views  on  matters  of  faith  exactly  corre- 
sponded. Meanwhile  the  emperor  getting  in- 
telligence that  the  Persians  were  preparing  to 
undertake  another  war  against  the  Romans, 
repaired  in  great  haste  to  Antioch. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

The  Heresy  of  Macedonius. 

Macedonius  on  being  ejected  from  Constan- 
tinople, bore  his  condemnation  ill  and  became 
restless ;  he  therefore  associated  himself  with 
the  other  faction  that  had  deposed  Acacius  and 
his  party  at  Seleucia,  and  sent  a  deputation  to 
Sophronius  and  Eleusius,  to  encourage  them  to 
adhere  to  that  creed  which  was  first  promulga- 
ted at  Antioch,  and  afterwards  confirmed  at 
Seleucia,  proposing  to  give  it  the  counterfeit^ 
name  of  the  '  lionioiousian  '  creed.-  By  this 
means  he  drew  around  him  a  great  number  of 
adherents,  who  from  him  are  still  denominated 
'  Macedonians.'  And  altl^ough  such  as  dis- 
sented from  the  Acacians  at  the  Seleucian  Synod 
had  not  previously  used  the  term  homoiousios, 
yet  from  that  period  they  distinctly  asserted  it. 
There  was,  however,  a  popular   report   that  this 

1  7rapa<r7)/no?".  just  as  a  counterfeit  coin  has  the  appearance  of 
the  genuine,  and  is  meant  to  deceive  those  who  do  not  investigate 
its  genuineness,  so  the  term  '  ho»ioiooi(Sios'  (o/iioiooi'o-ioi;),  the 
author  implies,  was  meant  to  deceive  the  popular  ear  by  its  likeness 
to  the  genuine  '  homoonsios' 

2  See  Theodoret,  H.  E.U.6. 


74 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[11-  45- 


term  did  not  originate  with  Macedonius,  but  was 
the  invention  rather  of  Marathonius,  who  a  httle 
before  had  been  set  over  the  church  at  Nicome- 
dia ;  on  which  account  tlie  maintainers  of  this 
doctrine  were  also  called  '  Marathonians.'  To 
this  party  Eustathius  joined  himself,  who  for  the 
reasons  before  stated  had  been  ejected  from  the 
church  at  Sebastia.  But  when  Macedonius 
began  to  deny  the  Divinit}'  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  Trinity,  Eustathius  said  :  '  I  can  neither 
admit  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God,  nor  can 
I  dare  affirm  him  to  be  a  creature.'  For  this 
reason  those  who  hold  the  homootision  of  the 
Son  call  these  heretics  ^  Pneiimatomaclii.''^  By 
what  means  these  Macedonians  became  so 
numerous  in  the  Hellespont,  I  shall  state  in  its 
proper  place.'*  The  Acacians  meanwhile  became 
extremely  anxious  that  another  Synod  should  be 
convened  at  Antioch,  in  consequence  of  having 
changed  their  mind  respecting  their  former 
assertion  of  the  likeness  '  in  all  things '  of  the 
Son  to  the  Father.  A  small  number  of  them 
therefore  assembled  in  the  following  consulate  * 
which  was  that  of  Taurus  and  Florentius,  at 
Antioch  in  Syria,  where  the  emperor  was  at  that 
time  residing,  Euzoius  being  bishop.  A  discus- 
sion was  then  renewed  on  some  of  those  points 
which  they  had  previously  determined,  in  the 
course  of  which  they  declared  that  the  term 
*■  homoios '  ought  to  be  erased  from  the  form  of 
faith  which  had  been  published  both  at  Arimi- 
num  and  Constantinople  ;  and  they  no  longer 
concealed  but  openly  declared  that  the  Son  was 
altogether  unlike  the  Father,  not  merely  in  rela- 
tion to  his  essence,  but  even  as  it  respected  his 
will ;  asserting  boldly  also,  as  Arius  had  already 
done,  that  he  was  made  of  nothing.  Those  in 
that  city  who  favored  the  heresy  of  Aetius,  gave 
their  assent  to  this  opinion  ;  from  which  circum- 
stance in  addition  to  the  general  appellation  of 
Arians,  they  were  also  termed  'Anomoeans,'^and 
*  Exucontians,'  '^  by  those  at  Antioch  who  em- 
braced the  homoousian,  who  nevertheless  were 
at  that  time  divided  among  themselves  on 
account  of  Meletius,  as  I  have  before  observed. 
Being  therefore  questioned  by  them,  how  they 
dared  to  affirm  that  the  Son  is  unlike  the 
Father,  and  has  his  existence  from  nothing,  after 
having  acknowledged  him  '  God  of  God  '  in  their 
former  creed  ?  they  endeavored  to  elude  this 
objection  by  such  fallacious  subterfuges  as  these. 
*The  expression,  "  GAf  of  Go</,'"  '  said  they,  Ms 
to  be  understood  in  the  same  sense  as  the  words 
of  the  apostle,*  "  bui  all  things  of  God"    Where- 


^  ni'eu(xaTo/iia;(oi,  lit.  '  active  enemies  of  the  Spirit.' 

*  I.  4.  T)  j6i  A.u. 

"  'At'onoioi,  because  they  held  that  the  essence  of  the  Son  was 
'  dis-iimilar,'  lii'duoio';,  to  that  of  the  Father. 

'  'Kf  iiKoi'Tioi,  from  the  phrase  ff  oi'jk  oi'Tuf  =  '  from  [things] 
not  existinc,'  because  they  asserted  that  the  Son  was  made  ex 
nihilo.  The  term  might  be  put  roughly  in  some  such  form  as 
'  Fromnothingians.'  *  i  Cor.  xi.  12. 


fore  the  Son  is  of  God,  as  being  one  of  these 
all  things :  and  it  is  for  this  reason  the  words 
"  according  to  the  vScriptures  "  are  added  in  the 
draught  of  the  creed.'  The  author  of  this 
sophism  was  George  bishop  of  Laodicea,  who 
being  unskilled  in  such  phrases,  was  ignorant  of 
the  manner  iij  which  Origen  had  formerly  ex- 
plained these  peculiar  expressions  of  the  apos- 
tle, having  thoroughly  investigated  the  matter. 
But  notwithstanding  these  evasive  cavilings,  they 
were  unable  to  bear  the  reproach  and  contumely 
they  had  drawn  upon  themselves,  and  fell  back 
upon  the  creed  which  they  had  before  put  forth 
at  Constantinople ;  and  so  each  one  retired  to 
his  own  district.  George  returning  to  Alexan- 
dria, resumed  his  authority  over  the  churches 
there,  Athanasius  still  not  having  made  his 
appearance.  Those  in  that  city  who  were 
opposed  to  his  sentiments  he  persecuted ;  and 
conducting  himself  with  great  severity  and 
cruelty,  he  rendered  himself  extremely  odious  to 
the  people.  At  Jerusalem  Arrenius^  was  placed 
over  the  church  instead  of  Cyril :  we  may  also 
remark  that  Heraclius  was  ordained  bishop  there 
after  him,  and  after  him  Hilary.  At  length,  how- 
ever, Cyril  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and  was  again 
invested  with  the  presidency  over  the  church 
there.  About  the  same  time  another  heresy 
sprang  up,  which  arose  from  the  following  cir- 
cumstance. 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 

Of  the  Apollifiarians ,  and  their  Heresy.'^ 

There  were  two  men  of  the  same  name  at 
Laodicea  in  Syria,  a  father  and  son  :  their  name 
was  Apollinaris  ;  the  former  of  them  was  a  pres- 
byter, and  the  latter  a  reader  in  that  church. 
Both  taught  Greek  literature,  the  father  gram- 
mar, and  the  son  rhetoric.  The  father  was  a 
native  of  Alexandria,  and  at  first  taught  at  Bery- 
tus,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Laodicea,  where 
he  married,  and  the  younger  Apollinaris  was 
born.  They  were  contemporaries  of  Epiphanius 
the  sophist,  and  being  true  friends  they  became 
intimate  with  him  ;  but  Theodotus  bishop  of 
Laodicea,  fearing  that  such  communication 
should  pervert  their  principles,  and  lead  them 
into  paganism,  forbade  their  associating  with  him : 
they,  however,  paid  but  little  attention  to  this 
prohibition,  their  familiarity  with  Epiphanius 
being  still  continued.  George,  the  successor  of 
Theodotus,  also  endeavored  to  prevent  their 
conversing  with  Epiphanius  ;  but  not  being  able 
in  any  way  to  persuade  them  on  this  point,  he 
excommunicated    them.      The   younger  ApoUi- 

»  Written  '  Errenius'  in  the  Allat.  MS. 

J  Cf.  Sozom.  VI.  25;  Schaff,  Hist,  of  the  Christ.  Ch.,  Vol.  III. 
p.  708  seq. ;  Walch,  Ketzerliistorie,  III.  p.  119-229. 


II.  47-] 


DEATH    OF    CONSTANTIUS. 


75 


naris  regarding  this  severe  procedure  as  an  act 
of  injustice,  and  relying  on  the  resources  of  his 
rhetorical  sophistry,  originated  a  new  heresy, 
which  was  named  after  its  inventor,  and  still  has 
many  supporters.  Nevertheless  some  affirm  that 
it  was  not  for  the  reason  above  assigned  that 
they  dissented  from  George,  but  because  they 
saw  the  unsettledness  and  inconsistency  of  his 
profession  of  faith ;  since  he  sometimes  main- 
tained that  the  Son  is  like  the  Father,  in  accord- 
ance v/ith  what  had  been  determined  in  the 
Synod  at  Seleucia,  and  at  other  times  counte- 
nanced the  Arian  view.  They  therefore  made 
this  a  pretext  for  separation  from  him  :  but  as 
no  one  followed  their  example,  they  introduced 
a  new  form  of  doctrine,  and  at  first  they  asserted 
that  in  the  economy  of  the  incarnation,  God  the 
^^'ord  assumed  a  human  body  without  a  soul. 
Afterwards,  as  if  changing  mind,  they  retracted, 
admitting  that  he  took  a  soul  indeed,  but  that 
it  was  an  irrational  one,  God  the  Word  himself 
being  in  the  place  of  a  mind.  Those  who  fol- 
lowed them  and  bear  their  name  at  this  day  af- 
firm that  th'is  is  their  only  point  of  distinction 
[from  the  Catholics]  ;  for  they  recognize  the 
consubstantiality  of  the  persons  in  the  Trinity. 
But  we  will  make  further  mention  of  the  two 
Apollinares  in  the  proper  place. ^ 

=  III.  i6. 


CHAPTER   XLVIL 

Successes   of  Julian ;    Death    of  the   Emperor 
Constantius. 

While  the  Emperor  Constantius  continued  his 
residence  at  Antioch,  Julian  Csesar  engaged  with 
an  immense  army  of  barbarians  in  the  Gauls, 
and  obtaining  the  victory  over  them,  he  became 
extremely  popular  among  the  soldiery  and  was 
proclaimed  emperor  by  them.  When  this  was 
made  known,  the  Emperor  Constantius  was  af- 
fected, most  painfully  ;  he  was  therefore  baptized 
by  Euzoius,  and  immediately  prepared  to  un- 
dertake an  expedition  against  Julian.  On  arriv- 
ing at  the  frontiers  of  Cappadocia  and  Cilicia, 
his  excessive  agitation  of  mind  produced  apo- 
plexy, which  terminated  his  life  at  Mopsucrene, 
in  the  consulate  of  Taurus  and  Florentius,^  on 
the  3d  of  November.  This  was  in  the  first  year 
of  the  285th  Olympiad.  Constantius  had  lived 
forty-five  years,  having  reigned  thirty-eight  years  ; 
thirteen  of  which  he  was  his  father's  colleague 
in  the  empire,  and  after  his  father's  death  for 
twenty-five  years  [sole  emperor],  the  history  of 
which  latter  period  is  contained  in  this  book. 


1   361   A.D. 


END   OF   THE   SECOND    BOOK. 


BOOK    III. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Of  Julian ;  his  Lineage  and  Education ;  his 
Elevation  to  the  Throne;  his  Apostasy  to 
Paganism. 

The  Emperor  Constantius  died  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Cilicia  on  the  3d  of  November,  during 
the  consulate  of  Taurus  and  Florentius ;  JuUan 
leaving  the  western  parts  of  the  empire  about 
the    nth    of  December    following,   under    the 
same  consulate,  came  to  Constantinople,  where 
he  was  proclaimed  emperor.^      And  as  I  must 
needs  speak  of  the  character  of  this  prince  who 
was  eminently  distinguished  for  his  learning,  let 
not  his  admirers  expect  that  I  should  attempt  a 
pompous  rhetorical  st^le,  as  if  it  were  necessary 
to  make   the   delineation    correspond  with    the 
dignity  of  the  subject :   for  my  object  being  to 
compile  a  history  of  the  Christian  religion,  it  is 
both  proper  in  order  to  the  being  better  under- 
stood, and  consistent  with  my  original  purpose, 
to    maintain    a    humble    and    unaffected    style." 
However,   it   is   proper  to  describe  his  person, 
birth,  education,  and   the   manner  in  which  he 
became    possessed  of  the  sovereignty;    and  in 
order  to  do  this  it  will  be  needful  to  enter  into 
some  antecedent  details.     Constantine  who  gave 
Byzantium   his   own   name,    had   two    brothers 
named  Dalmatius  and  Constantius,  the  offspring 
of  the  same  father,  but  by  a  different  mother. 
The   former   of  these  had  a  son  who  bore  his 
own  name  :  the  latter  had  two  sons,  Gallus  and 
Julian.     Now  as  on   the   death   of  Constantine 
who  founded  Constantinople,  the  soldiery  had 
put  the  younger  brother  Dalmatius  to  death,  the 
lives  of  his  two  orphan  children  were  also  en- 
dangered :  but  a  disease  which  threatened  to  be 
fatal  preserved  Cxallus  from  the  violence  of  his 
father's    murderers ;    while    the    tenderness    of 
JuUan's  age  —  for  he  was  only  eight  years  old 
at  the  time  —  protected   him.      The   emperor's 
jealousy  toward  them  having  been  gradually  sub- 
dued, Gallus  attended  the  schools  at  Ephesus  in 
Ionia,  in  which  country  considerable  hereditary 
possessions  had   been  left  them.      And  Julian, 
when  he  was  grown  up,  pursued  his  studies  at 

'  De'cember,  361  A.D.  This  proclamation  must  be  distinguished 
from  the  one  in  Gaul  (H.  47);  the  latter  was  the  proclamation  by 
the  army,  and  occurred  during  the  lifetime  of  Constantius. 

2  Cf.  I.  I. 


Constantinople,  going  constantly  to  the  palace, 
where  the  schools  then  were,  in  plain  clothes, 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  eunuch   Mar- 
donius.     In  grammar  Nicocles  the  Lacsedemo- 
nian   was    his    instructor ;     and    Ecebolius    the 
Sophist,  who  was  at  that  time  a  Christian,  taught 
him  rhetoric  :    for  the  emperor  had    made  the 
provision  that  he  should  have  no  pagan  masters, 
lest  he  should  be  seduced  to  the  pagan  supersti- 
tions.    For  Julian  was  a  Christian  at  the  begin- 
ning.    His  proficiency  in  literature  soon  became 
so  remarkable,  that  it  began  to  be  said  that  he 
was  capable  of  governing  the  Roman  empire  ; 
and  this  popular  rumor  becoming  generally  dif- 
fused, greatly  disquieted  the    emperor's    mind, 
so  that  he   had   him   removed   from   the  Great 
City  to  Nicomedia,  forbidding  him  at  the  same 
time    to    frequent    the    school    of  Libanius    the 
Syrian  Sophist.    For  Libanius  having  been  driven 
at  that  time  from  Constantinople,  by  a  combi- 
nation of  the   educators   there,   had    retired  to 
Nicomedia,  where  he  opened  a  school.      Here 
he  gave  vent  to  his  indignation  against  the  edu- 
cators   in    the  treatise   he  composed   regarding 
them.     Julian  was,  however,  interdicted  from  be- 
ing his  auditor,  because  Libanius  was  a  pagan 
in  religion  :  nevertheless  he  privately  procured 
his  orations,  which  he  not  only  greatly  admired, 
but  also  frequently  and  with  close  study  perused. 
As  he  was  becoming  very  expert  in  the  rhetori- 
cal   art,    Maximus    the    philosopher    arrived    at 
Nicomedia  (not  the  Byzantine,  Euclid's  father) 
but  the  Ephesian,  whom  the  emperor  Valentin- 
ian    afterwards    caused   to   be    executed    as    a 
practicer  of  magic.     This  took  place  later  ;  at 
that  time  the  oiily  thing  that  attracted  him  to 
Nicomedia  was  the  fame  of  Julian.     From  him\ 
[Julian]  received,  in  addition  to  the  principles  \ 
of  jjhilosophy,  his  own  religious  sentiments,  and_j 
a  desire  to  possess  the   empire.     When  these 
things  reached  the  ears  of  the  emperor,  Julian, 
between  hope  and  fear,  became  very  anxious  to 
lull  the  suspicions  which   had  been   awakened, 
and  therefore  began  to  assume  the  external  sem- 
blance of  what  he  once  was  in  reality.     He  was 
shaved  to  the  very  skin,''  and  pretended  to  live 
a  monastic  life  :  and  while  in  private  he  pursued 
his  philosophical  studies,  in  public  he  read  the 
sacred  writings  of  the  Christians,  and  moreover 


'  See  Bingham,  Eccl.  Antiq.  VI.  4,  end. 


III.  1.] 


EARLY    CAREER    OF   JULIAN. 


n 


was  constituted  a  reader*  in  the  church  of  Nico- 
media.  Thus  by  these  specious  pretexts  he  suc- 
ceeded in  averting  the  emperor's  displeasure. 
Now  he  did  all  this  from  fear,  but  he  by  no 
means  abandoned  his  hope  ;  telling  his  friends 
that  happier  times  were  not  far  distant,  when  he 
should  possess  the  imperial  sway.  In  this  con- 
dition of  things  his  brother  Gallus  having  been 
created  Caesar,  on  his  way  to  the  East  came  to 
Nicomedia  to  see  him.  But  when  not  long  after 
this  Gallus  was  slain,  Julian  was  suspected  by 
the  emperor ;  wherefore  he  directed  that  a 
guard  should  be  set  over  him  :  he  soon,  however, 
found  means  of  escaping  from  them,  and  fleeing 
from  place  to  place  he  managed  to  be  in  safety. 
At  last  the  Empress  Eusebia  having  discovered 
his  retreat,  persuaded  the  emperor  to  leave  him 
uninjured,  and  permit  him  to  go  to  Athens  to 
pursue  his  philosophical  studies.  From  thence  — 
to  be  brief —  the  emperor  recalled  him,  and  after 
created  him  Caesar  ;  in  addition  to  this,  uniting 
him  in  marriage  to  his  own  sister  Helen,  he  sent 
him  against  the  barbarians.  For  the  barbarians 
whom  the  Emperor  Constantius  had  engaged  as 
auxiliary  forces  against  the  tyrant  Magnentius, 
having  proved  of  no  use  against  the  usurper,  were 
beginning  to   pillage    the    Roman  cities.      And 

/"inasmuch   as   he  was  young  he  ordered  him  to 

[    undertake  nothing  without  consulting  the  other 

V   military  chiefs. 

Now  these  generals  having  obtained  such  au- 
thority, became  lax  in  their  duties,  and  the  bar- 
barians in  consequence  strengthened  themselves. 
Julian  perceiving  this  allowed  the  commanders 
to  give  themselves  up  to  luxury  and  revelling, 
but  exerted  himself  to  infuse  courage  into  the 
soldiery,  offering  a  stipulated  reward  to  any  one 
who  should  kill  a  barbarian.  This  measure  ef- 
fectually weakened  the  enemy  and  at  the  same 
time  conciliated  to  himself  the  affections  of  the 
army.  It  is  reported  that  as  he  was  entering 
a  town  a  civic  crown  which  was  suspended  be- 
tween two  pillars  fell  upon  his  head,  which  it 
exactly  fitted  :  upon  which  all  present  gave  a 
shout  of  admiration,  regarding  it  as  a  presage 
of  his  one  day  becoming  emperor.     Some  have 

I  affirmed  that  Constantius  sent  him  against  the 
barbarians,  in  the  hope  that  he  would  perish  in 
an  engagement  with  them.  .  I  know  not  whether 
those  who  say  this  speak  the  truth  ;  but  it  cer- 
tainly is  improbable  that  he  should  have  first 
contracted  so  near  an  alliance  with  him,  and 
then  have  sought  his  destruction  to  the  prejudice 
of  his  own  interests.  Let  each  form  his  own 
judgment  of  the  matter.  Julian's  complaint  to 
the  emperor  of  the  inertness  of  his  military  offi- 
cers procured  for  him  a  coadjutor  in  the  com- 

*  The  '  reader,'  ai^a-yi'toa-Tr;?,  lector,  was  commonly  a  young 
man  possessed  of  a  good  voice,  who  read  the  Scriptures  from  the 
pulpit  or  reading-desk  (not  the  altar).  Bennett,  Christ.  Archceol. 
P-  374- 


mand  more  in  sympathy  with  his  own  ardor ; 
and  by  their  combined  efforts  such  an  assault 
was  made  upon  the  barbarians,  that  they  sent 
him  an  embassy,  assuring  him  that  they  had 
been  ordered  by  the  emperor's  letters,  which 
were  produced,  to  march  into  the  Roman  terri- 
tories. But  he  cast  the  ambassador  into  prison, 
and  vigorously  attacking  the  forces  of  the  en- 
emy, totally  defeated  them ;  and  having  taken 
their  king  prisoner,  he  sent  him  alive  to  Con- 
stantius. Immediately  after  this  brilliant  success 
he  was  proclaimed  emperor  by  the  soldiers ; 
and  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  imperial  crown 
at  hand,  one  of  his  guards  took  the  chain  which 
he  wore  about  his  own  neck,  and  bound  it 
around  Julian's  head.  Thus  Juhan  became  em- 
peror :  but  whether  he  subsequently  conducted 
himself  as  became  a  philosopher,  let  my  readers 
determine.  For  he  neither  entered  into  com- 
munication with  Constantius  by  an  embassy,  nor 
paid  him  the  least  homage  in  acknowledgment 
of  past  favors ;  but  constituting  other  governors 
over  the  provinces,  he  conducted  everything  just 
as  it  pleased  him.  Moreover,  he  sought  to  bring 
Constantius  into  contempt,  by  reciting  publicly 
in  every  city  the  letters  which  he  had  written  to 
the  barbarians ;  and  thus  having  rendered  the 
inhabitants  of  these  places  disaffected,  they  were 
easily  induced  to  revolt  from  Constantius  to 
himself.  After  this  he  no  longer  wore  the  mask 
of  Christianity,  but  everywhere  opened  the  pagan 
temples,  offering  sacrifice  to  the  idols  ;  and  des- 
ignating himself  '  Pontifex  Maximus,'^  gave  per- 
mission to  such  as  would  to  celebrate  their 
superstitious  festivals.  In  this  manner  he  man- 
aged to  excite  a  civil  war  against  Constantius ; 
and  thus,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  he  would 
have  involved  the  empire  in  all  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  a  war.  For  this  philosopher's 
aim  could  not  have  been  attained  without  much 
bloodshed  :  but  God,  in  the  sovereignty  of  his 
own  councils,  checked  the  fury  of  these  antago- 
nists without  detriment  to  the  state,  by  the  re- 
moval of  one  of  them.  For  when  Julian  arrived 
among  the  Thracians,  intelligence  was  brought 
him  that  Constantius  was  dead ;  and  thus  was 
the  Roman  empire  at  that  time  preserved  from 
the  intestine  strife  that  threatened  it.  Julian 
forthwith  made  his  public  entry  into  Constanti- 
nople ;  and  considered  with  himself  how  he 
might  best  conciliate  the  masses  and  secure 
popular  favor.  Accordingly  he  had  recourse  to 
the  following  measures  :  he  knew  that  Constan- 
tius had  rendered  himself  odious  to  the  de- 
fenders of  the  homoousian  faith  by  having  driven 
them  from  the  churches,  and  proscribed  their 
bishops.*'     He  was  also  aware  that  the  pagans 

s  See  Smith,  Did.  of  Greek  and  Rom.  Atiiig.  See  also,  on 
sacrificing  to  idols  as  a  sign  of  apostacy,  Bingham,  Eccl.  Antig. 
XVI.  iv.  5.  »  See  II.  7,  13,  16,  &c. 


\ 


78 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[HI.   I. 


were  extremely  discontented  because  of  the  pro- 
hibitions which  prevented  their  sacrificing  to 
their  gods,  and  were  very  anxious  to  get  their 
temples  opened,  with  liberty  to  exercise  their 
idolatrous  rites.  In  fact,  he  was  sensible  that 
while  both  these  classes  secretly  entertained 
rancorous  feelings  against  his  predecessor,  the 
people  in  general  were  exceedingly  exasperated 
by  the  violence  of  the  eunuchs,  and  especially 
by  the  rapacity  of  Eusebius  the  chief  officer  of 
the  imperial  bed-chamber.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances he  treated  all  parties  with  subtlety  : 
with  some  he  dissimulated  ;  others  he  attached 
to  himself  by  conferring  obligations  upon  them, 
for  he  was  fond  of  affecting  beneficence  ;  but 
to  all  in  common  he  manifested  his  own  predi- 
lection for  the  idolatry  of  the  heathens.  And 
first  in  order  to  brand  the  memory  of  Constan- 
tius  by  making  him  appear  to  have  been  cruel 
toward  his  subjects,  he  recalled  the  exiled  bish- 
ops, and  restored  to  them  their  confiscated  es- 
tates. He  next  commanded  the  suitable  agents 
to  see  that  the  pagan  temples  should  be  opened 
without  delay.  Then  he  directed  that  such  in- 
dividuals as  had  been  victims  of  the  extortionate 
conduct  of  the  eunuchs,  should  receive  back  the 
property  of  which  they  had  been  plundered. 
Eusebius,  the  chief  of  the  imperial  bed-chamber, 
he  punished  with  death,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  injuries  he  had  inflicted  on  others,  but  be- 
cause he  was  assured  that  it  was  through  his 
machinations  that  his  brother  Gallus  had  been 
killed.  The  body  of  Constantius  he  honored 
with  an  imperial  funeral,  but  expelled  the  eu- 
nuchs, barbers,  and  cooks  from  the  palace.  The 
eunuchs  he  dispensed  with,  because  they  were 
unnecessary  in  consequence  of  his  wife's  de- 
cease, as  he  had  resolved  not  to  marry  again  ; 
the  cooks,  because  he  maintained  a  very  simple 
table ;  and  the  barbers,  because  he  said  one  was 
sufficient  for  a  great  many  persons.  These  he  dis- 
missed for  the  reasons  given  ;  he  also  reduced 
the  majority  of  the  secretaries  to  tlieir  former 
condition,  and  appointed  for  those  who  were 
retained  a  salary  befitting  their  office.  The  mode 
of  public  traveling  "^  and  conveyance  of  neces- 
saries he  also  reformed,  abolishing  the  use  of 
mules,  oxen,  and  asses  for  this  purpose,  and  per- 
mitting horses  only  to  be  so  employed.  These 
various  retrenchments  were  highly  lauded  by 
some  few,  but  strongly  reprobated  by  all  others, 
as  tending  to  bring  the  imperial  dignity  into 
contempt,  by  stripping  it  of  those  appendages 
of  pomp  and  magnificence  which  exercise  so 
powerful  an  influence  over  the  minds  of  the 
vulgar.  Not  only  so,  but  at  night  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  sit  up  composing  orations  which  he 


'  It  is  difficult  to  determine  in  what  particulars  the  improvements 
mentioned  here  were  made.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Coutrn  Julinnuiii, 
1.  Ixxv.,  confesses  that  Julian  had  made  reforms  in  the  matter. 


afterwards  delivered  in  the  senate  :  though  in 
fact  he  was  the  first  and  only  emperor  since  the 
time  of  Julius  C?esar  who  made  speeches  in  that 
assembly.  To  those  who  were  eminent  for  lit- 
erary attainments,  he  extended  the  most  flatter- 
ing patronage,  and  especially  to  those  who  were 
professional  philosophers ;  in  consequence  of 
which,  abundance  of  pretenders  to  learning  of 
this  sort  resorted  to  the  palace  from  all  quarters, 
wearing  their  palliums,  being  more  conspicuous 
for  their  costume  than  their  erudition.  These 
impostors,  who  invariably  adopted  the  religious 
sentiments  of  their  prince,  were  all  inimical  to 
the  welfare  of  the  Christians  ;  and  Julian  him- 
self, whose  excessive  vanity  prompted  him  to  Vv 
deride  all  his  predecessors  in  a  book  which  he  |) 
wrote  entitled  The  Ccesars,  was  led  by  the  same  f 
haughty  disposition  to  compose  treatises  against 
the  Christians  also.**  The  expulsion  of  the  cooks  M 
and  barbers  is  in  a  manner  becoming  a  philoso-  (I 
pher  indeed,  but  not  an  emperor  ;  but  ridiculing 
and  caricaturing  of  others  is  neither  the  part  of 
the  philosopher  nor  that  of  the  emperor  :  for 
such  personages  ought  to  be  superior  to  the  in- 
fluence of  jealousy  and  detraction.  An  em- 
peror may  be  a  philosopher  in  all  that  regards 
moderation  and  self-control ;  but  should  a  phi- 
losopher attempt  to  imitate  what  might  become 
an  emperor,  he  would  frequently  depart  from 
his  own  principles.  We  have  thus  briefly  spoken 
of  the  Emperor  Julian,  tracing  his  extraction, 
education,  temper  of  mind,  and  the  way  in 
which  he  became  invested  with  the  imperial 
power. 


CHAPTER   H. 

Of  the  Sedition  excited  at  Alexandria,  and  how 
George  was  s/aiii. 

It  is  now  proper  to  mention  what  took  place 
in  the  churches  under  the  same  [emperor].  A 
great  disturbance  occurred  at  Alexandria  in  con- 
sequence of  the  following  circumstance.  There 
was  a  place  in  that  city  which  had  long  been 
abandoned  to  neglect  and  filth,  wherein  the 
pagans  had  formerly  celebrated  their  m)  steries, 
and  sacrificed  human  beings  to  Mithra.'  This 
being  empty  and  otherwise  useless,  Constantius 
had  granted  to  the  church  of  the  Alexandrians ; 
and  George  wishing  to  erect  a  church  on  the 
site  of  it,  gave  directions  that  the  place  should 
be  cleansed.  In  the  process  of  clearing  it,  an 
adytum-  of  vast  depth  was  discovered  which 
unveiled   the   nature  of  their    heathenish   rites  : 


*  See  chap.  23. 

'  The  friendly  or  propitious  divinity  of  the  Persian  theology; 
hence  identified  with  the  light  and  life-giving  sun. 

-  The  secret  or  innermost  sanctuary  of  the  temple,  where  none 
but  priests  were  permitted  to  enter;  afterwards  applied  to  any  secret 
phice. 


f 


III.  3.] 


JULIAN    REBUKES    THE    ALEXANDRIANS. 


79 


for  there  were  found  there  the  skulls  of  many 
persons  of  all  ages,  who  were  said  to  have  been 
immolated  for  the  purpose  of  divination  by  the 
inspection  of  entrails,  when  the  pagans  per- 
formed these  and  such  like  magic  arts  whereby 
they  enchanted  the  souls  of  men.  The  Chris- 
tians on  discovering  these  abominations  in  the 
adytum  of  the  Mithreum,  went  forth  eagerly  to 
expose  them  to  the  view  and  execration  of  all ; 
and  therefore  carried  the  skulls  throughout  the 
city,  in  a  kind  of  triumphal  procession,  for  the 
inspection  of  the  people.  When  the  pagans 
of  Alexandria  beheld  this,  unable  to  bear  the 
insulting  character  of  the  act,  they  became  so 
exasperated,  that  they  assailed  the  Christians 
with  whatever  weapon  chanced  to  come  to 
hand,  in  their  fury  destroying  numbers  of  them 
in  a  variety  of  ways  :  some  they  killed  with  the 
sword,  others  with  clubs  and  stones ;  some  they 
strangled  with  ropes,  others  they  crucified,  pur- 
posely inflicting  this  last  kind  of  death  in  con- 
tempt of  the  cross  of  Christ :  most  of  them  they 
wounded  ;  and  as  it  generally  happens  in  such 
a  case,  neither  friends  nor  relatives  were  spared, 
but  friends,  brothers,  parents,  and  children 
imbrued  their  hands  in  each  other's  blood. 
Wherefore  the  Christians  ceased  from  cleans- 
ing the  Mithreum  :  the  pagans  meanwhile  having 
dragged  George  out  of  the  church,  fastened  him 
to  a  camel,  and  when  they  had  torn  him  to 
pieces,  they  burnt  him  together  with  the  camel." 

CHAPTER   III. 

The    Emperor  Indignant  at   the   2Ii/rder   pf 
George,  rebukes  the  Alexa?idrians  by  Letter. 

The  emperor  being  highly  indignant  at  the 
assassination  of  George,  wrote  to  the  citizens  of 
Alexandria,  rebuking  their  violence  in  the  strong- 
est terms.  A  report  was  circulated  that  those 
who  detested  him  because  of  Athanasius,  perpe- 
trated this  outrage  upon  George  :  but  as  for  me 
I  think  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  such  as  cher- 
ish hostile  feelings  against  particular  individuals 
are  often  found  identified  with  popular  commo- 
tions ;  yet  the  emperor's  letter  evidently  at- 
taches the  blame  to  the  populace,  rather  than 
to  any  among  the  Christians.  George,  however, 
was  at  that  time,  and  had  for  some  time  previ- 
ously been,  exceedingly  obnoxious  to  all  classes, 
which  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  burning 
indignation  of  the  multitude  against  him.  That 
the  emperor  charges  the  people  with  the  crime 
may  be  seen  from  his  letter  which  was  expressed 
in  the  following  terms. 

2  This  George  js,  according  to  some  authorities,  the  St.  George  of 
the  legend.  In  its  Arian  form  the  legend  represents  St.  George  as 
warring  against  the  wizard  Athanasius;  later,  the  wizard  was  trans- 
formed to  a  dragon,  and  George  to  an  armed  knight  slaying  the 
dragon.  On  other  forms  and  features  of  the  legend,  see  Smith  & 
Wace,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Biog.,  Georgius  (43). 


Emperor   Cccsar  yiilian  Maximus  Augustus  to 
the  Citizens  of  Alexa7idria} 

Even  if  you  have  neither  respect  for  Alexan- 
der the  founder  of  your  city,  nor,  what  is  more, 
for  that  great   and  most  holy  god  Serapis  ;  yet 
how  is  it  you   have  made  no  account  not  only 
of  the  universal  claims  of  humanity  and  social 
order,  but  also  of  what  is  due  to  us,  to  whom 
all  the  gods,  and  especially  the  mighty  Serapis, 
have    assigned   the    empire    of  the   world,    for 
whose   cognizance  therefore  it  became   you  to 
reserve  all  matters  of  public  wrong?     But  per- 
haps the  impulse  of  rage  and  indignation,  which 
taking  possession  of  the  mind,  too  often  stimulate 
it  to  the  most  atrocious  acts,  has  led  you  astray. 
It  seems,  however,  that  when  your  fury  had  in 
some  degree  moderated,  you  aggravated  your 
culpability  by  adding  a  most  heinous  offense  to 
that  which  had  been  committed  under  the  ex- 
citement  of  the   moment  :    nor   were    you,   al- 
though but  the   common  people,   ashamed   to 
perpetrate  those  very  acts  on  account  of  which 
you  justly  detested  them.     By  Serapis  I  conjure 
you  tell  me,  for  what  unjust  deed  were  ye  so 
indignant  at  George  ?     You  will  perhaps  answer, 
it  was   because   he   exasperated   Constantius  of 
blessed  memory  against  you  :  because  he  intro- 
duced an  army  into   the    sacred   city  :  because 
in    consequence    the    governor^    of   Egypt    de- 
spoiled the  god's  most  holy  temple  of  its  images, 
votive    offerings,    and    such   other    consecrated 
apparatus  as  it  contained  ;  who,  when  ye  could 
not  endure  the  sight  of  such  a  foul  desecration, 
but  attempted  to  defend  the  god  from  sacrile- 
gious hands,  or  rather  to  hinder  the  pillage  of 
what  had  been  consecrated    to   his  service,  in 
contravention  of  all  justice,  law,  and  piety,  dared 
to    send    armed    bands    against    you.     This    he 
probably  did  from  his  dreading  George  more 
than  Constantius  :  but  he  would  have  consulted 
better  for  his  own  safety  had  he  not  been  guilty 
of  this  tyrannical  conduct,  but  persevered  in  his 
former    moderation  toward   you.     Being  on  all 
these  accounts  enraged  against   George  as  the 
adversary  of  the  gods,  you  have  again  polluted 
your  sacred  city ;  whereas  you  ought  to  have 
impeached  him  before  the  judges.     For  had  you 
thus  acted,  neither  murder,  nor  any  other  unlaw- 
ful deed  would  have  been  committed ;  but  jus- 
tice being  equitably  dispensed,  would  have  pre- 
served  you    innocent  of  these    disgraceful   ex- 
cesses, while  it  brought  on  him  the  punishment 
due  to  his  impious  crimes.     Thus  too,  in  short, 
the  insolence  of  those  would  have  been  curbed 
who   contemn   the    gods,    and   respect    neither 
cities  of  such  magnitude,  nor  so  flourishing  a 

'  Julian,  Ep.  10. 

-  Artemius,  whom  the  Emperor  Julian  afterwards  beheaded  for 
desecrating  the  pagan  temple. 


8o 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[III.  3. 


population ;  but  make  the  barbarities  they  prac- 
tice against  them  the  prelude,  as  it  were,  of 
their  exercise  of  power.  Compare  therefore 
this  my  present  letter,  with  that  which  I  wrote 
you  some  time  since.  With  what  high  commen- 
dation did  I  then  greet  you  !  But  now,  by  the 
immortal  gods,  with  an  equal  disposition  to 
praise  you  I  am  unable  to  do  so  on  account  of 
your  heinous  misdoings.  The  people  have  had 
the  audacity  to  tear  a  man  in  pieces,  like  dogs ; 
nor  have  they  been  subsequently  ashamed  of 
this  inhuman  procedure,  nor  desirous  of  purify- 
ing their  hands  from  such  pollution,  that  they 
may  stretch  them  forth  in  the  presence  of  the 
gods  undefiled  by  blood.  You  will  no  doubt  be 
ready  to  say  that  George  justly  merited  this 
chastisement ;  and  we  might  be  disposed  per- 
haps to  admit  that  he  deserved  still  more  acute 
tortures.  Should  you  farther  affirm  that  on  your 
account  he  was  worthy  of  these  sufferings,  even 
this  might  also  be  granted.  But  should  you  add 
that  it  became  you  to  inflict  the  vengeance  due 
to  his  offenses,  that  I  could  by  no  means  acquiesce 
in  ;  for  you  have  laws  to  which  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  one  of  you  to  be  subject,  and  to  evince 
your  respect  for  both  publicly,  as  well  as  in  pri- 
vate. If  any  individual  should  transgress  those 
wise  and  salutary  regulations  which  were  origi- 
nally constituted  for  the  well-being  of  the  com- 
munity, does  that  absolve  the  rest  from  obedience 
to  them  ?  It  is  fortunate  for  you,  ye  Alexandri- 
ans, that  such  an  atrocity  has  been  perpetrated 
in  our  reign,  who,  by  reason  of  our  reverence 
for  the  gods,  and  on  account  of  our  grandfather 
and  uncle  '^  whose  name  we  bear,  and  who  gov- 
erned Egypt  and  your  city,  still  retain  a  fraternal 
affection  for  you.  Assuredly  that  power  which 
will  not  suffer  itself  to  be  disrespected,  and  such 
a  government  as  is  possessed  of  a  vigorous  and 
healthy  constitution,  could  not  connive  at  such 
unbridled  licendousness  in  its  subjects,  without 
unsparingly  purging  out  the  dangerous  distemper 
by  the  application  of  remedies  sufficiently  potent. 
We  shall  however  in  your  case,  for  the  reasons 
already  assigned,  restrict  ourselves  to  the  more 
mild  and  gentle  medicine  of  remonstrance  and 
exhortation ;  to  the  which  mode  of  treatment 
we  are  persuaded  ye  will  the  more  readily  sub- 
mit, inasmuch  as  we  understand  ye  are  Greeks 
by  original  descent,  and  also  still  preserve  in 
your  memory  and  character  the  traces  of  the 
glory  of  your  ancestors.  Let  this  be  published 
to  our  citizens  of  Alexandria. 

Such  was  the  emperor's  letter. 


2  Philostorgius  (VII.  10)  calls  this  Julian  '  the  governor  of  the 
East,  who  was  the  uncle  on  the  maternal  side  of  Julian  the  Apos- 
tate.' Sozomcn  also  (V.  7  and  8)  and  Thcodoret  (//.  E.  III. 
12,  13)  furnish  information  regarding  him,  as  well  as  Ammianus 
Marcellius  XXIII.  i.  Cf  also  Julian,  Epist.  XIII.  (Spanheim,  p. 
382). 


CHAPTER    IV. 

On  the  Death  of  George,  Athanasius  returns  to 
Alexandria,  and  takes  Possessiofi  of  his 
See. 

Not  long  after  this,  Athanasius  returning  from 
his  exile,  was  received  with  great  joy  by  the 
people  of  Alexandria.  They  expelled  at  that 
time  the  Arians  from  the  churches,  and  restored 
Athanasius  to  the  possession  of  them.  The 
Arians  meanwhile  assembling  themselves  in  low 
and  obscure  buildings,  ordained  Lucius  to  supply 
the  place  of  George.  Such  was  the  state  of 
things  at  that  time  at  Alexandria. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Of  Lucifer  and  Eusebius. 

About  the  same  time  Lucifer  and  Eusebius^ 
were  by  an  imperial  order,  recalled  from  banish- 
ment out  of  the  Upper  Thebais ;  the  former 
being  bishop  of  Carala,  a  city  of  Sardinia,  the 
latter  of  Vercellas,  a  city  of  the  Ligurians  in  Italy, 
as  I  have  said"  previously.  These  two  prelates 
therefore  consulted  together  on  the  most  effectual 
means  of  preventing  the  neglected  canons^  and 
discipline  of  the  church  from  being  in  future 
violated  and  despised. 


CHAPTER   VL 

Lucifer  goes  to  Antioch   and  consecrates   Pau- 

linus. 

It  was  decided  therefore  that  Lucifer  should 
go  to  Antioch  in  Syria,  and  Eusebius  to  Alexan- 
dria, that  by  assembling  a  Synod  in  conjunction 
with  Athanasius,  they  might  confirm  the  doc- 
trines of  the  church.  Lucifer  sent  a  deacon 
as  his  representative,  by  whom  he  pledged  him- 
self to  assent  to  whatever  the  Synod  might 
decree  ;  but  he  himself  went  to  Antioch,  where 
he  found  the  church  in  great  disorder,  the  people 
not  being  agreed  among  themselves.  For  not 
only  did  the  Arian  heresy,  which  had  been  intro- 
duced by  Euzoius,  divide  the  church,  but,  as  we 
before  said,'  the  followers  of  Meletius  also,  from 
attachment  to  their  teacher,  separated  them- 
selves from  those  with  whom  they  agreed  in 
sentiment.  When  therefore  Lucifer  had  consti- 
tuted Paulinus  their  bishop,  he  again  departed. 


1  Theodoret,  H.  E.  III.  4,  mentions  Hilarius,  Astenius,  and 
sorne  other  bishops  who  were  at  this  time  recalled  from  exile  by 
Julian's  edict,  and  joined  Lucifer  and  Eusebius  in  these  delibera- 
tions about  restoring  the  authority  of  the  canons  and  correcting 
abuses  in  the  church. 

=  Cf  II.  36. 

•''  More  especially  the  canons  of  the  Council  of  Nicaea. 

1  II.  44- 


III.  7.] 


SYNOD    OF   ALEXANDRIA. 


81 


CHAPTER   VII. 

By  the  Co-operation  of  Eiisebiiis  and  Athanasius 
a  Synod  is  held  at  Alexandria,  7V  he  rein  the 
Trinity  is  declared  to  be  Consubstantial. 

As  sooa  as  Eusebius  reached  Alexandria,  he 
in  concert  with  Athanasius  immediately  convoked 
a  Synod.  The  bishops  assembled  on  this  occa- 
sion out  of  various  cities,  took  into  consideration 
many  subjects  of  the  utmost  importance.  They 
^^asserted  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit^  and 
comprehended  him  in  the  consubstantial  Trinity  : 
they  also  declared  that  the  Word  in  being  made 
man,  assumed  not  only  flesh,  but  also  a  soul,  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  the  early  ecclesias- 
tics. For  they  did  not  introduce  any  new  doc- 
trine of  their  own  devising  into  the  church, 
but  contented  themselves  with  recording  their 
sanction  of  those  points  which  ecclesiastical  tra- 
dition has  insisted  on  from  the  beginning,  and 
wise  Christians  have  demonstratively  taught. 
Such  sentiments  the  ancient  fathers  have  uni- 
formly maintained  in  all  their  controversial  writ- 
ings. Irenjeus,  Clemens,  Apollinaris  of  Hierapolis, 
and  Serapion  who  presided  over  the  church  at 
Antioch,  assure  us  in  their  several  works,  that  it 
was  the  generally  received  opinion  that  Christ 
in  his  incarnation  was  endowed  with  a  soul. 
Moreover,  the  Synod  convened  on  account  of 
Beryllus^  bishop  of  Philadelphia  in  Arabia, 
recognized  the  same  doctrine  in  their  letter  to 
that  prelate.  Origen  also  everywhere  in  his 
extant  works  accepts  that  the  Incarnate  God 
took  on  himself  a  human  soul.  But  he  more 
particularly  explains  this  mystery  in  the  ninth 
volume  of  his  Cojnments  upon  Genesis,  where 
he  shows  that  Adam  and  Eve  were  types  of 
Christ  and  the  church.  That  holy  man  Pam- 
philus,  and  Eusebius  who  was  surnamed  after 
him,  are  trustworthy  witnesses  on  this  subject : 
both  these  witnesses  in  their  joint  life  of  Origen, 
and  admirable  defense  of  him  in  answer  to  such 
as  were  prejudiced  against  him,  prove  that  he 
was  not  the  first  who  made  this  declaration,  but 
that  in  doing  so  he  was  the  mere  expositor  of 
the  mystical  tradition  of  the  church.  Those 
who  assisted  at  the  Alexandrian  Council  ex- 
amined also  with  great  minuteness  the  question 
concerning  '  Essence '  or  '  Substance,'  and 
'  Existence,'  '  Subsistence,'  or  '  Personality.'  For 
Hosius,  bishop  of  Cordova  in  Spain,  who  has 
been  before  referred  to  as  having  been  sent  by 


1  The  bishops  composing  the  Council  of  Nicaea  simply  declared 
their  faith  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  adding  any  definition:  they 
were  not  met  with  any  denial  of  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  denial  was  first  made  by  Macedonius,  in  the  fourth  century. 

2  Euseb.  H.  E.  VI.  33,  says  that  this  Beryllus  denied  that  Christ 
was  God  before  the  Incarnation.  He,  however,  gives  the  see  of 
Beryllus  as  Bostra  in  Arabia,  instead  of  Philadelphia.  So  also  Epi- 
phanius  Scholasticus;  thougli  Nicephorus,  X.  2,  calls  him  Cyrillus, 
instead  of  Beryllus. 


the  Emperor  Constantine  to  allay  the  excitement 
which  Arius  had  caused,  originated  the  con- 
troversy about  these  terms  in  his  earnestness  to 
overthrow  the  dogma  of  Sabellius  the  Libyan. 
In  the  council  of  Nicaea,  however,  which  v/as 
held  soon  after,  this  dispute  was  not  agitated  ; 
but  in  consequence  of  the  contention  about  it 
which  subsequently  arose,  the  matter  was  freely 
discussed  at  Alexandria.''  It  was  there  deter- 
mined that  such  expressions  as  ousia  and  h^po- 
stasis  ought  not  to  be  used  in  reference  to  God  : 
for  they  argued  that  the  word  ousia  is  nowhere 
employed  in  the  sacred  Scriptures ;  and  that 
the  apostle  has  misapplied  the  term  hypostasis* 
owing  to  an  inevitable  necessity  arising  from  the 
nature  of  the  doctrine.  They  nevertheless 
decided  that  in  refutation  of  the  Sabellian  error 
these  terms  were  admissible,  in  default  of  more 
appropriate  language,  lest  it  should  be  sup- 
posed that  one  thing  was  indicated  by  a  three- 
fold designation ;  whereas  we  ought  rather  to 
believe  that  each  of  those  named  in  the  Trinity 
is  God  in  his  own  proper  person.  Such  were 
the  decisions  of  this  Synod.  If  we  may  express 
our  own  judgment  concerning  substance  and 
personality,  it  appears  •  to  us  that  the  Greek 
philosophers  have  given  us  various  definitions 
of  ousia,  but  have  not  taken  the  slightest  notice 
of  hypostasis.  Irencenus^  the  grammarian  in- 
deed, in  his  Alphabetical  [Lexicon  entitled] 
Atticistes,  even  declares  it  to  be  a  barbarous 
term  ;  for  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  of  the 
ancients,  except  occasionally  in  a  sense  quite 
different  from  that  which  is  attached  to  it  in  the 
present  day.  Thus  Sophocles,  in  his  tragedy 
entitled  Plioenix,  uses  it  to  signify  '  treachery '  : 
in  Menander  it  implies  '  sauces ' ;  as  if  one  should 
call  the  '  sediment '  at  the  bottom  of  a  hogshead 
of  wine  hypostasis.  But  although  the  ancient 
philosophical  writers  scarcely  noticed  this  word, 
the  more  modern  ones  have  frequently  used  it 
instead  oi ousia.  This  term,  as  we  before  observed, 
has  been  variously  defined  :  but  can  that  which 
is  capable  of  being  circumscribed  by  a  definition 
be  applicable  to  God  who  is  incomprehensible? 
Evagrius  in  his  Monachicus,^  cautions  us  cgainst 
rash  and  inconsiderate  language  in  reference  to 
God ;  forbidding  all  attempt  to  define  the  divin- 
ity, inasmuch  as  it  is  wholly  simple  in  its  nature  : 
'  for,'  says  he,  '  definition  belongs  only  to  things 
which  are  compound.'  The  same  author  further 
adds,  '  Every  proposition  has  either  a  "  genus  " 

2  Valesius  conjectures  that  Socrates  is  wrong  here  in  attrilutirg 
such  an  action  to  the  Synod  of  Alexandria,  as  the  term  cmia 
does  not  occur  in  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  such  action  would  tberefi  le 
be  in  manifest  contradiction  to  the  action  at  Nicaea.  This,  however, 
is  not  probable,  in  view  of  the  dominating  influence  of  Athanasius 
in  both.  But,  as  the  acts  of  the  Alexandrian  synod  are  not  extant, 
it  is  impossible  to  verify  this  conjecture. 

1  Heb.  i.  3. 

5  See  Suidas,  Lexi'cAi. 

8  The  only  work  of  Evagrius  preserved  to  our  days  is  his  Eccle- 
siastical History. 


82 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[III.  7. 


which  is  predicted,  or  a  "  species,"  or  a  "  differ- 
entia," or  a  "  proprium,"  or  an  "  accidens,"  or 
that  which  is  compounded  of  these  :  but  none 
of  these  can  be  supposed  to  exist  in  the  sacred 
Trinity.  Let  then  what  is  inexplicable  be  adored 
in  silence.'  Such  is  the  reasoning  of  Evagrius, 
of  whom  we  shall  again  s])eak  hereafter.^  We 
have  indeed  made  a  digression  here,  but  such  as 
will  tend  to  illustrate  the  subject  under  consider- 
ation. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Quotations  from    Athanastus'  '  Defense   of  his 
Flight: 

On  this  occasion  Athanasius  read  to  those 
present  the  Defense  which  he  had  composed 
some  time  before  in  justification  of  his  flight ; 
a  few  passages  from  which  it  may  be  of  service 
to  introduce  here,  leaving  the  entire  production, 
which  is  too  long  to  be  transcribed,  to  be  sought 
out  and  perused  by  the  studious.^ 

See   the    daring    enormities    of   the    impious 
persons  !     Such  are  their  proceedings  :  and  yet 
instead  of  blushing  at  their  former  clumsy  in- 
trigues against  us,  they  even  now  abuse  us  for 
having  effected  our  escape  out  of  their  murder- 
ous hands  ;   nay,  are  grievously  vexed  that  they 
were  unable  to  put  us  out  of  the  way  altogether. 
In  short,  they  overlook  the  fact  that  while  they 
pretend  to  upbraid  us  with  'cowardice,'   they 
are    really  criminating   themselves  :  for  if  it  be 
disgraceful  to  flee,  it  is  still  more  so  to  pursue, 
since  the  one  is  only  endeavoring  to  avoid  being 
murdered,  while  the  other  is  seeking  to  commit 
the  deed.     But  Scripture  itself  directs  us  to  flee  :- 
and  those  who  persecute  unto  death,  in  attempt- 
ing to  violate  the  law,  constrain  us  to  have  re- 
course to  flight.     They  should  rather,  therefore, 
be  ashamed  of  their  persecution,  than  reproach 
us  for  having  sought  to  escape  from  it :  let  them 
cease  to  harass,  and   those  who    flee  will  also 
cease.     Nevertheless  they  set  no  bounds  to  their 
malevolence,  using  every  art  to  entrap  us,  in  the 
consciousness  that  the  flight  of  the  persecuted  is 
the  strongest  condemnation  of  the  persecutor  : 
for  no  one  runs  away  from  a  mild  and  benefi- 
cent person,  but  from  one  who  is  of  a  barbarous 
and  cruel  disposition.    Hence  it  was  that '  Every 
one  that  was  discontented  and  in  debt '  fled  from 
Saul  to  David.''     Wherefore  these  [foes  of  ours] 
in   like  manner   desire   to  kill   such  as  conceal 
themselves,  that  no  evidence  may  exist  to  con- 
vict them  of  their  wickedness.     But  in  this  also 
these  misguided  men  most  egregiously  deceive 
themselves  :  for  the  more  obvious  the  effort  to 
elude  them,  the  more  manifestly  will  their  de- 
liberate slaughters  and  exiles  be  exposed.     If 


'  IV.  23. 

1  Athan.  de  Fuga.  7. 


=  Ma^t.  X.  23. 

5  2  Kings  xxii.  2  (LXX). 


they  act  the  part  of  assassins,  the  voice  of  the 
blood  which  is  shed  will  cry  against  them  the 
louder :    and    if  they  condemn    to   banishment, 
they  will  raise  so  everywhere  living  monuments 
of  their  own  injustice  and   oppression.     Surely 
unless  their  intellects  were  unsound  they  would 
perceive  the  dilemma  in  which  their  own  coun- 
sels entangle  them.      But   since  they  have  lost 
sound  judgment,  their  folly    is    exposed   when 
they  vanish,  and  when  they  seek  to  stay  they  do 
not  see  their  wickedness.^     But  if  they  reproach 
those  who  succeed  in  secreting  themselves  from 
the  maUce  of  their  blood-thirsty  adversaries,  and 
revile  such  as  flee  from  their  persecutors,  what 
will  they  say  to  Jacob's  retreat  from  the  rage  of 
his  brother  Esau,^  and  to  Moses"  retiring  into 
the  land  of  Midian  for  fear  of  Pharaoh  ?     And 
what  apology  will  these  babblers  make  for  Da- 
vid's ^  flight  from  Saul,  when  he  sent  messengers 
from  his  own  house  to  dispatch  him  ;    and  for 
his  concealment  in   a  cave,  after  contriving  to 
extricate  himself  from  the  treacherous   designs 
of  Abimelech,'*  by  feigning  madness  ?     What  will 
these  reckless  asserters  of  whatever  suits  their 
purpose  answer,  when  they  are  reminded  of  the 
great  prophet  Elijah,^  who  by  calling  upon  God 
had  recalled   the   dead   to   life,   hiding  himself 
from  dread  of  Ahab,  and  fleeing  on  account  of 
Jezebel's    menaces?      At   which  time  the    sons 
of  the  prophets  also,  being  sought  for  in  order 
to  be  slain,  withdrew,  and   were    concealed  in 
caves  by  Obadiah  ;  ^^  or  are  they  unacquainted 
with  these  instances  because  of  their  antiquity? 
Have  they  forgotten  also  what  is  recorded  in 
the  Gospel,  that  the  disciples  retreated  and  hid 
themselves  for  fear  of  the  Jews  ?  "     Paul,^-  when 
sought  for  by  the  governor  [of  Damascus]  '  was 
let  down  from  the  wall  in  a  basket,  and  thus  es- 
caped the  hands  of  him  that  sought  him.'     Since 
then  Scripture  relates  these  circumstances  con- 
cerning the  saints,  what  excuse  can  they  fabricate 
for  their  temerity  ?    If  they  charge  us  with  '  cow- 
ardice,' it  is  in  utter  insensibility  to  the  condem- 
nation it  pronounces  on  themselves.     If  they  as- 
perse these  holy  men  by  asserting  that  they  acted 
contrary  to  the  will  of  God,  they  demonstrate  their 
ignorance  of  Scripture.     For  it  was  commanded 
in   the   Law   that  '  cities  of  refuge '   should   be 
constituted,^''  by  which  provision  was  made  that 
such   as  were    pursued   in   order   to   be   put   to 
death  might  have  means  afforded  of  preserving 
themselves.     Again  in  the  consummation  of  the 
ages,  when  the  ^^'ord  of  the  Lather,  who  had 
before  spoken  by  Moses,  came  himself  to  the 
earth,  he  gave  this  express  injunction,  '  ^Vhen 


••  Athanas.  de  Fuga.  10.  ^  i  Kings  xix.  3. 

"  Gen.  xxviii.  '"  i  Kings  xviii.  4. 

"  Ex.  ii.  15.  "  Mntt.  xxvi.  56. 

"  I  Sam.  xix.  12.  ^^  2  Cor.  xi.  32,  33. 

«  Rather  Achisch,  king  of  Gath,  '^  Num.  xxxv.  11. 
I  -Sam.  xxi.  10. 


III.  9-] 


ATHANASIUS'    DEFENSE    OF    HIS    FLIGHT. 


83 


they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  unto  an- 
other : '  ^*  and  shortly  after,  '  When  therefore  ye 
shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation,  spoken 
of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  the  holy 
place  (let  whosoever  reads,  understand),  then 
let  those  in  Judea  flee  unto  the  mountains  :  let 
him  that  is  on  the  house-top  not  come  down  to 
take  anything  out  of  his  house  ;  nor  him  that  is 
in  the  fields  return  to  take  his  clothes.' "  The 
saints  therefore  knowing  these  precepts,  had 
such  a  sort  of  training  for  their  action  :  for  what 
the  Lord  then  commanded,  he  had  before  his 
coming  in  the  flesh  already  spoken  of  by  his 
servants.  And  this  is  a  universal  rule  for  man, 
leading  to  perfection, '  to  practice  whatever  God 
has  enjoined.'  On  this  account  the  Word  him- 
self, becoming  incarnate  for  our  sake,  deigned 
to  conceal  himself  when  he  was  sought  for ;  ^^ 
and  being  again  persecuted,  condescended  to 
withdraw  to  avoid  the  conspiracy  against  him. 
For  thus  it  became  him,  by  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing and  suffering  other  afflictions,  to  demonstrate 
that  he  was  indeed  made  man.^'  For  at  the 
very  commencement,  as  soon  as  he  was  born, 
he  gave  this  direction  by  an  angel  to  Joseph  : 
'  Arise  and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother, 
and  flee  into  Egypt,  for  Herod  will  seek  the 
infant's  hfe.'^*  And  after  Herod's  death,  it 
appears  that  for  fear  of  his  son  Archelaiis  he 
retired  to  Nazareth.  Subsequently,  when  he 
gave  unquestionable  evidence  of  his  Divine 
character  by  healing  the  withered  hand,  '  when 
the  Pharisees  took  council  how  they  might  de- 
stroy him,''''  Jesus  knowing  their  wickedness 
withdrew  himself  thence.'  Moreover,  when  he 
had  raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  and  they 
had  become  still  more  intent  on  destroying  him, 
[we  are  told  that]  '  Jesus  walked  no  more  openly 
among  the  Jews,-"  but  retired  into  a  region  on 
the  borders  of  the  desert.'  Again  when  the 
Saviour  said,  '  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am  ; '  ^^ 
and  the  Jews  took  up  stones  to  cast  at  him  ; 
Jesus  concealed  himself,  and  going  through  the 
midst  of  them  out  of  the  Temple,  went  away 
thence,  and  so  escaped.  Since  then  they  see 
these  things,  or  rather  understand  them,"  (for 
they  will  not  see,)  are  they  not  deserving  of 
being  burnt  with  fire,  according  to  what  is  writ- 
ten, for  acting  and  speaking  so  plainly  contrary 
to  all  that  the  Lord  did  and  taught?  Finally, 
when  John  had  suffered  martyrdom,  and  his 
disciples  had  buried  his  body,  Jesus  having 
heard  what  was  done,  departed  thence  by  ship 
into  a  desert  place  apart.^  Now  the  Lord  did 
these  things  and  so  taught.  But  would  that 
these  men  of  whom  I  speak,  had  the  modesty 


"  Matt.  X.  23. 

.  '^  Matt.  xxiv.  15-18. 

''•  John  viii.  59. 

^"  Abbreviated  from  Athanasius. 

''*  Matt.  ii.  13,  22. 


i'"  Matt.  xii.  14,  15. 
2"  John  xi.  53,  54. 
-■  John  viii.  58. 
--  Matt.  xiii.  13;   Isa. 
-^  Matt.  xiv.  12,  13. 


to  confine  their  rashness  to  men  only,  without 
daring  to  be  guilty  of  such  madness  as  to  accuse 
the  Saviour  himself  of  '  cowardice  ' ;  especially 
after  having  already  uttered  blasphemies  against 
him.  But  even  if  they  be  insane  they  will  not 
be  tolerated  and  their  ignorance  of  the  gospels 
be  detected  by  every  one.  The  cause  for  re- 
treat and  flight  under  such  circumstances  as 
these  is  reasonable  and  valid,  of  which  the  evan- 
gelists have  afforded  us  precedents  in  the  con- 
duct of  our  Saviour  himself :  from  which  it  may 
be  inferred  that  the  saints  have  always  been 
justly  influenced  by  the  same  principle,  since 
whatever  is  recorded  of  him  as  man,  is  appli- 
cable to  mankind  in  general.  For  he  took  on 
himself  our  nature,  and  exhibited  in  himself  the 
affections  of  our  infirmity,  which  John  has  thus 
indicated  :  '  Then  they  sought  to  take  him  ;  but 
no  man  laid  hands  on  him,  because  his  hour 
was  not  yet  come.'  -■*  Moreover,  before  that 
hour  came,  he  himself  said  to  his  mother,  '  Mine 
hour  is  not  yet  come  ; '  "^  and  to  those  who  were 
denominated  his  brethren,  '  My  time  is  not  yet 
come.'  Again  when  the  time  had  arrived,  he 
said  to  his  disciples,  '  Sleep  on  now,  and  take 
your  rest :  for  behold  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and 
the  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  sinners.'  -*'...  So  ^  that  he  neither  per- 
mitted himself  to  be  apprehended  before  the 
time  came  ;  nor  when  the  time  was  come  did 
he  conceal  himself,  but  voluntarily  gave  himself 
up  to  those  who  had  conspired  against  him.-*  .  .  . 
Thus  also  the  blessed  martyrs  have  guarded 
themselves  in  times  of  persecution  :  being  per- 
secuted they  fled,  and  kept  themselves  con- 
cealed ;  but  being  discovered  they  suffered 
martyrdom. 

Such  is  the  reasoning  of  Athanasius  in  his 
apology  for  his  own  flight. 

CHAPTER   LX. 

A/^er  the  Synod  of  Alexandria,  Eusebius  pro- 
ceeding to  Antioch  finds  the  Catholics  at  Vari- 
ance on  Account  of  Paulimis''  Consecration  ; 
and  having  exerted  himself  in  luiin  to  recon- 
cile them,  he  departs ;  Indignation  of  Lucifer 
and  Origin  of  a  Sect  called  after  him. 

As  soon  as  the  council  of  Alexandria  was  dis- 
solved, Eusebius  bishop  of  Vercelte  went  from 
Alexandria  to  Antioch  ;  there  finding  that  Pau- 
linus  had  been  ordained  by  Lucifer,  and  that  the 
people  were  disagreeing  among  themselves, — 
for  the  partisans  of  Meletius  held  their  assem- 
blies apart,  —  he  was  exceedingly  grieved  at  the 
want  of  harmony  concerning  this  election,  and 
in  his  own  mind  disapproved  of  what  had  taken 


-■'  John  vii.  30. 

-■"'  John  ii.  4;    iii.  6. 

-"  Matt.  xxvi.  45.  . 


-"  Athan.  de  Fuga.  15. 
^  Alhan.  de  Fuga.  22. 


84 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[III.  9. 


place.  His  respect  for  Lucifer  however  induced 
him  to  be  silent  about  it,  and  on  his  departure 
he  engaged  that  all  things  should  be  set  right  by 
a  council  of  bishops.  Subsequently  he  labored 
with  great  earnestness  to  unite  the  dissentients, 
but  did  not  succeed.  Meanwhile  Meletius  re- 
turned from  exile ;  and  finding  his  followers 
holding  their  assemblies  apart  from  the  others, 
he  set  himself  at  their  head.  But  Euzoi'us,  the 
chief  of  the  Arian  heresy,  had  possession  of  the 
churches :  Paulinus  ^  only  retained  a  small 
church  within  the  city,  from  which  Euzoi'us  had 
not  ejected  him,  on  account  of  his  personal 
respect  for  him.  But  Meletius  assembled  his 
adherents  without  the  gates  of  the  city.  It  was 
under  these  circumstances  that  Eusebius  left 
Antioch  at  that  time.  When  Lucifer  understood 
that  his  ordination  of  Paul  was  not  approved  of 
by  Eusebius,  regarding  it  as  an  insult,  he  became 
highly  incensed ;  and  not  only  separated  him- 
self from  communion  with  him,  but  also  began, 
in  a  contentious  spirit,  to  condemn  what  had 
been  determined  by  the  Synod.  These  things 
occurring  at  a  season  of  grievous  disorder, 
alienated  many  from  the  church ;  for  many 
attached  themselves  to  Lucifer,  and  thus  a  dis- 
tinct sect  arose  under  the  name  of  Luciferians.'  ^ 
Nevertheless  Lucifer  was  unable  to  give  full 
expression  to  his  anger,  inasmuch  as  he  had 
pledged  himself  by  his  deacon  to  assent  to  what- 
ever should  be  decided  on  by  the  Synod. 
Wherefore  he  adhered  to  the  tenets  of  the 
church,  and  returned  to  Sardinia  to  his  own 
see  :  but  such  as  at  first  identified  themselves 
with  his  quarrel,  still  continue  separate  from  the 
church.  Eusebius,  on  the  other  hand,  traveling 
throughout  the  Eastern  provinces  like  a  good 
physician,  completely  restored  those  who  were 
weak  in  the  faith,  instructing  and  establishing 
them  in  ecclesiastical  principles.  After  this  he 
passed  over  to  Illyricum,  and  thence  to  Italy, 
where  he  pursued  a  similar  course. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Of  Hilaiy  Bishop  of  Poic tiers. 

Therk,  however,  Hilary  bishop  of  Poictiers 
(a  city  of  Acjuitania  Secunda)  had  anticipated 
him,  having  previously  confirmed  the  bishops 
of  Italy  and  Gaul  in  the  doctrines  of  the  ortho- 
dox faith  ;  for  he  first  had  returned  from  exile 
to  these  countries.  Both  therefore  nobly  com- 
bined their  energies  in  defense  of  the  faith  :  and 
Hilary  being  a  very  eloquent  man,  maintained 
with  great  power  the  doctrine  of  the  honwoii- 
sion  in  books  which  he  wrote  in  Latin.  In 
these  he  gave  sufficient  support  [to   the  doc- 


>  V.s. 


2  Cf.  Sozom.  III.  15,  and  V.  12. 


trine]  ,  and  unanswerably  confuted  the  Arian 
tenets.  These  things  took  place  shortly  after 
the  recall  of  those  who  had  been  banished.  But 
it  must  be  observed,  that  at  the  same  time  Mace- 
donius,  Eleusius,  Eustathius,  and  Sophronius, 
with  all  their  partisans,  who  had  but  the  one 
common  designation  Macedonians,  held  frequent 
Synods  in  various  places.^  Having  called  to- 
gether those  of  Seleucia  who  embraced  their 
views,  they  anathematized  the  bishops  of  the 
other  party,  that  is  the  Acacian  :  and  rejecting 
the  creed  of  Ariminum,  they  confirmed  that  which 
had  been  read  at  Seleucia.  This,  as  I  have 
stated  in  the  preceding  book,-  was  the  same  as 
had  been  before  promulgated  at  Antioch.  When 
they  were  asked  by  some  one,  '  Why  have  ye, 
who  are  called  Macedonians  hitherto,  retained 
communion  with  the  Acacians,  as  though  ye, 
agreed  in  opinion,  if  ye  really  hold  different 
sentiments  ?  '  they  replied  thus,  through  Sophro- 
nius, bishop  of  Pompeiopolis,  a  city  of  Paphla- 
gonia :  '  Those  in  the  West,'  said  he,  '  were 
infected  with  the  homoousian  error  as  with  a 
disease :  Aetius  in  the  East  adulterated  the 
purity  of  the  faith  by  introducing  the  assertion 
of  a  dissimilitude  of  substance.  Now  both  of 
these  dogmas  are  illegitimate ;  for  the  former 
rashly  blended  into  one  the  distinct  persons  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  binding  them  together 
by  that  cord  of  iniquity  the  term  hoinoousion  ; 
"^hile  Aetius  wholly  separated  that  affinity  of 
nature  of  the  Son  to  the  Father,  by  the  expres- 
sion aiwmoion,  unlike  as  to  substance  or  es- 
sence. Since  then  both  these  opinions  run  into 
the  very  opposite  extremes,  the  middle  course 
between  them  appeared  to  us  to  be  more  con- 
sistent with  truth  and  piety :  we  accordingly 
assert  that  the  Son  is  "  like  the  Father  as  to 
subsistence." ' 

Such  was  the  answer  the  Macedonians  made  by 
Sophronius  to  that  question,  as  Sabinus  assures 
us  in  his  CoUcction  of  the  Synodical  Acts.  But 
in  decrying  Aetius  as  the  author  of  the  Anomoion 
doctrine,  and  not  Acacius,  they  flagrantly  dis- 
guise the  truth,  in  order  to  seem  as  far  removed 
from  the  Arians  on  the  one  side,  as  from  the 
Homoousians  on  the  other  :  for  their  own  words 
convict  them  of  having  separated  from  them 
both,  merely  from  the  love  of  innovation.  With 
these  remarks  we  close  our  notice  of  these  ])er- 
sons. 

CHAPTER   XL 

The  Ettiperor  Julian  extracts  Money  frofn  the 
Christians. 

Although  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign  the 
Emperor  Julian  conducted  himself  mildly  toward 

1  Sozom.  V.  14;  Theodoret,  Hcerei.  Fabul.  IV. 
■  II.  10.  39. 


III.  I3-] 


JULIAN'S    TREATMENT    OF    CHRISTIANS. 


85 


all  men  ;  but  as  he  went  on  he  did  not  continue 
to  show  the  same  equanimity.  He  most  readily 
indeed  acceded  to  the  requests  of  the  Christians, 
when  they  tended  in  any  way  to  cast  odiruii  on 
the  memory  of  Constantius  ;  but  wlien  this  in- 
ducement did  not  exist,  he  made  no  effort  to 
conceal  the  rancorous  feelings  which  he  enter- 
tained towards  Christians  in  general.  Accord- 
ingly he  soon  ordered  that  the  church  of  the 
Novatians  at  Cyzicus,  which  EuzoVus  had  totally 
demolished,  should  be  rebuilt,  imposing  a  very 
heavy  penalty  upon  Eleusius  bishop  of  that  city, 
if  he  failed  to  complete  that  structure  at  his  own 
expense  within  the  space  of  two  months.  More- 
over, he  flivored  the  pagan  superstitions  with  the 
whole  weight  of  his  authority :  and  the  temples 
of  the  heathen  were  opened,  as  we  have  before 
stated ; '  but  he  himself  also  publicly  offered 
sacrifices  to  Fortune,  goddess  of  Constantinople, 
in  the  cathedral,^  where  her  image  was  erected. 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Of  Maris  Bishop  of  Chalcedon  ;  Julian  forbids 
Christians  from  entering  Literary  Pursnits. 

About  this  time.  Maris  bishop  of  Chalcedon 
in  Bithynia  being  led  by  the  hand  into  the  em- 
peror's presence,  —  for  on  account  of  extreme 
old  age  he  had  a  disease  in  his  eyes  termed  '  cat- 
aract,' —  severely  rebuked  his  impiety,  apostasy, 
and  atheism.  Julian  answered  his  reproaches 
by  loading  him  with  contumelious  epithets  :  and 
he  defended  himself  by  words  calling  him  '  blind.' 
'You  blind  old  fool,'  said  he,  '  this  Galilsean  God 
of  yours  will  never  cure  you.'  For  he  was  ac- 
customed to  term  Christ  '  the  Galilccan,'  ^  and 
Christians  Galilseans.  Maris  with  still  greater 
boldness  replied,  '  I  thank  God  for  bereaving  me 
of  my  sight,  that  I  might  not  behold  the  face 
of  one  who  has  fallen  into  such  awful  impiety.' 
The  emperor  suffered  this  to  pass  without  farther 
notice  at  that  time  ;  but  he  afterwards  had  his 
revenge.  Observing  that  those  who  suffered 
martyrdom  under  the  reign  of  Diocletian  were 
greatly  honored  by  the  Christians,  and  knowing 
that  many  among  them  were  eagerly  desirous  of 
becoming  martyrs,  he  determined  to  wreak  his 
upon  them  in  some  other  way.  Ab- 
therefore  from  the  excessive  cruelties 
which  had  been  practiced  under  Diocletian  ;  he 
did  not  however  altogether  abstain  from  perse- 
cution (for  any  measures  adopted  to  disquiet 
and  molest  I  regard  as  persecution) .     This  then 


vengeance 
staining 


'  Chap.  I. 

2  SaaiAiKrJ.  On  the  origin  and  history  of  the  term,  see  Bennett, 
Christian  Archceology,  pp.  157-163.  The  special  basilica  meant 
here  was  situated,  according  to  Valesius,  in  the  fourth  precinct,  and 
alone  called  fiafriAixr;,  or  '  cathedral '  without  qualification.  The 
'  Thendosian  cathedral '  was  situated  in  the  seventh  ward. 

1  Cf.  John  i.  46,  and  Acts  ii.  7.  Later  the  word  was  used  by  the 
heathen  also,  contemptuously,  as  a  term  of  reproach. 


was  the  plan  lie  pursued  :   he  enacted  a  law"  by  A 

which  Christians  were  excluded  from  the  culti-  | 

vation  of  literature  ;  '  lest,'  said  he,  '  when  they  1 

have  sharpened   their   tongue,   they   should    be  / 
able  the  more  readily  to  meet  the  arguments  of 
the  heathen.' 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Of  the  Outrages  committed  by  the  Pagans  against 
the  Christians. 

He  moreover  interdicted  such  as  would  not 
abjure  Christianity,  and  offer  sacrifice  to  idols, 
from  holding  any  office  at  court  :  nor  would  he 
allow  Christians  to  be  governors  of  provinces  ; 
'  for,'  said  he,  '  their  law  forbids  them  to  use 
the  sword  against  offenders  worthy  of  capital 
punishment.'^  He  also  induced  many  to  sacri- 
fice, partly  by  flatteries,  and  partly  by  gifts. 
Immediately,  as  if  tried  in  a  furnace,  it  at  once 
became  evident  to  all,  who  were  the  real  Chris- 
tians, and  who  were  merely  nominal  ones.  Such 
as  were  Christians  in  integrity  of  heart,  very 
readily  resigned  their  commission,^  choosing  to 
endure  anything  rather  than  deny  Christ.  Of 
this  number  were  Jovian,  Valentinian,  and 
Valens,  each  of  whom  afterwards  became  em- 
peror. But  others  of  unsound  principles,  who 
preferred  the  riches  and  honor  of  this  world  to 
the  true  felicity,  sacrificed  without  hesitation. 
Of  these  was  Ecebolius,  a  sophist''  of  Constan- 
tinople who,  accommodating  himself  to  the 
dispositions  of  the  emperors,  pretended  in  the 
reign  of  Constantius  to  be  an  ardent  Christian ; 
while  in  Julian's  time  he  appeared  an  equally 
vigorous  pagan :  and  after  Julian's  death,  he 
again  made  a  profession  of  Christianity.  For 
he  prostrated  himself  before  the  church  doors, 
and  called  out,  '  Trample  on  me,  for  I  am  as 
salt  that  has  lost  its  savor.'  Of  so  fickle  and 
inconstant  a  character  was  this  person,  through- 
out the  whole  period  of  his  history.  About  this 
time  the  emperor  wishing  to  make  reprisals  on 
the  Persians,  for  the  frequent  incursions  they 
had  made  on  the  Roman  territories  in  the  reign 
of  Constantius,  marched  with  great  expedition 
through  Asia  into  the  East.  But  as  he  well 
knew  what  a  train  of  calamities  attend  a  war, 
and  what  immense  resources  are  needful  to  carry 
it  on  successfully  and  that  without  it  cannot  be  . 
carried  on,  he  craftily  devised  a  plan  for  collect-  ! 
ing  money  by  extorting  it  from  the  Christians,  v 
On  all  those  who  refused  to  sacrifice  he  imposed  'j 

-  Chap.  i6. 

1  Based,  probably,  on  Matt.  xxvi.  52,  and  John  xviii.  11. 

-  i^Mvr]v  oLTTiridivTo;  literally,  '  put  off  their  girdle,'  as  the  badge 
of  office. 

^  The  term  was  used  first  by  traveling  teachers  of  rhetoric  at  the 
time  of  the  philosopher  Socrates  as  descriptive  of  their  profession; 
and  although  it  later  acquired  an  unfavorable  significance,  it  con- 
tinued to  be  used  also  as  a  professional  name  given  to  teachers  of 
rhetoric,  as  here. 


86 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[III.  13. 


a  heavy  fine,  which  was  exacted  with  great  rigor 
from  such  as  were  true  Christians,  every  one 
being  compelled  to  pay  in  proportion  to  what  he 
possessed.  By  these  unjust  means  the  emperor 
soon  amassed  immense  wealth  ;  for  this  law  was 
put  in  execution,  both  where  Julian  was  person- 
ally present,  and  where  he  was  not.  The  pagans 
at  the  same  time  assailed  the  Christians ;  and 
there  was  a  great  concourse  of  those  who  styled 
themselves  'philosophers.'  They  then  pro- 
ceeded to  institute  certain  abominable  myste- 
ries ;  *  and  sacrificing  pure  children  both  male 
and  female,  they  inspected  their  entrails,  and 
even  tasted  their  flesh.  These  infamous  rites 
were  practiced  in  other  cities,  but  more  particu- 
larly at  Athens  and  Alexandria ;  in  which  latter 
place,  a  calumnious  accusation  was  made 
against  Athanasius  the  bishop,  the  emperor 
being  assured  that  he  was  intent  on  desolating 
not  that  city  only,  but  all  Egypt,  and  that  noth- 
ing but  his  expulsion  out  of  the  country  could 
save  it.  The  governor  of  Alexandria  was  there- 
fore instructed  by  an  imperial  edict  to  apprehend 
him. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

FUgJit  of  Athanasius. 

But  he  fled  again,  saying  to  his  intimates, '  Let 
us  retire  for  a  little  while,  friends  ;  it  is  but  a 
small  cloud  which  will  soon  pass  away.'  He  then 
immediately  embarked,  and  crossing  the  Nile, 
hastened  with  all  speed  into  Egypt,  closely  pur- 
sued by  those  who  sought  to  take  him.  When 
he  understood  that  his  pursuers  were  not  far 
distant,  his  attendants  were  urging  him  to  retreat 
once  more  into  the  desert,  but  he  had  recourse 
to  an  artifice  and  thus  effected  his  escape.  He 
persuaded  those  who  accompanied  him  to  turn 
back  and  meet  his  adversaries,  which  they  did 
immediately ;  and  on  approaching  them  they 
were  simply  asked  '  where  they  had  seen  Athan- 
asius '  :  to  which  they  replied  that  '  he  was 
not  a  great  way  off,'  and,  that  '  if  they  hastened 
they  would  soon  overtake  him.'  Being  thus 
deluded,  they  started  afresh  in  pursuit  with 
quickened  s])eed,  but  to  no  purpose  ;  and  Atha- 
nasius making  good  his  retreat,  returned  secretly 
to  Alexandria  ;  and  there  he  remained  concealed 
until  the  persecution  was  at  an  end.  Such  were  the 
perils  which  succeeded  one  another  in  the  career 
of  the  bishop  of  Alexandria,  these  last  from  the 
heathen  coming  after  that  to  which  he  was  before 
subjected  from  Christians.  In  addition  to  these 
things,  the  governors  of  the  provinces  taking 
advantage  of  the  emperor's  superstition  to  feed 

*  Cf.  TertuU.  Apol.  IX.  '  In  the  bosom  of  Africa  infants 
were  pulilicly  sacrificed  to  Saturn,  even  to  the  days  of  a  proconsul 
under  Tiberius,'  &c. 


their  own  cupidity,  committed  more  grievous 
outrages  on  the  Christians  than  their  sovereign 
had  given  them  a  warrant  for  ;  sometimes  exact- 
ing larger  sums  of  money  than  they  ought  to 
have  done,  and  at  others  inflicting  on  them  cor- 
poral punishments.  The  emperor  learning  of 
these  excesses,  connived  at  them ;  and  when 
the  sufferers  appealed  to  him  against  their 
oppressors,  he  tauntingly  said,  '  It  is  your  duty 
to  bear  these  afflictions  patiently ;  for  this  is  the 
command  of  your  God.' 

CHAPTER   X\^ 

Martyrs  at  Merum  in  Phrygia,  under  Julian. 

Amachius  governor  of  Phrygia  ordered  that 
the  temple  at  Merum,  a  city  of  that  province, 
should  be  opened,  and  cleared  of  the  filth  which 
had  accumulated  there  by  lapse  of  time  :  also 
that  the  statues  it  contained  should  be  polished 
fresh.  This  in  being  put  into  operation  grieved 
the  Christians  very  much.  Now  a  certain  Mac- 
edonius  and  Theodulus  and  Tatian,  unable  to 
endure  the  indignity  thus  put  upon  their  religion, 
and  impelled  by  a  fervent  zeal  for  virtue,  rushed 
by  night  into  the  temple,  and  broke  the  images 
in  pieces.  The  governor  infuriated  at  what  had 
been  done,  would  have  put  to  death  many  in 
that  city  who  were  altogether  innocent,  when 
the  authors  of  the  deed  voluntarily  surrendered 
themselves,  choosing  rather  to  die  themselves  in 
defense  of  the  truth,  than  to  see  others  put  to 
death  in  their  stead.  The  governor  seized  and 
ordered  them  to  expiate  the  crime  they  had 
committed  by  sacrificing  :  on  their  refusal  to  do 
this,  their  judge  menaced  them  with  tortures  ; 
but  they  despising  his  threats,  being  endowed 
with  great  courage,  declared  their  readiness  to 
undergo  any  sufferings,  rather  than  pollute  them- 
selves by  sacrificing.  After  subjecting  them  to 
all  possible  tortures  he  at  last  laid  them  on  grid- 
irons under  which  a  fire  was  placed,  and  thus 
slew  them.  But  even  in  this  last  extremity  they 
gave  the  most  heroic  proofs  of  fortitude,  address- 
ing the  ruthless  governor  thus  :  '  If  you  wish 
to  eat  broiled  flesh,  Amachius,  turn  us  on  the 
other  side  also,  lest  we  should  appear  but  half 
cooked  to  your  taste.'  Thus  these  martyrs 
ended  their  life. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Of  the  Literary  Labors  of  the  Two  Apollinares 
and  the  Emperor's  Proliibition  of  Christians 
l>eing  instructed  in  Greek  Literature. 

Thk  imperial  law'  which  forbade  Christians  to 
study  Greek  literature,  rendered  the  two  Apolli- 


1  Cf.  Sozom.  V.  18;  also  above,  II.  46. 


i 


III.  16.]       DEFENSE  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  GREEK  LITERATURE. 


87 


nares  of  whom  we  have  above  spoken,  much 
more  distinguished  than  before.  For  both  being 
skilled  in  polite  learning,  the  father  as  a  gram- 
marian, and  the  son  as  a  rhetorician,  they  made 
themselves  serviceable  to  the  Christians  at  this 
crisis.  For  the  former,  as  a  grammarian,  com- 
posed a  grammar  consistent  with  the  Christian 
faith  :  he  also  translated  the  Books  of  Moses 
into  heroic  verse  ;  and  paraphrased  all  the  his- 
torical books  of  the  Old  Testament,  putting 
them  partly  into  dactylic  measure,  and  partly 
reducing  them  to  the  form  of  dramatic  tragedy. 
He  purposely  employed  all  kinds  of  verse,  that 
no  form  of  expression  peculiar  to  the  Greek 
language  might  be  unknown  or  unheard  of 
amongst  Christians.  The  younger  Apollinaris, 
who  was  well  trained  in  eloquence,  expounded 
the  gospels  and  apostolic  doctrines  in  the  way 
of  dialogue,  as  Plato  among  the  Greeks  had 
done.  Thus  showing  themselves  useful  to  the 
Christian  cause  they  overcame  the  subtlety  of 
the  emperor  through  their  own  labors.  But 
Divine  Providence  was  more  potent  than  either 
their  labors,  or  the  craft  of  the  emperor : 
for  not  long  afterwards,  in  the  manner  we 
shall  hereafter  explain,"  the  law  became  wholly 
inoperative ;  and  the  works  of  these  men 
are  now  of  no  greater  importance,  than  if  they 
had  never  been  written.  But  perhaps  some 
one  will  vigorously  reply  saying :  '  On  what 
grounds  do  you  affirm  that  both  these  things 
were  effected  by  the  providence  of  God  ?  That 
the  emperor's  sudden  death  was  very  advanta- 
geous to  Christianity  is  indeed  evident :  but 
surely  the  rejection  of  the  Christian  composi- 
tions of  the  two  ApoUinares,  and  the  Christians 
beginning  afresh  to  imbue  their  minds  with  the 
philosophy  of  the  heathens,  this  works  out  no 
benefit  to  Christianity,  for  pagan  philosophy 
teaches  Polytheism,  and  is  injurious  to  the  pro- 
motion of  true  religion.'  This  objection  I  shall 
meet  with  such  considerations  as  at  present 
occur  to  me.  Greek  literature  certainly  was 
never  recognized  either  by  Christ  or  his  Apos- 
tles as  divinely  inspired,  nor  on  the  other  hand 
was  it  wholly  rejected  as  pernicious.  And  this 
they  did,  I  conceive,  not  inconsiderately.  For 
there  were  many  philosophers  among  the  Greeks 
who  were  not  far  from  the  knowledge  of  God ; 
and  in  fact  these  being  disciplined  by  logical 
science,  strenuously  opposed  the  Epicureans 
and  other  contentious  Sophists  who  denied 
Divine  Providence,  confuting  their  ignorance. 
And  for  these  reasons  they  have  become  useful 
to  all  lovers  of  real  piety :  nevertheless  they 
themselves  were  not  acquainted  with  the  Head 
of  true  religion,  being  ignorant  of  the  mystery 
of  Christ  which  '  had  been  hidden  from  genera- 

*  Chap.  21. 


tions  and  ages.'  ^  And  that  this  was  so,  the 
Apostle  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans  thus  de- 
clares :  ■*  '  For  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from 
heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteous- 
ness of  men,  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteous- 
ness. Because  that  which  may  be  known  of 
God  is  manifest  in  them  ;  for  God  has  shown  it 
unto  them.  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from 
the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even 
his  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  that  they  may 
be  without  excuse ;  because  that  when  they 
knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God.' 
From  these  words  it  appears  that  they  had  the 
knowledge  of  truth,  which  God  had  manifested 
to  them  ;  but  were  guilty  on  this  account,  that 
when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as 
God.  Wherefore  by  not  forbidding  the  study 
of  the  learned  works  of  the  Greeks,  they  left  it 
to  the  discretion  of  those  who  wished  to  do  so. 
This  is  our  first  argument  in  defense  of  the 
position  we  took  :  another  may  be  thus  put : 
The  divinely  inspired  Scriptures  undoubtedly 
inculcate  doctrines  that  are  both  admirable  in 
themselves,  and  heavenly  in  their  character : 
they  also  eminently  tend  to  produce  piety  and 
integrity  of  life  in  those  who  are  guided  by  their 
precepts,  pointing  out  a  walk  of  faith  which  is 
highly  approved  of  God.  But  they  do  not  in- 
struct us  in  the  art  of  reasoning,  by  means  of 
which  we  may  be  enabled  successfully  to  resist 
those  who  oppose  the  truth.  Besides  adversa- 
ries are  most  easily  foiled,  when  we  can  use 
their  own  weapons  against  them.  But  this 
power  was  not  supplied  to  Christians  by  the 
writings  of  the  ApoUinares.  Julian  had  this  in 
mind  when  he  by  law  prohibited  Christians  from 
being  educated  in  Greek  literature,  for  he  knew 
very  well  that  the  fables  it  contains  would  expose 
the  whole  pagan  system,  of  which  he  had  be- 
come the  champion  to  ridicule  and  contempt. 
Even  Socrates,  the  most  celebrated  of  their 
philosophers,  despised  these  absurdities,  and 
was  condemned  on  account  of  it,  as  if  he  had 
attempted  to  violate  the  sanctity  of  their  deities. 
Moreover,  both  Christ  and  his  Apostle  enjoin 
us  '  to  become  discriminating  money-changers,'^ 
so  that  we  might  '  prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast 
that  which  is  good  '  : '"'  directing  us  also  to  *  be- 
ware lest  any  one  should  spoil  us  through  phil- 
osophy and  vain  deceit. "^  But  this  we  cannot 
do,  unless  we  possess  ourselves  of  the  weapons 
of  our  adversaries  :  taking  care  that  in  making 
this  acquisition  we  do  not  adopt  their  senti- 
ments, but  testing  them,  reject  the  evil,  but 
retain  all  that  is  good  and  true  :  for  good  wher- 


^  Col.  !.  26.  *  Rom.  i.  18-21. 

°  On  this  e.\tra-Scriptural  saying  attributed  to  Jesus  Christ,  see 
n.  54,  Introd.  p.  .\i. 

''  I  Thess.  V.  21.  '  Col.  ii.  8. 


88 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[III.  i6. 


ever  it  is  found,  is  a  property  of  truth.  Should 
any  one  imagine  that  in  making  these  assertions 
we  wrest  the  Scriptures  from  their  legitimate 
construction,  let  it  be  remembered  that  the 
Apostle  not  only  does  not  forbid  our  being  in- 
structed in  Greek  learning,  but  that  he  himself 
seems  by  no  means  to  have  neglected  it,  inas- 
much as  he  knows  many  of  the  sayings  of  the 
Greeks.  Whence  did  he  get  the  saying,  '  The 
Cretans  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts,  slow-bel- 
lies,' *  but  from  a  perusal  of  The  Oracles  of 
Epimenides,'  the  Cretan  Initiator?  Or  how 
would  he  have  known  this,  '  For  we  are  also  his 
offspring,'  ^"  had  he  not  been  acquainted  with 
The  Phenomena  of  Aratus "  the  astronomer? 
Again  this  sentence,  '  Evil  communications  cor- 
rupt good  manners,' '"  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  he 
was  conversant  with  the  tragedies  of  Euripi- 
des.^^ But  what  need  is  there  of  enlarging  on 
this  point  ?  It  is  well  known  that  in  ancient 
times  the  doctors  of  the  church  by  unhindered 
usage  were  accustomed  to  exercise  themselves 
in  the  learning  of  the  Greeks,  until  they  had 
reached  an  advanced  age  :  this  they  did  with  a 
view  to  improve  themselves  in  eloquence  and  to 
strengthen  and  polish  their  mind,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  enable  them  to  refute  the  errors  of  the 
heathen.  Let  these  remarks  be  sufficient  in  the 
subject  suggested  by  the  two  ApoUinares. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Emperor  preparing  an  Expedition  against 
the  Persians,  arrives  at  Antioch,  aiid  being 
ridiculed  by  the  Inhabitants,  he  retorts  on  them 
by  a  Satirical  Publication  entitled '  Misopogon, 
or  the  Beard-Hater.' 

The  emperor  having  extorted  immense  sums 
of  money  from  the  Christians,  hastening  his  ex- 
pedition against  the  Persians,  arrived  at  Antioch 
in  Syria.  There,  desiring  to  show  the  citizens 
how  much  he  affected  glory,  he  unduly  depressed 
the  prices  of  commodities ;  neither  taking  into 
account  the  circumstances  of  that  time,  nor  re- 
flecting how  much  the  presence  of  an  army  in- 
conveniences the  population  of  the  provinces. 


8  Tit.  i.  12. 

°  Cf.  Theophrastus,  VII.  x.  and  Diogenes  La;rtius,  I.  x.  The 
latter  gives  a  list  of  Epimenides'  works,  but  makes  no  mention  of 
any  '  Oracles.'  Socrates  must  have  used  this  term  in  a  more  gen- 
eral sense  therefore,  and  meant  some  collection  of  obscure  and  mys- 
tical writings.  He  also  calls  Epimenides  an  '  Initiator,'  because, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Theophrastus,  he  was  versed  particu- 
larly in  lustration  and  coruscation. 

'"  Acts  xvii.  28. 

"  Fabricius,  Bibl.  Greec.  II.  p.  451  seq. 

^2  1  Cor.  XV.  33. 

"  Menandcr,  and  not  Euripides,  is  the  only  author  to  whom  this 
line  can  be  traced  (see  Tertull.  ad  Uxor.  i.  8,  and  Mcineke,  Fragiii. 
Comic.  Grcec.  Vol.  IV.  p.  132),  but  it  may  have  been  a  popular 
proverb,  or  even  originally  a  composition  of  Euripides,  which  Me- 
nandcr simply  used. 


and  of  necessity  lessens  the  supply  of  provisions 
to  the  cities.  The  merchants  and  retailers  * 
therefore  left  off  trading,  being  unable  to  sustain 
the  losses  which  the  imperial  edict  entailed  upon 
them  ;  consequently  the  necessaries  failed.  The 
Antiochians  not  bearing  the  insult,  —  for  they  ^ 
are  a  people  naturally  impatient  with  insult, —  ^ 
instantly  broke  forth  into  invectives  against  Ju- 
lian ;  caricaturing  his  beard  also,  which  was  a 
very  long  one,  and  saying  that  it  ought  to  be  cut 
off  and  manufactured  into  ropes.  They  added 
that  the  bull  which  was  impressed  upon  his  coin, 
was  a  symbol  of  his  having  desolated  the  world. 
For  the  emperor,  being  excessively  superstitious, 
was  continually  sacrificing  bulls "  on  the  altars 
of  his  idols  ;  and  had  ordered  the  impression 
of  a  bull  and  altar  to  be  made  on  his  coin.  Ir- 
ritated by  these  scoffs,  he  threatened  to  punish 
the  city  of  Antioch,  and  returned  to  Tarsus  in 
Cilicia,  giving  orders  that  preparations  should  be 
made  for  his  speedy  departure  thence.  Whence 
Libanius  the  sophist  took  occasion  to  compose 
two  orations,  one  addressed  to  the  emperor  in 
behalf  of  the  x\ntiochians,  the  other  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Antioch  on  the  emperor's  displeas- 
ure. It  is  however  affirmed  that  these  compo- 
sitions were  merely  written,  and  never  recited  in 
public.  Julian  abandoning  his  former  purpose 
of  revenging  himself  on  his  satirists  by  injurious 
deeds,  expended  his  wrath  in  reciprocating  their 
abusive  taunts  ;  for  he  wrote  a  pamphlet  against 
them  which  he  entitled  Antiochicus,  or  A/isopo- 
gon,  thus  leaving  an  indelible  stigma  upon  that 
city  and  its  inhabitants.  But  we  must  now  speak 
of  the  evils  which  he  brought  upon  the  Chris- 
tians at  Antioch. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

The  Emperor  consulting  an  Oracle,  the  Demon 
gives  no  Response,  being  awed  by  the  Nearness 
of  Babylas  the  Martyr. 

Having  ordered  that  the  pagan  temples  at 
Antioch  should  be  opened,  he  was  very  eager  to 
obtain  an  oracle  from  Apollo  of  Daphne.  But 
the  demon  that  inhabited  the  temple  remained 
silent  through  fear  of  his  neighbor,  Babylas  ^  the 
martyr  ;  for  the  coffin  which  contained  the  body 
of  that  saint  was  close  by.  When  the  emperor 
was  informed  of  this  circumstance,  he  com- 
manded that  the  coffin  should  be  immediately 

'  (xeTa/SoAfr?.  Cf.  nernSoArj,  used  to  designate  all  merchandis- 
ing, Julius  Pollux,  III.  25;  hence  /xtra^oAeus,  a  'retailer,'  'small 
merchant.' 

-  Hence  Gregory  of  Nazianus  calls  him  KaucriTaupos,  '  a  burnej 
of  bulls.' 

'  See  Euseb.  //.  E.  VI.  20  and  39:  also  Chrysostom,  de  S.  Babyl. 
According  to  these  authorities  B.ibylas  was  bishop  of  Antioch,  suc- 
ceeding Sabrinus,  and  was  beheaded  in  prison  during  the  reign  of 
Decius.  His  remains  were  transferred  to  a  church  built  over  against 
the  temple  of  Apollo  of  Daphne  (Sozom.  V.  19)  by  Gallus,  Julian's^ 
brother. 


III.  20.]        JULIAN  EXASPERATED  AGAINST  THE  CHRISTIANS. 


89 


removed  :  upon  which  the  Christians  of  Antioch, 
incUiding  women  and  children,  transported  the 
coffin  from  Daphne  to  the  city,  with  solemn  re- 
joicings and  chanting  of  psalms.  The  psalms" 
were  such  as  cast  reproach  on  the  gods  of  the 
heathen,  and  those  who  piit  confidence  in  them 
and  their  images. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Wrath  of  the  Emperor,  ajuf  Firnmess  of  Theo- 
dore the  Confessor. 

Then  indeed  the  emperor's  real  temper  and 
disposition,  which  he  had  hitherto  kept  as  much 
as  possible  from  observation,  became  fully  mani- 
fested :  for  he  who  had  boasted  so  much  of  his 
philosophy,  was  no  longer  able  to  restrain  him- 
self; but  being  goaded  almost  to  madness  by 
these  reproachful  hymns,  he  was  ready  to  inflict 
the  same  cruelties  on  the  Christians,  with  which 
Diocletian's  agents  had  formerly  visited  them. 
Since,  however,  his  solicitude  about  the  Persian 
expedition  afforded  him  no  leisure  for  personally 
executing  his  wishes,  he  commanded  Sallust  the 
Prfetorian  Prefect  to  seize  those  who  had  been 
most  conspicuous  for  their  zeal  in  psalm-singing, 
in  order  to  make  examples  of  them.  The  pre- 
fect, though  a  pagan,  was  far  from  being  pleased 
with  his  commission  ;  but  since  he  durst  not 
contravene  it,  he  caused  several  of  the  Chris- 
tians to  be  apprehended,  and  some  of  them  to 
be  imprisoned.  One  young  man  named  Theo- 
dore, whom  the  heathens  brought  before  him,  he 
subjected  to  a  variety  of  tortures,  causing  his 
person  to  be  so  lacerated  and  only  released  him 
from  further  punishment  when  he  thought  that 
he  could  not  possibly  outlive  the  torments  :  yet 
God  preserved  this  sufferer,  so  that  he  long  sur- 
vived that  confession.  Rufinus,  the  author  of 
the  Ecclesiastical  History  ^x\\Xqxs.  in  Latin,  states 
that  he  himself  conversed  with  the  same  Theo- 
dore a  considerable  time  afterwards  :  and  en- 
quired of  him  whether  in  the  process  of  scourg- 
ing and  racking  he  had  not  felt  the  most  intense 
pains  ;  his  answer  was,  that  he  felt  the  pain  of  the 
tortures  to  which  he  was  subjected  for  a  very  short 
time  ;  and  that  a  young  man  stood  by  him  who 
both  wiped  off  the  sweat  which  was  produced  by 
the  acuteness  of  the  ordeal  through  which  he 
was  passing,  and  at  the  same  time  strengthened 
his  mind,  so  that  he  rendered  this  time  of  trial 
a  season  of  rapture  rather  than  of  suffering. 
Let  this  suffice  concerning  the  most  wonderful 
Theodore.  About  this  time  Persian  ambassa- 
dors came  to  the  emperor,  requesting  him  to 
terminate  the  war  on  certain  express  conditions. 
But  Julian  abruptly  dismissed  them,  saying,  'You 

2  Ps.  xcvi.  7  (LXX). 


shall  very  shortly  see  me  in  person,  so  that  there 
will  be  no  need  of  an  embassy.' 


CHAPTER   XX. 

The  Jews  instigated  by  the  Emperor  atte^tipt  to 
7-fbuild  their  Temple,  and  are  frustrated  in 
their  Attempt  by  Miraculous  Interposition. 

The  emperor  in  another  attemy)t  to  molest  the 
Christians  exposed  his  superstition.  Being  fond 
of  sacrificing,  he  not  only  himself  delighted  in 
the  blood  of  victims,  but  considered  it  an  in- 
dignity offered  to  him,  if  others  did  not  do  like- 
wise. And  as  he  found  but  few  persons  of  this 
stamp,  he  sent  for  the  Jews  and  enquired  of  them 
why  they  abstained  from  sacrificing,  since  the 
law  of  Moses  enjoined  it?  On  their  replying 
that  it  was  not  permitted  them  to  do  this  in  any 
other  place  than  Jerusalem,  he  immediately  or- j 
dered  them  to  rebuild  Solomon's  temple.  Mean- 
while he  himself  proceeded  on  his  expedition 
against  the  Persians.  The  Jews  who  had  been 
long  desirous  of  obtaining  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity for  rearing  their  temple  afresh  in  order  that 
they  might  therein  offer  sacrifice,  applied  them- 
selves very  vigorously  to  the  work.  Moreover, 
they  conducted  themselves  with  great  insolence 
toward  the  Christians,  and  threatened  to  do  them 
as  much  mischief,  as  they  had  themselves  suf-  ■' 
fered  from  the  Romans.  The  emperor  having 
ordered  that  the  expenses  of  this  structure  should 
be  defrayed  out  of  the  public  treasury,  all  things 
were  soon  provided,  such  as  timber  and  stone, 
burnt  brick,  clay,  lime,  and  all  other  materials 
necessary  for  building.  On  this  occasion  Cyril 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  called  to  mind  the  prophecy 
of  Daniel,  which  Christ  also  in  the  holy  gospels 
has  confirmed,  and  predicted  in  the  presence  of 
many  persons,  that  the  time  had  indeed  come 
'  in  which  one  stone  should  not  be  left  upon 
another  in  that  temple,'  but  that  the  Saviour's 
prophetic  declaration  ^  should  have  its  full  accom- 
phshment.  Such  were  the  bishop's  words  :  and 
on  the  night  following,  a  mighty  earthquake  tore 
up  the  stones  of  the  old  founciations  of  the  tem- 
ple and  dispersed  them  all  together  with  the 
adjacent  edifices.  Terror  consequently  pos- 
sessed the  Jews  on  account  of  the  event ;» and 
the  report  of  it  brought  many  to  the  spot  who 
resided  at  a  great  distance  :  when  therefore  a 
vast  multitude  was  assembled,  another  prodigy 
took  place.  Fire  came  down  from  heaven  and  con- 
sumed all  the  builders'  tools  :  so  that  the  flames 
were  seen  preying  upon  mallets,  irons  to  smooth 
and  polish  stones,  saws,  hatchets,  adzes,  in  short 
all  the  various  implements  which  the  workmen 
had  procured  as  necessary  for  the  undertaking ; 


1  Matt.  xxiv.  2,  15. 


90 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[III.  20. 


and  the  fire  continued  burning  among  these 
for  a  whole  day.  The  Jews  indeed  were  in  the 
greatest  possible  alarm,  and  unwillingly  confessed 
Christ,  calling  him  God  :  yet  they  did  not  do  his 
will ;  but  influenced  by  inveterate  prepossessions 
they  still  clung  to  Judaism.  Even  a  third  mira- 
cle which  afterwards  happened  failed  to  lead 
them  to  a  belief  of  the  truth.  For  the  next 
night  luminous  impressions  of  a  cross  appeared 
imprinted  on  their  garments,  which  at  daybreak 
they  in  vain  attempted  to  rub  or  wash  out.  They 
were  therefore  '  blinded '  as  the  apostle  says,^ 
and  cast  away  the  good  which  they  had  in  their 
hands :  and  thus  was  the  temple,  instead  of 
being  rebuilt,  at  that  time  wholly  overthrown. 


CHAPTER   XXL 

The  Emperor's  Invasion  of  Persia,  and  Death. 

The  emperor  meanwhile  invaded  the  country 
of  the  Persians  a  little  before  spring,  having 
learnt  that  the  races  of  Persia  were  greatly 
enfeebled  and  totally  spiritless  in  winter.  For 
from  their  inability  to  endure  cold,  they  abstain 
from  military  service  at  that  season,  and  it  has 
become  a  proverb  that  '  a  Mede  will  not  then 
draw  his  hand  from  underneath  his  cloak.'  And 
well  knowing  that  the  Romans  were  inured  to 
brave  all  the  rigors  of  the  atmosphere  he  let 
them  loose  on  the  country.  After  devastating 
a  considerable  tract  of  country,  including  numer- 
ous villages  and  fortresses,  they  next  assailed 
the  cities  ;  and  having  invested  the  great  city 
Ctesiphon,  he  reduced  the  king  of  the  Persians 
to  such  straits  that  the  latter  sent  repeated 
embassies  to  the  emperor,  offering  to  surrender 
a  portion  of  his  dominions,  on  condition  of  his 
quitting  the  country,  and  putting  an  end  to  the 
war.  But  Julian  was  unaffected  by  these  sub- 
missions, and  showed  no  compassion  to  a  sup- 
pUant  foe  :  nor  did  he  think  of  the  adage,  '  To 
conquer  is  honorable,  but  to  be  more  than  con- 
queror gives  occasion  for  envy.'  Giving  credit 
to  the  divinations  of  the  philosopher  Maximus, 
Avith  whom  he  was  in  continual  intercourse,  he 
was  deluded  into  the  belief  that  his  exploits 
would  not  only  equal,  but  exceed  those  of 
Alewnder  of  Macedon  ;  so  that  he  spurned  with 
contempt  the  entreaties  of  the  Persian  monarch. 
He  even  supposed  in  accordance  with  the  teach- 
ings of  Pythagoras  and  Plato  on  '  the  transmi- 
gration of  souls,'  ^  that  he  was  possessed  of  Alex- 
ander's soul,  or  rather  that  he  himself  was 
Alexander  in  another  body.  This  ridiculous 
fancy  deluded  and  caused  him  to  reject  the 
negotiations  for  peace  proposed  by  the  king  of 

2  Rom.  xi.  25;   2  Cor.  iii.  14. 

'  fierei'o-ui/j.aTujo-eujs,  lit.   '  exchange  of  bodies,"    formed  in  anal- 
ogy with  ^leTe^i/zuxwo-i!  and  logically  inseparable  from  that  doctrine. 


the  Persians.  Wherefore  the  latter  convinced 
of  the  uselessness  of  them  was  constrained  to 
prepare  for  conflict,  and  therefore  on  the  next 
day  after  the  rejection  of  his  embassy,  he  drew 
out  in  order  of  battle  all  the  forces  he  had.  The 
Romans  indeed  censured  their  prince,  for  not 
avoiding  an  engagement  when  he  might  have 
done  so  with  adv^antage  :  nevertheless  they  at- 
tacked those  who  opposed  them,  and  again  put 
the  enemy  to  flight.  The  emperor  was  present 
on  horseback,  and  encouraged  his  soldiers  in 
battle  ;  but  confiding  simply  in  his  hope  of  suc- 
cess, he  wore  no  armor.  In  this  defenceless 
state,  a  dart  cast  by  some  one  unknown,  pierced 
through  his  arm  and  entered  his  side,  making  a 
wound.  In  consequence  of  this  wound  he  died. 
Some  say  that  a  certain  Persian  hurled  the  jave- 
hn,  and  then  fled  ;  others  assert  that  one  of  his 
own  men  was  the  author  of  the  deed,  which  indeed 
is  the  best  corroborated  and  most  current  report. 
But  Callistus,  one  of  his  body-guards,  who  cele- 
brated this  emperor's  deeds  in  heroic  verse,  says 
in  narrating  the  particulars  of  this  war,  that  the 
wound  of  which  he  died  was  inflicted  by  a 
demon.  This  is  possibly  a  merS  poetical  fic- 
tion, or  perhaps  it  was  really  the  fact ;  for 
vengeful  furies  have  undoubtedly  destroyed  many 
persons.  Be  the  case  however  as  it  may,  this  is 
certain,  that  the  ardor  of  his  natural  tempera- 
ment rendered  him  incautious,  his  learning 
made  him  vain,  and  his  affectation  of  clemency 
exposed  him  to  contempt.  Thus  Julian  ended 
his  life  in  Persia,-  as  we  have  said,  in  his  fourth 
consulate,''  which  he  bore  with  Sallust  his  col- 
league. This  event  occurred  on  the  26th  of 
June,  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  and  the 
seventh  from  his  having  been  created  Caesar  by 
Constantius,  he  being  at  that  time  in  the  thirty- 
first  year  of  his  age. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

Jovian  is  proclaimed  Emperor. 

The  soldiery  being  thrown  into  extreme  per- 
plexity by  an  event  so  unexpected,  and  without 
delay,  on  the  following  day  proclaimed  Jovian 
emperor,  a  person  alike  distinguished  for  his 
courage  and  birth.  He  was  a  military  tribune 
when  Julian  put  forth  an  edict  giving  his  officers 
the  option  of  either  sacrificing  or  resigning  their 
rank  in  the  army,  and  chose  rather  to  lay  down 
his  commission,'  than  to  obey  the  mandate  of 
an  impious  prince.  Julian,  however,  being 
pressed  by  the  urgency  of  the  war  which  was 

-  Thcodoret,  H.  E.  III.  25,  gives  the  familiar  version  of  the  death 
of  Julian,  according  to  which,  on  perceiving  the  character  of  his 
wound,  the  dying  emperor  filled  his  hand  with  blond  and  threw  it  up 
into  the  air,  crying,  '  Galilean,  thou  hc\st  overcome !  ' 


^  363  A.D. 


•  See  above,  chap.  13. 


III.  23.] 


ACCESSION    OF    JOVIAN. 


91 


before  him,  retained  him  among  his  generals. 
On  being  saluted  emperor,  he  positively  de- 
clined to  accept  the  sovereign  power :  and 
when  the  soldiers  brought  him  forward  by  force, 
he  declared  that  '  being  a  Christian,  he  did  not 
wish  to  reign  over  a  people  who  chose  to  adopt 
paganism  as  their  religion.'  They  all  then  with 
one  voice  answered  that  they  also  were  Chris- 
tians :  upon  which  he  accepted  the  imperial 
dignity.  Perceiving  himself  suddenly  left  in 
very  difficult  circumstances,  in  the  midst  of  the 
Persian  territory,  where  his  army  was  in  danger 
of  perishing  for  want  of  necessaries,  he  agreed 
to  terminate  the  war,  even  on  terms  by  no 
means  honorable  to  the  glory  of  the  Roman 
name,  but  rendered  necessary  by  the  exigencies 
of  the  crisis.  Submitting  therefore  to  the  loss 
of  the  government  of  Syria,"  and  giving  up  also 
Nisibis,  a  city  of  Mesopotamia,  he  withdrew 
from  their  territories.  The  announcement  of 
these  things  gave  fresh  hope  to  the  Christians  ; 
while  the  pagans  vehemently  bewailed  Julian's 
death.  Nevertheless  the  whole  army  repro- 
bated his  intemperate  heat,  and  ascribed  to  his 
rashness  in  listening  to  the  wily  reports  of  a 
Persian  deserter,  the  humiliation  of  ceding  the 
territories  lost :  for  being  imposed  upon  by  the 
statements  of  this  fugitive,  he  was  induced  to 
burn  the  ships  which  supplied  them  with  pro- 
visions by  water,  by  which  means  they  were 
exposed  to  all  the  horrors  of  famine.  Then  also 
Libanius  composed  a  funeral  oration  on  him, 
which  he  designated  Jiilianus,  or  Epitaph, 
wherein  he  celebrates  with  lofty  encomiums 
almost  all  his  actions ;  but  in  referring  to  the 
books  which  Julian  wrote  against  the  Christians, 
he  says  that  he  has  therein  clearly  demonstrated 
the  ridiculous  and  trifling  character  of  their  sa- 
cred books.  Had  this  sophist  contented  him- 
self with  extolling  the  emperor's  other  acts,  I 
should  have  quietly  proceeded  with  the  course  of 
my  history ;  but  since  this  famous  rhetorician 
has  thought  proper  to  take  occasion  to  inveigh 
against  the  Scriptures  of  the  Christian  faith,  we 
also  propose  to  pause  a  little  and  in  a  brief  re- 
view consider  his  words. 


CHAPTER   XXIH. 

Refutatio7i  of  what  Libanius   the  Sophist  said 
coticerning  Julian. 

'  When  the  winter,'  says  he,^  '  had  lengthened 
the  nights,  the  emperor  made  an  attack  on  those 

^  So  the  MSS.  and  Bright.  The  same  reading  was  also  before 
Epiphanius  Scholasticus  and  Nicephorus;  but  Valesius  conjectur- 
ally  amends  the  reading  tou;  Siipov?  ttjs  a.p\y]'i  into  tou9  6pov%  T>j? 
"PX'i^i  alleging  that  Socrates  himself  later  mentions  the  loss  as 
^T)y.ia.v  Tuiv  opmv.  If  the  reading  of  Valesius  be  considered  correct, 
then  we  must  translate  '  submitting  to  the  loss  of  the  borders,"  sup- 
plying '  of  the  empire.'  This  would  include  the  districts  beyond 
the  Tigris.  1  Liban,  Orat.  xviii.  {Opera,  i.  Reiske). 


books  which  made  the  man  of  Palestine  both 
God,  and  the  Son  of  God  :  and  by  a  long  series 
of  arguments  having  proved  that  these  writings, 
which  are  so  much  revered  by  Christians,  are 
ridiculous  and  unfounded,  he  has  evinced  him- 
self wiser  and  more  skillful  than  the  Tyrian "  old 
man.     But  may  this  Tyrian  sage  be  propitious 
to  me,  and  mildly  bear  with  what  has  been  af- 
firmed, seeing  that  he  has  been  excelled  by  his 
son  ! '     Such  is  the   language   of   Libanius  the 
Sophist.     But  I  confess,  indeed,  that  he  was  an 
excellent  rhetorician,  but  am  persuaded  that  had 
he  not  coincided  with  the  emperor  in  religious 
sentiment,  he  would  not  only  have  given  expres- 
sion to  all  that  has  been  said  against  him  by 
Christians,   but   would    have    magnified    every 
ground  of  censure  as  naturally  becomes  a  rheto- 
rician.    For  while  Constantius  was  alive  he  wrote 
encomiums  upon  him  ;   but   after  his  death  he 
brought    the     most    insulting    and    reproachful 
charges  against  him.     So  that  if  Porphyry  had 
been  emperor,   Libanius  would   certainly   have 
preferred  his  books  to  Julian's  :  and  had  Julian 
been  a  mere  sophist,  he  would  have  termed  him 
a  very  indifterent  one,  as  he  does  Ecebolius  in 
his  Epitaph   upon  Julian.      Since  then  he  has 
spoken  in  the  spirit  of  a  pagan,  a  sophist,  and 
the  friend  of  him  whom  he  lauded,  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  meet  what  he  has  advanced,  as  far  as 
we  are  able.     In  the  first  place  he  says  that  the 
emperor  undertook  to  '  attack  '  these  books  dur- 
ing  the   long  winter  nights.     Now  to   '  attack ' 
means  to  make  the  writing  of  a  confutation  of 
them  a  task,  as  the   sophists  commonly  do  in 
teaching  the  rudiments  of  their  art ;  for  he  had 
perused  these  books  long  before,  but  attacked 
them  at  this  time.     But  throughout   the    long 
contest   into  which   he  entered,  instead  of  at- 
tempting to  disprove  anything  by  sound  reason- 
ing, as  Libanius  asserts,  in  the  absence  of  truth 
he   had   recourse  to  sneers   and  contemptuous 
jests,   of  which  he  was    excessively  fond ;   and 
thus  he  sought  to  hold  up  to  derision  what  is 
too  firmly  established  to  be  overthrown.     For 
every  one  who  enters  into  controversy  with  an- 
other, sometimes  trying  to  pervert  the  truth,  and 
at  others  to  conceal  it,  falsifies  by  every  possible 
means  the  position  of  his  antagonist.     And  an 
adversary  is  not  satisfied  with  doing  malignant 
acts  against  one  with  whom  he  is  at  variance, 
but  will  speak  against  him  also,  and  charge  upon 
the  object  of  his  dislike  the  very  faults  he  is  con- 
scious of  in  himself.     That  both  Julian  and  Por- 
phyry,  whom    Libanius    calls    the    '  Tyrian    old 
man,'  took  great  delight  in  scoffing,  is  evident 
from    their   own   works.     For   Porphyry  in  his 
History  of  the  Philosophers  has  treated  with  rid- 
icule the  life  of  Socrates,  the  most  eminent  of 

2  Porphyry.     See  above,  I.  9. 


92 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY 


[III.  23. 


all  the  philosophers,  making  such  remarks  on 
him  as  neither  Melitus,  nor  Anytus,  his  accusers, 
would  have  dared  to  utter;  of  Socrates,  I  say, 
who  was  admired  by  all  the  Greeks  for  his  mod- 
esty, justice,  and  other  virtues ;  whom  Plato,''' 
the  most  admirable  among  them,  Xenophon,  and 
the  rest  of  the  philosophic  band,  not  only  honor 
as  one  beloved  of  God,  but  also  are  accustomed 
to  think  of  as  having  been  endowed  with  super- 
human intelligence.  And  Julian,  imitating  his 
'  father,'  displayed  a  like  morbidness  of  mind  in 
his  book,  entitled  Tlie  C(ssars,  wherein  he  tra- 
duces all  his  imperial  predecessors,  not  sparing 
even  Mark  the  philosopher.'*  Their  own  writings 
therefore  show  that  they  both  took  pleasure  in 
taunts  and  reviling ;  and  I  have  no  need  of  pro- 
fuse and  clever  expressions  to  do  this  ;  but  what 
has  been  said  is  enough  concerning  their  mood 
in  this  respect.  Now  I  write  these  things,  using 
the  oration  of  each  as  witnesses  respecting  their 
dispositions,  but  of  Julian  in  particular,  what 
Gregory  of  Nazianzus  ^  says  in  his  Second  Ora- 
tion against  the  Pagans  is  in  the  following 
terms  : 

'These  things  were  made  evident  to  others  by 
experience,  after  the  possession  of  imperial  au- 
thority had  left  him  free  to  follow  the  bent  of  his 
inclinations  :  but  I  had  foreseen  it  all,  from  the 
time  I  became  acquainted  with  him  at  Athens. 
Thither  he  came,  by  permission  of  the  emperor, 
soon  after  the  change  in  his  brother's  fortune. 
His  motive  for  this  visit  was  twofold  :  one  reason 
was  honorable  to  him,  viz.  to  see  Greece,  and 
attend  the  schools  there ;  the  other  was  a  more 
secret  one,  which  few  knew  anything  about, 
for  his  impiety  had  not  yet  presumed  to  openly 
avow  itself,  viz.  to  have  opportunity  of  consult- 
ing the  sacrificers  and  other  impostors  respect- 
ing his  own  destiny.  I  well  remember  that  even 
then  I  was  no  bad  diviner  concerning  this  per- 
son, although  I  by  no  means  pretend  to  be  one 
of  those  skilled  in  the  art  of  divination  :  but  the 
fickleness  of  his  disposition,  and  the  incredible 
extravagancy  of  his  mind,  rendered  me  pro- 
phetic ;  if  indeed  he  is  the  "  best  prophet  who 
conjectures  correctly'"'  events.  Yox  it  seemed 
to  me  that  no  good  was  portended  by  a  neck 
seldom  steady,  the  frequent  shrugging  of  shoul- 
ders, an  eye  scowling  and  always  in  motion,  to- 
gether with  a  frenzied  aspect ;  a  gait  irregular 
and  tottering,  a  nose  breathing  only  contempt 
and  insult,  with  ridiculous  contortions  of  counte- 
nance expressive  of  the  same  thing ;  immoder- 
ate and  very  loud  laughter,  nods  as  it  were  of 
assent,  and  drawings  back  of  the  head  as  if 
in  denial,  without  any  visible  cause  ;  speech  with 

•''  In  his  Crito,  Phcedo,  Phcedrus,  and  Apology  of  Socrates. 
See  also  Xenophon's  Memorabilia  of  Socrates  and  Syinposium. 

*  Marcus  Aurelius.  0  Gregor.  Nazianz.  Orat.  V.  23. 

•  Euripid.  Fragm. 


hesitancy  and  interrupted  by  his  breathing  ;  dis- 
orderly and  senseless  questions,  answers  no 
better,  all  jumbled  together  without  the  least 
consistency  or  method.  Why  need  I  enter  into 
minute  particulars?  Such  I  foresaw  he  would 
be  beforehand  as  I  found  him  afterwards  from 
experience.  And  if  any  of  those  who  were  then 
present  and  heard  me,  were  now  here,  they 
would  readily  testify  that  when  I  observ^ed  these 
prognostics  I  exclaimed,  "  Ah  !  how  great  a  mis- 
chief to  itself  is  the  Roman  empire  fostering!" 
And  that  when  I  had  uttered  these  words  I 
prayed  God  that  I  might  be  a  false  prophet.  For 
it  would  have  been  far  better  [that  I  should  have 
been  convicted  of  having  formed  an  erroneous 
judgment],  than  that  the  world  should  be  filled 
with  so  many  calamities,  and  that  such  a  mon- 
ster should  have  appeared  as  never  before  had 
been  seen  :  although  many  deluges  and  confla- 
grations are  recorded,  many  earthquakes  and 
chasms,  and  descriptions  are  given  of  many 
ferocious  and  inhuman  men,  as  well  as  prodi- 
gies of  the  brute  creation,  compounded  of  dif- 
ferent races,  of  which  nature  produced  unusual 
forms.  His  end  has  indeed  been  such  as  cor- 
responds with  the  madness  of  his  career.' 

This  is  the  sketch  which  Gregory  has  given 
us  of  Julian.  Moreover,  that  in  their  various 
compilations  they  have  endeavored  to  do  vio- 
lence to  the  truth,  sometimes  by  the  corruption  of 
passages  of  sacred  Scripture,  at  others  by  either 
adding  to  the  express  words,  and  putting  such 
a  construction  upon  them  as  suited  their  own 
purpose,  many  have  demonstrated,  by  confuting 
their  cavils,  and  exposing  their  fallacies.  Ori- 
gen  in  particular,  who  lived  long  before  Julian's 
time,  by  himself  raising  objections  to  such  pas- 
sages of  Holy  Scripture "  as  seemed  to  disturb 
some  readers,  and  then  fully  meeting  them,  has 
shut  out  the  invidious  clamors  of  the  thought- 
less. And  had  Julian  and  Porphyry  given  his 
writings  a  candid  and  serious  perusal,  they 
would  have  discoursed  on  other  topics,  and 
not  have  turned  to  the  framing  of  blasphe- 
mous sophisms.  It  is  also  very  obvious  that 
the  emperor  in  his  discourses  was  intent  on 
beguiling  the  ignorant,  and  did  not  address  him- 
self to  those  who  possess  the  '  form '  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  presented  in  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures. For  having  grouped  together  various 
expressions  in  which  (rod  is  spoken  of  dispen- 
sationally,  and  more  according  to  the  manner  of 
men,  he  thus  comments  on  them.**  '  Every  one 
of  these  expressions  is  full  of  blasphemy  against 


'  Probably  Socrates  means  Origen's  lost  work,  known  as  Stro- 
iitaia,  which  Jerome  (in  his  Ep.  ad  Magnum)  says  was  written  to 
show  the  harmony  of  the  Christian  doctrines  and  the  teachings  of 
the  philosophers.  The  description  here  given  does  not  tally  more 
precisely  with  any  other  work  of  Oripen  now  extant. 

">  Cyril,  Contra  Julian.  111.  (p.  93,  ed.  Spanheim). 


III.  23.]  CRITICISM    OF    LIBANIUS'    EULOGY    ON    JULIAN. 


93 


God,  unless  the  phrase  contains  some  occult 
and  mysterious  sense,  which  indeed  I  can  sup- 
pose.' This  is  the  e.xact  language  he  uses  in 
his  third  book  against  the  Christians.  liut  in 
his  treatise  On  the  Cynic  riiilosophy,  where  he 
shows  to  what  extent  fables  may  be  invented 
on  religious  subjects,  he  says  that  in  such  mat- 
ters the  truth  must  be  veiled  :  '  For,'  to  quote 
his  very  words,"  '  Nature  loves  concealment ; 
and  the  hidden  substance  of  the  gods  cannot 
endure  being  cast  into  polluted  ears  in  naked 
words.'  From  which  it  is  manifest  that  the 
emperor  entertained  this  notion  concerning  the 
divine  Scriptures,  that  they  are  mystical  dis- 
courses, containing  in  them  some  abstruse  mean- 
ing. He  is  also  very  indignant  because  all  men 
do  not  form  the  same  opinion  of  them  ;  and  in- 
veighs against  those  Christians  who  understand 
the  sacred  oracles  in  a  more  literal  sense.  But 
it  ill  became  him  to  rail  so  vehemently  against 
the  simplicity  of  the  vulgar,  and  on  their  account 
to  behave  so  arrogantly  towards  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures :  nor  was  he  warranted  in  turning  with 
aversion  from  those  things  which  others  rightly 
apprehended,  because  forsooth  they  understood 
them  otherwise  than  he  desired  they  should.  But 
now  as  it  seems  a  similar  cause  of  disgust  seems 
to  have  operated  upon  him  to  that  which  affected 
Porphyry,  who  having  been  beaten  by  some 
Christians  at  Caesarea  in  Palestine  and  not  being 
able  to  endure  [such  treatment],  from  the  work- 
ing of  unrestrained  rage  renounced  the  Christian 
religion :  and  from  hatred  of  those  who  had 
beaten  him  he  took  to  write  blasphemous  works 
against  Christians,  as  Eusebius  Pamphilus  has 
proved  Avho  at  the  same  time  refuted  his  writ- 
ings. So  the  emperor  having  uttered  disdainful 
expressions  against  the  Christians  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  unthinking  multitude,  through  the 
same  morbid  condition  of  mind  fell  into  Por- 
phyry's blasphemies.  Since  therefore  they  both 
willfully  broke  forth  into  impiety,  they  are  pun- 
ished bv  the  consciousness  of  their  "uilt.  But 
when  Libanius  the  Sophist  says  ^"  in  derision,  that 
the  Christians  make  '  a  man  of  Palestine  both 
God  and  the  Son  of  God,'  he  appears  to  have 
forgotten  that  he  himself  has  deified  Julian  at 
the  close  of  his  oration.  '  For  they  almost 
killed,'  says  he, '  the  first  messenger  of  his  death, 
as  if  he  had  lied  against  a  god.'  And  a  little 
afterwards  he  adds,  '  O  thou  cherished  one  of 
the  gods  !  thou  disciple  of  the  gods  !  thou  asso- 
ciate "  with  the  gods  ! '  Now  although  Libanius 
may  have  meant  otherwise,  yet  inasmuch  as  he 
did  not  avoid  the  ambiguity  of  a  wor  J  which  is 
sometimes  taken   in  a  bad  sense,  he  seems  to 


»  Julian,  Orat.  VII. 

'"  Liban.  Orat.  XVIIl.  {Oper.  I.  625,  Reiske). 
1'  irape6peuTa,  term  applied  to  associates  on  the  bench  in  judica- 
tories. 


have  said  the  same  things  as  the  Christians  had 
done  reproachfully.  If  then  it  w^as  his  intention 
to  praise  him,  he  ought  to  have  avoided  equivo- 
cal terms  ;  as  he  did  on  another  occasion,  when 
being  criticised  he  avoided  a  certain  word,  cut- 
ting it  out  of  his  works.  Moreover,  that  man  in 
Christ  was  united  to  the  Godhead,  so  that  while 
he  was  apparently  but  man,  he  was  the  invisible 
God,  and  that  both  these  things  are  most  true, 
the  divine  books  of  Christians  distinctly  teach. 
But  the  heathen  before  they  believe,  cannot 
understand  :  for  it  is  a  divine  oracle  that  de- 
clares ^^  '  Unless  ye  believe,  assuredly  ye  shall  not 
understand.'  Wherefore  they  are  not  ashamed 
to  place  many  men  among  the  number  of  their 
gods  :  and  would  that  they  had  done  this,  at 
least  to  the  good,  just,  and  sober,  instead  of  the 
impure,  unjust,  and  those  addicted  to  drunken- 
ness, like  the  Hercules,  the  Bacchus,  and  the 
^"Esculapius,  by  whom  Libanius  does  not  blush 
to  swear  frequently  in  his  orations.  And  were  I 
to  attempt  to  enumerate  the  unnatural  debauch- 
eries and  infamous  adulteries  of  these,  the  di- 
gression would  be  lengthened  beyond  meas- 
ure :  but  for  those  who  desire  to  be  informed  on 
the  subject,  Arisfotlc's  Peplinn,  Dionysius^  Co- 
rona, Rheginns'  Polymnemon,  and  the  whole 
host  of  poets  will  be  enough  to  show  that  the 
pagan  theology  is  a  tissue  of  extravagant  absurd- 
ities. We  might  indeed  show  by  a  variety  of 
instances  that  the  practice  of  deifying  human 
beings  was  far  from  uncommon  among  the  hea- 
then, nay,  that  they  did  so  without  the  slightest 
hesitation :  let  a  few  examples  suffice.  The 
Rhodians  having  consulted  an  oracle  on  some 
public  calamity,  a  response  was  given  directing 
them  to  pay  their  adoration  to  Atys,  a  pagan 
priest  who  instituted  frantic  rites  in  Phrygia. 
The  oracle  was  thus  expressed  : 

'  Atys  propitiate,  the  great  god,  the  chaste 
Adonis,  the  blessed  fair-haired  Dionysius  rich  in 
gifts.' 

Here  Atys,  who  from  an  amatory  mania  had 
castrated  himself,  is  by  the  oracle  designated  as 
Adonis  and  Bacchus. 

Again,  when  Alexander,  king  of  the  Mace- 
donians, passed  over  into  Asia,  the  Amphictyons 
courted  his  favor,  and  the  Pythoness  uttered 
this  oracle  : 

'  To  Zeus  supreme  among  the  gods,  and 
Athene  Tritogenia  pay  homage,  and  to  the 
king  divine  concealed  in  mortal  form,  him  Zeus 
begat  in  honor  to  be  the  protector  and  dispen- 
ser of  justice  among  mortals,  Alexander  the  king.' 

These  are  the  words  of  the  demon  at  Delphi, 
who  when  he  wished  to  flatter  potentates,  did 
not  scruple  to  assign  them  a  place  among  the 
gods.     The  motive  here  was  perhaps  to  concili- 

1-  Isa.  vii.  9  (LXX,  /cat  ko.v  /ajj  7rio-Teu(TT)Te,  ovhi  \t.r\  o-vi-^Tc). 


94 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[HI.  23, 


ate  by  adulation  :  but  what  could  one  say  of  the 
case  of  Cleomedes  the  pugilist,  whom  they 
ranked  among  the  gods  in  this  oracle? 

'The  last  of  the  heroes  is  Cleomedes,  the 
Astypalian.  Him  honor  with  sacrifices ;  for  he 
is  no  longer  a  mortal.' 

Because  of  this  oracle  Diogenes  the  cynic, 
and  Oenomaus  the  philosopher,  strongly  con- 
demned Apollo.  The  inhabitants  of  Cyzicus 
declared  Hadrian  to  be  the  thirteenth  god  ;  and 
Adrian  himself  deified  his  own  catamite  Antin- 
oiis.''^  Libanius  does  not  term  these  '  ridiculous 
and  contemptible  absurdities,'  although  he  was 
familiar  with  these  oracles,  as  well  as  with  the  work 
of  Adrias  on  the  life  of  Alexander  "  (the  pseudo- 
prophet  of  Paphlagonia)  :  nor  does  he  himself 
hesitate  to  dignify  Porphyry  in  a  similar  manner, 
when  after  having  preferred  Julian's  books  to 
his,  he  says,  '  May  the  Syrian  be  propitious  to 
me,'  This  digression  will  suffice  to  repel  the 
scoffs  of  the  sophist,  without  following  him  far- 
ther in  what  he  has  advanced  ;  for  to  enter  into 
a  complete  refutation  would  require  an  express 
work.  We  shall  therefore  proceed  with  our  his- 
tory. 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

The  Bishops  flock  around  Jovian,  each  attempt- 
ing to  draw  him  to  his  own  Creed. 

Jovian  having  returned  from  Persia,  ecclesi- 
astical commotions  were  again  renewed :  for 
those  who  presided  over  the  churches  endeav- 
ored to  anticipate  each  other,  in  the  hope  that 
the  emperor  would  attach  himself  to  their  own 
tenets.  He  however  had  from  the  beginning 
adhered  to  the  homoousian  f^iith,  and  openly 
declared  that  he  preferred  this  to  all  others. 
Moreover,  he  wrote  letters  to  and  encouraged 
Athanasius  bishop  of  Alexandria,  who  immedi- 
ately after  Julian's  death  had  recovered  the 
Alexandrian  church,  and  at  that  time  gaining 
confidence  from  the  letters  [spoken  of]  put 
away  all  fear.  The  emperor  further  recalled 
from  exile  all  those  prelates  whom  Constantius 
had  banished,  and  who  had  not  been  re-estab- 
lished by  Julian.  Moreover,  the  pagan  temples 
were  again  shut  up,  and  they  secreted  them- 
selves wherever  they  were  able.  The  philoso- 
phers also  laid  aside  their  palliums,  and  clothed 
themselves  in  ordinary  attire.  That  public 
pollution  by  the  blood  of  victims,  which  had 
been  profusely  lavished  even  to  disgust  in  the 
reign  of  Julian,  was  now  likewise  taken  away. 

'3  For  a  full  account  of  Antinoiis  and  his  relations  to  Hadrian, 
see  Smith,  Diet,  cf  Greek  and  Ro»ian  Biogr.  and  MyihoL,  article 
AntinoOs.  The  stor>'  has  been  put  into  literary  fiction  in  the  his- 
torical novels  Antinoiis,  by  George  Taylor  (A.  Hausrath),and  The 
Emperor,  by  Georg  Kbers. 

1^  It  is  uncertain  what  the  true  reading  should  be  here.  In  one 
of  the  MSS.  it  is  'ASpia?,  in  another  '.\v6pia<;\  according;  to  others 
'ASptara?,   or   'Appiai'd?.      Valesius   suggests    the    substitution    of 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  Macedonians  and  Acacians  meet  at  Anti- 
och,  and  proclai7n  their  Assent  to  the  Nicene 
Creed. 

Meanwhile  the  state  of  the  church  was  by  no 
means  tranquil ;  for  the  heads  of  the  sects  assid- 
uously paid  their  court  to  the  emperor  their 
king  that  protection  for  themselves  meant  also 
power  against  their  acknowledged  opponents. 
And  first  the  Macedonians  presented  a  petition 
to  him,  in  which  they  begged  that  all  those  who 
asserted  the  Son  to  be  unlike  the  Father,  might 
be  expelled  from  the  churches,  and  themselves 
allowed  to  take  their  place.  This  supplication 
was  presented  by  Basil  bishop  of  Ancyra,  Sil- 
vanus  of  Tarsus,  Sophronius  of  Pompeiopolis, 
Pasinicus  of  Zelae,^  Leontius  of  Comana,  Calli- 
crates  of  Claudiopolis,  and  Theophilus  of  Casta- 
bala.  The  emperor  having  perused  it,  dismissed 
them  without  any  other  answer  than  this  :  '  I 
abominate  contentiousness ;  but  I  love  and  honor 
those  who  exert  themselves  to  promote  unanim- 
ity.' When  this  remark  became  generally  known, 
it  subdued  the  violence  of  those  who  were  de- 
sirous of  altercation  and  thus  was  realized  in 
the  design  of  the  emperor.  At  this  time  the 
real  spirit  of  the  Acacian  sect,  and  their  readi- 
ness to  accommodate  their  opinions  to  those 
invested  with  supreme  authority,  became  more 
conspicuous  than  ever.  For  assembling  them- 
selves at  Antioch  in  Syria,  they  entered  into  a 
conference  with  Melitius,  who  had  separated 
from  them  a  little  l)efore,  and  embraced  the 
'  homoousian  '  opinion.  This  they  did  because 
they  saw  Melitius  was  in  high  estimation  with 
the  emperor,  who  then  resided  at  Antioch  ;  and 
assenting  therefore  by  common  consent,  they 
drew  up  a  declaration  of  their  sentiments  ac- 
knowledging the  homoonsion  and  ratifying  the 
Nicene  Creed  and  presented  it  to  the  emperor. 
It  was  expressed  in  the  following  terms. 

'The  Synod  of  bishops  convened  at  Antioch 
out  of  various  provinces,  to  the  most  pious  and 
beloved  of  God,  our  lord  Jovian  Victor  Au- 
gustus. 

'  That  your  piety  has  above  all  things  aimed 
at  establishing  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the 
church,  we  ourselves,  most  devout  emperor,  are 
fully  aware.  Nor  are  we  insensible  that  you 
have  wisely  judged  an  acknowledgment  of  the 


AouKiai-ds.  If  this  be  adopted,  then  the  Alexander  suggested  is 
Lucian's  Alexander  of  Abonoteichus.  For  a  lucid  and  suggestive 
reproduction  of  this  story,  see  Froude,  Short  Studies  on  Great 
Subjects,  essay  on  Luciati. 

'  The  MSS.  and  all  the  Greek  texts  read  Z»)rair,  making  the 
name  '  Pasinicus  Zenon,  or  Zeno.'  The  translation  here  given 
assumes  the  alteration  in  the  process  of  transcription  of  a  single 
letter,  making  the  original  ZrjAJjr,  which  probably  means  the  city 
of  Zeleia,  on  the  southeastern  coast  of  the  Euxine,  famous  for  a 
victory  of  Mithridates  over  Triarius,  the  lieutenant  of  Lucullus, 
in  O7  u.c. 


III.  26.]   ACCEPTANCE  OF  NICENE  CREED  BY  MACEDONIANS. 


95 


orthodox  faith  to  be  the  sum  and  substance 
of  this  unity.  Wherefore  lest  we  should  be  in- 
cluded in  the  number  of  those  who  adulterate 
the  doctrine  of  the  truth,  we  hereby  declare  to 
your  piety  that  we  embrace  and  steadfastly  hold 
the  faith  of  the  holy  Synod  formerly  convened 
at  Nica^a.  Especially  since  the  term  homo- 
ousios,  which  to  some  seems  novel'  and  inap- 
propriate, has  been  judiciously  explained  by  the 
fathers  to  denote  that  the  Son  was  begotten  of 
the  Father's  substance,  and  that  he  is  like  the 
Father  as  to  substance.  Not  indeed  that  any 
passion  is  to  be  understood  in  relation  to  that 
ineffable  generation.  Nor  is  the  term  oiisia, 
"  substance,"  taken  by  the  fathers  in  any  usual 
signification  of  it  among  the  Greeks  ;  but  it  has 
been  employed  for  the  subversion  of  what  Arius 
impiously  dared  to  assert  concerning  Christ,  viz. 
—  that  he  was  made  of  things  "not  existing." 
Which  heresy  the  Anomceans,  who  have  lately 
sprung  up,  still  more  audaciously  maintain,  to 
the  utter  destruction  of  ecclesiastical  unity.  We 
have  therefore  annexed  to  this  our  declaration, 
a  copy  of  the  faith  set  forth  by  the  bishops  as- 
sembled at  NicEca,  with  which  also  we  are  fully 
satisfied.  It  is  this  :  "  We  believe  in  one  God 
the  Father  Almighty,"  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
Creed  in  full.  We,  the  undersigned,  in  present- 
ing this  statement,  most  cordially  assent  to  its 
contents.  Melitius  bishop  of  Antioch,  Eusebius 
of  Samosata,  Evagrius  of  Sicily,  Uranius  of  Apa- 
maea,  Zoilus  of  Larissa,  Acacius  of  Caesarea, 
Antipater  of  Rhosus,  Abramius  of  Urimi,^  Aris- 
tonicus  of  Seleucia-upon-Belus,  Barlamenus  of 
Pergamus,  Uranius  of  Melitina,  Magnus  of  Chal- 
cedon,  Eutychius  of  Eleutheropolis,  Isacocis  of 
Armenia  Major,  Titus  of  Bostra,  Peter  of  Sippi,'* 
Pelagius  of  Laodicaea,  Arabian  of  Antros,  Piso 
of  Adana  through  Lamydrion  a- presbyter,  Sabi- 
nian  bishop  of  Zeugma,  Athanasius  of  Ancyra 
through  Orphitus  and  Aetius  presbyters,  Irenion 
bishop  of  Gaza,  Piso  of  Augusta,  Patricius  of 
Paltus  through  Lamyrion  a  presbyter,  Anatolius 
bishop  of  Beroea,  Theotimus  of  the  Arabs,  and 
Lucian  of  Area.'  ^ 

This  declaration  we  found  recorded  in  that 
work  of  Sabinus,  entitled  A  Collection  of  the 
Acts  of  Synods.  Now  the  emperor  had  resolved 
to  allay  if  possible  the  contentious  spirit  of  the 

-  This  word,  whose  original  is  ^ivov,  is  inserted  by  Valesius.  If 
it  were  omitted,  the  translation  would  be,  '  which  to  some  seems 
acceptable.'  _ 

^  On  the  present  borders  of  Turkey  and  Persia. 

^  According  to  Valesius  Hippi. 

^  The  name  of  this  city  is  variously  given  as  Archis,  Area,  Arcae, 
Areas,  Arcaea,  Arcena.  It  lies  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Lebanon.  See 
Joseph.  Antiq.  V.  i  and  de  Bella,  XII.  13. 


parties  at  variance,  by  bland  manners  and  per- 
suasive language  toward  them  all ;  declaring  that 
he  '  would  not  molest  any  one  on  account  of  his 
religious  sentiments,  and  that  he  should  love  and 
highly  esteem  such  as  would  zealously  promote 
the  unity  of  the  church.'  The  philosopher 
Themistius  attests  that  such  was  his  conduct,  in 
the  oration  he  composed  on  his  '  consulate.' 
For  he  extols  the  emperor  for  his  overcoming 
the  wiles  of  flatterers  by  freely  permitting  every 
one  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
his  conscience.  And  in  allusion  to  the  check 
which  the  sycophants  received,  he  facetiously 
observes*'  that  experience  has  made  it  evident 
that  such  persons  '  worship  the  purple  and  not 
God ;  and  resemble  the  changeful  Euripus,'^ 
which  sometimes  rolls  its  waves  in  one  direction, 
and  at  others  the  very  opposite  way.' 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 
Death  of  the  Emperor  Jovian. 

Thus  did  the  emperor  repress  at  that  time  the 
impetuosity  of  those  who  were  disposed  to  cavil : 
and  immediately  departing  from  Antioch,  he 
went  to  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  where  he  duly  per- 
formed the  funeral  obsequies  of  Julian,  after 
which  he  was  declared  consul.  Proceeding 
thence  directly  to  Constantinople,  he  arrived  at 
a  place  named  Dadastana,  situated  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Galatia  and  Bithynia.  There  Themistius 
the  philosopher,  with  others  of  the  senatorial 
order,  met  him,  and  pronounced  the  consular 
oration  before  him,  which  he  afterwards  recited 
before  the  people  at  Constantinople.  And  in- 
deed the  Roman  empire,  blest  with  so  excellent 
a  sovereign,  would  doubtless  have  flourished  ex- 
ceedingly, as  it  is  likely  that  both  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  departments  would  have  been  hap- 
pily administered,  had  not  his  sudden  death  be- 
reft the  state  of  so  eminent  a  personage.  For 
disease  caused  by  some  obstruction,  having  at- 
tacked him  at  the  place  above  mentioned  during 
the  winter  season,  he  died  there  on  the  i  7th  day 
of  February,  in  his  own  and  his  son  Varronian's 
consulate,^  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  his  age, 
after  having  reigned  seven  months. 

This  book  contains  an  account  of  the  events 
which  took  place  in  the  space  of  two  years  and 
five  months. 


6  Themist.  Orat.  V.  (p.  80,  ed.  Harduin). 
'  Straits  between  Euboaa  and  the  mainland. 
1  364  A.D. 


END    OF   THE    THIRD    BOOK. 


BOOK    IV. 


CHAPTER   I. 

After  Jovian' s  Death,  Valentiniaii  is  proclaimed 
Emperor,  and  takes  his  Brother  Valens  as  Col- 
league in  the  Empire  ;  Valentinian  holds  the 
Orthodox  Faith,  but  Valens  is  an  Arian. 

The  Emperor  Jovian  having  died,  as  we  have 
said,  at  Dadastana,  in  his  own  consulate  and  that 
of  Varronian  his  son  on  the  17th  of  February, 
the  army  leaving  Galatia  arrived  at  Nicaea  in 
Bithynia  in  seven  days'  march,  and  there  unani- 
mously proclaimed  Valentinian  emperor,  on  the 
25th  of  February,  in  the  same  consulate.  He 
was  a  Pannonian  by  race,  a  native  of  the  city  of 
Cibalis,  and  being  entrusted  with  a  military 
command,  had  displayed  great  skill  in  tactics. 
He  was  moreover  endowed  with  such  greatness 
of  mind,  that  he  always  appeared  superior  to 
any  degree  of  honor  he  might  have  attained. 
As  soon  as  they  had  created  him  emperor,  he 
proceeded  forthwith  to  Constantinople ;  and 
thirty  days  after  his  own  possession  of  the  impe- 
rial dignity,  he  made  his  brother  Valens  his  col- 
league in  the  empire.  They  both  professed 
Christianity,  but  did  not  hold  the  same  Christian 
creed  :  for  Valentinian  respected  the  Nicene 
Creed ;  but  Valens  was  prepossessed  in  favor  of 
the  Arian  opinions.  And  this  prejudice  was 
caused  by  his  having  been  baptized  by  Eudoxius 
bishop  of  Constantinople.  Each  of  them  was 
zealous  for  the  views  of  his  own  party ;  but 
when  they  had  attained  sovereign  power,  they 
manifested  very  different  dispositions.  For  pre- 
viously in  the  reign  of  Julian,  when  Valentinian 
was  a  military  tribune,  an'l  Valens  held  a  com- 
mand in  the  emperor's  guards,  they  both  proved 
their  zeal  for  the  faith  ;  for  being  constrained  to 
sacrifice,  they  chose  rather  to  give  up  their  mili- 
tary rank  than  to  do  so  and  renounce  Christian- 
ity.^ Julian,  however,  knowing  the  necessity  of 
the  men  to  the  state,  retained  them  in  their 
respective  places,  as  did  also  Jovian,  his  succes- 
sor in  the  empire.  Later  on,  being  invested 
with  imperial  authority,  they  were  in  accord  in 
the  management  of  public  affiirs,  but  as  regards 
Christianity,  as  I  have  said,  they  behaved  them- 
selves very  differendy  :  for  Valentinian  while  he 
favored  those  who  agreed  with  him  in  sentiment, 
offered  no  violence  to  the  Arians  ;  but  Valens, 

1  Cf.  III.  13. 


in  his  anxiety  to  promote  the  Arian  cause,  griev- 
ously disturbed  those  who  differed  from  them, 
as  the  course  of  our  history  will  show.  Now 
at  that  time  Liberius  presided  over  the  Roman 
church ;  and  at  Alexandria  Athanasius  was 
bishop  of  the  Homoousians,  while  Lucius  had 
been  constituted  George's  successor  by  the 
Arians.  At  Antioch  Euzoius  was  at  the  head  of 
the  Arians :  but  the  Homoousians  wQfe  di- 
vided into  two  parties,  of  one  of  which  Paulinus 
was  chief,  and  Melitius  of  the  other.  Cyril  was 
again  constituted  over  the  church  at  Jerusalem. 
The  churches  at  Constantinople  were  under  the 
government  of  Eudoxius,  who  openly  taught  the 
dogmas  of  Arianism,  but  the  Homoousians  had 
but  one  small  edifice  in  the  city  wherein  to  hold 
their  assemblies.  Those  of  the  Macedonian 
heresy  who  had  dissented  from  the  Acacians  at 
Seleucia,  then  retained  their  churches  in  every 
city.  Such  was  the  state  of  ecclesiastical  affairs 
at  that  time.^ 


CHAPTER    II. 

Valentitiian  goes  into  the  West;  Valeiis  re- 
maifis  at  Constantinople,  and  grants  the  Re- 
quest of  the  Macedonians  to  hold  a  Synod, 
but  persecutes  the  Adherents  of  the  '  Homoou- 
sion' 

Of  the  emperors  one,  i.e.  Valentinian,  speed- 
ily went  to  the  western  parts  of  the  empire  ; 
for  the  exigencies  of  affairs  required  his  presence 
thither  :  meanwhile  Valens,  residing  at  Constan- 
tinople, was  addressed  by  most  of  the  prelates 
of  the  Macedonian  heresy,  requesting  that 
another  Synod  n)ight  be  convened  for  the 
correction  of  the  creed.  The  emperor  sup- 
posing they  agreed  in  sentiment  with  Eutlox- 
ius  and  Acacius,  gave  them  permission  to 
do  so :  they  therefore  made  preparations  for 
assembling  in  the  city  of  Lampsacus.  But 
Valens  proceeded  with  the  utmost  despatch 
toward  Antioch  in  Syria,  fearing  lest  the  Persians 
should  violate  the  treaty  into  which  they  had 
entered  for  thirty  years  in  the  reign  of  Jovian, 
and  invade  the  Roman  territories.  They  how- 
ever remained  quiet ;  and  Valens  employed  this 
season   of   external  tranquillity   to   prosecute    a 

=  Cf.  V.  3. 


IV.  6.] 


VALENS    PERSECUTES   THE   ORTHODOX. 


97 


war  of  extermination  against  all  who  acknowl- 
edged the  homoousion.  Paulinas  their  bishop, 
because  of  his  eminent  piety,  he  left  unmolested. 
Melitius  he  punished  with  exile  :  and  all  the 
rest,  as  many  as"  refused  to  communicate  with 
Euzoi'us,  he  drove  out  from  the  churches  in 
Antioch,  and  subjected  to  various  losses  and 
punishments.  It  is  even  affirmed  that  he  caused 
many  to  be  drowned  in  the  river  Orontes,  which 
flows  by  that  city. 

CHAPTER    III. 

While  Valcns  persecutes  the  Orthodox  Chris- 
tiatis  in  the  East,  a  Usurper  arises  at  Con- 
stantinople natned  Procopiiis :  and  at  the 
Same  Time  an  Earthquake  and  Inundation 
take  Place  and  injure  Several  Cities. 

While  Valens  was  thus  occupied  in  Syria, 
there*  arose  a  usurper  at  Constantinople  named 
Procopius  ;  who  having  collected  a  large  body 
of  troops  in  a  very  short  time,  meditated  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  emperor.  This  intelligence 
created  extreme  solicitude  in  the  emperor's  mind 
and  checked  for  a  while  the  persecution  he  had 
commenced  against  all  who  dared  to  differ  from 
him  in  opinion.  And  while  the  commotions 
of  a  civil  war  were  painfully  anticipated,  an 
earthquake  occurred  which  did  much  damage  to 
many  cities.  The  sea  also  chansjed  its  accus- 
tomed  boundaries,  and  overflowed  to  such  an 
extent  in  some  places,  that  vessels  might  sail 
where  roads  had  previously  existed ;  and  it 
retired  so  much  from  other  places,  that  the 
ground  became  dry.  These  events  happened 
in  the  first  consulate  of  the  two  emperors.^ 

CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Macedoniafis  hold  a  Synod  at  Lampsacus, 
during  a  Period  of  Both  Secular  and  Eccle- 
siastical Agitation ;  and  after  confirming  the 
Antiochiafi  Creed,  and  anathematizing  that 
promulgated  at  Ariminum,  thev  again  rat- 
ify the  Deposition  of  Acacius  and  Eudoxius. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  there 
could  be  no  peace  either  in  the  church  or  in  the 
state.  Now  those  who  had  been  empowered  by 
the  emperor  to  hold  a  council  assembled  at 
Lampsacus  in  the  consulate  just  mentioned  : 
this  was  seven  years  after  the  council  of  Seleu- 
cia.  There,  after  confirming  the  Antiochian 
Creed,  to  which  they  had  subscribed  at  Seleu- 
cia,'  they  anathematized  that  which  had  been 
set  forth  at  Ariminum-  by  their  former  associates 

1  365  A.D.  1  Cf.  11.40. 

'  Cf.  II.  37.  Six  years  previous  to  the  point  of  time  reached  by 
the  historian  thus  far;   i.e.  359  a.d. 


in  opinion.  They  moreover  again  condemned 
the  party  of  Acacius  and  Eudoxius,  and  declared 
their  deposition  to  have  been  just."  I'he  civil 
war  which  was  then  impending  prevented  Eu- 
doxius bishop  of*  Constantinople  from  either 
gainsaying  or  revenging  these  determinations. 
Wherefore  Eleusius  bishop  of  Cyzicus  and  his 
adherents  became  for  a  little  while  the  stronger 
party  ;  inasmuch  as  they  supported  the  views  of 
Macedonius,  which  although  before  but  ob- 
scurely known,  acquired  great  publicity  through 
the  Synod  at  Lampsacus.  This  Synod,  I  think, 
was  the  cause  of  the  increase  of  the  Macedoni- 
ans in  the  Hellespont ;  for  Lampsacus  is  situated 
in  one  of  the  narrow  bays  of  the  Hellespont. 
Such  was  the  issue  of  this  council. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Engagetnent  bet7veen  Valens  and  Procopius  near 
Nacolia  in  Phrygia  ;  after  which  the  Usurper 
is  betrayed  by  his  Chief  Officers,  and  with  them 
put  to  Death. 

Under  the  consulate  ^  of  Gratian  and  Daga- 
laifus  in  the  following  year,  the  war  was  begun. 
For  as  soon  as  the  usurper  Procopius,  leaving 
Constantinople,  began  his  march  at  the  head  of 
his  army  toward  the  emperor,  Valens  hastened 
from  Antioch,  and  came  to  an  engagement  with 
him  near  a  city  of  Phrygia,  called  Nacolia.  In 
the  first  encounter  he  was  defeated  ;  but  soon 
after  he  took  Procopius  alive,  through  the  treach- 
ery of  Agilo  and  Gomarius,  two  of  his  generals, 
whom  he  subjected  to  the  most  extraordinary 
punishments.-  The  traitors  he  caused  to  be  ex- 
ecuted by  being  sawn  asunder,  disregarding  the 
oaths  he  had  sworn  to  them.  Two  trees  standing 
near  each  other  being  forcibly  bowed  down,  one 
of  the  usurper's  legs  was  fastened  to  each  of 
them,  after  which  the  trees  being  suddenly  per- 
mitted to  recover  their  erect  position,  by  their 
rise  rent  the  tyrant  into  two  parts ;  and  thus 
torn  apart  the  usurper  perished. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

After  the  Death  of  Procopius  Valens  constrains 
those  who  composed  the  Synod,  atid  All  Chris- 
tians, to  profess  Arianism. 

The  emperor  having  thus  successfully  termi- 
nated the  conflict,  immediately  began  to  move 

3  Cf.  II.  40,  end.  ^  366  A.D. 

-  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  Rerum  Gestarum,  XXVI.  ix.  8-10, 
says  that  Florentius  and  Barchalba,  after  the  fight  at  Nacolia,  deliv- 
ered Procopius  bound  to  Valens,  and  that  Procopius  was  immedi- 
ately beheaded,  and  Florentius  and  Barchalba  soon  undervvent  the 
same  punishment.  Philostorgius  also  (IX.)  relates  that  Procopius 
was  beheaded,  and  that  Florentius,  who  delivered  him  to  Valens, 
was  burnt. 


98 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.  6. 


against  the  Christians,  with  the  design  of  con- 
verting every  sect  to  Arianism.  But  he  was 
especially  incensed  against  those  who  had  com- 
posed the  Synod  at  Lampsacus,  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  their  deposition  of  the  Arian  bishops, 
but  because  they  had  anathematized  the  creed 
published  at  Ariminum.  On  arriving  therefore 
at  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia,  he  sent  for  Eleusius 
bishop  of  Cyzicus,  who,  as  I  have  before  said,^ 
closely  adhered  to  the  opinions  of  Macedonius. 
Therefore  the  emperor  having  convened  a  coun- 
cil of  Arian  bishops,  commanded  Eleusius  to 
give  his  assent  to  their  faith.  At  first  he  refused 
to  do  so,  but  on  being  terrified  with  threats  of 
banishment  and  confiscation  of  property,  he  was 
intimidated  and  assented  to  the  Arian  belief  Im- 
mediately afterwards,  however,  he  repented  ;  and 
returning  to  Cyzicus,  bitterly  complained  in 
presence  of  all  the  people,  asserting  that  his  ac- 
quiescence was  due  to  violence,  and  not  of  his 
own  choice.  He  then  exhorted  them  to  seek 
another  bishop  for  themselves,  since  he  had  been 
compelled  to  renounce  his  own  opinion.  But 
the  inhabitants  of  Cyzicus  loved  and  venerated 
him  too  much  to  think  of  losing  him ;  they 
therefore  refused  to  be  subject  to  any  other 
bishop,  nor  would  they  permit  him  to  retire 
from  his  own  church  :  and  thus  continuing  un- 
der his  oversight,  they  remained  steadfast  in 
their  own  heresy. 


CHAPTER   Vn. 

Eunomius  supersedes  Eleusius  the  Afacedoriian 
in  the  See  of  Cyzicus.  His  Origin  and  Imi- 
tation of  Aetius,  whose  Amanuensis  he  had 
been. 

The  bishop  of  Constantinople  being  informed 
of  these  circumstances,  constituted  Eunomius 
bishop  of  Cyzicus,  inasmuch  as  he  was  a  per- 
son able  by  his  eloquence  to  win  over  the  minds 
of  the  multitude  to  his  own  way  of  thinking. 
On  his  arrival  at  Cyzicus  an  imperial  edict  was 
published  in  which  it  was  ordered  that  Eleusius 
should  be  ejected,  and  Eunomius  installed  in 
his  place.  This  being  carried  into  effect,  those 
who  attached  themselves  to  Eleusius,  after  erect- 
ing a  sacred  edifice  without  the  city,  assembled 
there  with  him.  But  enough  has  been  said  of 
Eleusius  :  let  us  now  give  some  account  of  Eu- 
nomius. He  had  been  secretary  to  Aetius,  sur- 
named  Athens,  of  whom  we  have  before  spoken,' 
and  had  learnt  from  conversing  with  him,  to  imi- 
tate his  sophistical  mode  of  reasoning  ;  being  lit- 
tle aware  that  while  exercising  himself  in  framing 
fallacious  arguments,  and  in  the  use  of  certain 
insignificant  terms,  he  was  really  deceiving  him- 


'  Cf.  II.  38. 


>  II.  35,  end. 


self  This  habit  however  inflated  him  with 
pride,  and  he  fell  into  blasphemous  heresies, 
and  so  became  an  advocate  of  the  dogmas  of 
Arius,  and  in  various  ways  an  adversary  to  the 
doctrines  of  truth.  And  as' he  had  but  a  very 
slender  knowledge  of  the  letter  of  Scripture,  he 
was  wholly  unable  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  it. 
Yet  he  abounded  in  words,  and  was  accustomed 
to  repeat  the  same  thoughts  in  different  terms, 
without  ever  arriving  at  a  clear  explanation  of 
what  he  had  proposed  to  himself.  Of  this  his 
seven  books  On  the  Apostle's  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, on  which  he  bestowed  a  quantity  of  vain 
labor,  is  a  remarkable  proof:  for  although  he 
has  employed  an  immense  number  of  words  in 
the  attempt  to  expound  it,  he  has  by  no  means 
succeeded  in  apprehending  the  scope  and  object 
of  that  epistle.  All  other  works  of  his  extant 
are  of  a  similar  character,  in  which  he  that  would 
take  the  trouble  to  examine  them,  would  find  a 
great  scarcity  of  sense,  amidst  a  profifeion  of 
verbiage.  This  Eunomius  Eudoxius  promoted  to 
the  see  of  Cyzicus  ;  -  who  being  come  thither, 
astonished  his  auditors  by  the  extraordinary  dis- 
play of  his  '  dialectic '  art,  and  thus  a  great  sen- 
sation was  produced  at  Cyzicus.  At  length  the 
people  unable  to  endure  any  longer  the  empty 
and  assumptions  parade  of  his  language,  drove 
him  out  of  their  city.  He  therefore  withdrew 
to  Constantinople,  and  taking  up  his  abode  with 
Eudoxius,  was  regarded  as  a  titular^  bishop. 
But  lest  we  should  seem  to  have  said  these 
things  for  the  sake  of  detraction,  let  us  hear 
what  Eunomius  himself  has  the  hardihood  to 
utter  in  his  sophistical  discourses  concerning 
the  Deity  himself,  for  he  uses  the  following  lan- 
guage :  '  God  knows  no  more  of  his  own  sub- 
stance than  we  do  ;  nor  is  this  more  known  to 
him,  and  less  to  us  :  but  whatever  we  know 
about  the  Divine  substance,  that  precisely  is 
known  to  God ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  what- 
ever he  knows,  the  same  also  you  will  find  with- 
out any  difference  in  us.'  This  and  many  other 
similar  tedious  and  absurd  fallacies  Eunomius 
was  accustomed  to  draw  up  in  utter  insensil)i]ity 
to  his  own  folly.  On  what  account  he  afterwards 
separated  from  the  Arians,  we  shall  state  in  its 
proper  place.^ 

2  Sozom.  VI.  8,  gives  the  same  account;  but  Philostorgius  (V.  3) 
and  Theodoret  (//.  E.  II.  37  and  39)  say  that  Eunomius  was  made 
bishop  of  Cyzicus  under  the  Emperor  Constantius  immediately  after 
the  Synod  of  Seleucia.  He  was  banished  by  Valens  because  he 
favored  the  usurper  Procopius. 

^  <r\oAa'"o?,  defined  by  Sophocles  {Greek  Lexieon  of  the  Rpni. 
(iiid  Byzantine  Periods)  as  susfrended.  It  appears,  however,  that 
among  the  civil  and  military  officers  in  the  Roman  system  there 
were  some  who  bore  the  title  without  being  concerned  in  the  man- 
agement of  their  offices,  and  that  these  were  termed  vacaiites  and 
therefore  that  Socrates  is  using  the  Greek  equivalent  of  a  Latin 
term  and  applying  it  in  ecclesiastical  matters  as  its  original  was 
applied  in  civil  and  military  affairs.  Cf.,  on  the  position  of  bish- 
ops without  churches  ISingham,  Christ.  Atiti/j.  IV.  ii.  14.  This 
system  of  clerics  without  charges  was  abused  so  much  that  the  Coun- 
cil of  Chalcedon  (Canon  6)  forbade  further  ordination  sine  titnlo. 

■'  .See  chap.  3,  and  on  the  Eunomians  with  their  subsequent  for- 
tunes, V.  24. 


IV.  9.] 


ANCIENT    ORACLE    PROVES    TRUE. 


99 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Of  the  Oracle  found  inscribed  on  a  Stone,  jvhen 
the  Walls  of  Chalcedon  were  demolished  by 
Order  of  the  Emperor  Valens. 

An  order  was  issued  by  the  emperor  that  the 
walls  of  Chalcedon,  a  city  opposite  to  Byzan- 
tium, should  be  demolished  :  for  he  had  sworn 
to  do  this,  after  he  should  have  conquered  the 
usurper,  because  the  Chalcedonians  had  sided 
with  the  usurper,  and  had  used  insulting  lan- 
guage toward  Valens,^  and  shut  their  gates 
against  him  as  he  passed  by  their  city.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  imperial  decree,  therefore,  the 
walls  were  razed  and  the  stones  were  conveyed 
to  Constantinople  to  serve  for  the  formation  of 
the  public  baths  which  are  called  Constantianas.- 
On  one  of  these  stones  an  oracle  was  found 
engraven,  which  had  lain  concealed  for  a  long 
time,  in  which  it  was  predicted  that  when  the 
city  should  be  supplied  with  abundance  of  water, 
then  should  the  wall  serve  for  a  bath  ;  and  that 
innumerable  hordes  of  barbarous  nations  having 
overrun  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire, 
and  done  a  great  deal  of  mischief,  should  them- 
selves at  length  be  destroyed.  We  shall  here 
insert  this  oracle  for  the  gratification  of  the 
studious  :^ 

'  When  nymphs  their  mystic  dance  with  wat'ry  feet 
Shall  tread  through  proud  Byzantium's  stately  street; 
When  rage  the  city  wall  shall  overthrow, 
Whose  stones  to  fence  a  bathing-place  shall  go : 
Then  savage  lands  shall  send  forth  myriad  s\tarms, 
Adorned  with  golden  locks  aud  burnished  arms, 
That  having  Ister's  silver  streams  o'erpast. 
Shall  Scythian  fields  and  Mresia's  meadows  waste. 
But  when  with  conquest  flushed  they  enter  Thrace, 
Fate  shall  assign  them  there  a  burial-place.' 

Such  was  the  prophecy.  And  indeed  it  after- 
wards happened,  that  when  Valens  by  building 
an  aqueduct  supplied  Constantinople  with  abun- 
dance of  water,  the  barbarous  nations  made 
various  irruptions,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see.  But 
it  happened  that  some  explained  the  prediction 
otherwise.  For  when  that  aqueduct  was  com- 
pleted, Clearchus  the  prefect  of  the  city  built  a 
stately  bath,  to  which  the  name  of  *  the  Plentiful 
Water '  *  was  given,  in  that  which  is  now  called 
the  Forum  of  Theodosius  :  on  which  account 
the  people  celebrated  a  festival  with  great  re- 

1  Ammianus    Marcelliniis    {Rerum     Gestarunt    XXVI.    viii. 

2  sea.')  says,  '  From  the  walls  of  Chalcedon  they  uttered  reproaches 
to  him  and  insultingly  reviled  him  as  Sabaiarius.  For,  sabaia  is  a  poor 
drink  made  of  wheat  or  barley  in  lUyricum  (whence  Valens  came).' 
On  the  Pannonian  or  lllyrian  origin  of  Valens,  see  IV.  i.  It  appears 
also  that  the  Pannonians  were  accustomed  to  live  on  poor  diet  in 
general. 

-  Sozom.  Vni.  21,  mentions  these  baths.  Am.  Marcellinus 
{Rerioii.  Gestarjcttt,  XXXI.  i.  4)  relates  that  Valens  built  a  bath 
out  of  the  stones  of  the  walls  of  Chalcedon.  So  also  Themist.  Orat. 
Deceit,  ad  Valentem,  and  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Orat.  25;  the  latter 
calls  it  a  '  subterraneous  and  aerial  river.'  Zonaras  and  Cedrenus, 
however,  affirm  that  the  structure  built  was  not  a  bath,  but  an  aque- 
duct.    Cf.  Cedrenus,  I.  543  (p.  310,  B). 

2  Cedrenus,  I.  543  (p.  310,  B).  ■•  Aoi^iAes  viiap. 


joicings,  whereby  there  was,  say  they,  an  accom- 
plishment of  those  words  of  the  oracle, 

'  their  mystic  dance  with  wat'ry  feet 
Shall  tread  through  proud  Byzantium's  stately  street.' 

But  the  completion  of  the  prophecy  took  place 
afterwards.  While  the  demolition  was  in  pro- 
gress the  Constantinopolitans  besought  the 
emperor  to  suspend  the  destruction  of  the  walls  ; 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Nicomedia  and  Nicaea 
sending  from  Bithynia  to  Constantinople,  made 
the  same  request.  But  the  emperor  being  ex- 
ceedingly exasperated  against  the  Chalcedonians, 
was  with  difficulty  prevailed  upon  to  hsten  to 
these  petitions  in  their  favor  :  but  that  he  might 
perform  his  oath,  he  commanded  that  the  walls 
should  be  pulled  down,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  breaches  should  be  repaired  by  being  filled 
up  with  other  small  stones.  Whence  it  is  that 
in  the  present  day  one  may  see  in  certain  parts 
of  the  wall  very  inferior  materials  laid  upon 
prodigiously  large  stones,  forming  those  unsightly 
patches  which  were  made  on  that  occasion.  So 
much  will  be  sufficient  on  the  walls  of  Chalce- 
don. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Valens  persecutes    the   Novatians,  because  they 
accepted  the  Orthodox  Faith. 

The  emperor  however  did  not  cease  his  per- 
secution of  those  who  embraced  the  doctrine 
of  the  homoousion,  but  drove  them  away  from 
Constantinople  :  and  as  the  Novatians  acknowl- 
edged the  same  faith,  they  also  were  subjected 
to  similar  treatment..  He  commanded  that  their 
churches  should  be  shut  up,  also  their  bishop 
they  sent  into  exile.  His  name  was  Agelius,  a 
person  that  had  presided  over  their  churches 
from  the  time  of  Constantine,  and  had  led  an 
apostolic  life  :  for  he  always  walked  barefoot, 
and  used  but  one  coat,  observing  the  injunction 
of  the  gospel.'  But  the  emperor's  displeasure 
against  this  sect  was  moderated  by  the  efforts  of 
a  pious  and  eloquent  man  named  Marcian,  who 
had  formerly  been  in  military  service  at  the 
imperial  palace,  but  was  at  that  time  a  presbyter 
in  the  Novatian  church,  and  taught  Anastasia 
and  Carosa,  the  emperor's  daughters,  grammar ; 
from  the  former  of  whom  the  public  baths  yet 
standing,  which  Valens  erected  at  Constantino- 
ple, were  named."  From  respect  for  this  person 
therefore  the  Novatian  churches  which  had  been 


1  Matt.  X.  10.  ,,..,,,,  s    •  , 

2  \m.  Marcellinus  {Rerum  Gesiarutn,  XXVI.  4.  14),  m  speak- 
ing of  Procopius,  the  usurper,  says:  '  Procopius  .  .  .  resorted  to 
the  Anastasian  baths,  named  from  the  sister  nf  Constantine  ;  from 
which  it  appears  that  either  (il  there  were  two  baths  of  the  same 
name,  or  (2)  the  baths  here  alluded  to  were  named  after  Constan- 
tine's'  sister  and  renamed  on  the  occasion  of  their  being  repaired  or 
altered  or  (3)  that  Socrates  is  in  error.  From  the  improbabilities 
connected  with  (i)  and  (2)  we  may  infer  that  (3)  is  the  right  view. 


lOO 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


[IV.  9. 


for  some  time  closed,  were  again  opened.  The 
Arians  however  would  not  suffer  this  people  to 
remain  undisturbed,  for  they  disliked  them  on 
account  of  the  sympathy  and  love  the  Novatians 
manifested  toward  the  Homoousians,  with  whom 
they  agreed  in  sentiment.  Such  was  the  state 
of  affairs  at  that  time.  We  may  here  remark 
that  the  war  against  the  usurper  Procopius  was 
terminated  about  the  end  of  May,  in  the  consu- 
late'' of  Gratian  and  Dagalaifus. 


CH.\PTER    X. 

Birth  of  Valcntinian  the  Younger. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  this  war,  and 
under  the  same  consulate,^  a  son  was  born  to 
Valentinian,  the  emperor  in  the  Western  parts, 
to  whom  the  same  name  as  his  fathei's  was  given. 
For  Gratian  had  been  born  previously  to  his  be- 
coming emperor. 


CHAPTER   XL 

Hail  of  Extraordinary  Size  ;  and  Earthquakes 
in  Bithynia  and  the  Hellespont. 

On  the  2d  of  June  of  the  following  year,  in 
the  consulate  ^  of  Lupicin  and  Jovian,  there  fell 
at  Constantinople  hail  of  such  a  size  as  would 
fill  a  man's  hand.  Many  affirmed  that  this  hail 
had  fallen  as  a  consequence  of  the  Divine  dis- 
pleasure, because  of  the  emperor's  having  ban- 
ished several  persons  engaged  in  the  sacred 
ministry,  those,  that  is  to  say,  who  refused  to 
communicate  with  Eudoxius.'  During  the  same 
consulate,  on  the  24th  of  August,  the  emperor 
Valentinian  proclaimed  his  son  Gratian  Augustus. 
In  the  next  year,"'  when  Valentinian  and  Valens 
were  a  second  time  consuls,  there  happened  on 
the  Tith  of  October,  an  earthquake  in  Bithynia 
which  destroyed  the  city  of  Nicsea  on  the  eleventh 
day  of  October.  This  was  about  twelve  years 
after  Nicomedia  had  been  visited  by  a  similar 
catastrophe.  Soon  afterwards  the  largest  por- 
tion of  Germa  in  the  Hellespont  was  reduced  to 
ruins  by  another  earthquake.  Nevertheless  no 
impression  was  made  on  the  mind  of  either 
Eudoxius  the  Arian  bishoj),  or  the  emperor 
Valens,  by  these  occurrences  ;  for  they  did  not 
desist  from  their  relentless  persecution  of  those 
who  dissented  from  them  in  matters  of  faith. 
Meanwhile  i*hese  convulsions  of  the  earth  were 


^   ^66  A.D. 

'  bozemen  (VI.  lo)  says  the  same.  There  were  two  Valentin- 
ians  in  the  second  generation;  one  a  son  of  Valens,  and  another 
the  son  of  Valentinian  the  Elder.  According  to  Idatius'  Fasti,  it 
was  the  former  that  was  born  during  the  consulate  of  Gratian  and 
Dagalaifus;  so  that  Socrates  was  in  error  here,  confusing  perhaps 
the  two  younger  Valentinians.  »Valesius  adduces  other  reasons 
proving  the  same,  which  it  is  unnecefcry  to  repeat  here. 

1  367  A.D.  -  .See  II.  43.  ■  3  268  A.D. 


regarded  as  typical  of  the  disturbances  which 
agitated  the  churches  :  for  many  of  the  clerical 
body  were  sent  into  exile,  as  we  have  stated ; 
Basil  and  Gregory  alone,  by  a  special  dispensa- 
tion of  Divine  Providence,  being  on  account  of 
their  eminent  piety  exempted  from  this  punish- 
ment. The  former  of  these  individuals  was  bishop 
of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia  ;  while  Gregory  pre- 
sided over  Nazianzus,'*  a  little  city  in  the  vicinity 
of  Caesarea.  But  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
mention  both  Basil  and  Gregory  again  in  the 
course  of  our  history.' 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Macedonians,  pressed  by  the  Emperor's 
Violence  toward  them,  send  a  Deputatioti  to 
Liberius  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  subscribe  the 
Nicene  Creed. 

When  the  maintainers  of  the  'homoousian' 
doctrine  had  been  thus  severely  dealt  with,  and 
put  to  flight,  the  persecutors  began  afresh  to 
harass  the  Macedonians  ;  who  impelled  by  fear 
rather  than  violence,  send  deputations  to  one 
another  from  city  to  city,  declaring  the  necessity 
of  appealing  to  the  emperor's  brother,  and  also 
to  Liberius  bishop  of  Rome  :  and  that  it  was  far 
better  for  them  to  embrace  their  faith,  than  to 
communicate  with  the  party  of  Eudoxius.  They 
sent  for  this  purpose  Eustathius  bishop  of  Se- 
bastia,  who  had  been  several  times  deposed, 
Silvanus  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  and  Theophilus  of 
Castabala  in  the  same  province  ;  charging  them 
to  dissent  in  nothing  from  Liberius  concerning 
the  faith,  but  to  enter  into  communion  with  the 
Roman  church,  and  confirm  the  doctrine  of 
the  homoousion.  These  persons  therefore  pro- 
ceeded to  Old  Rome,  carrying  with  them  the 
letters  of  those  who  had  separated  themselves 
from  Acacius  at  Seleucia.  To  the  emperor  they 
could  not  have  access,  he  being  occupied  in  the 
Gauls  with  a  war  against  the  Sarmatae  ;  but  they 
presented  their  letters  to  Liberius.  He  at  first 
refused  to  admit  them ;  saying  they  were  of  the 
Arian  faction,  and  could  not  possibly  be  received 
into  communion  by  the  church,  inasmuch  as  they 
had  rejected  the  Nicene  Creed.  To  this  they 
replied  that  by  change  of  sentiment  they  had 
acknowledged  the  truth,  having  long  since  re- 
nounced the  Anomcean '  Creed,  and  avowed 
the  Son  to  be  in  every  way  'like  the  Father': 
moreover  that  they  considered  the  terms  '  like ' 

*  If  Socrates  means  to  speak  with  precision  here  of  the  offices 
occupied  by  these  men  during  the  year  which  his  narrative  has 
reached  he  is  mistaken,  for  Basil  became  bishop  of  Csesarea  in 
Cappadocia  the  year  following,  and  Gregory  was  made  bishop,  not 
of  Nazianzus  at  this  time,  but  of  Sisima.  He  did  not,  however, 
enter  on  the  duties  of  this  bishopric  as  he  says  in  his  letters. 

"  Chap.  26. 

1  See  II.  35,  and  Hefele,  Hist,  of  the  Ch.  Councils,  Vol.  II. 
p.  218  seg. 


IV.    12.] 


LETTER    OF    THE  ARIANS   TO   LIBERIUS. 


lOI 


{Jwmoios)  and  homoousios  to  have  precisely 
the  same  import.  When  they  had  made  this 
statement,  Liberius  demanded  of  them  a  written 
confession  of  their  faith  ;  and  they  accordingly 
presented  him  a  document  in  which  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Nicene  Creed  was  inserted.  I  have 
not  introduced  here,  because  of  their  length, 
the  letters  from  Smyrna,  Asia,  and  from  Pisidia, 
Isauria,  Pamphylia,  and  Lycia,  in  all  which  places 
they  had  held  Synods.  The  written  profession 
which  the  deputies  sent  with  Eustathius,  de- 
livered to  Liberius,  is  as  follows  : 

'  To  our  Lord,  Brother,  and  fellow-Minister 
Liberius  :  Eustathius,  Theophilus,  and  Silvanus, 
salutations  in  the  Lord. 

*  On  account  of  the  insane  opinion  of  heretics, 
who  cease  not  to  introduce  occasions  of  offense 
into  the  catholic  churches,  we  being  desirous  of 
checking  their  career,  come  forward  to  express 
our  approbation  of  the  doctrines  recognized  by 
the  Synod  of  orthodox  bishops  which  has  been 
convened  at  Lampsacus,  Smyrna,  and  various 
other  places  :  from  which  Synod  we  being  con- 
stituted a  deputation,  bring  a  letter  to  your 
benignity  and  to  all  the  Italian  and  Western 
bishops,  by  which  we  declare  that  we  hold  and 
maintain  the  catholic  faith  which  was  established 
in  the  holy  council  at  Nicsea  under  the  reign  of 
Constantine  of  blessed  memory,  by  three  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  bishops,  and  has  hitherto 
continued  entire  and  unshaken  ;  in  which  creed 
the  term  homoousios  is  holily  and  devoutly  em- 
ployed in  opposition  to  the  pernicious  doc- 
trine of  Arius.  We  therefore,  together  with  the 
aforesaid  persons  whom  we  represent,  profess 
under  our  own  hand,  that  we  have  held,  do  hold, 
and  will  maintain  the  same  faith  even  unto  the 
end.  We  condemn  Arius,  and  his  impious  doc- 
trine, with  his  disciples,  and  those  who  agree 
with  his  sentiments  ;  as  also  the  same  heresy 
of  Sabellius,"  the  Patripassians,^  the  Marcion- 
ites,''  the  Photinians,''  the  Marcellians,''  that  of 
Paul  of  Samosata,'  and  those  who  countenance 
such  tenets ;  in  short  all  the  heresies  which  are 
opposed  to  the  aforesaid  sacred  creed,  which 
was  piously  and  in  a  catholic  spirit  set  forth  by 
the  holy  fathers  at  Nicsea.  But  we  especially 
anathematize  that  form  of  the  creed  which  was 
recited  at  the  Synod  of  Ariminum,'*  as  altogether 
contrary  to  the   before-mentioned  creed  of  the 


2  See  I.  5,  and  note. 

^  The  Patripassians  were  a  sect  of  the  early  Church  (end  of 
second  century),  who  asserted  the  identity  of  the  Son  with  the 
Father.  And,  as  on  being  confronted  with  the  question  whether 
it  was  the  Father  that  suffered  on  the  cross  they  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  they  were  called  Patri-passians.  Their  leader  was 
Praxeas.  See  Tertull.  Adv.  Praxeam  (the  whole  treatise  is  meant 
to  be  a  refutation  of  this  heresy). 

*  Followers  of  the  well-known  Gnostic  leader  of  the  second  cen- 
tury. For  his  peculiar  views,  see  Tertull.  Ad-'.  Marcintient  ;  Epi- 
phan.  H'pres.  XLII.;  also  Smith  and  Wace,  Did.  of  Christ.  Biog., 
under  Marcion,  and  ecclesiastical  histories. 

■'■'  Cf.  II.  1 8  and  29.  ~'  See  note,  I.  36. 

«  Cf.  I.  36  ;   II.  20.  «  See  II.  37. 


holy  Synod  of  Nicaea,  to  which  the  bishops  at 
Constantinople  affixed  their  signatures,  being 
deceived  by  artifice  and  perjury,  by  reason  of  its 
having  been  brought  from  Nice,^  a  town  of 
Thrace.  Our  own  creed,  and  that  of  those 
whose  delegates  we  are,  is  this  : 

' "  We  believe  in  one  God  the  Father  Al- 
mighty, the  Maker  of  all  things  visible  and  invis- 
ible :  and  in  one  only-begotten  God,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  begotten  of  the 
Father ;  that  is  of  the  substance  of  the  Father ; 
God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very 
God  ;  begotten  not  made,  of  the  same  substance 
with  the  Father,  through  whom  all  things  were 
made  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  upon 
the  earth  :  who  for  us  men,  and  for  our  salvation, 
descended,  became  incarnate,  and  was  made 
man  ;  suffered,  and  rose  again  the  third  day  ; 
ascended  into  the  heavens,  and  will  come  to 
judge  the  living  and  the  dead.  [We  believe] 
also  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the  Catholic  and 
Apostolic  Church  of  God  anathematizes  those 
who  assert  that  '  there  was  a  time  when  he  was 
not,'  and  'that  he  was  not  before  he  was  begot- 
ten,' and  that  '  he  was  made  of  things  which  are 
not ' ;  or  those  that  say  '  the  Son  of  God  is  of 
another  hypostasis '  or  '  substance  than  the 
Father,'  or  that  '  he  is  mutable,  or  susceptible  of 
change.' 

'  "  I,  Eustathius,  bishop  of  the  city  of  Sebastia, 
with  Theophilus  and  Silvanus,  delegates  of  the 
Synod  of  Lampsacus,  Smyrna,  and  other  places, 
have  voluntarily  subscribed  this  confession  of 
faith  with  our  own  hands.  And  if,  after  the 
publication  of  this  creed,  any  one  shall  presume 
to  calumniate  either  us,  or  those  who  sent  us,  let 
him  come  with  the  letters  of  your  holiness  before 
such  orthodox  bishops  as  your  sanctity  shall 
approve  of,  and  bring  the  matter  to  an  issue 
with  us  before  them  ;  and  if  any  charge  shall  be 
substantiated,  let  the  guilty  be  punished."  ' 

Liberius  having  securely  pledged  the  delegates 
by  this  document,  received  them  into  commun- 
ion, and  afterwards  dismissed  them  with  this 
letter : 

The  Letter  of  Liberius  Bishop  of  Rome,  to  the 
Bishops  of  the  Macedonians. 


To  our  beloved  brethren  and  fellow-ministers, 
Evethius,  Cyril,  Hyperechius,  Uranius,  Heron, 
Elpidius,  Maximus,  Eusebius,  Eucarpius,  Heor- 
tasius.  Neon,  Eumathius,  Faustinus,  Proclinus, 
Pasinicus,  Arsenius,  Severus,  Didymion,  Brittan- 
ius,  Callicrates,  Dalmatius,  ^desius,  Eusto- 
chius,  Ambrose,  Gelonius,  Pardalius,  Macedonius, 
Paul,  Marcellus,  Heraclius,  Alexander,  Adohus, 
Marcian,    Sthenelus,    John,    Macer,    Charisius, 

'  See  II.  37.  As  it  appears  from  V.  4,  Liberius  was  actually 
deceived  by  the  artifice. 


I02 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV. 


12. 


Silvanus,  Photinus,  Anthony,  Aythus,  Celsus, 
Euphranon,  Milesius,  Patricius,  Severian,  Euse- 
bius,  Eumolpius,  Athanasius,  Diophantus,  Meno- 
dorus,  Diodes,  Chrysampelus,  Neon,  Eugenius, 
Eustathius,  Callicrates,  Arsenius,  Eugenius,  Mar- 
tyrius,  Hieracius,  Leontius,  Philagrius,  Lucius, 
and  to  all  the  orthodo.x  bishops  in  the  East, 
Liberius  bishop  of  Italy,  and  the  bishops  through- 
out the  West,  salutations  always  in  the  Lord. 

Your  letters,  beloved  brethren,  resplendent 
with  the  light  of  faith,  delivered  to  us  by  our 
highly  esteemed  brethren,  the  bishops  Eusta- 
thius, Silvanus,  and  Theophilus,  brought  to  us 
the  much  longed-for  joy  of  peace  and  concord  : 
and  this  chiefly  because  they  have  demonstrated 
and  assured  us  that  your  opinion  and  sentiments 
are  in  perfect  harmony  with  those  both  of  our 
insignificance,  and  also  with  those  of  all  the 
bishops  in  Italy  and  the  Western  parts.  We  ac- 
knowledge this  to  be  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
faith,  which  until  the  time  of  the  Synod  at  Nicjea 
had  continued  unadulterated  and  unshaken.  This 
creed  your  legates  have  professed  that  they  them- 
selves hold,  and  to  our  great  joy  have  obliterated 
every  vestige  and  impression  of  an  injurious  sus- 
picion, by  attesting  it  not  only  in  word,  but  also 
in  writing.  We  have  deemed  it  proper  to  sub- 
join to  these  letters  a  copy  of  this  their  declara- 
tion, lest  we  should  leave  any  pretext  to  the 
heretics  for  entering  into  a  fresh  conspiracy,  by 
which  they  might  stir  up  the  smouldering  em- 
bers of  their  own  malice,  and  according  to  their 
custom,  rekindle  the  flames  of  discord.  More- 
over our  most  esteemed  brethren,  Eustathius, 
Silvanus,  and  Theophilus,  have  professed  this 
also,  both  that  they  themselves,  and  also  your 
love,  have  always  held,  and  will  maintain  unto 
the  last,  the  creed  approved  of  at  Nicaea  by  318 
Orthodox  Bishops  ;  which  contains  the  perfect 
truth,  and  both  confutes  and  overthrows  the 
whole  swarm  of  heretics.  For  it  was  not  of 
their  own  will,  but  by  Divine  appointment  that 
so  great  a  number  of  bishops  was  collected 
against  the  madness  of  Arius,  as  equaled  that 
of  those  by  whose  assistance  blessed  Abraham 
through  faith  destroyed  so  many  thousand  of 
his  enemies.'"  This  f;iith  being  comprehended 
in  the  terms  hypostasis  and  homoousios,  like  a 
strong  and  impregnable  fortress  checks  and  re- 
pels all  the  assaults  and  vain  machinations  of 
.'Xrian  perverseness.  Wherefore  when  all  the 
Western  bishops  were  assembled  at  Ariminum, 
whither  the  craft  of  the  Arians  had  drawn  them, 
in  order  that  either  by  deceptive  persuasions,  or 
to  speak  more  truly,  by  the  coercion  of  the  sec- 
ular power,  they  might  erase,  or  nidirectly  re- 
voke what  had  been  introduced  into  the  creed 
with  so  much  prudence,  their  subtlety  was  not 


■0  Gen.  xiv.  14. 


of  the  least  avail.  For  almost  all  those  who  at 
Ariminum  were  either  allured  into  error,  or  at 
that  time  deceived,  have  since  taken  a  right  view 
of  the  matter ;  and  after  anathematizing  the  ex- 
position of  faith  set  forth  by  those  who  were 
convened  at  Ariminum,  have  subscribed  the 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Creed  which  was  pro- 
mulgated at  Niccea.  They  have  entered  into 
communion  with  us,  and  regard  the  dogma  of 
Arius  and  his  disciples  with  increased  aversion, 
and  are  even  indignant  against  it.  Of  which 
fact  when  the  legates  of  your  love  saw  the  in- 
dubitable evidences,  they  annexed  yourselves  to 
their  own  subscription ;  anathematizing  Arius, 
and  what  was  transacted  at  Ariminum  against 
the  creed  ratified  at  Nicoea,  to  which  even  you 
yourselves,  beguiled  by  perjury,  were  induced  to 
subscribe.  Whence  it  appeared  suitable  to  us 
to  write  to  your  love,  and  to  accede  to  your 
just  request,  especially  since  we  are  assured  by 
the  profession  of  your  legates  that  the  Eastern 
bishops  have  recovered  their  senses,  and  now 
concur  in  opinion  with  the  orthodox  of  the 
West.  We  further  give  you  to  understand,  lest 
ye  should  be  ignorant  of  it,  that  the  blasphemies 
of  the  Synod  of  Ariminum  have  been  anathema- 
tized by  those  who  seem  to  have  been  at  that 
time  deceived  by  fraud,  and  that  all  have  ac- 
knowledged the  Nicene  Creed.  It  is  fit  there- 
fore that  it  should  be  made  generally  known  by 
you  that  such  as  have  had  their  faith  vitiated  by 
violence  or  guile,  may  now  emerge  from  hereti- 
cal darkness  into  the  Divine  hght  of  catholic 
liberty.  Moreover  whosoever  of  them,  after  this 
council,  shall  not  disgorge  the  poison  of  corrupt 
doctrine,  by  abjuring  all  the  blasphemies  of 
Arius,  and  anathematizing  them,  let  them  know 
that  they  are  themselves,  together  with  Arius 
and  his  disciples  and  the  rest  of  the  serpents, 
whether  Sabellians,  Patripassians,  or  the  fol- 
lowers of  any  other  heresy,  dissevered  and 
excommunicated  from  the  assemblies  of  the 
Church,  which  does  not  admit  of  illegitimate 
children.  May  God  preserve  you  steadfast, 
beloved  brethren. 

When  the  adherents  of  Eustathius  had  re- 
ceived this  letter,  they  proceeded  to  Sicily, 
where  they  caused  a  Synod  of  Sicilian  bishops 
to  be  convened,  and  in  their  presence  avowed 
the  homoousian  faith,  and  professed  their  adher- 
ence to  the  Nicene  Creed  :  then  having  received 
from  them  also  a  letter  to  the  same  effect  as 
the  preceding,  they  returned  to  those  who  had 
sent  them.  They  on  their  part,  on  the  receipt 
of  the  letters  of  Liberius,  sent  delegates  from 
city  to  citv  to  the  prominent  supporters  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  homoousioii,  exhorting  them 
to  assemble  simultaneously  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia, 
in  order  to  confirm  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  ter- 


IV.  15.] 


PERSECUTION  OF  THE  ORTHODOX  BY  VALENS. 


103 


minate  all  tlie  contentions  which  had  subse- 
quently arisen.  And  indeed  this  would  ]irob- 
ably  have  been  accomplished  had  not  the  Arian 
l)ishop,  PLudoxius,  who  at  that  time  possessed 
great  influence  with  the  emperor,  thwarted  their 
purpose  ;  for  on  learning  of  the  Synod  that  had 
been  summoned  to  meet  [at  Tarsus],  he  became 
so  exasperated  that  he  redoubled  his  persecution 
against  them.  That  the  Macedonians  by  send- 
ing legates  to  Liberius  were  admitted  to  com- 
munion with  him,  and  professed  the  Nicene 
Creed,  is  attested  by  Sabinus  himself,  in  his 
Collection  of  Synodic al  Transactions. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Eunomius  separates  from  Eudoxius ;  a  Dis- 
turbance is  raised  at  Alexandria  by  Eudoxius, 
and  Athanasius  flees  into  Voluntary  Exile 
again,  but  in  Consequence  of  the  Clamors  of 
the  People  the  Emperor  recalls  aud  re-estab- 
lishes him  in  his  See. 

About  the  same  time  Eunomius'  separated 
himself  from  Eudoxius,  and  held  assemblies 
apart,  because  after  he  had  repeatedly  entreated 
that  his  preceptor  Aetius  might  be  received  into 
communion,  Eudoxius  continued  to  oppose  it. 
Now  Eudoxius  did  this  against  his  preference, 
for  he  did  not  reject  the  opinion  with  Aetius 
since  it  was  the  same  as  his  own  ;  -  but  he  yielded 
to  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  his  own  party, 
who  objected  to  Aetius  as  heterodox.  This  was 
the  cause  of  the  division  between  Eunomius 
.and  Eudoxius,  and  such  was  the  state  of  things 
at  Constantinople.  But  the  church  at  Alexandria 
was  disturbed  by  an  edict  of  the  praetorian 
prefects,  sent  hither  by  means  of  Eudoxius. 
Whereupon  Athanasius,  dreading  the  irrational 
impetuosity  of  the  multitude,  and  fearing  lest 
he  should  be  regarded  as  the  author  of  the  ex- 
cesses that  might  be  committed,  concealed  him- 
self for  four  entire  months  in  an  ancestral  tomb. 
Inasmuch  however  as  the  people,  on  account 
of  their  affection  for  him,  became  seditious  in 
impatience  of  his  absence,  the  emperor,  on  as- 
certaining that  on  this  account  agitation  pre- 
vailed at  Alexandria,  ordered  by  his  letters  that 
Athanasius  should  be  suffered  to  preside  over 
the  churches  without  molestation  ;  and  this  was 
the  reason  why  the  Alexandrian  church  enjoyed 
tranquillity  until  the  death  of  Athanasius.  How 
the  .Arian  faction  became  possessed  of  the 
churches  after  his  decease,  we  shall  unfold  in 
the  course  of  our  history;^ 


*  Eunomius  adopted  the  standpoint  and  also  the  views  of  Aetius 
and  gave  them  his  own  name.  Briefly  his  fundamental  principle 
was  that  the  Son  is  absolutely  unlike  the  Father  in  substance,  and 
hence  a  creature  among  other  creatures,  a  mere  man. 

2  See  II.  35.  3  Cf.  chap.  21. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Arians  ordain  Demophilus  after  the  Death 
of  Eudoxius  at  Constantinople ;  but  the  Or- 
thodox Party  constitute  Evagrius  his  Successor. 

The  Emperor  Valens  leaving  Constantinople 
again  set  out  towards  Antioch  ;  but  on  his  arrival 
at  Nicomedia,  a  city  of  Bithynia,  his  progress  was 
arrested  by  the  following  circumstances.  Eudoxius 
the  bishop  of  the  Arian  church  who  has  been  in 
possession  of  the  seat  of  the  Constantinopolitan 
church  for  nineteen '  years,  died  soon  after  the 
emperor's  departure  from  that  city,  in  the  third 
consulate  -  of  Valentinian  and  Valens.  The 
Arians  therefore  appointed  Demophilus  to  suc- 
ceed him ;  but  the  Homoousians  considering 
that  an  opportunity  was  afforded  them,  elected 
a  certain  Evagrius,  a  person  who  maintained 
their  own  principles  ;  and  Eustathius,  who  had 
been  bishop  of  Antioch,  formally  ordained  him. 
He  had  been  recalled  from  exile  by  Jovian,  and 
had  at  this  time  privately  come  to  Constantino- 
ple, for  the  purpose  of  confirming  the  adherents 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  homoousion. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

The  Emperor  banishes  Evagrius  and  Eustathius. 
The  Arians  persecute  the  Orthodox. 

When  this  had  been  accomplished  the  Arians 
renewed  their  persecution  of  the  Homoousians  : 
and  the  emperor  was  very  soon  informed  of  what 
had  taken  place,  and  apprehending  the  subver- 
sion of  the  city  in  consequence  of  some  popular 
tumult,  immediately  sent  troops  from  Nicome- 
dia to  Constantinople  ;  ordering  that  both  he 
who  had  been  ordained,  and  the  one  who  had 
ordained  him,  should  be  apprehended  and  sent 
into  exile  in  different  regions.  Eustathius  there- 
fore was  banished  to  Bizya  a  city  of  Thrace ; 
and  Evagrius  was  conveyed  to  another  place. 
After  this  the  Arians,  becoming  bolder,  grievously 
harassed  the  orthodox  party,  frequently  beating 
them,  reviling  them,  causing  them  to  be  impris- 
oned, and  fined  ;  in  short  they  practiced  dis- 
tressing and  intolerable  annoyances  against  them. 
The  sufferers  were  induced  to  appeal  to  the  em- 
peror for  protection  against  their  adversaries  if 
haply  they  might  obtain  some  relief  from  this 
oppression.  But  whatever  hope  of  redress  they 
might  have  cherished  from  this  quarter,  was 
altogether  frustrated,  inasmuch  as  they  thus 
merely  spread  their  grievances  before  him  who 
was  the  very  author  of  them. 

•  Epiphanius  .Scholasticus  reads  SficaeVa  {ox  hfKaivvia;  if  he  be 
followed,  the  incumbency  of  the  bishopric  of  Constantinople  by 
Eudoxius  lasted  seven  years. 

-    370  .\.D. 


I04 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.  i6. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Certain  P/rsbyters  burnt  in  a  Ship  by  Order  of 
Valens.     Famine  in  Plirygia. 

Certain  pious  men  of  the  clerical  order,  eighty 
in   number,  among  whom    Urbanus,  Theodore, 
and  Menedemus  were  the  leaders,  proceeded  to 
Nicomedia,  and  there  presented  to  the  emperor 
a  supplicatory  petition,  informing  him  and  com- 
plaining of  the  ill-usage  to  which  they  had  been 
subjected.     The  emperor  was  filled  with  wrath  ; 
but  dissembled  his  displeasure  in  their  presence, 
and  gave   Modestus   the  prefect  a  secret  order 
to  apprehend   these  persons,  and  put  them  to 
death.     The   manner  in  which    they  were   de- 
stroyed being  unusual,  deserves  to  be  recorded. 
The  prefect  fearing  that  he  should  excite  the 
populace  to  a  seditious  movement  against  him- 
self, if  he  attempted  the  public  execution  of  so 
many,  pretended  to   send  the   men  away  into 
exile.     Accordingly  as  they  received  the  intelli- 
gence of  their  destiny  with  great  firmness  of  mind, 
the  prefect  ordered  that  they  should  be  embarked 
as  if  to  be  conveyed  to  their  several  places  of 
banishment,  having  meanwhile  enjoined  on  the 
sailors  to  set  the  vessel  on  fire,  as  soon  as  they 
reached  the  mid  sea,  that  their  victims  being  so 
destroyed,  might  even  be    deprived  of  burial. 
This    injunction    was    obeyed ;     for    when    they 
arrived  at  the  middle  of  the  Astacian  Gulf,  the 
crew  set  fire  to  the  ship,  and  then  took  refuge 
in  a  small  barque  which  followed  them,  and  so 
escaped.      Meanwhile   it   came   to   pass   that   a 
strong  easterly  wind  blew,  and  the  burning  ship 
was  roughly  driven  but  moved   faster  and  was 
preserved  until  it  reached  a  port  named  Dacidi- 
zus,  where  it  was  utterly  consumed  together  with 
the  men  who  were  shut  up  in  it.     Many  have 
asserted  that  this  impious  deed  was  not  suffered 
to  go  unpunished  :   for  there  immediately  after 
arose  so  great  a  famine  throughout  all  Phrygia, 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  were 
obliged  to  abandon  their  country  for  a  time,  and 
betake  themselves  some  to  Constantinople  and 
some  to  other  provinces.     For  Constantinople, 
notwithstanding  the  vast  population  it  supplies, 
yet  always  abounds  with  the  necessaries  of  life, 
all  manner  of  provisions  being  imported  into  it 
by  sea  from  various  regions  ;   and  the   Euxine 
which  lies  near  it,  furnishes  it  with  wheat  to  any 
extent  it  may  require.^ 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Einpe7-or  Valens,  7vhile  at  Antioch,  again 
persecutes  the  Adherents  of  the  '  HomoousionJ 

The  Emperor  Valens,  little    affected   by  the 
calamities  resulting   from    the   famine,  went  to 


1  Cf.  Herodot.  VII.  147. 


Antioch  in  Syria,  and  during  his  residence  there 
cruelly  persecuted  such  as  would  not  embrace 
Arianism.  For  not  content  with  ejecting  out 
of  almost  all  the  churches  of  the  East  those 
who  maintained  the  '  homoousian '  opinion,  he 
inflicted  on  them  various  punishments  besides. 
He  destroyed  a  greater  number  even  than  be- 
fore, delivering  them  up  to  many  different  kinds 
of  death,  but  especially  drowning  in  the  river. 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Events   at  Edessa :    Co?istancy  of  the   Devout 
Citizens,  and  Courage  of  a  Pious  Woman. 

But  we  must  here  mention  certain  circum- 
stances that  occurred  at  Edessa  in  Mesopotamia. 
There  is  in  that  city  a  magnificent  church  ^  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Thomas  the  Apostle,  wherein,  on 
account  of  the  sanctity  of  the  place,  religious 
assemblies  are  incessandy  held.     The  Emperor 
Valens  wishing  to  inspect  this  edifice,  and  hav- 
ing learnt  that  all  who  usually  congregated  there 
were  opposed  to  the  heresy  which  he  favored, 
he  is  said  to  have  struck  the   prefect  with  his 
own  hand,  because  he  had  neglected  to  expel 
them  thence  also.     As  the  prefect  after  submit- 
ting to  this  ignominy,  was  most  unwillingly  con- 
strained to  subserve  the  emperor's  indignation 
against  them,  —  for  he  did  not  desire  to  effect 
the  slaughter  of  so  great  a  number  of  persons, 
—  he  privately  suggested  that  no  one  should  be 
found  there.     But  no  one  gave  heed  either  to 
his  adfiionitions  or  to  his  menaces  ;   for  on  the 
following  day  they  all  crowded  to  the  church.^ 
And   when   the   prefect   was    going    towards  it 
with  a  large  military  force   in  order  to  satisfy 
the  emperor's  rage,  a  poor  woman  leading  her 
own  little  child  by  the  hand   hurried  hastily  by, 
on  her  way  to  the  church,  breaking   through  the 
ranks    of    the    prefect's    company    of    soldiers. 
The    prefect   irritated  at  this,    ordered    her    to 
be    brought   to   him,  and   thus   addressed  her : 
'  Wretched  woman  !  whither  are  you  running  in 
so   disorderly  a    manner  ? '      She    rephed,   '  To 
the    same    place    that    others     are     hastening.' 
'  Have  you  not  heard,'  said  he,  '  that  the  prefect 
is  about  to  put  to  death  all  that  shall  be  found 
there?'     'Yes,'  said  the  woman,  '  and  therefore 
I   hasten  that   I   may    be    found    there.'     'And 
whither  are  you  dragging  that  little   child  ?  '  said 
the    prefect:    the    woman    answered,    'That  he 
also  may  be  made  worthy  of  martyrdom.'^    The 


'  The  kind  of  church  here  meant  was  a  memorial  structure  to 
a  martyr,  erected  where  his  relics  were  deposited,  and  was  called 
Mapriipioi'.     See  Binsham,  Christ.  Atitiq.  VIII.  i. 

-  The  same  church  which  above  was  called  a  /uapriiptor  from 
its  origin,  is  here  called  euKTrjpios  tojto!,  from  its  use  ('  a  place  of 
prayer  '). 

•'  Gibbon,  in  his  Decline  and  Fail,  chap.  16,  quotes  a  number 
of  extracts  from  Sulpicius  .Severus  and  Ignatius,  showing  the  honor 
in  which  martyrdom  was  held  in  the  early  church,  and  the  eagerness 


IV.  22.] 


SUPERSTITION   AND    CRUELTY   BY   VALENS. 


105 


prefect  on  hearing  these  things,  conjecturing 
that  a  similar  resolution  actuated  the  others 
who  were  assembled  there,  immediately  went 
back  to  the  emperor,  and  informed  him  that  all 
were  ready  to  die  in  behalf  of  their  own  faith. 
He  added  that  it  would  be  preposterous  to 
destroy  so  many  persons  at  one  time,  and  thus 
persuaded  the  emperor  to  control  his  wrath. 
In  this  way  were  the  Edessenes  preserved  from 
being  massacred  by  order  of  their  sovereign. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Slaughter  of  Many  Persons  by  Valens  on  Ac- 
count of  their  Names,  in  Consequence  of  a 
Heathen  Prediction} 

The  cruel  disposition  of  the  emperor  was  at 
this  time  abused  by  an  execrable  demon,  who 
induced  certain  curious  persons  to  institute  an 
inquiry  by  means  of  necromancy  as  to  who 
should  succeed  Valens  on  the  throne.  To  their 
magical  incantations  the  demon  gave  responses 
not  distinct  and  unequivocal,  but  as  the  general 
practice  is,  full  of  ambiguity ;  for  displaying  the 
four  letters  6,  e,  o,  and  8,  he  declared  that  the 
name  of  the  successor  of  Valens  began  with 
these ;  and  that  it  was  a  compound  name. 
When  the  emperor  was  apprised  of  this  oracle, 
instead  of  committing  to  God,  who  alone  can 
penetrate  futurity,  the  decision  of  this  matter, 
in  contravention  of  those  Christian  princijDles  to 
which  he  pretended  the  most  zealous  adherence, 
he  put  to  death  very  many  persons  of  whom  he 
had  the  suspicion  that  they  aimed  at  the  sover- 
eign power :  thus  such  as  were  named  '  Theo- 
dore,' '  Theodotus,'  '  Theodosius,'  '  Theodulus,' 
and  the  like,  were  sacrificed  to  the  emperor's 
fears  ;  and  among  the  rest  was  Theodosiolus,  a 
very  brave  man,  descended  from  a  noble  family 
in  Spain.  Many  persons  therefore,  to  avoid  the 
danger  to  which  they  were  exposed,  changed  their 
names,  giving  up  those  which  they  had  received 
from  their  parents  in  infancy  as  dangerous. 
This  will  be  enough  on  that  subject. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Death  of  Athanasius,  and  Elevation  of  Peter  to 
His  See} 

It  must  be  said  that  as  long  as  Athanasius, 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  was  alive,  the   emperor, 

with  which  it  was  sought.  To  check  the  excess  of  zeal  which  was 
thus  manifested,  the  Council  of  Elvira,  in  306  a.d.  ,  passed  a  canon 
(its  sixtieth)  to  the  following  intent:  '  that  if  any  one  should  over- 
throw idols,  and  should  therefore  be  put  to  death,  inasmuch  as  this 
is  not  written  in  the  Gospel  nor  found  done  among  the  apostles  at 
any  time,  such  a  one  should  not  be  received  among  the  martyrs.' 

1  Amm.  iMarcellinus,  Rerutn  Gertantm,  XXIX.  i.  2<j  seg. 

1  Sozomen,  VI.  19;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  IV.  20. 


restrained  by  the  Providence  of  God,  abstained 
from  molesting  Alexandria  and  Egypt :  indeed 
he  knew  very  well  that  the  multitude  of  those 
who  were  attached  to  Athanasius  was  very  great ; 
and  on  that  account  he  was  careful  lest  the 
public  affairs  should  be  hazarded,  by  the  Alex- 
andrians, who  are  an  irritable  race,  being  excited 
to  sedition.  But  Athanasius,  after  being  engaged 
in  so  many  and  such  severe  conflicts  on  behalf 
of  the  church,  departed  this  life  in  the  second 
consulate"  of  Gratian  and  Probus,  having  gov- 
erned that  church  amidst  the  greatest  perils 
forty-six  years.  He  left  as  his  successor  Peter, 
a  devout  and  eloquent  man. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

The  Arians  are  allowed  by  the  Emperor  to  im- 
prison Peter  and  to  set  Lucius  over  the  See  of 
Alexandria. 

Upon  this  the  Arians,  emboldened  by  their 
knowledge  of  the  emperor's  religious  senti- 
ments, again  took  courage,  and  without  delay 
informed  him  of  the  circumstance.  He  was 
then  residing  at  Antioch.  Then  indeed  Euzoius 
who  presided  over  the  Arians  of  that  city, 
eagerly  embracing  the  favorable  opportunity  thus 
presented,  begged  permission  to  go  to  Alexan- 
dria, for  the  purpose  of  putting  Lucius  the  Arian 
in  possession  of  the  churches  there.  The  em- 
peror acceded  to  this  request,  and  as  speedily 
as  possible  Euzoius  proceeded  forthwith  to  Alex- 
andria, attended  by  the  imperial  troops.  Magnus, 
also,  the  emperor's  treasurer,  went  with  him. 
Moreover  an  imperial  mandate  had  been  issued 
to  Palladius,  the  governor  of  Egypt,  enjoining 
him  to  aid  them  with  a  military  force.  Where- 
fore having  apprehended  Peter,  they  cast  him 
into  prison ;  and  after  dispersing  the  rest  of  the 
clergy,  they  placed  Lucius  in  the  episcopal  chair. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Silence  of  Sabinus  07i  the  Misdeeds  of  the  Arians  ; 
Flight  of  Peter  to  Rome ;  Massacre  of  the 
Solitaries  at  the  Instigation  of  the  Arians. 

Of  the  outrages  perpetrated  upon  the  instal- 
lation of  Lucius,  and  the  treatment  of  those  who 
were  ejected,  both  in  the  courts  and  outside  of 
the  courts,  and  how  some  were  subjected  to  a 
variety  of  tortures,  and  others  sent  into  exile  even 
after  this  excruciating  process,  Sabinus  takes  not 
the  sHghtest  notice.     In  fact,  being  half  disposed 

-  371  A.D.  But  Jerome,  Chronic.  II.  (ninth  year  of  Valens), 
makes  the  consecration  of  Athanasius'  successor  in  373  a.d.,  and 
hence  also  the  death  of  Athanasius  himself  in  the  same  year.  The 
later  date  is  now  universally  accepted. 


io6 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.    22. 


to  Arianism  himself,  he  purposely  veils  the  atroci- 
ties of  his  friends.  Peter,^1»pvvever,  has  exposed 
them,  in  the  letters  he  adSiessed  to  all  the 
churches,  when  he  had  escaped  from  prison. 
For  this  [bishop]  having  managed  to  escape 
from  prison,  fled  to  Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome. 
The  Arians  though  not  very  numeroTis,  becom- 
ing thus  possessed  of  the  x\lexandrian  churches, 
soon  after  obtained  an  imperial  edict  directing 
the  governor  of  Egypt  to  expel  not  only  from 
Alexandria  but  even  out  of  the  country,  the 
favorers  of  the  '  homoousian '  doctrine,  and  all 
such  as  were  obnoxious  to  Lucius.  Ai'ter  this 
they  assailed  and  disturbed  and  terribly  harassed 
the  monastic  institutions  in  the  desert ;  armed 
men  rushed  in  the  most  ferocious  manner  upon 
those  who  were  utterly  defenceless,  and  who 
would  not  lift  an  arm  to  repel  their  violence  :  so 
that  numbers  of  unresisting  victims  were  in  this 
manner  slaughtered  with  a  degree  of  wanton 
cruelty  beyond  description. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

The  Deeds  of  Some  Holy  Persons  who  devoted 
themselves  to  a  Solitary  Life} 

Since  I  have  referred  to  the  monasteries  of 
Egypt,  it  may  be  proper  here  to  give  a  brief  ac- 
count of  them.  They  were  founded  probably  at 
a  very  early  period,  but  were  greatly  enlarged 
and  augmented  by  a  devout  man  whose  name 
was  Ammoun.  In  his  youth  this  person  had  an 
aversion  to  matrimony ;  but  when  some  of  his 
relatives  urged  him  not  to  contemn  marriage, 
but  to  take  a  wife  to  himself,  he  was  prevailed 
upon  and  was  married.  On  leading  the  bride 
with  the  customary  ceremonies  from  the  ban- 
quet-room to  the  nuptial  couch,  after  their  mu- 
tual friends  had  withdrawn,  he  took  a  book^ 
containing  the  epistles  of  the  apostles  and  read 
to  his  wife  Paul's  Episde  to  the  Corinthians, 
explaining  to  her  the  apostle's  admonitions  to 
married  persons."  Adducing  many  external  con- 
siderations besides,  he  descanted  on  the  incon- 
veniences and  discomforts  attending  matrimonial 
intercourse,  the  pangs  of  child-bearing,  and  the 
trouble  and  anxiety  connected  with  rearing  a 
family.  He  contrasted  with  all  this  the  advan- 
tages of  chastity ;  described  the  liberty,  and 
immaculate  purity  of  a  life  of  continence ;  and 
affirmed    that   virginity   places   persons   in    the 

'  On  the  growth  of  the  monastic  system,  see  Bingham,  Eccl. 
Anliq.  VII.;  on  its  philosophy,  briefly,  Bennett,  Christian  Ar- 
chceol.  p.  468.  Socrates  uses  Palladius'  Historia  Lausiaca  copi- 
ously in  this  chapter. 

-  AiiK,  ov  oTToo-ToAiicdi-.  The  books  of  the  New  Testament  came 
to  be  divided  into  the  two  classes  of '  gospels '  and  '  apostolic  epistles,' 
the  first  being  called  ivayyiXiav  or  fvayyiKia.,  and  the  second, 
on-o<TToAo9,  <i;rri(TToAoi  or  ^i^Kiov  tmomoXiKov .  Cf.  Epiph.  Hcer 
XLII.  10.  Euthal.  Diacon.  (Ed.  Mign<S,  Vol.  LXXXV.  col. 
72°"  C-  3  I  Cor,  vii.  10  seq. 


nearest   relation    to   the    Deity.     By  these  and 
other    arguments    of    a    similar    kind,    he    per- 
suaded his  virgin  bride   to  renounce  with   him 
a    secular   life,  prior   to   their  having  any  con- 
jugal knowledge  of  each  other.     Having  taken 
this    resolution,    they    retired    together    to    the 
mountain  of  Nitria,  and  in  a  hut  there  inhab- 
ited for  a  short  time  one  common  ascetic  apart- 
ment, without  regarding  their  difference  of  sex, 
being  according  to  the  apostles,  'one  in  Christ.'* 
Pint  not  long  after,  the  recent  and  unpolluted 
bride  thus  addressed  Ammoun  :    '  It  is  unsuit- 
able,' said  she,  '  for  you  who  practice  chastity, 
to  look  upon  a  woman  in  so  confined  a  dwelling  ; 
let  us  therefore,  if  it  is  agreeable  to  you,  perform 
our  exercise  apart.'     This  agreement  again  was 
satisfactory  to  both,  and  so  they  separated,  and 
spent  the  rest  of  their  lives  in  abstinence  from 
wine  and  oil,  eating  dry  bread  alone,  sometimes 
passing  over  one  day,  at  others  fasting  two,  and 
sometimes  more.     Athanasius,  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria,   asserts    in    his    Life   of  Anthotiy,^  that 
the  subject  of  his  memoir  who  was  contempo- 
rary with  this  Ammoun,  saw  his  soul  taken  up 
by   angels    after    his    decease.     Accordingly,    a 
great    number    of  persons  emulated  Ammoun's 
manner  of  life,  so  that  by  degrees  the  mountains 
of  Nitria  and  Scitis  were  filled  with  monks,  an 
account  of  whose  lives  w'ould  require  an  express 
work.     As,   however,    there   were    among  them 
persons  of  eminent  piety,  distinguished  for  their 
strict    discipline    and    apostolic   lives,  who  said 
and  did  many  things  worthy  of  being  recorded, 
I  deem  it  useful  to  interweave  with  my  history 
a    few    particulars     selected    out    of    the    great 
number  for  the  information  of  my  readers.     It 
is  said  that  Ammoun  never  saw  himself  naked, 
being    accustomed  to  say  that  '  it  became   not 
a  monk  to  see  even  his  own  person  exposed.' 
And  when  once  he  wanted  to  pass  a  river,  but 
was  unwilling  to  undress,  he  besought  God  to 
enable   him  to  cross  without  his  being  obliged 
to    break    his    resolution ;    and  immediately  an 
angel  transported  him  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river.     Another    monk   named    Didymus  ^  lived 
entirely  alone  to  the  day  of  his  death,  although 
he  had  reached  the  age  of  ninety  years.     Ar- 
senius,    another   of  them,   would   not   separate 
young  delinquents  from   communion,  but    only 
those  that  were  advanced  in  age  :   *  for,'  said  he, 
'  when  a  young  person  is  excommunicated  he 
becomes  hardened  ;  but  an  elderly  one  is  soon 
sensible    of    the    misery   of   excommunication.' 
Pior  was    accustomed   to    take    his  food  as  he 
walked    along.     As   a    certain    one    asked  him, 
'Why  do   you   eat   thus?'     'That    I    may  not 


•*  Gal.  iii.  28.  What  Socrates  here  says  of  Ammoun  is  attributed 
by  Theodoret  (//.  E.  IV.  12)  to  Pelagius,  who  afterwards  became 
bishop  of  Laodicea. 

'■■  Athanas.  Vit.  A  nton.  60.  «  Cf.  chap.  25. 


IV.  23.] 


HABITS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    THE    MONKS. 


107 


seem,'  said  he,  'to  make  eating  serious  business, 
but  rather  a  thing  done  by  the  way.'  To  another 
putting  the  same  question  he  repUed,  '  Lest 
even  in  eating  my  mind  should  be  sensible  of 
corporeal  enjoyment.'  Isidore  afifirmed  that  he 
had  not  been  conscious  of  sin  even  in  thought 
for  forty  years  ;  and  that  he  had  never  consented 
either  to  lust  or  anger.  Pambos  being  an  illit- 
erate man  went  to  some  one  for  the  purpose  of 
being  taught  a  psalm  ;  and  having  heard  the 
first  verse  of  the  thirty-eighth  psalm,  '  I  said  I 
will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that  I  offend  not 
with  my  tongue,'  "^  he  departed  without  staying 
to  hear  the  second  verse,  saying,  '  this  one  will 
suffice,  if  I  can  practically  acquire  it.'  And 
when  the  person  who  had  given  him  the  verse 
reproved  him  because  he  had  not  seen  him  for 
the  space  of  six  months,  he  answered  that  he 
had  not  yet  learnt  to  practice  the  verse  of  the 
psalm.  After  a  considerable  lapse  of  time,  be- 
ing asked  bv  one  of  his  friends  whether  he  had 
made  himself  master  of  the  verse,  his  answer 
was,  '  I  have  scarcely  succeeded  in  accomplish- 
ing it  during  nineteen  years.'  A  certain  individual 
having  placed  gold  in  his  hands  for  distribution 
to  the  poor,  requested  him  to  reckon  what 
he  had  given  him.  'There  is  no  need  of  count- 
ing,' said  he,  '  but  of  integrity  of  mind.'  This 
same  Pambos,  at  the  desire  of  Athanasius  the 
bishop,  came  out  of  the  desert  to  Alexandria ; 
and  on  beholding  an  actress  there,  he  wept. 
When  those  present  asked  him  why  he  wept,  he 
replied,  '  Two  causes  have  affected  me  :  one  is 
the  destmction  of  this  woman  ;  the  other  is  that 
I  exert  myself  less  to  please  my  God  than  she 
does  to  please  obscene  characters.'  Another 
said  that  *  a  monk  who  did  not  work  ought  to 
be  regarded  as  on  a  level  with  the  covetous  man.' 
Piterus  was  well-informed  in  many  branches  of 
natural  philosophy,  and  was  accustomed  fre- 
quently to  enter  into  expositions  of  the  princi- 
ples sometimes  of  one  and  sometimes  of  an- 
other department  of  science,  but  he  always 
commenced  his  expositions  with  prayer.  There 
were  also  among  the  monks  of  that  period,  two 
of  the  same  name,  of  great  sanctity,  each  being 
called  Macarius  ;  one  of  whom  was  from  Upper 
Egypt,  the  other  from  the  city  of  Alexandria. 
Both  were  celebrated  for  their  ascetic  discipline, 
the  purity  of  their  life  and  conversation,  and  the 
miracles  which  were  wrought  by  their  hands. 
The  Egyptian  Macarius  performed  so  many 
cures,  and  cast  out  so  many  devils,  that  it  would 
require  a  distinct  treatise  to  record  all  that  the 
grace  of  God  enabled  him  to  do.  His  manner 
toward  those  who  resorted  to  him  was  austere, 
yet  at  the  same  time  calculated  to  inspire  venera- 
tion.    The  Alexandrian   Macarius,  while  in   all 

'  According  to  the  LXX. 


respects  resembling  his  Egyptian  namesake,  dif- 
fered from  him  in  this,  that  he  was  always  cheer- 
ful to  his  visitors ;  and  by  the  affability  of  his 
manners  led  many  young  men  to  asceticism. 
Evagrius  ^  became  a  disciple  of  these  men,  ac- 
quired from  them  the  philosophy  of  deeds, 
whereas  he  had  previously  known  that  which 
consisted  in  words  only.  He  was  ordained  dea- 
con at  Constantinople  by  Gregory  of  Nazianzus, 
and  afterwards  went  with  him  into  Egypt,  where 
he  became  acquainted  with  these  eminent  per- 
sons, and  emulated  their  course  of  conduct,  and 
miracles  were  done  by  his  hands  as  numerous 
and  important  as  those  of  his  preceptors.  Books 
were  also  composed  by  him  of  very  valuable 
nature,  one  of  which  is  entitled  The  Monk,  or, 
On  Active  Virtue;  another  The  Gnostic^-*  or, 
To  him  who  is  deemed  zuorthy  of  Knowledge  : 
this  book  is  divided  into  fifty  chapters.  A 
third  is  designated  Antirrheticiis,  and  con- 
tains selections  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  against 
tempting  spirits,  distributed  into  eight  parts, 
according  to  the  number  of  the  arguments.  He 
wrote  moreover  Six  Hundred  Prognostic  Prob- 
lems, and  also  two  compositions  in  verse,  one 
addressed  To  the  Monks  living  in  Communi- 
ties, and  the  other  To  the  Virgin.  Whoever 
shall  read  these  productions  will  be  convinced 
of  their  excellence.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place 
here,  I  conceive,  to  subjoin  to  what  has  been 
before  stated,  a  few  things  mentioned  by  him 
respecting  the  monks.  These  are  his  words  : '" 
It  becomes  us  to  enquire  into  the  habits  of  the 
pious  monks  who  have  preceded  us,  in  order  that 
we  may  correct  ourselves  by  their  example  :  for 
undoubtedly  very  many  excellent  things  have  been 
said  and  done  by  them.  One  of  them  was  accus- 
tomed to  say,  that  '  a  drier  and  not  irregular  diet 
combined  with  love,  would  quickly  conduct  a 
monk  into  the  haven  of  tranquillity.'  The  same 
individual  freed  one  of  his  brethren  from  being 
troubled  by  apparitions  at  night,  by  enjoining 
him  to  minister  while  fasting  to  the  sick.  And 
being  asked  why  he  prescribed  this :  '  Such 
affections,'  said  he,  'are  by  nothing  so  effectually 
dissipated  as  by  the  exercise  of  compassion.' 
A  certain  philosopher  of  those  times  coming  to 
Anthony  the  Just,  said  to  him,  '  How  can  you 
endure,  father,  being  deprived  of  the  comfort  of 
books  ? '  '  My  book,  O  philosopher,'  replied 
Anthony,  '  is  the  nature  of  things  that  are  made, 
and  it  is  present  whenever  I  wish  to  read  the 
words  of  God.'  That  'chosen  vessel,'"  the 
aged    Egyptian   Macarius,  asked    me,   why  the 

'  Cf.  Palladius,  Hist.  Lausiaca,  chap.  86.  But  Palladius  says 
that  Evagrius  was  ordained  by  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  not  of  Nazianzus. 
Cf.  Sozomen,  VI.  30. 

'■'  Palladius  calls  this  work  'lepa  '  Sacred  [matter].'  Hist.  Lau- 
siaca, 86. 

1"  Cf.  Coteler.  Eccl.  Or.  liloti.  3.  59,  containing  also  other  frag- 
ments of  Evagrius. 
^1  Acts  ix.  15. 


io8 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.  23 


siren L;th  of  the  faculty  of  memory  is  impaired 
by  cherishing  the  remembrance  of  injury 
received  from  men ;  while  by  remembering 
those  done  us  by  devils  it  remains  uninjured  ? 
And  when  I  hesitated,  scarcely  knowing  what 
answer  to  make,  and  begged  him  to  account  for 
it :  '  Because,'  said  he,  '  the  former  is  an  affec- 
tion contrary  to  nature,  and  the  latter  is  con- 
formable to  the  nature  of  the  mind.'  Going  on 
one  occasion  to  the  holy  father  Macarius  about 
mid-day,  and  being  overcome  with  the  he;it  and 
thirst,  I  begged  for  some  water  to  drink  :  'Con- 
tent yourself  with  the  shade,'  was  Iiis  reply,  '  for 
many  who  are  now  journeying  by  land,  or  sailing 
on  the  deep,  are  deprived  even  of  this.'  Dis- 
cussing with  him  afterwards  the  subject  of  ab- 
stinence, 'Take  courage,  my  son,'  said  he  :  'for 
twenty  years  I  have  neither  eaten,  drunk,  nor 
slept  to  satiety  ;  my  bread  has  always  been 
weighed,  my  water  measured,  and  what  little 
sleep  I  have  had  has  been  stolen  by  reclining 
myself  against  a  wall.'  •■-  The  death  of  his 
father  was  announced  to  one  of  the  monks  : 
'  Cease  your  blasphemy,'  said  he  to  the  person 
that  told  him  ;  '  my  father  is  immortal.'  One 
of  the  brethren  who  possessed  nothing  but  a 
copy  of  the  Gospels,  sold  it,  and  distributed  the 
price  in  food  to  the  hungry,  uttering  this  memo- 
rable saying  —  '  I  have  sold  the  book  which 
says,  "  Sell  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the 
poor."  '^-^  There  is  an  island  about  the  northern 
part  of  the  city  of  Alexandria,  beyond  the  lake 
called  Maria,  where  a  monk  from  Parembole" 
dwells,  in  high  repute  among  the  Gnostics.  This 
jDerson  was  accustomed  to  say,  that  all  the  deeds 
of  the  monks  were  done  for  one  of  these  five 
reasons  ;  —  on  account  of  God,  nature,  custom, 
necessity,  or  manual  labor.  The  same  also 
said  that  there  was  only  one  virtue  in  nature, 
but  that  it  assumes  various  characteristics  accord- 
ing to  the  dispositions  of  the  soul :  just  as  the 
light  of  the  sun  is  itself  without  form,  but 
accommodates  itself  to  the  figure  of  that  which 
receives  it.  Another  of  the  monks  said,  '  I 
withdraw  myself  from  pleasures,  in  order  to  cut 
off  the  occasions  of  anger  :  for  I  know  that  it 
always  contends  for  pleasures,  disturbing  my 
tranquillity  of  mind,  and  unfitting  me  for  the 
attainment  of  knowledge.'  One  of  the  aged 
monks  said  that  '  Lo\-e  knows  not  how  to 
keep  a  deposit  either  of  provisions  or  money.' 
He  added,  '  I  never  remember  to  have  been 
twice  deceived  by  the  devil  in  the  same 
thing.'  Thus  wrote  Evagrius  in  his  book  en- 
titled Practice?^  And  in  that  which  he  called 
The   Gnostic  he  says,  '  We  have  learned   from 

'-  Cf.  Ezra  iv.  10,  11.  i-  Matt.  xix.  21. 

'■■  Parcmbole  is  a  village  near  Alexandria,  mentioned  by  Atha- 
nasius  in  his  second  Apol.  against  the  Arians,  who  names  Macarius 
as  its  presbyter. 

^^  See  above,  III.  7. 


Gregory  the  Just,  that  there  are  four  virtues, 
having  distinct  characteristics  :  —  prudence  and 
fortitude,  temperance  and  justice.  That  it  is 
the  province  of  prudence  to  contemplate  the 
sacred  and  intelligent  powers  apart  from  expres- 
sion, because  these  are  unfolded  by  wisdom  :  of 
fortitude  to  adhere  to  truth  against  all  opposi- 
tion, and  never  to  turn  aside  to  that  which  is 
unreal :  of  temperance  to  receive  seed  from  the 
chief  husbandman,"'  but  to  repel  him  who  would 
s  i\v  over  it  seed  of  another  kind  :  and  finally, 
of  justice  to  adapt  discourse  to  every  one,  ac- 
lording  to  their  condition  and  capacity ;  stating 
some  things  obscurely,  others  in  a  figurative 
manner,  and  explaining  others  clearly  for  the 
instruction  of  the  less  intelligent.'  That  pillar 
of  truth,  Basil  of  Cappadocia,  used  to  say  that 
'  the  knowledge  which  men  teach  is  perfected 
by  constant  study  and  exercise  ;  but  that  which 
proceeds  from  the  grace  of  God,  by  the  practice 
of  justice,  patience,  and  mercy.'  That  the  for- 
mer indeed  is  often  developed  in  persons  who 
are  still  subject  to  the  passions  ;  whereas  the  lat- 
ter is  the  portion  of  those  only  who  are  superior 
to  their  influence,  and  who  during  the  season  of 
devotion,  contemplate  that  peculiar  light  of  the 
mind  which  illumines  them.  That  luminary  of 
the  Egyptians,  holy  Athanasius,  assures  us  '  that 
INIoses  was  commanded  to  place  the  table  on 
the  north  ^'  side.  Let  the  Gnostics  therefore 
understand  what  wind  is  contrary  to  them,  and 
so  nobly  endure  every  temptation,  and  minister 
nourishment  with  a  willing  mind  to  those  who 
apply  to  them.'  Serapion,  the  angel  of  the 
church  of  the  Thmu'itEe,  declared  that  '  the 
mind  is  completely  purified  by  drinking  in  spir- 
itual knowledge  '  :  that  '  charity  cures  the  in- 
flammatory tendencies  of  the  soul ' ;  and  that 
'  the  depraved  lusts  which  spring  up  in  it  are 
restrained  by  abstinence.'  '  Exercise  thyself 
continually,'  said  the  great  and  enlightened 
teacher  Didymus,  '  in  reflecting  on  providence 
and  judgment ;  and  endeavor  to  bear  in  memory 
the  material  of  whatever  discourses  thou  mayst 
have  heard  on  these  topics,  for  almost  all  fail  in 
this  respect.  Thou  wilt  find  reasonings  con- 
cerning judgment  in  the  difference  of  created 
forms,  and  the  constitution  of  the  universe  :  ser- 
mons on  providence  comprehended  in  those 
means  by  which  we  are  led  from  vice  and  igno- 
rance to  virtue  and  knowledge.' 

These  few  extracts  from  Evagrius  we  thought 
it  would  be  approi)riate  to  insert  here.  There 
was  another  excellent  man  among  the  monks, 
named  Ammonius,  who  had  so  little  interest 
in  secular  matters,  that  when  he  went  to  Rome 
with  Athanasius,  he  chose  to   investigate  none 


"^  Matt.  xiii.  24. 


Ex. 


XXVI.  35. 


n'.  -4-] 


MONKS    PERSECUTED. 


109 


of  the  magnificent  works  of  that  city,  con- 
tenting himself  with  examining  the  Cathedral 
of  Peter  and  Paul  only.  This  same  Ammo- 
nias on  being  urged  to  enter  upon  the  epis- 
copal office,  cut  off  his  own  right  ear,  that 
by  mutilation  of  his  person  he  might  disqualify 
himself  for  ordination.  But  when  long  after- 
wards Evagrius,  whom  Theophilus,  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  wished  to  make  a  bishop,  having 
effected  his  escape  without  maiming  himself  in 
any  way,  afterwards  happened  to  meet  Ammo- 
niijS,  and  told  him  jocosely,  that  he  had  done 
wrong  in  cutting  off  his  own  ear,  as  he  had  by 
that  means  rendered  himself  criminal  in  the 
sight  of  God.  To  which  Ammonius  replied, 
'  And  do  you  think,  Evagrius,  that  you  will  not 
be  punished,  who  from  self-love  have  cut  out 
your  own  tongue,  to  avoid  the  exercise  of  that 
gift  of  utterance  which  has  been  committed  to 
you?'  There  were  at  the  same  time  in  the 
monasteries  very  many  other  admirable  and 
devout  characters  whom  it  would  be  too  tedious 
to  enumerate  in  this  place,  and  besides  if  we 
should  attempt  to  describe  the  life  of  each,  and 
the  miracles  they  did  by  means  of  that  sanctity 
with  which  they  were  endowed,  we  should  neces- 
sarily digress  too  far  from  the  object  we  have  in 
view.  Should  any  one  desire  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  their  history,  in  reference  both  to 
their  deeds  and  experiences  and  discourses  for 
the  edification  of  their  auditors,  as  well  as  how 
wild  beasts  became  subject  to  their  authority, 
there  is  a  specific  treatise^*  on  the  subject,  com- 
posed by  the  monk  Palladius,  who  was  a  disciple 
of  Evagrius,  and  gives  all  these  particulars  in 
minute  detail.  In  that  work  he  also  mentions 
several  women,  who  practiced  the  same  kind  of 
austerities  as  the  men  that  have  been  referred 
to.  Both  Evagrius  and  Palladius  flourished  a 
short  time  after  the  death  of  Valens.  We  must 
now  return  to  the  point  whence  we  diverged. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Assault  upon  the  Monks,  and  Banislunent  of  their 
Superiois,  who  exhibit  Miraculous  Power. 

The  emperor  Valens  having  issued  an  edict 
commanding  that  the  orthodox  should  be  per- 
secuted both  in  Alexandria  and  in  the  rest  of 
Egypt,  depopulation  and  ruin  to  an  immense 
extent  immediately  followed  :  some  were  dragged 
before  the  tribunals,  others  cast  into  prison,  and 
many  tortured  in  various  ways,  and  in  fact  all 
sorts  of  punishments  were  inflicted  upon  persons 
who  aimed  only  at  peace  and  quiet,  ^^^■len 
these  outrages  had  been  perpetrated  at  Alexan- 


'*  Hist.    Lansiaca    (Vol.    XXXIV.    in    Migne's     Patrologia 
GrcEca) . 


dria  just  as  Lucius  thought  proper,  Euzoius  re- 
turned to  Antioch,  and  Lucian  the  Arian,  at- 
tended by  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
with  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  immediately 
proceeded  to  the  monasteries  of  Egypt,  where 
the  general  in  person  assailed  the  assemblage  of 
holy  men  with  greater  fury  even  than  the  nith- 
less  soldiery.  On  reaching  these  solitudes  they 
found  the  monks  engaged  in  their  customary 
exercises,  praying,  healing  diseases,  and  casting 
out  devils.  Yet  they,  regardless  of  these  ex- 
traordinary evidences  of  Divine  power,  suff"ered 
them  not  to  continue  their  solemn  devotions, 
but  drove  them  out  of  the  oratories  by  force. 
Rufinus  declares  that  he  was  not  only  a  witness 
of  these  cruelties,  but  also  one  of  the  sufferers. 
Thus  in  them  were  renewed  those  things  which 
are  spoken  of  by  the  apostle  :  ^  'for  they  were 
mocked,  and  had  trial  of  scourgings,  were 
stripped  naked,  put  in  bonds,  stoned,  slain  with 
the  sword,  went  about  in  the  wilderness  clad  in 
sheep-skins  and  goat-skins,  being  destitute, 
afflicted,  tormented,  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy,  wandering  in  deserts,  in  mountains,  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.'  In  all  these 
things  '  they  obtained  a  good  report '  for  their 
faith  and  their  works,  and  the  cures  which  the 
grace  of  Christ  wrought  by  their  hands.  But 
as  it  appears  Divine  Providence  permitted  them 
to  endure  these  evils,  '  having  for  them  provided 
something  better,'"  that  through  their  sufferings 
others  might  obtain  the  salvation  of  God,  and 
this  subsequent  events  seem  to  prove.  When 
therefore  these  wonderful  men  proved  superior 
to  all  the  violence  which  was  exercised  toward 
them,  Lucius  in  despair  advised  the  military 
chief  to  send  the  fathers  of  the  monks  into 
exile  :  these  were  the  Egyptian  Macarius,  and 
his  namesake  of  Alexandria,  both  of  whom  were 
accordingly  banished  to  an  island  where  there 
was  no  Christian  inhabitant,  and  in  this  island 
there  was  an  idolatrous  temple,  and  a  priest  whom 
the  inhabitants  worshiped  as  a  god.  On  the 
arrival  of  these  holy  men  at  the  island,  the 
demons  of  that  place  were  filled  with  fear  and 
trepidation.  Now  it  happened  at  the  same  time 
that  the  priest's  daughter  became  suddenly  pos- 
sessed by  a  demon,  and  began  to  act  with  great 
fury,  and  to  overturn  everything  that  came  in 
her  way ;  nor  was  any  force  sufficient  to  restrain 
her,  but  she  cried  with  a  loud  voice  to  these 
saints  of  God,  saying  :  — '  Why  are  ye  come 
here  to  cast  us  out  from  hence  also  ?  '  ^  Then 
did  the  men  there  also  display  the  peculiar 
power  which  they  had  received  through  Divine 
grace  :  for  having  cast  out  the  demon  from  the 
maid,  and  presented  her  cured  to  her  father, 
they  led  the  priest  himself,  and  also  all  the  in- 


»  Heb.  xi.  36-38. 


'  Heb.  xi.  40. 


'  Matt.  viii.  29. 


no 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.  24. 


habitants  of  the  island  to  the  Christian  faith. 
Whereupon  they  immediately  brake  their  images 
in  pieces,  and  changed  the  form  of  their  temple 
into  that  of  a  church  ;  and  having  been  bap- 
tized, they  joyfully  received  instruction  in  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  Thus  these  marvel- 
ous individuals,  after  enduring  persecution  on 
account  of  the  '  homoousian  '  faith,  were  them- 
selves more  approved,  became  the  means  of 
salvation  to  others,  and  confirmed  the  truth. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

Of  Didymus  the  Blind  Man} 

About  the  same  period  God  brought  into 
observation  another  foithful  person,  deeming  it 
worthy  that  through  him  faith  might  be  witnessed 
unto  :  this  was  Didymus,  a  most  admirable  and 
eloquent  man,  instructed  in  all  the  learning  of 
the  age  in  which  he  flourished.  At  a  very  early 
age,  when  he  had  scarcely  acquired  the  first 
elements  of  learning,  he  was  attacked  by  disease 
in  the  eyes  which  deprived  him  of  sight.  But 
God  compensated  to  him  the  loss  of  corporeal 
vision,  by  bestowing  increased  intellectual  acu- 
men. For  what  he  could  not  learn  by  seeing, 
he  was  enabled  to  acquire  through  the  sense  of 
hearing ;  so  that  being  from  his  childhood  en- 
dowed with  excellent  abilities,  he  soon  far  sur- 
passed his  youthful  companions  who  possessed 
the  keenest  sight.  He  made  himself  master  of 
the  principles  of  grammar  and  rhetoric  with 
astonishing  facility ;  and  proceeded  thence  to 
philosophical  studies,  dialectics,  arithmetic,  mu- 
sic, and  the  various  other  departments  of  knowl- 
edge to  which  his  attention  was  directed ;  and 
he  so  treasured  up  in  his  mind  these  branches 
of  science,  that  he  was  prepared  with  the  utmost 
readiness  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  these 
subjects  with  those  who  had  become  conversant 
therewith  by  reading  books.  Not  only  this,  but 
he  was  so  well  accjuainted  with  the  Divine 
oracles  contained  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment that  he  composed  several  treatises  in  ex- 
position of  them,  besides  three  books  on  the 
Trinity.  He  published  also  commentaries-  on 
Origen's  book  Of  Frinciplcs,  in  which  he 
commends  these  writings,  saying  that  they  are 
excellent,  and  that  those  who  calumniate  their 
author,  and  speak  slightingly  of  his  works,  are 
mere  cavilers.  '  For,'  says  he,  '  they  are  desti- 
tute of  sufficient  penetration  to  comprehend 
the  profound  wisdom  of  that  extraordinary  man.' 
Those  who  may  desire  to  form  a  just  idea  of 
the    extensive   erudition   of  Didymus,   and  the 

1  Sozom.  III.  15;  Theodoret,  IV.   26;  Pallad.  Hist.  Lausiac. 
4;    Jernm.  dc  Script.  Eccl.  109. 

-  Mentioned  by  Jerome,  adv,  Ritfiiium,  i. 


intense  ardor  of  his  mind,  must  peruse  with 
attention  his  diversified  and  elaborate  works. 
It  is  said  that  after  Anthony  had  conversed  for 
some  time  with  this  Didymus,  long  before  the 
reign  of  Valens,  when  he  came  from  the  desert 
to  Alexandria  on  account  of  the  Arians,  perceiv-' 
ing  the  learning  and  intelligence  of  the  man,  he 
said  to  him,  '  Didymus,  let  not  the  loss  of  your 
bodily  eyes  distress  you  :  for  you  are  deprived 
of  such  eyes  merely  as  are  the  common  posses- 
sion of  gnats  and  flies  ;  rather  rejoice  that  you 
have  eyes  such  as  angels  see  with,  by  which  the 
Deity  himself  is  discerned,  and  his  light  com- 
prehended.' This  address  of  the  pious  Anthony 
to  Didymus  was  made  long  before  the  times  we 
are  describing  :  in  fact  Didymus  was  then  re- 
garded as  the  great  bulwark  of  the  true  faith, 
answering  the  Arians,  whose  sophistic  cavilings 
he  fully  exposed,  triumphantly  refuting  all  their 
vain  subtleties  and  deceptive  reasonings. 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Of  Basil  (f  Ccesarea,  and  Gregory  of 
Nazianziis} 

Now  Providence  opposed  Didymus  to  the 
Arians  at  Alexandria.  But  for  the  purpose  of 
confuting  them  in  other  cities,  it  raised  up  Basil 
of  Csesarea  and  Gregory  of  Nazianzus ;  con- 
cerning these  it  will  be  reasonable  to  give  a 
brief  account  in  this  place.  Indeed  the  uni- 
versally prevalent  memory  of  the  men  would  be 
enough  as  a  token  of  their  fame  ;  and  the  ex- 
tent of  their  knowledge  is  sufficiently  percep- 
tible in  their  writings.  Since,  however,  the 
exercise  of  their  talents  was  of  great  service  to 
the  Church,  tending  in  a  high  degree  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  catholic  faith,  the  nature 
of  my  history  obliges  me  to  take  particular 
notice  of  these  two  persons.  If  any  one  should 
compare  Basil  and  Gregory  with  one  another, 
and  consider  the  life,  morals,  antl  virtues  of 
each,  he  would  find  it  difficult  to  decide  to 
which  of  them  he  ought  to  assign  the  pre-emi- 
nence :  so  equally  did  they  both  appear  to 
excel,  whether  you  regard  the  rectitude  of  their 
conduct,  or  their  deep  acquaintance  with  Greek 
literature  and  the  sacred  Scriptures.  In  their 
youth  they  were  pujiils  at  Athens  of  Himerius^ 
and  Prohasresius,''  the  most  celebrated  sophists 
of  that  age  :    subsequently  they  frequented  the 

1  For  full  accounts  of  the  lives  of  these  eminent  men,  see  Smith 
and  Wace,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Hiog.,  and  the  sources  and  literature 
therein  referred  to. 

2  Himerius,  a  native  of  Prusias  (mod.  Broussa)  in  Bithynia, 
flourished  about  360  a.d.  as  a  sophist  under  Julian  the  Apostate. 
He  published  various  discourses,  which,  according  to  Photius,  con- 
tained insidious  attacks  on  Christianity.  Cf.  Ennapius,  p.  153, 
under  title  Proha-resiiis;  Photius,  Bibl.  Cod.  165. 

•''  Prohaeresius  was  a  native  of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia,  and  taught 
in  Athens  a  short  time  before  Libanius.  Cf.  Eunapius,  Prohiere- 
sitis,  par.  129-162. 


IV.  27.] 


BASIL  OF  C/ESAREA  AND   GREGORY   NAZIANZEN. 


1 1  r 


school  of  Libanius  ^  at  Antioch  in  Syria,  where 
they  cultivated  rhetoric  to  the  utmost.  Having 
been  deemed  worthy  of  the  i)rofession  of  soph- 
istry, they  were  urged  by  many  of  their 
friends  to  enter  the  profession  of  teaching  elo- 
quence ;  others  would  have  persuaded  them  to 
practice  law  :  but  despising  both  these  pursuits, 
they  abandoned  their  former  studies,  and  em- 
braced the  monastic  life.  Having  had  some 
slight  taste  of  philosophical  science  from  him 
who  then  taught  it  at  Antioch,  they  procured 
Origen's  works,  and  drew  from  them  the  right 
interpretation  of  the  sacred  Scriptures ;  for  the 
fame  of  Origen  was  very  great  and  widespread 
throughout  the  whole  world  at  that  time  ;  after 
a  careful  perusal  of  the  writings  of  that  great 
man,  they  contended  against  the  Arians  with 
manifest  advantage.  And  when  the  defenders 
of  Arianism  quoted  the  same  author  in  confir- 
mation, as  they  imagined,  of  their  own  views, 
these  two  confuted  them,  and  clearly  proved 
that  their  opponents  did  not  at  all  understand 
the  reasoning  of  Origen.  Indeed,  although  Eu- 
nomius,^  who  was  then  their  champion,  and  many 
others  on  the  side  of  the  Arians  were  considered 
men  of  great  eloquence,  yet  whenever  they  at- 
tempted to  enter  into  controversy  with  Gregory 
and  Basil,  they  appeared  in  comparison  with 
them  ignorant  and  illiterate.  Basil  being  or- 
dained to  the  office  of  deacon,  was  by  Meletius, 
bishop  of  Antioch,  from  that  rank  elevated  to 
the  bishopric  of  Ccesarea  in  Cappadocia,  which 
was  his  native  country.  Thither  he  therefore 
hastened,  fearing  lest  these  Arian  dogmas  should 
have  infected  the  provinces  of  Pontus ;  and  in 
order  to  counteract  them,  he  founded  several 
monasteries,  diligently  instructed  the  people  in 
his  own  doctrines,  and  confirmed  the  faith  of 
those  whose  minds  were  wavering.  Gregory 
being  constituted  bishop  of  Nazianzus,®  a  small 
city  of  Cappadocia  over  which  his  own  father 
had  before  presided,  pursued  a  course  similar  to 
that  which  Basil  took ;  for  he  went  through  the 
various  cities,  and  strengthened  the  weak  in  faith. 
To  Constantinople  in  particular  he  made  frequent 
visits,  and  by  his  ministrations  there,  comforted 
and  assured  the  orthodox  believers,  wherefore  a 
short  time  after,  by  the  suffrage  of  many  bishops, 
he  was  made  bishop  of  the  church  at  Constanti- 
nople.     When  intelligence   of  the   proceedings 

*  This  is  doubted  by  Valesius  on  the  ground  that  Gregory  in  his 
autobiography  (in  verse)  says  that  he  was  thirty  years  of  age  when 
he  left  Athens,  where  his  friends  wished  him  to  stay  and  teach 
rhetoric;  but  if  he  stayed  at  Athens  until  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age, 
it  is  not  likely  that  he  could  have  studied  with  Libanius  after  that 
time.     So  also  Rufinus,  //.  /£.  II.  9. 

■'  Cf.  chap.  7  of  the  present  book. 

^  Rufinus  (//.  E.  IT.  g)  says  this.  But  from  Gregorj-'s  own 
■works  {Orat.  VIII.)  it  appears  that  he  was  not  made  bishop  of 
Nazianzus  but  assistant  to  his  father,  and  on  the  express  condition 
that  he  should  not  succeed  his  father.  He  was  first  consecrated 
bishop  of  Sasimi  bv  Basil  the  Great,  from  thence  transferred  to  Con- 
stantinople, but  resigned  that  bishopric  (V.  7)  and  retired  to  Nazian- 
zus, where  he  remained  bishop  until  he  chose  his  successor  there. 


of  these  two  zealous  and  devoted  men  reached 
the  ears  of  the  emperor  Valens,  he  immediately 
ordered  Basil  to  be  brought  from  Coesarea  to 
Antioch  ; '  where  being  arraigned  before  the  tri- 
bunal of  the  prefect,  that  functionary  asked  him 
'  why  he  would  not  embrace  the  emperor's  faith  ? ' 
Basil  with  much  boldness  condemned  the  errors 
of  that  creed  which  his  sovereign  countenanced, 
and  vindicated  the  doctrine  of  the  homoousion  : 
and  when  the  prefect  threatened  him  with  death, 
'  Would,'  said  Basil,  '  that  I  might  be  released 
from  the  bonds  of  the  body  for  the  truth's  sake.' 
The  prefect  having  exhorted  him  to  reconsider 
the  matter  more  seriously,  Basil  is  reported  to 
have  said,  '  I  am  the  same  to-day  that  I  shall  be 
to-morrow  :  but  I  wish  that  you  had*  not  changed 
yourself  At  that  time,  therefore,  Basil  remained 
in  custody  throughout  the  day.  It  happened, 
however,  not  long  afterwards  that  Galates,  the 
emperor's  infant  son,  was  attacked  with  a  dan- 
gerous malady,  so  that  the  physicians  despaired 
of  his  recovery ;  when  the  empress  Dominica, 
his  mother,  assured  the  emperor  that  she  had 
been  greatly  disquieted  in  her  dreams  by  fearful 
visions,  which  led  her  to  believe  that  the  child's 
illness  was  a  chastisement  on  account  of  the  ill 
treatment  of  the  bishop.  The  emperor  after  a 
little  reflection  sent  for  Basil,  and  in  order  to 
prove  his  faith  said  to  him,  '  If  the  doctrine  you 
maintain  is  the  truth,  pray  that  my  son  may  not 
die.'  '  If  your  majesty  should  believe  as  I  do,' 
replied  Basil, '  and  the  church  should  be  unified, 
the  child  shall  live.'  To  these  conditions  the 
emperor  would  not  agree  :  '  God's  will  concern- 
ing the  child  will  be  done  then,'  said  Basil ;  as 
Basil  said  this  the  emperor  ordered  him  to  be 
dismissed  •  the  child,  however,  died  shortly  after. 
Such  is  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  these  dis- 
tinguished ecclesiastics,  both  of  whom  have  left 
us  many  admirable  works,  some  of  which  Rufi- 
nus says  he  has  translated  into  Latin.  Basil  had 
two  brothers,  Peter  and  Gregory ;  the  former  of 
whom  adopted  Basil's  monastic  mode  of  life  ; 
while  the  latter  emulated  his  eloquence  in  teach- 
ing, and  completed  after  his  death  Basil's  treatise 
on  the  Six  Days'  Work,  which  had  been  left  un- 
finished. He  also  pronounced  at  Constantinople 
the  funeral  oration  of  Meletius,  bishop  of  Anti- 
och ;  and  many  other  orations  of  his  are  still 
extant. 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Of  Gregory    Thaumattirgus  (the    Wonder- 
worker). 

But  since  from  the  likeness  of  the  name,  and 
the    tide  of  the    books    attributed  to    Gregory, 


'  Sozomen  (VI.  16)  says  that  Valens  came  from  Antioch  to 
Ca;sarea  and  ordered  Basil  to  be  brought  before  the  prefect  of  the 
praetorium.  This  account  agrees  better  with  what  both  Gregory  of 
Nazianzus  and  Gregory  of  Nyssa  say  of  this  experience  of  Basil. 


I  12 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[IV.  27. 


persons  are  liable  to  confound  very  different 
parties,  it  is  important  to  notice  that  Gregory 
of  Pontus  is  a  different  person.  He  was  a  native 
of  Neocaesarea  in  Pontus,  of  greater  antiquity 
than  the  one  above  referred  to,  inasmuch  as  he 
was  a  disciple  of  Origen.^  This  Gregory's  fame 
was  celebrated  at  Athens,  at  Berytus,  throughout 
the  entire  diocese  of  Pontus,  and  I  might  almost 
add  in  the  whole  world.  When  he  had  finished 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  Athens,  he  went 
to  Berytus  to  study  civil  law,  where  hearing  that 
Origen  expounded  the  Holy  Scriptures  at  Csesa- 
rea,  he  quickly  proceeded  thither ;  and  after 
his  understanding  had  been  opened  to  perceive 
the  grandeur  of  these  Divine  books,  bidding 
adieu  to  all  further  cultivation  of  the  Roman 
laws,  he  became  thenceforth  inseparable  from 
Origen,  from  whom  having  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  true  philosophy,  he  was  recalled  soon  after 
by  his  parents  and  returned  to  his  own  country  ; 
and  there,  while  still  a  layman,  he  performed 
many  miracles,  healing  the  sick,  and  casting  out 
devils  even  by  his  letters,  insomuch  that  the 
pagans  were  no  less  attracted  to  the  faith  by  his 
acts,  than  by  his  discourses.  Pamphilus  Martyr 
mentions  this  person  in  the  books  which  he  wrote 
in  defence  of  Origen  ;  to  which  there  is  added 
a  commendatory  oration  of  Gregory's,  composed 
in  praise  of  Origen,  when  he  was  under  the 
necessity  of  leaving  him.  There  were  then,  to 
be  brief,  several  Gregories  :  the  first  and  most 
ancient  was  the  disciple  of  Origen ;  the  second 
was  the  bishop  of  Nazianzus  ;  the  third  was 
Basil's  brother  ;  and  there  was  another  Gregory  ^ 
whom  the  Arians  constituted  bishop  during  the 
exile  of  Athanasius.  But  enough  has  been  said 
respecting  them. 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

Of  Novatus  and  his  Followers.     The  Novatians 
of  Phrygia  alter  the  Time  of  keeping  Easter, 
following Jetvish  Usage. 

About  this  time  the  Novatians'  inhabiting 
Phrygia  changed  the  day  for  celebrating  the 
Feast  of  Easter.  How  this  happened  I  shall 
state,  after  first  explaining  the  reason  of  the 
strict  discipline  which  is  maintained  in  their 
church,  even  to  the  present  day,  in  the  provinces 
of  Phrygia  and  Paphlagonia.  Novatus,-  a  pres- 
byter of  the  Roman  Church,  separated  from  it, 

•  On  Gregory  Thaumaturgus  in  general,  see  Euseb.  H.  E. 
VI.  30. 

2  Cf.  II.  II. 

'  On  the  Novatians  and  their  schism,  see  Schafif,  Hist.  0/  the 
Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  I.  p.  450,  451;  Neander,  I/ist.  of  Christ.  Ch. 
Vol.  1.  p.  237-248.     On  Socrates'  attitude  toward  Novatianism,  see 


Introd.  p.  ix.     Cf.  also  Euseb.  H.  E.  VI.  4- 

■■'  His  right  name  was  Novatian,  althougFi  the  Greek  writers  call 
him  uniformly  Navatus,  ignoring  or  confusing  him  with  another 
person  whose  name  is  strictly  Novatus.  Cf.  Jerome,  Scriptor. 
Eccles.  LXX.;  also  Smith  and  Wace,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Biog. 


because  Cornelius  the  bishop  received  into  com- 
munion believers  who  had  sacrificed  during  the 
persecution  which  the  Emperor  Decius^  had 
raised  against  the  Church.  Having  seceded  on 
this  account,  on  being  afterwards  elevated  to  the 
episcopacy  by  such  bishops  as  entertained  simi- 
lar sentiments,  he  wrote  to  all  the  churches  ^  that 
'  they  should  not  admit  to  the  sacred  mysteries 
those  who  had  sacrificed  ;  but  exhorting  them 
to  repentance,  leave  the  pardoning  of  their  of- 
fense to  God,  who  has  the  power  to  forgive  all 
sin.'  Receiving  such  letters,  the  parties  in  the 
various  provinces,  to  whom  they  were  addressed, 
acted  according  to  their  several  dispositions  and 
judgments.  As  he  asked  that  they  should  not 
receive  to  the  sacraments  those  who  after  bap- 
tism had  committed  any  deadly  sin  °  this  ap- 
peared to  some  a  cruel  and  merciless  course  : 
but  others  received  the  rule  as  just  and  condu- 
cive to  the  maintenance  of  discipline,  and  the 
promotion  of  greater  devotedness  of  life.  In 
the  midst  of  the  agitation  of  this  question,  letters 
arrived  from  Cornelius  the  bishop,  promising 
indulgence  to  delinquents  after  baptism.  Thus 
as  these  two  persons  wrote  contrary  to  one  an- 
other, and  each  confirmed  his  own  procedure 
by  the  testimony  of  the  Divine  word,  as  it  usually 
happens,  every  one  identified  himself  with  that 
view  which  favored  his  previous  habits  and  incli- 
nations. Those  who  had  pleasure  in  sin,  encour- 
aged by  the  license  then  granted  them,  took 
occasion  from  it  to  revel  in  every  species  of 
criminality.  Now  the  Phrygians  appear  to  be 
more  temperate  than  other  nations,  and  are  sel- 
dom guilty  of  swearing.  The  Scythians,  on  the 
other  hand,  and  the  Thracians,  are  naturally  of 
a  very  irritable  disposition  :  while  the  inhabitants 
of  the  East  are  addicted  to  sensual  pleasures. 
But  the  Paphlagonians  and  Phrygians  are  prone 
to  neither  of  these  vices  ;  nor  are  the  sports  of 
the  circus  and  theatrical  exhibitions  in  much 
estimation  among  them  even  to  the  present  day. 
And  for  this  reason,  it  seems  to  me,  these  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  others  of  the  same  character,  so 
readily  assented  to  the  letters  then  written  by 
Novatus.  Fornication  and  adultery  are  regarded 
among  them  as  the  grossest  enormities  :  and  it 
is  well  known  that  there  is  no  race  of  men  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  who  more  rigidly  govern 
their  passions  in  this  respect  than  the  Phrygians 
and  Paphlagonians.  The  same  reason  I  think 
had  force  with  those  who  dwelt  in  the  AVest  and 
followed  Novatus.  Yet  although  for  the  sake  of 
stricter  discipline  Novatus  became  a  separatist, 


•''  This  was  the  great  Seventh  Persecution.,  and  the  first  which 
historians  agree  in  calling  strictly  'general.'  It  took  place  in  249- 
251  A.n.,  and  consisted  in  a  systematic  effort  to  uproot  Christianity 
throughout  the  empire.  Many  eminent  Christians  were  put  to 
death  during  its  course,  and  others,  among  whom  was  Origen,  were 
tortured.  Cf.  Origen,  Contra  Celsum,  III.;  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 
Vita  Gregori  Thaumaturg.  III.;   Euseb.  H.  E.  VI.  40-42. 

*  Cf.  1.  10.  ^  I  John  V.  16,  17. 


•IV.  30.] 


NOVATIANISM.      AFFAIRS    IN    THE    WEST. 


113 


he  made  no  change  in  the  time  of  keeping  Easter/ 
but  invariably  observed  the  practice  that  obtained 
in  the  Western  churches.  For  they  celebrate 
this  feast  after  tlie  equinox,  according  to  the 
usage  which  had  of  old  been  delivered  to  them 
when  first  they  embraced  Christianity.  He  him- 
self indeed  afterwards  suffered  martyrdom  in  the 
reign  of  Valerian,'  during  the  persecution  which 
was  then  raised  against  the  Christians.  But  those 
in  Phrygia  *  who  are  named  after  him  Novatians, 
about  this  period  changed  the  clay  of  celebrating 
Easter,  being  averse  to  communion  with  other 
■Christians  even  on  this  occasion.  This  was 
effected  by  means  of  a  few  obscure  bishops  of 
that  sect  convening  a  Synod  at  the  village  of 
Pazum,  which  is  situated  near  the  sources  of  the 
river  Sangarius ;  for  there  they  framed  a  canon 
appointing  its  observance  on  the  same  day  as 
that  on  which  the  Jews  annually  keep  the  feast 
of  Unleavened  Bread.  An  aged  man,  who  was 
the  son  of  a  presbyter,  and  had  been  present 
-with  his  father  at  this  Synod,  gave  us  our  infor- 
mation on  this  matter.  But  both  Agelius,  bishop 
of  the  Novatians  at  Constantinople,  and  Maxi- 
mus  of  Nicsea,  as  also  the  bishops  of  Nicomedia 
and  Cotyaeum,  were  absent,  although  the  eccle- 
siastical affairs  of  the  Novatians  were  for  the 
most  part  under  the  control  of  these  bishops. 
How  the  church  of  the  Novatians  soon  after  was 
divided  into  two  parties  in  consequence  of  this 
Synod,  shall  be  related  in  its  proper  course  :  '•* 
but  we  must  now  notice  what  took  place  about 
the  same  time  in  the  Western  parts. 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

*" 

Da7iiasus  ordaijicd  Bishop  of  Rome.  Sedition 
and  Loss  of  Life  caused  by  ihe  Rivalry  of 
Ursinus. 

While  the  emperor  Valentinian  governed  in 
peace,  and  interfered  with  no  sect,  Damasus 
after  Liberius  undertook  the  administration  of 
the  bishopric  at  Rome ;  ^  whereupon  a  great 
disturbance  was  caused  on  the  following  ac- 
count.- A  certain  Ursinus,  a  deacon  of  that 
church,  had  been  nominated  among  others  when 

"  Cf.  I.  8  and  note. 

'  The  accuracy  of  this  statement  is  disputed  by  Valesius,  who 
asserts  that  the  Novatians  wrote  a  book  entitled  The  Martyrdom 
of  Novatian,  but  that  this  book  was  full  of  false  statements  and 
fables,  and  had  been  disproved  by  Eulogius,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
in  the  sixth  book  of  his  treatise  Against  the  iVot'atiaus.  Besides, 
in  this  Martyrdom  of  Novatiaii  the  founder  of  the  sect  was  not 
represented  as  suffering  martyrdom,  but  simply  as  being  a  '  con- 
fessor.'    Cf.  I.  8,  note  12. 

'  Let  it  be  noted  that  Novatian  was  a  native  of  Phrygia  and 
naturally  had  many  followers  in  that  province. 

9  V.  21. 

^  Socrates  follows  Rufinus  here  (cf.  Rufin.  H.  E.  IL  10) ;  but 
Jerome,  Chrom'con,  puts  the  consecration  of  Damasus  as  bishop  of 
Rome  in  the  third  year  of  Valentinian's  reign,  i.e.  in  367.  Cf.  also 
Clinton,  Fasti  Rom.  Ann.  367. 

-  Am.  Marcellinus  {Rerum  Gestaru7n,  XXVTL  3.  12,  13)  says 
that  during  the  disturbance  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  citizens 
were  killed  in  the  course  of  a  single  day. 


the  election  of  a  bishop  took  place  ;  as  Dama- 
sus'"'  was  preferred,  this  Ursinus,  unable  to  bear 
the  disappointment  of  his  hopes,  held  schismatic 
assemblies  apart  from  the  church,  and  even 
induced  certain  bishops  of  little  distinction  to 
ordain  him  in  secret.  This  ordination  was 
made,  not  in  a  church,*  but  in  a  retired  place 
called  the  Palace  of  Sicine,  whereupon  dissen- 
sion arose  among  the  people  ;  their  disagree- 
ment being  not  about  any  article  of  faith  or 
heresy,  but  simply  as  to  who  should  be  bishop. 
Hence  frequent  conflicts  arose,  insomuch  that 
many  lives  were  sacrificed  in  this  contention ; 
and  many  of  the  clergy  as  well  as  laity  were 
punished  on  that  account  by  Maximin,  the  pre- 
fect of  the  city.  Thus  was  Ursinus  obliged  to 
desist  from  his  pretensions  at  that  time,  and 
those  who  were  minded  to  follow  him  were  re- 
duced to  order. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

Dissension  about  a  Successor  to  Auxe?itius, 
Bishop  of  Milan.  Ambrose,  Governor  of 
the  Province,  going  to  appease  the  Tiitnult,  is 
bv  General  Consent  and  witJi  the  Approval  of 
the  Emperor  Valentinian  elected  to  the  Bish- 
opric of  that  Church. 

About  the  same  time  it  happened  that  ^  another 
event  took  place  at  Milan  well  worthy  of  being 
recorded.  On  the  death  of  Auxentius,  who  had 
been  ordained  bishop  of  that  church  by  the 
Arians,  the  people  again  were  disturbed  respect- 
ing the  election  of  a  successor ;  for  as  some  pro- 
posed one  person,  and  others  favored  another, 
the  city  was  full  of  contention  and  uproar.  In 
this  state  of  things  the  governor  of  the  province, 
Ambrose  by  name,^  who  was  also  of  consular 
dignity,  dreading  some  catastrophe  from  the 
popular  excitement,  ran  into  the  church  in  order 
to  quell  the  disturbance.  As  he  arrived  there 
and  the  people  became  quiet,  he  repressed  the 
irrational  fury  of  the  multitude  by  a  long  and 
appropriate  address,  by  urging  such  motives  as 
they  felt  to  be  right,  and  all  present  suddenly 
came  to  an  unanimous  agreement,  crying  out 
'  that  Ambrose  was  worthy  of  the  bishopric,'  and 
demanding  his  ordination  :  '  for  by  that  means 
only,'  it  was  alleged,  'would  the  peace  of  the 


'  Damusus  was  a  Spaniard  by  race,  native  of  Mantua,  patron  of 
Jerome  in  his  biblical  researches.  Cf.  Jerome,  ad  Datnas.  Smith 
&  Wace,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Biog: 

*  On  the  illegality  of  ordination  without  a  church,  see  Bingham, 
Christ.  Antiq.  IV.  6.  8.     Cf.  Gregorj'  Nazianz.  Carm.  de  Vita. 

^  Synchronization  of  the  events  attending  the  accession  of 
Damasus  and  Ambrose,  the  former  in  Rome,  the  latter  at  Milan,  is 
dependent  on  Rufinus.  Cf.  H.  E.  II.  11.  The  events  of  this  chap- 
ter more  properly  fall  within  the  time  reached  by  Socrates,  i.e.  374 
A.D.  (see  chap.  29,  note  i).  Hence  rightly  seven  years  later  than 
the  events  of  the  preceding  chapter. 

2  A  Roman  by  race,  born  in  333  A.D.,  turned  to  ecclesiasfical 
and  literary  pursuits  in  the  manner  described  in  this  chapten  Cf. 
Sozom.  VI.  24;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  IV.  6;  Rufinus^//.  ^inlf.  11. 


114 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.  30, 


church  be  secured,  and  all  be  reunited  in  the 
same  faith  and  judgment.'  And  inasmuch  as 
such  unanimity  among  the  people  appeared  to 
the  bishops  then  present  to  proceed  from  some 
Divine  appointment,  immediately  they  laid  hands 
on  Ambrose  ;  and  having  baptized  him  —  for  he 
was  then  but  a  catechumen  —  they  were  about 
to  invest  him  with  the  episcopal  office.  But 
although  Ambrose  willingly  received  baptism, 
he  with  great  earnestness  refused  to  be  ordained  : 
upon  which  the  bishops  referred  the  matter  to 
the  Emperor  Valentinian.  This  prince  regard- 
ing the  universal  consent  of  the  people  as  the 
work  of  Cxod,  sent  word  to  the  bishops  to  do 
the  will  of  God  by  ordaining  him  ;  declaring 
that  '  his  choice  was  by  the  voice  of  God  rather 
than  by  the  votes  of  men.'  Ambrose  was  there- 
fore ordained  ;  and  thus  the  inhabitants  of  Milan, 
who  were  divided  among  themselves,  were  once 
more  restored  to  unity, 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Death  of  Valentinian. 

The  Sarmatse  after  this  having  made  incur- 
sions into  the  Roman  territories,  the  emperor 
marched  against  them  with  a  numerous  army  : 
but  when  the  barbarians  understood  the  formi- 
dable nature  of  this  expedition,  they  sent  an 
embassy  to  him  to  sue  for  peace  on  certain  con- 
ditions. As  the  ambassadors  were  introduced 
to  the  emperor's  presence,  and  appeared  to  him 
to  be  not  very  dignified  fellows,  he  enquired 
whether  all  the  Sarmatae  were  such  as  these  ? 
As  they  replied  that  the  noblest  personages  of 
their  whole  nation  had  come  to  him,  Valen- 
tinian became  excessively  enraged,  and  ex- 
claimed with  great  vehemence,  that  '  the  Roman 
empire  was  indeed  most  wretched  in  devolving 
upon  him  at  a  time  when  a  nation  of  such 
despicable  barbarians,  not  content  with  being 
permitted  to  exist  in  safety  within  their  own 
limits,  dared  to  take  up  arms,  invade  the  Roman 
territories,  and  break  forth  into  open  war.'  The 
violence  of  his  manner  and  utterance  of  these 
words  was  so  great,  that  all  his  veins  were  opened 
by  the  effort,  and  all  the  arteries  ruptured  ;  and 
from  the  cjuantity  of  blood  which  thereupon 
gushed  forth  he  died.  This  occurred  at  Bergi- 
tion  Castle,  after  Gratian's  third  consulate '  in  con- 
junction with  Equitius,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of 
November,  Valentinian  having  lived  fifty-four 
years  and  reigned  thirteen.  Upon  the  decease 
of  Valentinian,  six  days  after  his  death  the  army 
in  Italy  proclaimed  his  son  Valentinian,  then  a 
young  child,  emperor,  at  Acincum,  a  city  of 
Italy.^     When  this  was  announced  to  the  other 


375  A.D. 


2  Rather  Pannonia. 


two  emperors,  they  were  displeased,  not  because 
the  brother  of  the  one  and  the  nephew  of  the 
other  had  been  declared  emperor,  but  because 
the  military  presumed  to  proclaim  him  without 
consulting  them,  whom  they  themselves  wished 
to  have  proclaimed.  They  both,  however,  rati- 
fied the  transaction,  and  thus  was  Valentinian  the 
younger  seated  on  his  father's  throne.  Now  this 
Valentinian  was  born  of  Justina,  whom  Valen- 
tinian the  elder  married  while  Severa  his  former 
wife  was  alive,  under  the  following  circumstances. 
Justus  the  father  of  Justina,  who  had  been  gov- 
ernor of  Picenum  under  the  reign  of  Constantius, 
liad  a  dream  in  which  he  seemed  to  himself  to 
bring  forth  the  imperial  purple  out  of  his  right 
side.  When  this  dream  had  been  told  to  many 
persons,  it  at  length  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
Constantius,  who  conjecturing  it  to  be  a  presage 
that  a  descendant  of  Justus  would  become  em- 
peror, caused  him  to  be  assassinated.  Justina 
being  thus  bereft  of  her  father,  still  continued  a 
virgin.  Some  time  after  she  became  known  to 
Severa,  wife  of  the  emperor  Valentinian,  and  had 
frequent  intercourse  with  the  empress,  until  their 
intimacy  at  length  grew  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  were  accustomed  to  bathe  together.  When 
Severa  saw  Justina  in  the  bath  she  was  greatly 
struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  virgin,  and  spoke 
of  her  to  the  emperor ;  saying  that  the  daughter 
of  Justus  was  so  lovely  a  creature,  and  possessed 
of  such  symmetry  of  form,  that  she  herself,  though 
a  woman,  was  altogether  charmed  with  her.  The 
emperor,  treasuring  this  description  by  his  wife 
in  his  own  mind,  considered  with  himself  how 
he  could  espouse  Justina,  without  repudiating 
Severa,  as  she  had  borne  him  Gratian,  whom  he 
had  created  Augustus  a  little  while  before.  He 
accordingly  framed  a  law,  and  caused  it  to  be 
published  throughout  all  the  cities,  by  which  any 
man  was  permitted  to  have  two  lawful  wives.* 
The  law  was  promulgated  and  he  married  Jus- 
tina, by  whom  he  had  Valentinian  the  younger, 
and  three  daughters,  Justa,  Grata,  and  Galla ; 
the  two  former  of  these  remained  virgins  :  but 
Galla  was  afterwards  married  to  the  emperor 
Theodosius  the  Great,  who  had  by  her  a  daugh- 
ter named  Placidia.  For  that  prince  had  Arca- 
dius  and  Honorius  by  Flaccilla  his  former  wife  : 
we  shall  however  enter  into  particulars  respect- 
ing Theodosius  and  his  sons  in  the  proper  place.^ 

^  Baronius  (Am.  IV.  272)  and  Valcsius  in  this  passage  agree  in 
looking  upon  this  whole  story  as  a  groundless  fiction  which  some 
pretended  eyewitness  palmed  of)  on  Socrates.  The  law  mentioned 
licrc  is  never  mentioned  by  any  other  historian;  no  vestige  of  it  is 
found  in  any  of  the  codes;  on  the  contrary,  according  to  Hingham 
[Christ.  Anti<].  XVI.  11),  bigamy  and  polygamy  were  treated  with 
the  utmost  severity  in  the  ancient  Church,  and  the  Roman  law  was 
very  much  against  them;  furthermore,  Am.  Marcellinus  (XXX.) 
says  that  Valentinian  was  remarkable  for  his  chastity,  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  Zosimus  (IV.  19)  thnt  his  second  wife  had  been 
married  to  Magnentius  previously  [and  hence  was  not  a  virgin  as 
here  stated]  and  that  he  married  her  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife; 
all  of  which  considerations  taken  together  render  it  historically  cer- 
tain that  the  story  is  not  true. 

*  Cf.  V.  2;  VI.  I. 


IV.  34-] 


CONVERSION    OF   THE    GOTHS. 


115 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

The  Emperor  Valens,  appeased  by  the  Orafion 
of  Themistiiis  the  Phi7os(ypher,  abates  his  Per- 
secution of  the  Christians. 

In  the  meanwliile  Valens,  making  his  residence 
at  Antioch,  was  wholly  undisturbed  by  foreign 
wars  ;  for  the  barbarians  on  every  side  restrained 
themselves  within  their  own  boundaries.  Never- 
theless, he  himself  waged  a  most  cruel  war 
against  those  who  maintained  the  '  homoousian  ' 
doctrine,  inflicting  on  them  more  grievous  pun- 
ishments every  day  ;  until  the  jDhilosopher  The- 
mistius  by  his  Appeaiing  Oration  ^  somewhat 
moderated  his  severity.  In  this  speech  he  tells 
the  emperor,  'That  he  ought  not  to  be  sur- 
prised at  the  difference  of  judgment  on  religious 
questions  existing  among  Christians ;  inasmuch 
as  that  discrepancy  was  trifling,  when  compared 
with  the  multitude  of  conflicting  opinions  cur- 
rent among  the  heathen ;  for  these  amount  to 
above  three  hundred ;  that  dissension  indeed 
was  an  inevitable  consequence  of  this  disagree- 
ment ;  but  that  God  would  be  the  more  glorified 
by  a  diversity  of  sentiment,  and  the  greatness 
of  his  majesty  be  more  venerated,  from  the  fact 
of  its  not  being  easy  to  have  a  knowledge  of 
Him.'  The  philosopher  having  said  these  and 
similar  things,  the  emperor  became  milder,  but 
did  not  completely  give  up  his  wrath ;  for  al- 
though he  ceased  to  put  ecclesiastics  to  death, 
he  continued  to  send  them  into  exile,  until  this 
fury  of  his  also  was  repressed  by  the  following 
event. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Tiie  Goths,  under  the  Reign  of  Vah'ns,  embrace 
Christianity. 

The  barbarians,  dwelling  beyond  the  Danube, 
called  the  Goths,^  having  engaged  in  a  civil 
war  among  themselves,  were  divided  into  two 
parties,  one  of  which  was  headed  by  Fritigernes, 
the  other  by  Athanaric.     When  the  latter  had 

1  This  oration  of  Themistius  is  extant  in  a  Latin  translation  by 
Dudithius  appended  to  G.  Remo's  Theinistii  Phil,  orationes  sex 
augiistales,  and  entitled,  ad  I'alentein, pro  Libertate  relligionis. 
The  passage  alluded  to  by  Socrates  is  found  in  Dudithius  as  follows: 
'  Wherefore,  in  regard  God  has  removed  himself  at  the  greatest  dis- 
tance from  our  knowledge,  and  does  not  humble  to  the  capacity  of 
our  understanding;  it  is  a  sufficient  argument  that  he  does  not 
require  one  and  the  same  law  and  rule  of  religion  from  all  persons, 
but  leaves  every  man  a  license  and  faculty  concerning  himself, 
according  to  his  own,  not  another  man's,  liberty  and  choice. 
Whence  it  also  happens  that  a  greater  admiration  of  the  Deity,  and 
a  more  religious  veneration  of  his  eternal  majesty,  is  engendered  in 
the  minds  of  men.  For  it  usually  comes  to  pass  that  we  loathe  and 
disregard  those  things  which  are  readily  apparent  and  prostrated 
to  every  understanding.' 

'  The  fullest  and  best  ancient  authors  on  the  origin  and  history 
of  the  Goths  are  Procopius  of  Caesarea  {Historia,  IV.-VIII.,  de 
Bella  Italico  adversus  Gothos  gesio) ,  Jornandes  {de  Getarjim 
[Got/toruin]  origine  et  rebus  gesii's),  and  Isidore  Hispalensis 
{Historia  Gothorutii).  On  the  conversion  of  the  Goths  to  Chris- 
tianity, see  Neander,  Hist,  of  ike  Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  II.  p.  125-129, 
and  Schaff,  Hist,  o/ihe  Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  III.  p.  640,  641. 


obtained  an  evident  advantage  over  his  rival, 
Fritigernes  had  recourse  to  the  Romans,  and 
implored  their  assistance  against  his  adversary. 
This  was  reported  to  the  lunperor  Valens,  and 
he  ordered  the  troops  which  were  garrisoned  in 
Thrace  to  assist  those  barbarians  who  had  ap- 
pealed to  him  against  their  more  powerful  coun- 
trymen ;  and  by  means  of  this  subsidy  they  won 
a  complete  victory  over  Athanaric  beyond  the 
Danube,  totally  routing  the  enemy.  This  be- 
came the  occasion  for  the  conversion  of  many 
of  the  barbarians  to  the  Christian  religion-:"  for 
Fritigernes,  to  express  his  sense  of  the  obligation 
the  emperor  had  conferred  upon  him,  embraced 
the  religion  of  his  benefactor,  and  urged  those 
who  were  under  his  authority  to  do  the  same. 
Therefore  it  is  that  so  many  of  the  Goths  are  even 
to  the  present  time  infected  with  the  errors  of 
x\rianism,  they  having  on  the  occasion  preferred 
to  become  adherents  to  that  heresy  on  the  em- 
peror's account.  Ulfilas,  their  bishop  at  that 
time,  invented  the  Gothic  letters,^  and  translat- 
ing the  Sacred  Scriptures  into  their  own  lan- 
guage, undertook  to  instruct  these  barbarians  in 
the  Divine  oracles.  And  as  Ulfilas  did  not  re- 
strict his  labors  to  the  subjects  of  Fritigernes, 
but  extended  them  to  those  who  acknowledged 
the  sway  of  Athanaric  also,  Athanaric  regard- 
ing this  as  a  violation  of  the  privileges  of  the 
religion  of  his  ancestors,  subjected  those  who 
professed  Christianity  to  severe  punishments ; 
so  that  many  of  the  Arian  Goths  of  that  period 
became  martyrs.  Arius  indeed,  failing  in  his 
attempt  to  refute  the  opinion  of  Sabellius  the 
Libyan,  fell  from  the  true  faith,  and  asserted 
the  Son  of  God  to  be  'a  new  God ' :  *  but  the 
barbarians  embracing  Christianity  with  greater 
simplicity  of  mind  despised  the  present  life  for 
the  faith  of  Christ.  With  these  remarks  we 
shall  close  our  notice  of  the  Christianized  Goths. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Admission  of  the  Fugitive  Goths  into  the  Roman 
Territories,  which  caused  the  Emperor's  Over- 
thro7v,  and  eventually  the  Ruin  of  the  Roman 
Empire. 

Not  long  after  the  barbarians  had  entered 
into  a  friendly  alliance  with  one  another,  they 
were  again  vanquished  by  other  barbarians,  their 
neighbors,  called  the  Huns  ;  and  being  driven 
out    of  their    own    country,  they  fled    into    the 


-  For  a  slightly  differing  account  of  the  conversion  of  the  Goths 
and  the  labors  of  Ulfilas,  see  Philostorgius,  II.  5. 

3  By  selecting  from  the  Greek  and  Latin  alphabets  such  charac- 
ters as  appeared  to  him  to  best  suit  the  sounds  of  his  native  language. 
For  a  similar  invention  of  an  alphabet  as  a  consequence  of  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity,  compare  the  Slavonic  invented  by  Cyril  and 
Methodius  and  a  great  number  of  instances  in  the  history  of  modern 

<  Cf.  Deut.  ,\xxii.  7. 


missions. 


Ii6 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[IV.  34. 


territory  of  the  Romans,  offering  to  be  subject 
to  the  emperor,  and  to  execute  whatever  he 
should  command  them.  ^^'hen  Valens  was 
made  acquainted  with  this,  not  having  the  least 
presentiment  of  the  consequences,  he  ordered 
that  the  supphants  should  be  received  with  kind- 
ness ;  in  this  one  instance  alone  showing  himself 
compassionate.  He  therefore  assigned  them 
certain  parts  of  Thrace  for  their  habitation, 
deeming  himself  peculiarly  fortunate  in  this 
matter :  for  he  calculated  that  in  future  he 
should  possess  a  ready  and  well-equipped  army 
against  all  assailants  ;  and  hoped  that  the  barba- 
rians would  be  a  more  formidable  guard  to  the 
frontiers  of  the  empire  even  than  the  Romans 
themselves.  For  this  reason  he  in  the  future 
neglected  to  recruit  his  army  by  Roman  levies  ; 
and  despising  those  veterans  who  had  bravely 
struggled  and  subdued  his  enemies  in  former 
wars,  he  put  a  pecuniary  value  on  the  militia 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces,  village 
by  village,  had  been  accustomed  to  furnish, 
ordering  the  collectors  of  his  tribute  to  demand 
eighty  pieces  of  gold  for  every  soldier,  although 
he  had  never  before  lightened  the  public  bur- 
dens. This  change  was  the  origin  of  many  dis- 
asters to  the  Roman  empire  subsequently. 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Abatement  of  Persecutioji  against  the  CJu-istians 
because  of  the  War  with  the  Goths. 

The  barbarians  having  been  put  into  posses- 
sion of  Thrace,  and  securely  enjoying  that  Ro- 
man province,  were  unable  to  bear  their  good 
fortune  with  moderation ;  but  committing  hos- 
tile aggressions  upon  their  benefactors,  devas- 
tated all  Thrace  and  the  adjacent  countries. 
When  these  proceedings  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  Valens,  he  desisted  from  sending  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  ho7noousion  into  banishment ;  and 
in  great  alarm  left  Antioch,  and  came  to  Con- 
stantinople, where  also  the  persecution  of  the 
orthodox  Christians  was  for  the  same  reason 
come  to  an  end.  At  the  same  time  Euzoius, 
bishop  of  the  Arians  at  Antioch,  departed  this 
life,  in  the  fifth  consulate '  of  Valens,  and  the 
first  of  Valentinian  the  younger  ;  and  Dorotheus 
was  appointed  in  his  place. 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

The  Safacens,  under  Mavia  their  Queen,  em- 
brace Christianity  ;  ant/  Moses,  a  Pious  Monk, 
is  consecrated  tlieir  Bishop. 

No  sooner  had  the   emperor  departed  from 

1   376  A.D. 


Antioch,  than  the  Saracens,'  who  had  before 
been  in  alliance  wdth  the  Romans,  revolted  from 
them,  being  led  by  Mavia  their  queen,  whose 
husband  was  then  dead.  All  the  regions  of  the 
East  therefore  were  at  that  time  ravaged  by  the 
Saracens  :  but  a  certain  divine  Providence  re- 
pressed their  fury  in  the  manner  I  am  about  to 
describe.  A  person  named  Moses,  a  Saracen 
by  birth,  who  led  a  monastic  life  in  the  desert, 
became  exceedingly  eminent  for  his  piety,  faith, 
and  miracles.  Mavia  the  queen  of  the  Saracens 
was  therefore  desirous  that  this  person  should 
be  constituted  bishop  over  her  nation,  and  prom- 
ised on  this  condition  to  terminate  the  war.  The 
Roman  generals  considering  that  a  peace  founded 
on  such  terms  would  be  extremely  advantageous, 
gave  immediate  directions  for  its  ratification. 
Moses  was  accordingly  seized,  and  brought  from 
the  desert  to  Alexandria,  in  order  that  he  might 
there  be  invested  with  the  bishopric  :  but  on  his 
presentation  for  that  purpose  to  Lucius,  who  at 
that  time  presided  over  the  churches  in  that 
city,  he  refused  to  be  ordained  by  him,  protest- 
ing against  it  in  these  words  :  '  I  account  myself 
indeed  unworthy  of  the  sacred  office  ;  but  if  the 
exigences  of  the  state  require  my  bearing  it,  it 
shall  not  be  by  Lucius  laying  his  hand  on  me, 
for  it  has  been  filled  with  blood.'  When  Lucius 
told  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  learn  from  him 
the  principles  of  religion,  and  not  to  utter  re- 
proachful language,  Moses  replied,  '  Matters  of 
faith  are  not  now  in  question  :  but  your  infamous 
practices  against  the  brethren  sufficiently  prove 
that  your  doctrines  are  not  Christian.  For  a 
Christian  is  "  no  striker,  reviles  not,  does  not 
fight";  for  "it  becomes  not  a  servant  of  the 
Lord  to  fight."  -  But  your  deeds  cry  out  against 
you  by  those  who  have  been  sent  into  exile,  who 
have  been  exposed  to  the  wild  beasts,  and  who 
had  been  delivered  up  to  the  flames.  Those 
things  which  our  own  eyes  have  beheld  are  far 
more  convincing  than  what  we  receive  from  the 
report  of  another.'  As  Moses  expressed  these 
and  other  similar  sentiments  his  friends  took  him 
to  the  mountains,  that  he  might  receive  ordina- 
tion from  those  bishops  who  lived  in  exile  there. 
Moses  having  thus  been  consecrated,  the  Saracen 
war  was  terminated  ;  and  so  scrupulously  did 
Mavia  observe  the  peace  thus  entered  into  with 
the  Romans  that  she  gave  her  daughter  in  mar- 
riage to  Victor  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Roman  army.  Such  were  the  transactions  in 
relation  to  the  Saracens. 


1  The  name  Saracen  (Sipaiciji-oc,  perhaps  from  the  Arabic  Shar- 
/i:(?f«  '  Orientals ')  was  used  vaguely  at  first;  the  Greek  writers  of 
the  first  centuries  gave  it  to  the  Bedauin  Arabs  of  Eastern  Aral  ia, 
while  others  used  it  to  designnte  t/he  Arab  races  of  Syria  and  Pales- 
tine, and  others  the  Berber  of  North  Eastern  Afri'-i,  who  later  con- 
quered Spain  and  Sicily  and  invaded  France.  The  name  became 
very  familiar  in  Europe  during  the  period  of  the  Crusades.  On  Sar- 
acens, consult  the  interesting  fiftieth  chapter  of  Gibbon's  Decline 
and  FnU  of  the  Roiiinn  Empire. 

-  2  Tim.  ii.  24. 


1 


IV.  3S.] 


DEATH  OF  VALENS. 


117 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

After  the  Departure  of  Vale ns  from  Antioch,  the 
Alexandrians  expel  Lucius,  and  restore  Peter, 
who  had  come  with  Letters  from  Damasus 
Bishop  of  Rome. 

About  the  same  time,  as  soon  as  the  Emperor 
Valens  left  Antioch,  all  those  who  had  anywhere 
been  suffering  persecution  began  again  to  take 
courage,  and  especially  those  of  Alexandria. 
Peter  returned  to  that  city  from  Rome,  with  let- 
ters from  Damasus  the  Roman  bishop,  in  which 
he  confirmed  the  '  homoousian  '  faith,  and  sanc- 
tioned Peter's  ordination.  The  people  there- 
fore resuming  confidence,  expelled  Lucius,  who 
immediately  embarked  for  Constantinople  :  but 
Peter  survived  his  re-establishment  a  very  short 
time,  and  at  his  death  appointed  his  brother 
Timothv  to  succeed  him. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

The  Emperor  Valens  is  ridiculed  bv  the  People 
on  Account  of  the  Goths  ;  undertakes  an  Ex- 
pedition against  them  and  is  slain  in  an  En- 
gagemetit  near  Adrianople. 

The  Emperor  Valens  arrived  at  Constantinople 
on  the  30th  of  May,  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  own 
consulate,^  and  the  second  of  Valentinian  the 
Younger,  and  found  the  people  in  a  very  de- 
jected state  of  mind  :  for  the  barbarians,  who 
had  already  desolated  Thrace,  were  now  laying 
waste  the  very  suburbs  of  Constantinople,  there 
being  no  adequate  force  at  hand  to  resist  them. 
But  when  they  undertook  to  make  near  ap- 
proaches, even  to  the  walls  of  the  city,  the  peo- 

'    378  A.D. 


pie  became  exceedingly  troubled,  and  began  to 
murmur  against  the  emperor ;  accusing  him  of 
having  brought  on  the  enemy  thither,  and  then 
indolently  prolonging  the  struggle  there,  instead 
of  at  once  marching  out  against  the  barbarians. 
Moreover  at  the  exhibition  of  the  sports  of  the 
Hippodrome,  all  with  one  voice  clamored  against 
the  emperor's  negligence  of  the  public  affairs, 
crying  out  with  great  earnestness,  *  Give  us  arms, 
and  we  ourselves  will  fight.'  The  emperor  pro- 
voked at  these  seditious  clamors,  marched  out 
of  the  city,  on  the  nth  of  June  ;  threatening 
that  if  he  returned,  he  would  punish  the  citizens 
not  only  for  their  insolent  reproaches,  but  for 
having  previously  favored  the  pretensions  of  the 
usurper  Procopius  ;  declaring  also  that  he  would 
utterly  demolish  their  city,  and  cause  the  plough 
to  pass  over  its  ruins,  he  advanced  against  the 
barbarians,  whom  he  routed  with  great  slaughter, 
and  pursued  as  far  as  Adrianople,  a  city  of 
Thrace,  situated  on  the  frontiers  of  Macedonia. 
Having  at  that  place  again  engaged  the  enemy, 
who  had  by  this  time  rallied,  he  lost  his  life  on 
the  9th  of  August,  under  the  consulate  just  men- 
tioned, and  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  289th 
Olympiad.  Some  have  asserted  that  he  was 
burnt  to  death  in  a  village  whither  he  had  re- 
tired, which  the  barbarians  assaulted  and  set  on 
fire.  But  others  afifirm  that  having  put  off  his 
imperial  robe  he  ran  into  the  midst  of  the  main 
body  of  infantry ;  and  that  when  the  cavalry  re- 
volted and  refused  to  engage,  the  infantry  were 
surrounded  by  the  barbarians,  and  completely 
destroyed  in  a  body.  Among  these  it  is  said 
the  emperor  fell,  but  could  not  be  distinguished, 
in  consequence  of  his  not  having  on  his  imperial 
habit.  He  died  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age,  hav- 
ing reigned  in  conjunction  with  his  brother  thir- 
teen years,  and  three  years  after  the  death  of  the 
brother.  This  book  therefore  contains  [the  course 
of  events  during]  the  space  of  sixteen  years. 


END    OF   THE    FOURTH    BOOK. 


BOOK    V. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Before  we  begin  the  fifth  book  of  our  history, 
we  must  beg  those  who  may  peruse  this  treatise, 
not  to  censure  us  too  hastily  because  having  set 
out  to  write  a  church  history  we  still  intermingle 
with  ecclesiastical  matters,  such  an  account  of 
the  wars  which  took  place  during  the  period 
under  consideration,  as  could  be  duly  authenti- 
cated. For  this  we  have  done  for  several  rea- 
sons :  first,  in  order  to  lay  before  our  readers  an 
exact  statement  of  facts ;  but  secondly,  in  order 
that  the  minds  of  the  readers  might  not  become 
satiated  with  the  repetition  of  the  contentious 
disputes  of  bishops,  and  their  insidious  designs 
against  one  another ;  but  more  especially  that 
it  might  be  made  apparent,  that  whenever  the 
affairs  of  the  state  were  disturbed,  those  of  the 
Church,  as  if  by  some  vital  sympathy,  became 
disordered  also.^  Indeed  whoever  shall  atten- 
tively examine  the  subject  will  find,  that  the 
mischiefs  of  the  state,  and  the  troubles  of  the 
church  have  been  inseparably  connected  ;  for 
he  will  perceive  that  they  have  either  arisen 
together,  or  immediately  succeeded  one  another. 
Sometimes  the  affairs  of  the  Church  come  first 
in  order ;  then  commotions  in  the  state  follow, 
and  sometimes  the  reverse,  so  that  I  cannot 
believe  this  invariable  interchange  is  merely 
fortuitous,  but  am  persuaded  that  it  proceeds 
from  our  iniquities ;  and  that  these  evils  are 
inflicted  upon  us  as  merited  chastisements,  if 
indeed  as  the  apostle  truly  says,  '  Some  men's 
sins  are  open  beforehand,  going  before  to  judg- 
ment ;  and  some  men  they  follow  after.'  -  For 
this  reason  we  have  interwoven  many  affairs  of 
the  state  with  our  ecclesiastical  history.  Of  the 
wars  carried  on  during  the  reign  of  Constantine 
we  have  made  no  mention,  having  found  no 
account  of  them  that  could  be  depended  upon 
because  of  their  iniquity :  but  of  subsequent 
events,  as  much  information  as  we  could  gather 
from  those  still  living"  in  the  order  of  their 
occurrence,  we  have  passed  in  rapid  review. 
We  have  continually  included  the  emperors  in 
these  historical  details ;  because  from  the  time 

'  The  views  here  expressed  show  a  crude  conception  of  the 
vital  relation  between  church  and  state.  The  very  tone  of  apology 
which  tinires  their  expression  is  based  on  a  misconception  of  the 
idea  of  history.  But  Socrates  was  not  below  his  age  in  this  respect. 
Sec  Introd.,  p.  xiii.  2  i  Tim.  v.  24. 

•■'  For  the  risks  of  this  method,  see  IV.  31  and  note. 


they  began  to  profess  the  Christian  religion,  the 
affairs  of  the  Church  have  depended  on  them,  so 
that  even  the  greatest  Synods  have  been,  and 
still  are  convened  by  their  appointment.  Finally, 
we  have  particularly  noticed  the  Anan  heresy, 
because  it  has  so  greatly  disquieted  the  churches. 
Let  these  remarks  be  considered  sufficient  in  the 
way  of  preface  :  we  shall  now  proceed  with  our 
history. 

CHAPTER   I. 

After  the  Death  of  Valens  the  Goths  again  attack 
Constantinople,  and  are  repulsed  by  the  Citi- 
zens, aided  by  Some  Saraeen  Anxiliaries. 

After  the  Emperor  Valens  had  thus  lost  his 
life,  in  a  manner  which  has  never  been  satisfac- 
torily ascertained,'  the  barbarians  again  ap- 
proached the  very  walls  of  Constantinople,  and 
laid  waste  the  suburbs  on  every  side  of  it. 
Whereat  the  people  becoming  indignant  armed 
themselves  with  whatever  weapons  they  could 
severally  lay  hands  on,  and  sallied  forth  of  their 
own  accord  against  the  enemy.  I'he  empress 
Dominica  caused  the  same  pay  to  be  distributed 
out  of  the  imperial  treasury  to  such  as  volun- 
teered to  go  out  on  this  service,  as  was  usually 
allowed  to  soldiers.  A  few  Saracens  also  assisted 
the  citizens,  being  confederates,  who  had  been 
sent  by  Mavia  their  queen  :  the  latter  we  have 
already  mentioned.-  In  this  way  the  people 
having  fought  at  this  time,  the  barbarians  retired 
to  a  great  distance  from  the  city. 

CHAPTER   II. 

The  Empei-or  Gratian  recalls  the  Orthodox 
Bishops,  and  expels  the  Heretics  from  the 
Churches.  He  takes  Theodosius  as  his  Col- 
league in  the  Empire. 

Grati.^n  being  now  in  possession  of  the  em- 
pire, together  with  Valentinian  the  younger,  and 
condemning  the  cruel  ])olicy  of  his  uncle  Valens 
towards  the  [orthodox]  Christians,  recalled  those 
whom  he  had  sent  into  exile.  He  moreover 
enacted  that  persons  of  all  sects,  without  distinc- 
tion, might  securely  assemble  together  in  their 

'  See  Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  26. 
2  Cf.  IV.  36. 


V.  5.] 


CONDITION    OF   THI-:    CHURCH    UNDER    GRATIAN. 


119 


churches ;  and  that  only  the  Eunomians/  Pho- 
tinians,^  and  Manich^ans^  should  be  exckided 
from  the  churches.  Being  also  sensible  of  the 
languishing  condition  of  the  Roman  empire, 
and  of  the  growing  power  of  the  barbarians  and 
perceiving  that  the  state  was  in  need  of  a  brave 
and  prudent  man,  he  took  Theodosius  as  his 
colleague  in  the  sovereign  power.  This  [The- 
odosius] was  descended  from  a  noble  family 
in  Spain,  and  had  acquired  so  distinguished 
a  celebrity  for  his  prowess  in  the  wars,  that 
he  was  universally  considered  worthy  of  im- 
perial dignity,  even  before  Gratian's  election 
of  him.  Having  therefore  proclaimed  him  em- 
peror at  Sirmium  a  city  of  Illyricum  in  the  con- 
sulate* of  Ausonius  and  Olybrius,  on  the  i6th 
of  January,  he  divided  with  him  the  care  of 
managing  the  war  against  the  barbarians. 


CHAPTER    III. 

The   Principal  Bishops  who  fiourished  at  that 

Time. 

Now  at  this  time  Damasus  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Liberius  then  presided  over  the  church 
at  Rome.  Cyril  was  still  in  possession  of  that 
at  Jerusalem.  The  Antiochian  church,  as  we 
have  stated,  was  divided  into  three  parts  :  for 
the  Arians  had  chosen  Dorotheus  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  their  bishop  Euzoius ;  while  one  por- 
tion of  the  rest  was  under  the  government  of 
Paulinus,  and  the  others  ranged  themselves  with 
Melitius,  who  had  been  recalled  from  exile. 
Lucius,  although  absent,  having  been  compelled 
to  leave  Alexandria,  yet  maintained  the  episcopal 
authority  among  the  Arians  of  that  city  ;  the 
Homoousians  there  being  headed  by  Timothy, 
who  succeeded  Peter.  At  Constantinople  He- 
mophilus the  successor  of  Eudoxius  presided 
over  the  Arian  faction,  and  was  in  possession  of 
the  churches ;  but  those  who  were  averse  to 
communion  with  him  held  their  assemblies 
apart.^ 

CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Macedonians,  who  had  subscribed  the  '  Ho- 
moousian  '  T>octri//e,  return  to  their  Former 
Error. 

After  the  deputation  from  the  Macedonians 
to  Liberius,  that  sect  was  admitted  to  entire 
communion  with  the  churches  in  every  city, 
intermixing  themselves  indiscriminately  with 
those  who  from  the  beginning  had  embraced  the 
form    of  faith  published  at  Nicsea.     But  when 


1  Cf.  IV.  7. 

2  Cf.  II.  18. 

3  Cf.  I.  22. 


-   379  A.D. 

1  cr  IV.  I. 


the  law  of  the  Emperor  CJratian  permitted  the 
several  sects  to  reunite  without  restraint  in  the 
jniblic  services  of  religion,  they  again  resolved 
to  separate  themselves ;  and  having  met  at 
.\ntioch  in  Syria,  they  decided  to  avoid  the 
word  honiooiisios  again,  and  in  no  way  to 
hold  communion  with  the  supporters  of  the 
Nicene  Creed.  They  however  derived  no  ad- 
vantage from  this  attempt ;  for  the  majority  of 
their  own  party  being  disgusted  at  the  fickleness 
with  which  they  sometimes  maintained  one 
opinion,  and  then  another,  withdrew  from  them, 
and  thenceforward  became  firm  adherents  of 
those  who  professed  the  doctrine  of  the  homo- 
ousion} 


CHAPTER   V. 

Events  at  Antioch  in  Connection  7cith  Paulinus 
and  Meletiiis. 

About  this  time  a  serious  contest  was  excited 
at  Antioch  in  Syria,  on  account  of  Melitius. 
We  have  already  observed  ^  that  Paulinus,  bishop 
of  that  city,  because  of  his  eminent  piety  was 
not  sent  into  exile  :  and  that  Melitius  after  be- 
ing restored  by  Julian,  was  again  banished  by 
Valens,  and  at  length  recalled  in  Gratian's  reign.- 
On  his  return  to  Antioch,  he  found  Paulinus 
greatly  enfeebled  by  old  age ;  his  partisans 
therefore  immediately  used  their  utmost  en- 
deavors to  get  him  associated  with  that  'bishop 
in  the  episcopal  office.  And  when  Paulinus  de- 
clared that  '  it  was  contrary  to  the  canons  ^  to 
take  as  a  coadjutor  one  who  had  been  ordained 
by  the  Arians,'  the  people  had  recourse  to  vio- 
lence, and  caused  him  to  be  consecrated  in  one 
of  the  churches  without  the  city.  When  this 
was  done,  a  great  disturbance  arose ;  but  after- 
wards the  people  were  brought  to  unite  on  the 
following  stipulations.  Having  assembled  such 
of  the  clergy  as  might  be  considered  worthy 
candidates  for  the  bishopric,  they  found  them 
six  in  number,  of  whom  Flavian  was  one.  All 
these  they  bound  by  an  oath,  not  to  use  any 
effort  to  get  themselves  ordained,  when  either 

'  For  an  account  of  this  deputation  and  their  feigned  subscrip- 
tion to  the  Nicene  Creed,  through  which  they  prevailed  upon  Libe- 
rius to  receive  them  into  the  communion  of  the  church,  see  IV.  12. 

1  Cf.  III.  9,  and  IV.  2. 

-  See  above,  chap.  3. 

"  In  its  eighth  canon  the  Council  of  Nicsea,  looking  forward  to 
the  reconciliation  of  such  Novatians  or  Caihari  as  might  desire  to 
return  to  the  Catholic  Church,  enjoins  that  '  when  in  villages  or  in 
cities  there  are  found  only  clergy  of  their  own  sect  {Cathari),  the 
oldest  of  these  clerics  shall  remain  among  the  clergy,  and  in  their 
position;  but  if  a  Catholic  priest  or  bishop  be  found  among  them, 
it  is  evident  that  the  bishop  of  the  Catholic  Church  should  preserve 
the  episcopal  dignity,  whilst  any  one  who  has  received  the  title  of 
bishop  from  the  so-called  Cathari  would  only  have  a  right  to  the 
honors  accorded  to  priests,  unless  the  bishop  thinks  it  right  to  let 
him  enjoy  the  honor  of  the  title.  If  he  does  not  desire  to  do  so,  let 
him  give  him  the  place  of  rural  bishop  (.chorepiscopus^  or  priest, 
in  order  that  he  may  appear  to  be  altogether  a  part  of  the  clergy, 
and  that  there  may  not  be  two  bishops  in  the  same  city.'  Cf.  Hefele, 
Hist.  0/  the  Councils,  Vol.  I.  p.  410;  Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq. 
II.  13.  I  and  2. 


I20 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[v.s- 


of  the  two  bishops  should  die,  but  to  permit  the 
survivor  to  retain  undisturbed  possession  of  the 
see  of  the  deceased.*  Thus  pledges  were  given, 
and  the  people  had  peace  and  so  no  longer 
quarreled  with  one  another.  The  Luciferians,^ 
however,  separated  themselves  from  the  rest,  be- 
cause Melitius  who  had  been  ordained  by  the 
Arians  was  admitted  to  the  episcopate.  In  this 
state  of  the  Antiochian  church,  Melitius  was 
under  the  necessity  of  going  to  Constantinople. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Gregory  of  Nazianzus  is  transferred  to  the  See 

of  Constantinople.     The  Emperor  Theodosius 

falling  Sick  at  Thessalonica,  after  his  Victory 

over  the  Barbarians,  is  there  baptized  by  As- 

cholius  the  Bishop. 

By  the  common  suffrage  of  many  bishops, 
Gregory  was  at  this  time  translated  from  the  see 
of  Nazianzus  to  that  of  Constantinople,^  and 
this  happened  in  the  manner  before  described. 
About  the  same  time  the  emperors  Gratian  and 
Theodosius  each  obtained  a  victory  over  the 
barbarians.^  And  Gratian  immediately  set  out 
for  Gaul,  because  the  Alemanni  were  ravaging 
those  provinces  :  but  Theodosius,  after  erecting 
a  trophy,  hastened  towards  Constantinople,  and 
arrived  at  Thessalonica.  There  he  was  taken 
dangerously  ill,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  re- 
ceive CTiristian  baptism.''  Now  he  had  been  in- 
structed in  Christian  principles  by  his  ancestors, 
and  professed  the  '  homoousian  '  faith.  Becom- 
ing increasingly  anxious  to  be  baptized  therefore, 
as  his  malady  grew  worse,  he  sent  for  the  bishop 
of  Thessalonica,  and  first  asked  him  what  doc- 
trinal views  he  held?  The  bishop  having  re- 
plied, '  that  the  opinion  of  Arius  had  not  yet 
inv'aded  the  provinces  of  Illyricum,  nor  had  the 
novelty  to  which  that  heretic  had  given  birth 
begun  to  prey  upon  the  churches  in  those  coun- 
tries ;  but  they  continued  to  preserve  unshaken 
that  foith  which  from  the  beginning  was  deliv- 
ered by  the  apostles,  and  had  been  confirmed  in 
the  Nicene  Synod,'  the  emperor  was  most  gladly 
baptized  by  the  bishop  Ascholius ;  and  having 

*  Theodoret  {H.  E.  V.  3)  gives  a  different  account  of  the  way 
in  wliich  the  dispute  between  Melitius  and  Paulinus  came  to  an 
end,  giving  the  glor>-  to  Melitius  for  the  eircnic  overture  above  de- 
scribed, and  representing  Paulinus  as  constrained  to  accept  it 
against  his  will  by  the  political  head  of  the  community. 

0  Cf.  HI.  9:   Sozom.  III.  15,  and  V.  12. 

'  So  also  Gregory  Nazianz.  Carrnen  lie  I'ita  Sua,  595.  '  The 
grace  of  the  Spirit  sent  us,  many  shepherds  and  members  of  the 
flock  inviting.'  See,  however,  on  Gregory's  episcopate  at  Nazian- 
zus, IV.  26  and  note, 

-  Cf.  Zosimus,  IV.;  Sozom.  VII.  4;  Am.  Marcellinus,  XXXI. 
9  and  10. 

^  Cf.  Zosimus,  IV.  39,  on  the  dangerous  illness  of  Theodosius. 
On  delayed  baptism,  called  '  clinic,'  see  I.  39,  note  2.  Evidently 
baptism  was  not  thought  essential  to  one's  title  to  be  called  a  Chris- 
tian. Theodosius  and  Constantine  were  both  considered  Christians 
and  '  professed  the  homoousian  faith,  and  yet  they  both  postponed 
their  baptism  to  what  they  believed  to  be  the  latest  moments  of  their 
Jives.' 


recovered  from  his  disease  not  many  days  after,, 
he  came  to  Constantinople  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  November,  in  the  fifth  consulate  of  Gratian, 
and  the  first  of  his  own.* 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Gregory,  finding  Some  Dissatisfaction  about  his 
Appointment,  abdicates  the  Episcopate  of  Con- 
stantinople. The  Emperor  orders  Demophilus 
the  Arian  Bishop  either  to  assent  to  the 
^  Homootision,'  or  leave  the  City.  He  chooses 
the  Latter. 

Now  at  that  time  Gregory  of  Nazianzus,  after 
his  translation  to  Constantinople,  held  his  as- 
semblies within  the  city  in  a  small  oratory,  ad- 
joining to  which  the  emperors  afterwards  built 
a  magnificent  church,  and  named  it  Atiastasia} 
But  Gregory,  who  far  excelled  in  eloquence  and 
piety  all  those  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived, 
understanding  that  some  murmured  at  his  pre- 
ferment because  he  was  a  stranger,  after  express- 
ing his  joy  at  the  emperor's  arrival,  resigned  the 
bishopric  of  Constantinople.  When  the  em- 
peror found  the  church  in  this  state,  he  began 
to  consider  by  what  means  he  could  make 
peace,  effect  a  union,  and  enlarge  the  churches. 
Immediately,  therefore,  he  intimated  his  desire 
to  Demophilus,-  who  presided  over  the  Arian 
party ;  and  enquired  whether  he  was  willing  to 
assent  to  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  thus  reunite 
the  people,  and  establish  peace.  Upon  De- 
mophilus' declining  to  accede  to  this  proposal, 
the  emperor  said  to  him,  *  Since  you  reject 
peace  and  harmony,  I  order  you  to  quit  the 
churches.'  When  Demophilus  heard  this,  weigh- 
ing with  himself  the  difficulty  of  contending 
against  superior  power,  he  convoked  his  fol- 
lowers in  the  church,  and  standing  in  the  midst 
of  them,  thus  spoke  :  '  Brethren,  it  is  written  in 
the  Gospel,^  "If  they  persecute  you  in  one  city, 
flee  ye  into  another."  Since  therefore  the  em- 
peror needs  the  churches,  take  notice  that  we 
will  henceforth  hold  our  assemblies  without  the 
city.'  Having  said  this  he  departed  ;  not  how- 
ever as  rightly  apprehending  the  meaning  of 
that   expression   in  the  Evangelist,  for  the  real 

*   380  A.D. 

^  It  appears  from  several  places  in  Gregory's  writings  (cf. 
Soriin.  de  Anastasia,  Ad  }'o/>?i!.  A  nasi,  and  Carvieit  de  Vita 
Sua,  1709)  that  he  himself  had  used  the  name  of  Anastasia  in  speak- 
ing of  the  church,  so  that  Socrates'  statement  that  it  was  so  called 
afterwards  must  be  taken  as  inaccurate.  It  also  appears  that  Greg- 
ory gave  the  name  Anastasia  to  the  house  wliich  he  used  as  a 
churcii,  and  meant  to  signify  by  the  name  (.Anastation  =  Resurrec- 
tion) the  resurrection  of  the  orthodox  community  of  Constantinople. 
It  is  possible,  of  course,  that  Socrates  here  means  that  the  empe- 
rors later  adopted  the  name  given  by  Gregory  on  the  occasion  of 
building  a  large  church  in  place  of  the  original  chapel.  See  also  on 
Gregory's  stay  at  Constantinople  Sozom.  VII.  5;  Philostorgius,  IX. 
19;  Theodoret,  V.  8. 

-  Cf.  Philostorgius,  IX.  10  and  14,  whence  it  appears  that  De- 
mophilus was  the  Arian  bishop  who  succeeded  Eudoxius  in  Constan- 
tinople. 

2  Matt.  X.  23. 


V.  8.] 


SYNOD    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 


121 


import  of  the  sacred  oracle  is  that  such  as 
would  avoid  the  course  of  this  world  must  seek 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem.''  He  therefore  went 
outside  the  city  gates,  and  there  in  future  held 
his  assemblies.  With  him  also  Lucius  went  out, 
who  being  ejected  from  Alexandria,  as  we  have 
before  related,^  had  made  his  escape  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  there  abode.  Thus  the  Arians, 
after  having  been  in  possession  of  the  churches 
for  forty  years,  were  in  consequence  of  their 
opposition  to  the  peace  proposed  by  the  em- 
peror Theodosius,  driven  out  of  the  city,  in 
Gratian's  fifth  consulate,"  and  the  first  of  Theo- 
dosius Augustus,  on  the  26th  of  November. 
The  adherents  of  the  '  homoousian '  faith  in  this 
manner  regained  possession  of  the  churches. 


CHAPTER   VHL 

A  Synod  consisting  of  One  Hundred  and  Fifty 
Bishops  meets  at  Constantinople.  The  Decrees 
passed.      Ordination  of  Nectarius. 

The  emperor  making  no  delay  summoned  a 
Synod  ^  of  the  prelates  of  his  own  faith,  in  order 
that  he  might  establish  the  Nicene  Creed,  and 
appoint  a  bishop  of  Constantinople  :  and  inas- 
much as  he  was  not  without  hope  that  he  might 
win  the  Macedonians  over  to  his  own  views,  he 
invited  those  who  presided  over  that  sect  to 
be  present  also.  There  met  therefore  on  this 
occasion  of  the  Homoousian  party,  Timothy 
from  Alexandria,  Cyril  from  Jerusalem,  who  at 
that  time  recognized  the  doctrine  of  lionioou- 
sion'^  having  retracted  his  former  opinion ; 
Melitius  from  Antioch,  he  having  arrived  there 
previously  to  assist  at  the  installation  of  Gregory  ; 
Ascholius  also  from  Thessalonica,  and  many 
others,  amounting  in  all  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  Of  the  Macedonians,  the  leaders  were 
Eleusius  of  Cyzicus,  and  Marcian  of  Lampsa- 
cus  ;  these  with  the  rest,  most  of  whom  came 
from  the  cities  of  the  Hellespont,  were  thirty-six 
in  number.  Accordingly  they  were  assembled 
in  the  month  of  May,  under  the  consulate '^  of 
Eucharius  and  Evagrius,  and  the  emperor  used 
his  utmost  exertions,  in  conjunction  with  the 
bishops  who    entertained    similar  sentiments  to 


*  A  specimen  of  allegorical  interpretation  due  to  the  influence 
of  Origen.  See  Farrar,  Hist,  of  Interpretation,  p.  183  seq.  For 
similar  cases  of  allegorizing,  see  Huet,  Origeniana  passim,  and  De 
la  Rue,  Origenis  Opera,  App.  240-244. 

^  IV.  37. 

i'  The  same  consulate  as  at  the  end  of  chap.  6;   i.e.  380  a.d. 

1  Cf.  parallel  account  in  Sozom.  VII.  7-9;  Theodoret,  H.  E. 
V.  8.  The  Synod  of  Constantinople  was  the  second  great  oecumeni- 
cal or  general  council.  Its  title  as  an  oecumenical  council  has  not 
been  disputed,  although  no  Western  bishop  attended.  Baronius, 
however  {^Annal.  381,  notes  19,  20),  attempts  to  prove,  but  unsuc- 
cessfully, that  Pope  Damasus  summoned  the  council.  For  a  full 
account  of  the  council,  see  Hefele,  History  of  the  Councils,  Vol. 
II.  p.  340-374. 

2  Sozomen  adds  that  Cyril  was  previously  a  follower  of  Mace- 
donius,  and  had  changed  his  mind  at  this  time.     Cf.  Sozom.  VII.  7. 

^   381  .\.D, 


his  own,  to  bring  over  Eleusius  and  his  adherents 
to  his  own  side.     They  were  reminded  of  the 
deputation     they    had    sent    by    Eustathius    to 
Liberius  ^  then  bishop  of  Rome ;  that  they  had 
of  their  own  accord  not  long  before  entered  into 
promiscuous    communion    with    the    orthodox  ; 
and    the    inconsistency  and    fickleness    of  their 
conduct  was   represented   to  them,  in    now   at- 
tempting to  subvert  the  faith  which  they  once 
acknowledged,   and    professed    agreement    with 
the  catholics  in.      But  they  paying  little   heed 
alike  to  admonitions  and  reproofs,  chose  rather 
to    maintain    the    Arian    dogma,  than  to  assent 
to   the   'homoousian'   doctrine.     Having   made 
this  declaration,  they  departed  from  Constanti- 
nople ;  moreover  they  wrote  to   their  partisans 
in  every  city,  and  charged  them  by  no  means  to 
harmonize  with  the  creed  of  the  Nicene  Synod. 
The  bishops    of  the    other   party  remaining    at 
Constantinople,    entered     into    a    consultation 
about  the  ordination  of  a  bishop ;  for  Gregory, 
as  we  have  before  said,^  had  resigned  that  see, 
and  was  preparing  to  return  to  Nazianzus.     Now 
there  was  a  person  named  Nectarius,  of  a  sena- 
torial  family,  mild  and  gentle   in  his   manners, 
and    admirable    in    his    whole    course    of    life, 
although  he  at  that  time  bore  the  office  of  prae- 
tor.    This  man  was  seized  upon  by  the  people, 
and  elected"  to  the  episcopate,  and ■w^^as  ordained 
accordingly  by  one  hundred   and  fifty  bishops 
then    present.     The    same    prelates    moreover 
published  a  decree,"  prescribing  '  that  the  bishop 
of  Constantinople  should  have  the  next  preroga- 
tive of  honor  after  the  bishop  of  Rome,  because 
that  city   was    Ne«'    Rome.'     They    also    again 
confirmed  the  Nicene  Creed.     Then  too  patri- 
archs were  constituted,  and  the  provinces  dis- 
tributed, so  that  no  bishop  might  exercise  any 
jurisdiction  over  other  churches*  out  of  his  own 
diocese  :  for  this  had  been  often  indiscriminately 
done  before,  in  consequence  of  the  persecutions. 
To  Nectarius    therefore  was  allotted    the  great 
city  and  Thrace.     Helladius,  the  successor  of 


*  Cf.  IV.  12.  s  See  above,  chap.  7. 

"  See  Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  IV.  2.  8  for  other  examples  illus- 
trating this  method  of  electing  bishops. 

''  Canon  3  of  the  Synod;  see  Hefele,  History  of  the  Councils,  Vol. 
II.  p.  357.  The  canon  is  given  by  Socrates  entire  and  in  the  origi- 
nal words.  Valesius  holds  that  the  primacy  conferred  by  this  canon 
on  the  Constantinopolitan  see  was  one  of  honor  merely,  and  involved 
no  prerogatives  of  patriarchal  or  metropolitan  jurisdiction.  For  a 
full  discussion  of  its  significance,  see  Hefele,  as  above.  The  Coun- 
cil of  Chalcedon  in  451  confirmed  the  above  action  in  the  following 
words:  '  We  following  in  all  things  the  decision  of  the  Holy  Fathers, 
and  acknowledging  the  canon  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  bishops 
.  .  .  do  also  determine  and  decree  the  same  things  respecting  the 
privileges  of  the  most  holy  city  of  Constantinople,  New  Rome. 
For  the  Fathers  properly  gave  the  primacy  to  the  throne  of  the 
elder  Rome.'     Canon  28. 

*  Canon  2.  The  words  'patriarch,'  however,  and  '  patriarch- 
ate'  are  not  used  in  the  canon.  According  to  Sophocles  {Greek 
Lexicon')  the  modern  sense  of  these  words  was  introduced  at  the 
close  of  the  fourth  century.  Valesius  holds  that  the  sixth  canon  of 
the  Nicene  Council  had  given  sanction  to  the  principle  of  patri- 
archal authority,  but  Beveridge  is  of  opinion  that  patriarchs  were 
first  constituted  by  the  second  general  council.  Hefele  takes  sub- 
stantially the  same  position  as  Valesius.  See  discussion  of  the 
subject  in  Hefele,  Hist,  of  the  Councils,  Vol.  I.  p.  389  seq. 


122 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[V.  8. 


Basil  in  the  bishopric  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia, 
obtained  the  patriarchate  of  the  diocese  of  Pon- 
tus  in  conjunction  with  Gregory  Basil's  brother, 
bishop  of  Nyssa"  in  Cappadocia,  and  Otreius 
bishop  of  Melitina  in  Armenia.  To  Amphilo- 
chius  of  Iconium  and  Optimus  of  Antioch  in 
Pisidia,  was  the  Asiatic  diocese  assigned.  The 
superintendence  of  the  churches  throughout 
Egypt  was  committed  to  Timothy  of  Alexandria. 
On  Pelagius  of  Laodicea,  and  Diodorus  of 
Tarsus,  devolved  the  administration  of  the 
churches  of  the  East ;  without  infringement 
however  on  the  prerogatives  of  honor  reserved 
to  the  Antiochian  church,  and  conferred  on 
MeHtius  then  present.  They  further  decreed 
that  as  necessity  required  it,  the  ecclesiastical 
affairs  of  each  province  should  be  managed  by 
a  Synod  of  the  province.  These  arrangements 
were  confirmed  by  the  emperor's  approbation. 
Such  was  the  result  of  this  Svnod. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Body  of  Paul,  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  is 
ho7iorably  transferred  from  his  Place  of  Exile. 
Death  of  Alelttius. 

The  emperor  at  that  time  caused  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  city  of  Ancyra,  the  body  of  the 
bishop  Paul,  whom  Philip  the  prefect  of  the  Prae- 
torium  ^  had  banished  at  the  instigation  of  Mace- 
donius,  and  ordered  to  be  strangled  at  Cucusus 
a  town  of  Armenia,  as  I  have  already  mentioned.- 
He  therefore  received  the  remains  with  great 
reverence  and  honor,  and  deposited  in  the 
church  which  now  takes  its  name  from  him ; 
which  the  Macedonian  party  were  formerly  in 
possession  of  while  they  remained  separate  from 
the  Arians,  but  were  expelled  at  that  time  by 
the  emperor,  because  they  refused  to  adopt  his 
sentiments.  About  this  period  Melitius,  bishop 
of  Antioch,  fell  sick  and  died  :  in  whose  praise 
Gregory,  the  brother  of  P.asil,  pronounced  a 
funeral   oration.      The    body   of  the    deceased 

"  Cf.  IV.  27.  On  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
of  the  ancient  Fathers,  see  hmith  &  Wace,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Biog.; 
Schaff,  Hist,  of  the  Christ.  Chitre/i,  Vol.  III.  p.  903  et  scq.,  and 
sources  mentioned  in  the  work. 

'  Constantinc  made  an  advance  on  his  predecessors  by  dividing 
the  manasjement  of  the  empire  among  four  prefects  of  the  prseto- 
rium,  which  they  had  committed  to  two  officers  of  that  name. 
These  four  were  apportioned  as  follows:  one  to  the  East,  a  second 
to  Illyricum,  a  third  to  Italy,  and  a  fourth  to  Gaul.  Each  of  these 
prefects  had  a  number  of  dioceses  under  him,  and  each  diocese  was 
a  combination  of  several  provinces  into  one  territory.  In  conform- 
ity with  this  model  of  civil  government,  the  church  abandoned  grad- 
ually and  naturally  its  meiropolitan  administration  of  the  provinces 
and  adopted  the  diocesan.  The  exact  time  of  the  change  is,  of 
course,  uncertiin,  it  having  come  about  gradually.  It  is  safe,  how- 
ever, to  put  it  between  the  Nicene  and  Constantinopolitan  councils. 
The  Fathers  in  the  latter  of  those  councils  seem  to  find  it  in  practi- 
cal operation  and  confirm  it  (Cf.  Canon  2  of  the  councils),  decreeing 
explicitly  that  it  should  be  unlawful  for  clerics  to  perform  any  office 
or  transact  anv  business  in  their  official  character  outside  of  the 
bounds  of  the  diocese  wherein  they  were  placed,  just  as  it  was  lui- 
lawful  for  the  civil  officer  to  intermeddle  in  any  affair  outside  the 
limits  of  his  civil  diocese.  2  II.  26. 


bishop  was  by  his  friends  conveyed  to  Antioch  ; 
where  those  who  had  identified  themselves  with 
his  interests  again  refused  subjection  to  Paulinus, 
but  caused  Flavian  to  be  substituted  in  the  place 
of  Melitius,  and  the  people  began  to  quarrel 
anew.  Thus  again  the  Antiochian  church  was 
divided  into  rival  factions,  not  grounded  on  any 
difference  of  faith,  but  simply  on  a  preference 
of  bishops. 

CHAPTER   X. 

The  Emperor  orders  a  Convention  composed  of 
All  the  Various  Sects.  Arcadius  is  proclaimed 
Augustus.  The  Novatians  permitted  to  hold 
their  Assemblies  in  the  City  of  Constantinople  : 
Other  Heretics  driven  out. 

Great  disturbances  occurred  in  other  cities 
also,  as  the  Arians  were  ejected  from  the  churches. 
But  I  cannot  sufficiently  admire  the  emperor's 
prudence  in  this  contingency.  For  he  was  un- 
willing to  fill  the  cities  with  disturbance,  as  far  as 
this  was  dependent  on  him,  and  so  after  a  very 
short  time  ^  he  called  together  a  general  confer- 
ence of  the  sects,  thinking  that  by  a  discussion 
among  their  bishops,  their  mutual  differences 
might  be  adjusted,  and  unanimity  established. 
And  this  purpose  of  the  emperor's  I  am  per- 
suaded was  the  reason  that  his  affairs  were  so 
prosperous  at  that  time.  In  fact  by  a  special 
dispensation  of  Divine  Providence  the  barbarous 
nations  were  reduced  to  subjection  under  him  : 
and  among  others,  Athanaric  king  of  the  Goths 
made  a  voluntary  surrender  of  himself  to  him,^ 
with  all  his  people,  and  died  soon  after  at  Con- 
stantinople. At  this  juncture  the  emperor  pro- 
claimed his  son  Arcadius  Augustus,  on  the  six- 
teenth of  January,  in  the  second  consulate^ 
of  Merobaudes  and  Saturnilus.  Not  long  after- 
wards in  the  month  of  June,  under  the  same 
consulate,  the  bishops  of  every  sect  arrived  from 
all  places  :  the  emperor,  therefore,  sent  for  Nec- 
tarius  the  bishop,  and  consulted  with  him  on 
the  best  means  of  freeing  the  Christian  religion 
from  dissensions,  and  reducing  the  church  to  a 
state  of  unity.  '  The  subjects  of  controversy,' 
said  he, '  ought  to  be  fairly  discussed,  that  by  the 
detection  and  removal  of  the  sources  of  discord, 
a  universal  agreement  may  be  effected.'  Hear- 
ing this  proposition  Nectarius  fell  into  uneasi- 
ness, and  communicated  it  to  Agelius  bishop 
of  the  Novatians,  inasmuch  as  he  entertained 
the  same  sentiments  as  himself  in  matters  of 


'  Socrates  according  to  his  custom  omits  all  mention  of  events  in 
the  Western  Church.  Some  of  them  are  quite  important;  e.g.  the 
council  of  Aquileia  called  by  the  Emperor  Gratian.  See  Hefele, 
Hist,  of  Church  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.  375  seq. 

2  This  was  in  382  a.d.  as  appears  from  the  Fasti  of  Idatius. 
Cf.  also  Zosimus,  IV.  34,  and  Jerome,  Chronicon. 

=  383  A.u. 


V.  lo.]    THEODOSIUS  DECIDES  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  IIOMOOUSION.    12 


faith.  This  man,  though  eminently  pious,  was 
by  no  means  competent  to  maintain  a  dispute 
on  doctrinal  points ;  he  therefore  ])roposed  to 
refer  the  subject  to  Sisinnius''  his  reader,  as  a 
fit  person  to  manage  a  conference.  Sisinnius, 
who  was  not  only  learned,  but  possessed  of 
great  experience,  and  was  well  informed  both 
in  the  expositions  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  and 
the  principles  of  philosophy,  being  convinced 
that  disputations,  far  from  healing  divisions, 
usually  create  heresies  of  a  more  inveterate 
character,  gave  the  following  advice  to  Necta- 
rius,  knowing  well  that  the  ancients  have  no- 
where attributed  a  beginning  of  existence  to  the 
Son  of  God,  conceiving  him  to  be  co-eternal 
with  the  Father,  he  advised  that  they  should 
avoid  dialectic  warfare  and  bring  forward  as 
evidences  of  the  truth  the  testimonies  of  the 
ancients.  '  Let  the  emperor,'  said  he,  '  demand 
of  the  heads  of  each  sect,  whether  they  would 
pay  any  deference  to  the  ancients  who  flour- 
ished before  schism  distracted  the  church  ;  or 
whether  they  would  repudiate  them,  as  alien- 
ated from  the  Christian  faith?  If  they  reject 
their  authority,  then  let  them  also  anathematize 
them  :  and  should  they  presume  to  take  such  a 
step,  they  would  themselves  be  instantly  thrust 
out  by  the  people,  and  so  the  truth  will  be  man- 
ifestly victorious.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  are  not  willing  to  set  aside  the  fathers,  it 
will  then  be  our  business  to  produce  their  books, 
by  which  our  views  will  be  fully  attested.'  Nec- 
tarius  having  heard  these  words  of  Sisinnius, 
hastened  to  the  palace,  and  acquainted  the  em- 
peror with  the  plan  which  had  been  suggested 
to  him  ;  who  at  once  perceiving  its  wisdom  and 
propriety,  carried  it  into  execution  with  con- 
summate prudence.  P'or  without  discovering  his 
object,  he  simply  asked  the  chiefs  of  the  heretics 
whether  they  had  any  respect  for  and  would  ac- 
cept the  teachings  of  those  teachers  who  lived 
previous  to  the  dissension  in  the  church  ?  As  they 
did  not  repudiate  them,  but  replied  that  they 
highly  revered  them  as  their  masters ;  the  em- 
peror enquired  of  them  again  whether  they  would 
defer  to  them  as  accredited  witnesses  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine?  At  this  question,  the  leaders  of 
the  several  parties,  with  their  logical  champions, 
—  for  many  had  come  prepared  for  sophistical 
debate,  —  found  themselves  extremely  embar- 
rassed. For  a  division  was  caused  among  them 
as  some  acquiesced  in  the  reasonableness  of 
the  emperor's  proposition  while  others  shrunk 
from  it,  conscious  that  it  was  by  no  means  favor- 
able to  their  interests  :  so  that  all  being  variously 
affected  towards  the  writings  of  the  ancients, 
they  could  no  longer  agree  among  themselves, 
dissenting  not  only  from  other  sects,  but  those 

■•  For  a  further  account  of  Sisinnius,  see  VI.  22. 


of  the  same  sect  differing  from  one  another. 
Accordant  malice  therefore,  like  the  tongue  of 
the  giants  of  old,  was  confounded,  and  their 
tower  of  mischief  overturned.''  The  emperor 
perceiving  by  their  confusion  that  their  sole  con- 
fidence was  in  subtle  arguments,  and  that  they 
feared  to  ai)peal  to  the  expositions  of  the  fathers, 
had  recourse  to  another  method  :  he  com- 
manded every  sect  to  set  forth  in  writing  their 
own  peculiar  tenets.  Accordingly  those  who 
were  accounted  the  most  skillful  among  them, 
drew  up  a  statement  of  their  respective  creeds, 
couched  in  terms  the  most  circumspect  they 
could  devise  ;  a  day  was  appointed,  and  the 
bishops  selected  for  this  purpose  presented 
themselves  at  the  palace.  Nectarius  and  Age- 
lius  appeared  as  the  defenders  of  the  '  homoou- 
sian '  faith ;  Demophilus  supported  the  Arian 
dogma  ;  Eunomius  himself  undertook  the  cause  of 
the  Eunomians  ;  and  Fleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus, 
represented  the  opinions  of  those  who  were 
denominated  Macedonians.  The  emperor  gave 
them  all  a  courteous  reception ;  and  receiving 
from  each  their  written  avowal  of  faith,  he  shut 
himself  up  alone,  and  prayed  very  earnestly  that 
God  would  assist  him  in  his  endeavors  to  ascer- 
tain the  truth.  Then  perusing  with  great  care 
the  statement  which  each  had  submitted  to  him, 
he  condemned  all  the  rest,  inasmuch  as  they 
introduced  a  separation  of  the  Trinity,  and 
approved  of  that  only  which  contained  the  doc- 
trine of  the  homoousion.  This  decision  caused 
the  Novatians  to  flourish  again,  and  hold  their 
meetings  within  the  city  :  for  the  emperor  de- 
lighted with  the  agreement  of  their  profession 
with  that  which  he  embraced,  promulgated  a 
law  securing  to  them  the  peaceful  possession  of 
their  own  church  buildings,  and  assigned  to 
their  churches  equal  privileges  with  those  to 
which  he  gave  his  more  especial  sanction.  But 
the  bishops  of  the  other  sects,  on  account  of 
their  disagreement  among  themselves,  were  de- 
spised and  censured  even  by  their  own  followers  : 
so  that  overwhelmed  with  perplexity  and  vexa- 
tion they  departed,  addressing  consolatory  letters 
to  their  adherents,  whom  they  exhorted  not  to  be 
troubled  because  many  had  deserted  them  and 
gone  over  to  the  homoousian  party ;  for  they 
said,  '  Many  are  called,  but  few  chosen '  ^  —  an 
expression  which  they  never  used  when  on 
account  of  force  and  terror  the  majority  of  the 
people  was  on  their  side.  Nevertheless  the 
orthodox  believers  were  not  wholly  exempt 
from  inquietude  ;  for  the  affairs  of  the  Antiochian 
church  caused  divisions  among  those  who  were 
present  at  the  Synod.  The  bishops  of  Egypt, 
Arabia  and  Cyprus,  combined  against  Flavian, 

5  Referring  no  doubt  to  the  Tower  of  Babel  and  the  dispersion 
of  its  builders,  Gen.  xi.  8. 
'•  Matt.  XX.  16. 


124 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[V.  lo 


and  insisted  on  his  expulsion  from  Antioch  :  but 
those  of  Palestine,  Phcenicia,  and  Syria,  con- 
tended with  equal  zeal  in  his  favor,  ^\'hat  result 
issued  from  this  contest  I  shall  describe  in  its 
proper  place/ 

CHAPTER   XI. 

TJie  Emperor  Gratian  is  slain  by  tlie  Treachery 
of  the  Usurper  Maximiis.  From  Fear  of  him 
Jiistifia  ceases  persecuting  Ambrose. 

Nearly  at  the  same  time  with  the  holding  of 
these  S}Tiods  at  Constantinople,  the  following 
events  occurred  in  the  Western  parts.  Maximus, 
from  the  island  of  Britain,  rebelled  against  the 
Roman  empire,  and  attacked  Gratian,  who  was 
then  wearied  and  exhausted  in  a  war  with  the 
Alemanni.^  In  Italy,  Valentinian  being  still  a 
minor,  Probus,  a  man  of  consular  dignity,  had 
the  chief  administration  of  affairs,  and  was  at 
that  time  prefect  of  the  Prcetorium.  Justina,  the 
mother  of  the  young  prince,  who  entertained 
Arian  sentiments,  as  long  as  her  husband  lived 
had  been  unable  to  molest  the  Homoousians ; 
but  going  to  Milan  while  her  son  was  still  young, 
she  manifested  great  hostility  to  Ambrose  the 
bishop,  and  commanded  that  he  should  be  ban- 
ished.^ AV'hile  the  people  from  their  excessive 
attachment  to  Ambrose,  were  offering  resistance 
to  those  who  were  charged  with  taking  him  into 
exile,  intelligence  was  brought  that  Gratian  had 
been  assassinated  by  the  treachery  of  the  usurper 
Maximus.  In  fact  Andragathius,  a  general  under 
Maximus,  having  concealed  himself  in  a  litter 
resembling  a  couch,  which  was  carried  by  mules, 
ordered  his  guards  to  spread  a  report  before  him 
that  the  litter  contained  the  Emperor  Gratian's 
wife.  They  met  the  emperor  near  the  city  of 
Lyons  in  France  just  as  he  had  crossed  the  river  : 
who  believing  it  to  be  his  wife,  and  not  suspect- 
ing any  treachery,  fell  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemy  as  a  blind  man  into  the  ditch  ;  for  Andra- 
gathius, suddenly  springing  forth  from  the  litter, 
slew  him.^  Gratian  thus  perished  in  the  consu- 
late of  Merogaudes  and  Saturninus,'*  in  the 
twenty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  fifteenth 
of  his  reign.  When  this  happened  the  Empress 
Justina's  indignation  against  Ambrose  was  re- 
pressed. Afterwards  Valentinian  most  unwill- 
ingly, but  constrained  by  the  necessity  of  the 
time,  admitted  Maximus  as  his  colleague  in  the 
em[)ire.  Probus  alarmed  at  the  power  of  Maxi- 
mus, resolved  to  retreat  into  the  regions  of  the 

'  Below,  chap.  15.  1  Cf.  Zosimus,  IV.  35  scq. 

*  Cf.  IV.  30. 

^  The  account  of  CJratian's  death  given  by  Zosimus,  though  not 
inconsistent  with  that  of  Socrates,  does  not  contain  the  details  given 
by  Socrates.  Andragathius  is  simply  said  to  have  pursued  Gratian, 
and  overtaking  him  near  the  bridge  to  have  slain  him.  Cf.  Zosimus, 
IV.  35  end.  *  383  A.D. 


East :  leaving  Italy  therefore,  he  proceeded  to 
Ulyricum,  and  fixed  his  residence  at  Thessalonica 
a  city  of  Macedonia. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

JVhi/e  the  Emperor  Thcodosius  is  engaged  in 
Mi/itafj  Preparations  against  Maximus,  his 
Son  Honorius  is  born.  He  then  proceeds  to 
Mi/an  in  Order  to  encounter  the  Usurper. 

But  the  Emperor  Theodosius  was  filled  with 
great  solicitude,  and  levied  a  powerful  army 
against  the  usurper,  fearing  lest  he  should 
meditate  the  assassination  of  the  young  Valen- 
tinian also.  While  engaged  in  this  prepara- 
tion, an  embassy  arrived  from  the  Persians,  re- 
questing peace  from  the  emperor.  Then  also 
the  empress  Flaccilla  bore  him  a  son  named 
Honorius,  on  the  9th  of  September,  in  the  con- 
sulate of  Richomelius  and  Clearchus.^  Under 
the  same  consulate,  and  a  little  previously,  Age- 
lius  bishop  of  the  Novatians  died."  In  the  year 
following,  wherein  Arcadius  Augustus  bore  his 
first  consulate  in  conjunction  with  Baudon,^  Tim- 
othy bishop  of  Alexandria  died,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  episcopate  by  Theophilus.  About 
a  year  after  this,  Demophilus  the  Arian  prelate 
having  departed  this  life,  the  Arians  sent  for 
Marinus  a  leader  of  their  own  heresy  out  of 
Thrace,  to  whom  they  entrasted  the  bishopric  : 
but  Marinus  did  not  long  occupy  that  position, 
for  under  him  that  sect  was  divided  into  two 
parties,  as  we  shall  hereafter  explain ;  ■*  for  they 
invited  Dorotheus  ^  to  come  to  them  from  An- 
tioch in  Syria,  and  constituted  him  their  bishop. 
Meanwhile  the  emperor  Theodosius  proceeded 
to  the  war  against  Maximus,  leaving  his  son 
Arcadius  with  imperial  authority  at  Constanti- 
nople. Accordingly  arriving  at  Thessalonica  he 
found  Valentinian  and  those  about  him  in  great 
anxiety,  because  through  compulsion  they  had 
acknowledged  the  usurper  as  emperor.  Theo- 
dosius, however,  gave  no  expression  to  his  senti- 
ments in  public ;  he  neither  rejected  nor  ad- 
mitted ^  the  embassy  of  Maximus  :  but  unable 
to  endure  tyrannical  domination  over  the  Roman 
empire,  under  the  assumption  of  an  imperial 
name,  he  hastily  mustered  his  forces  and  ad- 
vanced to  Milan,'  whither  the  usurper  had  al- 
ready gone. 

1  384  A.D.  Honorius  afterwards  shared  the  empire  with  Arcadius, 
reigning  in  the  West  from  398  to  423  A.D.  But  although  the  whole 
of  this  period  comes  within  the  time  of  Socrates'  history,  he  does  not 
mention  Honorius  but  once  again  before  his  death. 

-  Having  been  bishop  of  the  Novatians  for  forty  years;  see 
chap.  21. 

^  385  A.D.  ■•  Chap.  23. 

"  Being  in  the  ninety-eighth  year  of  his  age  as  appears  from 
VII.  6. 

"  Zosimus,  however,  says  (IV.  37)  that  the  embassy  of  Maximus 
was  received  by  Theodosius. 

■  Rather  Aquileja  as  appears  from  Zosimus  and  other  historians. 


V.  15.] 


TUMULTS    OF    ARIANS.      MAXIMUS    OVERCOME. 


125 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Arians  excite  a  Tumult  at  Constantinople. 

At  the  time  when  the  emperor  was  thus  occu- 
pied on  his  mihtary  expedition,  the  Arians  ex- 
cited a  great  tumult  at  Constantinople  by  such 
devices  as  these.     Men  are  fond  of  fabricating 
statements  respecting  matters  about  which  they 
are  in  ignorance ;  and  if  at  any  time  they  are 
given  occasion  they  swell  to  a  prodigious  extent 
rumors  concerning  what  they  wish,  being  ever 
fond  of  change.     This  was  strongly  exemplified 
at  Constantinople  on  the  present  occasion  :   for 
each  invented  news  concerning  the  war  which 
was  carrying  on  at  a  distance,  according  to  his 
own  caprice,  always  presuming  upon  the  most 
disastrous  results ;    and  before  the  contest  had 
yet  commenced,  they  spoke  of  transactions  in 
reference  to  it,  of  which  they  knew  nothing,  with 
as  much  assurance  as  if  they  had  been  specta- 
tors on  the  very  scene  of  action.     Thus  it  was 
confidently  affirmed  that  '  the  usurper  had  de- 
feated the  emperor's  army,'  even  the  number  of 
men  slain  on  both  sides  being  specified  ;    and 
that  '  the  emperor  himself  had  nearly  fallen  into 
the   usurper's   hands.'      Then    the   Arians,   who 
had  been  excessively  exasperated  by  those  being 
put  in  possession  of  the  churches  within  the  city 
who  had  previously  been  the   objects  of  their 
persecution,  began  to  augment  these  rumors  by 
additions  of  their  own.     But  since  the  currency 
of  such  stories  with  increasing  exaggeration,  in 
time  made  even  the  farmers  themselves  believe 
them  —  for  those  who  had  circulated  them  from 
hearsay,  affirmed  to  the  authors  of  these  false- 
hoods, that  the  accounts  they  had  received  from 
them  had    been    fully  corroborated    elsewhere  ; 
then   indeed   the   Arians  were  emboldened   to 
commit  acts  of  violence,  and  among  other  out- 
rages, to  set  fire  to  the  house  of  Nectarius  the 
bishop.     This  was  done  in  the  second  consulate^ 
of  Theodosius    Augustus,   which    he    bore    with 
Cynegius. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Overthrow  and  Death  of  the  Usurper  Maximus. 

As  the  emperor  marched  against  the  usurper 
the  intelligence  of  the  formidable  preparations 
made  by  him  so  alarmed  the  troops  under  Max- 
imus, that  instead  of  fighting  for  him,  they  de- 
livered him  bound  to  the  emperor,  who  caused 
him  to  be  put  to  death,  on  the  twenty-seventh 
of  August,  under  the  same  consulate.^     Andra- 


1   388  A.D. 

^  The  same  account  is  given  in  substance  by  Zosimus,  IV.  46, 
who  also  confirms  the  statements  of  Socrates  concerning  the  end  of 
Andragathius.  Valesius,  however,  relying  on  Idatius'  Fasti,  asserts 
that  Maximus  was  put  to  death  on  the  28th  of  July,  not  on  the  27th 
of  August. 


gathius,  who  with  his  own  hand  had  slain  Gra- 
tian,  understanding  the  fate  of  Maximus,  precip- 
itated himself  into  the  adjacent  river,  and  was 
drowned.  Then  the  victorious  emperors  made 
their  public  entry  into  Rome,  accompanied  by 
Honorius  the  son  of  Theodosius,  still  a  mere 
boy,  whom  his  father  had  sent  for  from  Con- 
stantinople immediately  after  Maximus  had  been 
vanquished.  They  continued  therefore  at  Rome 
celebrating  their  triumi)hal  festivals  :  during 
which  time  the  Emperor  Theodosius  exhibited  a 
remarkalDle  instance  of  clemency  toward  Symma- 
chus,  a  man  who  had  borne  the  consular  office, 
and  was  at  the  head  of  the  senate  at  Rome. 
For  this  Symmachus  was  distinguished  for  his 
eloquence,  and  many  of  his  orations  are  still 
extant  composed  in  the  Latin  tongue  :  but  inas- 
much as  he  had  written  a  panegyric  on  Maximus, 
and  pronounced  it  before  him  publicly,  he  was 
afterwards  impeached  for  high  treason  ;  where- 
fore to  escape  capital  punishment  he  took  sanc- 
tuary in  a  church.^  The  emperor's  veneration  for 
religion  led  him  not  only  to  honor  the  bishops  of 
his  own  communion,  but  to  treat  with  considera- 
tion those  of  the  Novatians  also,  who  embraced  the 
*  homoousian  '  creed  :  to  gratify  therefore  Leon- 
tius  the  bishop  of  the  Novatian  church  at  Rome, 
who  interceded  in  behalf  of  Symmachus,  he 
graciously  pardoned  him  for  that  crime.  Sym- 
machus, after  he  had  obtained  his  pardon,  wrote 
an  apologetic  address  to  the  Emperor  Theodo- 
sius. Thus  the  war,  which  at  its  commencement 
threatened  so  seriously,  was  brought  to  a  speedy 
termination. 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Of  Flavian  Bishop  of  Antioch. 

About  the  same  period,  the  following  events 
took  place  at  Antioch  in  Syria.  After  the  death 
of  Paulinus,  the  people  who  had  been  under  his 
superintendence  refused  to  submit  to  the  author- 
ity of  Flavian,  but  caused  Evagrius  to  be  or- 
dained bishop  of  their  own  party. ^  As  he 
did  not  survive  his  ordination  long,  no  other 
was  constituted  in  his  place,  Flavian  having 
brought  this  about :  nevertheless  those  who  dis- 
liked Flavian  on  account  of  his  having  violated 
his  oath,  held  their  assemblies  apart.-  Mean- 
while Flavian  'left  no  stone  unturned,'  as  the 
phrase  is,  to  bring  these  also  under  his  control  ; 
and  this  he  soon  after  effected,  when  he  appeased 
the  anger  of  Theophilus,  then  bishop  of  Alex- 

2  The  churches  were  considered  recognized  places  of  asylum. 
Cf.  Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  VIII.  10  and  11. 

1  Theodoret  (//.  E.  V.  23)  says  that  there  was  a  double  viola- 
tion of  order  in  tlie  ordination  of  Evagrius;  first  in  tnat  he  was 
ordained  by  his  predecessor,  and  secondly  in  that  he  was  ordained 
by  one  bishop,  whereas  the  canon  required  that  not  less  than  three 
should  take  part  in  an  episcopal  ordination. 

-  Cf.  VI.  9;  also  chaps.  5  and  11  of  this  book. 


126 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[V.  15. 


andria,  by  whose  mediation  he  conciUated 
Damasus  bishop  of  Rome  also.  For  both  these 
had  been  greatly  displeased  with  Flavian,  as  well 
for  the  perjury  of  which  he  had  been  guilty,  as 
for  the  schism  he  had  occasioned  among  the 
previously  united  people.  Theophilus  there- 
fore being  pacified,  sent  Isidore  a  presbyter  to 
Rome,  and  thus  reconciled  Damasus,  who  was 
still  offended  ;  representing  to  him  the  propriety 
of  overlooking  Flavian's  past  misconduct,  for 
the  sake  of  producing  concord  among  the  peo- 
ple. Communion  being  in  this  way  restored  to 
Flavian,  the  people  of  Antioch  were  in  the  course 
of  a  little  while  induced  to  acquiesce  in  the  iniion 
secured.  Such  was  the  conclusion  of  this  affair 
at  Antioch.  But  the  Arians  of  that  city  being 
ejected  from  the  churches,  were  accustomed  to 
hold  their  meetings  in  the  suburbs.  Meanwhile 
Cyril  bishop  of  Jerusalem  having  died  about  this 
time/  was  succeeded  by  John. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Demolition  of  the  Idolatrous  Temples  at  Alex- 
andria, and  the  Consequent  Conflict  betweeti 
the  Pagans  and  Christians. 

At  the  solicitation  of  Theophilus  bishop  of 
Alexandria  the  emperor  issued  an  order  at  this 
time  for  the  demolition  of  the  heathen  temples 
in  that  city  ;  commanding  also  that  it  should  be 
put  in  execution  under  the  direction  of  Theophi- 
lus. Seizing  this  opportunity,  Theophilus  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost  to  expose  the  pagan  mys- 
teries to  contempt.  And  to  begin  with,  he  caused 
the  Mithreum '  to  be  cleaned  out,  and  exhibited 
to  public  view  the  tokens  of  its  bloody  mysteries. 
Then  he  destroyed  the  Serapeum,  and  the  bloody 
rights  of  the  Mithreum  he  publicly  caricatured ; 
the  Serapeum  also  he  showed  full  of  extrava- 
gant superstitions,  and  he  had  the  phalli  of  Pria- 
pus  carried  through  the  midst  of  the  forum.  The 
pagans  of  Alexandria,  and  especially  the  profes- 
sors of  philosophy,  were  unable  to  repress  their 
rage  at  this  exposure,  and  exceeded  in  revenge- 
ful ferocity  their  outrages  on  a  former  occasion  : 
for  with  one  accord,  at  a  jireconcerted  signal, 
they  rushed  impetuously  upon  the  Christians, 
and  murdered  every  one  they  could  lay  hands 
on.  'J'he  Christians  also  made  an  attempt  to 
resist  the  assailants,  and  so  the  mischief  was  the 
more  augmented.  This  desperate  affray  was 
prolonged  until  satiety  of  bloodshed  put  an  end 
to  It.  Then  it  was  discovered  that  very  few  of 
the  heathens  had  been  killed,  but  a  great  num- 
ber of  Christians  ;  while  the  number  of  wounded 
on  each  side  was  almost  innumerable.  Fear 
then  possessed  the  pagans  on  account  of  what 


3  In  386  A.D. 


1  See  III.  2. 


was  done,  as  they  considered  the  emperor's  dis- 
pleasure. For  having  done  what  seemed  good 
in  their  own  eyes,  and  by  their  bloodshed  having 
quenched  their  courage,  some  fled  in  one  direc- 
tion, some  in  another,  and  many  quitting  Alex- 
andria, dispersed  themselves  in  various  cities. 
Among  these  were  the  two  grammarians  Hella- 
dius  and  Ammonius,  whose  pupil  I  was  "in  my 
youth  at  Constantinople.-  Helladius  was  said 
to  be  the  priest  of  Jupiter,  and  Ammonius  of 
Simius.^  Thus  this  disturbance  having  been  ter- 
minated, the  governor  of  Alexandria,  and  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  troops  in  Egypt,  as- 
sisted Theophilus  in  demolishing  the  heathen 
temples.  Tliese  were  therefore  razed  to  the 
ground,  and  the  images  of  their  gods  molten 
into  pots  and  other  convenient  utensils  for  the 
use  of  the  Alexandrian  church ;  for  the  emperor 
had  instructed  Theophilus  to  distribute  them  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor.  All  the  images  were  ac- 
cordingly broken  to  pieces,  except  one  statue 
of  the  god  before  mentioned,  which  Theophilus 
preserved  and  set  up  in  a  public  place  ;  '  Lest,' 
said  he,  '  at  a  future  time  the  heathens  should 
deny  that  they  had  ever  worshiped  such  gods.' 
This  action  gave  great  umbrage  to  Ammonius 
the  grammarian  in  particular,  who  to  my  knowl- 
edge was  accustomed  to  say  that  '  the  religion 
of  the  Gentiles  was  grossly  abused  in  that  that 
single  statue  was  not  also  molten,  but  preserved, 
in  order  to  render  that  religion  ridiculous.' 
Helladius  however  boasted  in  the  presence  of 
some  that  he  had  slain  in  that  desperate  onset 
nine  men  with  his  own  hand.  Such  were  the 
doings  at  Alexandria  at  that  time. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

0/  the  Hieroglyphics  found  in  the    Tejnple  of 
Serapis. 

When  the  Temple  of  Serapis  was  torn  down 
and  laid  bare,  there  were  found  in  it,  engraven 
on  stones,  certain  characters  which  they  call  hie- 
roglyphics, having  the  forms  of  crosses.^  Both 
the  Christians  and  pagans  on  seeing  them,  ap- 
propriated and  applied  them  to  their  respective 
religions  :  for  the  Christians  who  affirm  that  the 
cross   is   the   sign   of   Christ's    saving    passion, 

2  Cf.  Introd.  p.  8.  '  iriOriKov,  '  the  ape-god.' 

'  There  are  several  cruciform  signs  among  the  E",gyptian  hiero- 
glyphics, as  e.g.  the  simple  determinative  X  ,  meaning  '  to  cross,' 
'to  multiply,'  'to  mix'  (see  Birch,  Egyptian  Texts,  p.  99);  or 
the  syllabic  -ff- ;  phonetically  equivalent  to  am  (see  Birch,  iHd. 
p.  loi) ;  or  the  cross  with  a  ring  at  the  head    T  ;  or  the  still  more 

elaborate  ^p"  (see  Brugsh,  Thesaurus  Inscript.   Egyptiacaruii:, 


p.  20;  also  Champollion,  Gramvtaire  Ee^yptiettiie,  XII.  p.  365, 
440).  To  which  of  these  Socrates  refers  it  is  impossible  to  say  from 
their  mere  form.  They  occur  commonly  and  we  must  infer  that  the 
discovery  described  in  this  passage  is  not  the  first  brincins  '»'o 
light  of  the  sign  mentioned,  but  its  occurrence  in  the  Serapeum. 
The  third  of  the  above  signs  is  usually  interpreted  as  '  life  '  either 
'  happy '  or  '  immortal.'  which  agrees  with  the  meaning  given  to 
the  cruciform  sign  here  mentioned. 


V.  1 8.] 


REFORMS    IN    ROME. 


127 


claimed  this  character  as  pecuHarly  theirs  ;  but 
the  pagans  alleged  that  it  might  appertain  to 
Christ  and  Serapis  in  common  ;  '  for,'  said  they, 
'  it  symboUzes  one  thing  to  Christians  and  an- 
other to  heathens.'  Whilst  this  point  was  con- 
troverted amongst  them,  some  of  the  heathen 
converts  to  Christianity,  who  were  conversant 
with  these  heiroglyphic  characters,  interpreted 
the  form  of  a  cross  and  said  that  it  signifies  '  Life 
to  come.'  This  the  Christians  exultingly  laid 
hold  of,  as  decidedly  favorable  to  their  reli- 
gion. But  after  other  hieroglyphics  had  been 
deciphered  containing  a  prediction  that  '  When 
the  cross  should  appear,'  —  for  this  was  '  life  to 
come,'  — '  the  Temple  of  Serapis  would  be  de- 
stroyed,' a  very  great  number  of  the  pagans  em- 
braced Christianity,  and  confessing  their  sins, 
were  baptized.  Such  are  the  reports  I  have 
heard  respecting  the  discovery  of  this  symbol 
in  form  of  a  cross.  But  I  cannot  imagine  that 
the  P^gyptian  priests  foreknew  the  things  con- 
cerning Christ,  when  they  engraved  the  figure 
of  a  cross.  For  if  '  the  advent'  of  our  Saviour 
into  the  world  '  was  a  mystery  hid  from  ages  and 
from  generations,' "  as  the  apostle  declares  ;  and 
if  the  devil  himself,  the  prince  of  wickedness, 
knew  nothing  of  it,  his  ministers,  the  Egyptian 
priests,  are  likely  to  have  been  still  more  ignorant 
of  the  matter ;  but  Providence  doubtless  pur- 
posed that  in  the  enquiry  concerning  this  charac- 
ter, there  should  something  take  place  analogous 
to  what  happened  heretofore  at  the  preaching 
of  Paul.  For  he,  made  wise  by  the  Divine 
Spirit,  employed  a  similar  method  in  relation  to 
the  Athenians,^  and  brought  over  many  of  them  to 
the  faith,  when  on  reading  the  inscription  on  one 
of  their  altars,  he  accommodated  and  applied  it 
to  his  own  discourse.  Unless  indeed  any  one 
should  say,  that  the  Word  of  God  wrought  in 
the  Egyptian  priests,  as  it  did  on  Balaam  *  and 
Caiaphas ;  ^  for  these  men  uttered  prophecies 
of  good  things  in  spite  of  themselves.  This  will 
suffice  on  the  subject. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Reformation  of  Abuses  at  Rome  by  the  Emperor 
Theodosms. 

The  emperor  Theodosius  during  his  short 
stay  in  Italy,  conferred  the  greatest  benefit  on 
the  city  of  Rome,  by  grants  on  the  one  hand, 
and  abrogations  on  the  other.  His  largesses 
were  indeed  very  munificent ;  and  he  removed 
two  most  infamous  abuses  which  existed  in  the 
city.  One  of  them  was  the  following  :  there 
were  buildings  of  immense  magnitude,  erected 

2  I  Cor.  ii.  7,  8;  Kph.  iii.  5,  6;  Col.  i.  26. 

3  Acts  xvii.  23.  ■>  Num.  xxiv.  °  John  xi.  51. 


in  ancient  Rome  in  former  times,  in  which  bread 
was  made  for  distribution  among  the  people.^ 
Those  who  had  the  charge  of  these  edifices, 
who  Mancipcs  -  were  called  in  the  Latin  lan- 
guage, in  process  of  time  converted  them  into 
receptacles  for  thieves.  Now  as  the  bake- 
houses in  these  structures  were  placed  under- 
neath, they  build  taverns  at  the  side  of  each, 
where  they  kept  prostitutes ;  by  which  means 
they  entrapped  many  of  those  who  went  thither 
either  for  the  sake  of  refreshment,  or  to  gratify 
their  lusts,  for  by  a  certain  mechanical  contriv- 
ance they  precipitated  them  from  the  tavern 
into  the  bake-house  below.  This  was  practiced 
chiefly  upon  strangers ;  and  such  as  were  in 
this  way  kidnapped  were  compelled  to  work  in 
the  bake-houses,  where  many  of  them  were  im- 
mured until  old  age,  not  being  allowed  to  go 
out,  and  giving  the  impression  to  their  friends 
that  they  were  dead.  It  happened  that  one  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  emperor  Theodosius  fell  into 
this  snare ;  who  being  shut  up  in  the  bake- 
house, and  hindered  from  going  out,  drew  a 
dagger  which  he  wore  and  killed  those  who 
stood  in  his  way  :  the  rest  being  terrified,  suf- 
fered him  to  escape.  When  the  emperor  was 
made  acquainted  with  the  circumstance  he 
punished  the  Mancipes,  and  ordered  these 
haunts  of  lawless  and  abandoned  characters  to 
be  pulled  down.  This  was  one  of  the  disgrace- 
ful nuisances  of  which  the  emperor  purged  the 
imperial  city :  the  other  was  of  this  nature. 
When  a  woman  was  detected  in  adultery,  they 
punished  the  delinquent  not  in  the  way  of  cor- 
rection but  rather  of  aggravation  of  her  crime. 
For  shutting  her  up  in  a  narrow  brothel,  they 
obhged  her  to  prostitute  herself  in  a  most  dis- 
gusting manner  ;  causing  little  bells  to  be  rung 
at  the  time  of  the  unclean  deed  that  those  who 
passed  by  might  not  be  ignorant  of  what  was 
doing  within.  This  was  doubtless  intended  to 
brand  the  crime  with  greater  ignominy  in  public 
opinion.  As  soon  as  the  emperor  was  apprised 
of  this  indecent  usage,  he  would  by  no  means 
tolerate  it ;  but  having  ordered  the  Sistra  •'  — 
for  so  these  places  of  penal  prostitution  were 
denominated  —  to  be  pulled  down,  he  appointed 
other  laws  for  the  punishment  of  adulteresses.* 

'  In  the  earlier  periods  of  Roman  history  the  government  under- 
took to  regulate  the  price  of  corn," so  as  to  protect  the  poorer  classes; 
in  time  of  scarcity  the  government  was  to  purchase  the  grain  and 
sell  it  at  a  moderate  price.  This  provision  vi'as  gradually  changed 
into  a  dispensation  of  public  charity,  at  first  by  the  sale  of  the  grain 
below  cost,  and  afterwards  by  the  gratuitous  distribution  of  the 
same.  Some  time  before  the  reign  of  Aurelian,  270-275  a.d.,  the 
distribution  of  grain  seems  to  have  given  place  to  the  distribution 
of  bread.  Such  distribution  was  made  after  the  reign  of  Constan- 
tine  at  Constantinople  as  well  as  at  Rome.  See  Smith,  Diet,  of  the 
Greek  and  Rpin.  Antiq.,  art.  Leges  FriimetUarice. 

-  Originally  this  name  was  applied  to  all  farmers-general  of  the 
public  revenues.  See  Smith,  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Rom.  Aniig., 
art.  M.ANXEPS. 

•^  Lit.  =  ' bells.'  Cf  Smith,  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Rom.  Antiq., 
art.  SisTRUM. 

■•  From  a  law  of  Constantine's  {Cod.  9.  30)  whose  genuineness 
is,  however,  disputed,  the  punishment  of  adultery  was  death.     The 


128 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[V.   1 8. 


Thus  did  the  emperor  Theodosius  free  the  city 
from  two  of  its  most  discreditable  abuses :  and 
when  he  had  arranged  all  other  affairs  to  his 
satisfaction,  he  left  the  emperor  Valentinian  at 
Rome,  and  returned  himself  with  his  son  Hono- 
rius  to  Constantinople,  and  entered  that  city  of 
the  loth  of  November,  in  the  consulate  of 
Tatian  and  Svmmachus.^ 


.CHAPTER   XIX. 

Of  the  Office  of  PeniieJitiary  Presbyteis  and  its 
Abolition. 

At  this  time  it  was  deemed  requisite  to  abol- 
ish the  office  of  those  presbyt-^rs  in  the  churches 
who  had  charge  of  the  penitences  :  ^  this  was 
done  on  the  following  account.  When  the  No- 
vatians  separated  themselves  from  the  Church 
because  they  would  not  communicate  with  those 
who  had  lapsed  during  the  persecution  under 
Decius,  the  bishops  added  to  the  ecclesiastical 
canon-  a  presbyter  of  penitence  in  order  that 
those  who  had  sinned  after  baptism  might  confess 
their  sins  in  the  presence  of  the  presbyter  thus 
appointed."  And  this  mode  of  discipline  is  still 
maintained  among  other  heretical  institutions 
by  all  the  rest  of  the  sects  ;  the  Homoousians 
only,  together  with  the  Novatians  who  hold  the 
same  doctrinal  views,  have  abandoned  it.  The 
latter  indeed  would  never  admit  of  its  establish- 
ment :  ^  and  the  Homoousians  who  are  now  in 
possession  of  the  churches,  after  retaining  this 
function  for  a  considerable  period,  abrogated  it 
in  the  time  of  Nectarius,  in  consequence  of  an 
event  which  occurred  in  the  Constantinopolitan 
church,  which  is  as  follows  :  A  woman  of  noble 
family  coming  to  the  penitentiary,  made  a  gen- 
eral confession  of  those  sins  she  had  committed 
.since  her  baptism  :  and  the  presbyter  enjoined 
fasting  and  prayer  continually,  that  together  with 
the  acknowledgment  of  error,  she  might  have 
to  show  works  also  meet  for  repentance.  Some 
time  after  this,  the  same  lady  again  presented 
herself,  and  confessed  that  she  had  been  guilty 
of  another  crime,  a  deacon  of  the  church  having 
slept  with  her.  When  this  was  proved  the 
deacon  was  ejected  from  the  church  :  ^  but  the 


same  punishment  appears  to  have  been  inflicted  in  specific  cases 
mentioned  by  Am.  Marcellinus.  Rerum  Gcstaritm,  XXVII.  i. 
28.  Whence  it  appears  that  Socrates  must  have  been  misinformed 
concerning  the  facts  mentioned  here. 

''  391  A.D. 

'  On  account  of  which  he  was  called  the  Penitentiary.  Cf. 
Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  XVIII.  3. 

-  '  The  sacerdotal  catalogue  or  order,  clerical  order,  the  clergy 
in  general.'  See  Sophocles,  Greek  Lex.  0/  the  Rom.  and  Byzaiit. 
Periods. 

*  On  the  discipline  of  the  ancient  church,  see  Bennett,  Christ. 
Archao}.  p.  -Aoseq. 

«  See  Euseb.  H.  R.  VI.  43. 

^  The  regulation  of  the  earliest  church  was  expressed  as  follows: 
'  If  any  bishop,  presbyter,  or  deacon  be  found  guilty  of  fornication 
...  let  him  be  deposed."     Apostol.  Can.  25. 


people  were  very  indignant,  being  not  only 
offended  at  what  had  taken  place,  but  also 
because  the  deed  had  brought  scandal  and 
degradation  upon  the  Church.  When  in  con- 
sequence of  this,  ecclesiastics  were  subjected  to 
taunting  and  reproach,  Eudsemon  a  presbyter 
of  the  church,  by  birth  an  Alexandrian,  per- 
suaded Nectarius  the  bishop  to  abolish  the 
office  of  penitentiary  presbyter,  and  to  leave 
every  one  to  his  own  conscience^ with  regard  to 
the  participation  of  the  sacred  mysteries  :  "^  for 
thus  only,  in  his  judgment,  could  the  Church  be 
preserved  from  obloquy.  Having  heard  this  ex- 
planation of  the  matter  from  Eudsemon  I  have 
ventured  to  put  it  in  the  present  treatise  :  for  as 
I  have  often  remarked,'  I  have  spared  no  pains 
to  procure  an  authentic  account  of  affairs  from 
those  who  were  best  acquainted  with  them,  and 
to  scrutinize  every  report,  lest  I  should  advance 
what  might  be  untrue.  My  observation  to 
Eudsemon,  when  he  first  related  the  circum- 
stance, was  this  :  '  AVhether,  O  presbyter,  your 
counsel  has  been  profitable  for  the  Church  or 
otherwise,  God  knows  ;  but  I  see  that  it  takes 
away  the  means  of  rebuking  one  another's  faults, 
and  prevents  our  acting  upon  that  precept  of 
the  apostle,^  "  Have  no  fellowship  with  the  un- 
fruitful works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove 
them."  '     Concerning  this  aftair  let  this  suffice. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Divisions  among  the  Ariaiis  and  Othei-  Heretics. 

I  CONCEFVE  it  right  moreover  not  to  leave  un- 
noticed the  proceedings  of  the  other  religious 
bodies,  viz.  the  Arians,'  Novatians,  and  those 
who  received  their  denominations  from  Mace- 
donius  and  Eunomius.  For  the  Church  once 
being  divided,  rested  not  in  that  schism,  but  the 
separatists  taking  occasion  from  the  slightest  and 
most  frivolous  pretences,  disagreed  among  them- 
selves. The  manner  and  time,  as  well  as  the 
causes  for  which  they  raised  mutual  dissensions, 
we  will  state  as  we  proceed.  But  let  it  be  ob- 
served here,  that  the  emperor  Theodosius  per- 
secuted none  of  them  except  Eunomius ;  but 
inasmuch  as  the  latter,  by  holding  meetings  in 
private  houses  at  Constantinople,  where  he  read 

"  Although  the  plural  is  used  here,  the  reference  is,  no  doubt,  to 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  only.  The  mysteries  recog- 
nized by  Theodorus  Studites,  Efiist.  II.  165,  are  six;  i.e.  baptism, 
eucharist,  unction,  orders,  monastic  tonsure,  and  the  mystery  of 
death  or  funeral  ceremonies.  The  Greek  Church  of  modern  times 
enumerates  seven:  baptism,  unction,  eucharist,  orders,  penitence, 
marriage,  and  exireme  unction. 

'  Cf.  I.  1:   II.  I. 

'  Eph.  V.  II.  Valesius  rightly  infers  from  this  answer  of  Soc- 
rates to  Eudaemon  that  the  former  was  not  a  Novatian.  For  he  dis- 
approves of  the  abolition  of  the  penitentiarv  bishop's  office,  whereas 
as  a  Novatian  he  would  have  been  aeainst  its  institution  before  it  was 
established,  and  in  fnvor  of  its  abolition  afterwards.  The  Novatians 
never  admitted  either  of  penitence  or  of  the  penitentiary  bishop. 

'  See  chap.  23  of  this  book.  4 


V.2I.]        THE  NOVATIAN  CHURCH  DISTURBED  BY  SABBATIUS.       129 


the  works  he  had  composed,  corrupted  many 
with  his  doctrines,  he  ordered  him  to  be  sent 
into  exile.  Of  the  other  heretics'  he  interfered 
with  no  one  ;  nor  did  he  constrain  them  to  hold 
communion  with  himself;  but  he  allowed  them 
all  to  assemble  in  their  own  conventicles,  and 
to  entertain  their  own  opinions  on  points  of 
Christian  faith.  Permission  to  build  themselves 
churches  without  the  cities  was  granted  to  the 
rest :  but  inasmuch  as  the  Novatians  held  senti- 
ments precisely  identical  with  his  own  as  to  faith, 
he  ordered  that  they  should  be  suffered  to  con- 
tinue unmolested  in  their  churches  within  the 
cities,  as  I  have  before  noticed.'  Concerning 
these  I  think  it  opportune,  however,  to  give  in 
this  place  some  farther  account,  and  shall  there- 
fore retrace  a  few  circumstances  in  their  history. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

Peculiar  Schism  a//ioii(^  the  Novatians} 

Of  the  Novatian  church  at  Constantinople 
Agelius  was  the  bishop  for  the  space  of  forty 
years,-  viz.  from  the  reign  of  Constantine  until 
the  sixth  year  of  that  of  the  emperor  Theodosius, 
as  I  have  stated  somewhere  previously.^  He 
perceiving  his  end  approaching,  ordained  Sisin- 
nius  to  succeed  him  in  the  bishopric.^  This 
person  was  a  presbyter  of  the  church  over  which 
Agelius  presided,  remarkably  eloquent,  and  had 
been  instructed  in  philosophy  by  Maximus,  at  the 
same  time  as  the  emperor  Julian.  Now  as  the 
Novatian  laity  were  dissatisfied  with  this  election, 
and  washed  rather  that  he  had  ordained  Marcian, 
a  man  of  eminent  piety,  on  account  of  whose  in- 
fluence their  sect  had  been  left  unmolested  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  A^alens,  Agelius  therefore  to  allay 
his  people's  discontent,  laid  his  hands  on  Marcian 
also.  Having  recovered  a  little  from  his  illness, 
he  went  to  the  church  and  thus  of  his  own  accord 
addressed  the  congregation  :  '  After  my  decease 
let  Marcian  be  your  bishop ;  and  after  Mar- 
cian, Sisinnius.'  He  survived  these  words  but  a 
short  time  ;  Marcian  accordingly  having  been 
constituted  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  a  division 
arose  in  their  church  also,  from  this  cause. 
Marcian  had  promoted  to  the  rank  of  presbyter 
a  converted  Jew  named  Sabbatius,  who  never- 
theless continued  to  retain  many  of  his  Jewish 
prejudices  ;  and  moreover  he  was  very  ambitious 
of  being  made  a  bishop.  Having  therefore  con- 
fidentially attached  to  his  interest  two  presbyters, 

^  See  chap.  lo,  above. 

1  The  main  reason  adduced  for  considering  Socrates  a  Novatian 
is  his  peculiarly  detailed  account  of  the  Novatian  heresy,  and  the 
nearness  in  which  he  puts  it  to  the  orthodox  faith.  See  Introd.  p. 
ix  and  chap.  19  of  this  book,  note  8;   also  II.  38  and  VI.  21. 

2  See  above,  chap.  12,  note  2.     This  was  in  384  A.D. 

3  IV.  9  and  12  of  this  book. 

-  On  he  irregularity  of  this  action,  see  chap.  15  above,  note  i. 
Sisinnius  is  again  mentioned  in  VI.  i.  31 ;  VII.  6  and  12. 


Theoctistus  and  Macarius,  who  were  cognizant 
of  his  designs,  he  resolved  to  defend  that  inno- 
vation made  by  the  Novatians  in  the  time  of 
Valens,  at  Pazum  a  village  of  Phrygia,  concern- 
ing the  festival  of  Easter,  to  which  I  have  al- 
ready adverted.''  And  in  the  first  place,  under 
pretext  of  more  ascetic  austerity,  he  privately 
withdrew  from  the  church,  saying  that  '  he  was 
grieved  on  account  of  certain  persons  whom  he 
suspected  of  being  unworthy  of  participation  in 
the  sacrament.'  It  was  however  soon  discovered 
that  his  object  was  to  hold  assemblies  apart. 
When  Marcian  understood  this,  he  bitterly  cen- 
sured his  own  error,  in  ordaining  to  the  presby- 
terate  persons  so  intent  on  vain-glory ;  and  fre- 
quendy  said,  '  That  it  had  been  better  for  him 
to  have  laid  his  hands  on  thorns,  than  to  have 
imposed  them  on  Sabbatius.'  To  check  his  pro- 
ceedings, he  procured  a  Synod  of  Novatian 
bishops  to  be  convened  at  Angarum,"  a  com- 
mercial town  near  Helenopolis  in  Bithynia.  On 
assembling  here  they  summoned  Sabbatius,  and 
desired  him  to  explain  the  cause  of  his  discon- 
tent. Upon  his  affirming  that  he  was  troubled 
about  the  disagreement  that  existed  respecting 
the  Feast  of  Easter,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  kept 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews,  and  agree- 
able to  that  sanction  which  those  convened  at 
Pazum  had  appointed,  the  bishops  present  at 
the  Synod  perceiving  that  this  assertion  was  a 
mere  subterfuge  to  disguise  his  desire  after  the 
episcopal  chair,  obliged  him  to  pledge  himself 
on  oath  that  he  would  never  accept  a  bishopric. 
When  he  had  so  sworn,  they  passed  a  canon  re- 
specting this  feast,  which  they  entitled  '  indiffer- 
ent,' declaring  that  '  a  disagreement  on  such  a 
point  was  not  a  sufficient  reason  for  separation 
from  the  church  ;  and  that  the  council  of  Pazum 
had  done  nothing  prejudicial  to  the  catholic 
canon.  That  although  the  ancients  who  lived 
nearest  to  the  times  of  the  apostles  differed 
about  the  observance  of  this  festival,  it  did  not 
prevent  their  communion  with  one  another,  nor 
create  any  dissension.  Besides  that  the  Nova- 
tians at  imperial  Rome  had  never  followed  the 
Jewish  usage,  but  always  kept  Easter  after  the 
equinox ;  and  yet  they  did  not  separate  from 
those  of  their  own  faith,  who  celebrated  it  on  a 
different  day.'  From  these  and  many  such  con- 
siderations, they  made  the  '  Indifferent '  Canon, 
above-mentioned,  concerning  Easter,  whereby 
every  one  was  at  liberty  to  keep  the  custom 
which  he  had  by  predilection  in  this  matter,  if 
he  so  pleased  ;  and  that  it  should  make  no  dif- 
ference as  regards  communion,  but  even  though 
celebrating  differently  they  should  be  in  accord 
in  the  church.     After  this   rule  had   been   thus 


5  Cf.  IV.  28. 

^  Probably  the  modern  Angora.  Valesius,  however,  had  conjec- 
turally  substituted  the  word  Sangarum  in  this  place,  supposing  that 
the  place  named  was  a  town  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Sangarius. 


I30 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[V.    21. 


established,  Sabbatius  being  bound  by  his  oath, 
anticipated  the  fast  by  keeping  it  in  private, 
whenever  any  discrepancy  existed  in  the  time  of 
the  Paschal  solemnity,  and  having  watched  all 
night,  he  celebrated  the  sabbath  of  the  passover  ; 
then  on  the  next  day  he  went  to  church,  ancl 
with  the  rest  of  the  congregation  partook  of  the 
sacraments.  He  pursued  this  course  for  many 
years,  so  that  it  could  not  be  concealed  from 
the  people ;  in  imitation  of  which  some  of  the 
more  ignorant,  and  chiefly  the  Phrygians  and 
Galatians,  supposing  they  should  be  justified  by 
this  conduct  imitated  him,  and  kept  the  pass- 
over  in  secret  after  his  manner.  But  Sabbatius 
afterwards  disregarding  the  oath  by  which  he 
had  renounced  the  episcopal  dignity,  held  schis- 
matic meetings,  and  was  constituted  bishop  of 
his  followers,  as  we  shall  show  hereafter.' 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

The  Author's  Vicivs  respecting  the  Cclebi-ation 
of  Easter,  Baptism,  Fasting,  Marriage,  the 
Eticharist,  and  Other  Ecclesiastical  Rites. 

As  we  have  touched  the  subject  I  deem  it  not 
unreasonable  to  say  a  few  words  concerning 
Easter.  It  appears  to  me  that  neither  the 
ancients  nor  moderns  who  have  affected  to  fol- 
low the  Jews,  have  had  any  rational  foundation 
for  contending  so  obstinately  about  it.  For  they 
have  not  taken  into  consideration  the  fact  that 
when  Judaism  was  changed  into  Christianity, 
the  obligation  to  observe  the  Mosaic  law  and 
the  ceremonial  types  ceased.  And  the  proof 
of  the  matter  is  plain ;  for  no  law  of  Christ 
permits  Christians  to  imitate  the  Jews.  On  the 
contrary  the  apostle  expressly  forbids  it;  not 
only  rejecting  circumcision,  but  also  deprecat- 
ing contention  about  festival  days.  In  his 
epistle  to  the  Galatians'  he  writes,  'Tell  me, 
ye  that  desire  to  be  under  the  law,  do  ye  not 
hear  the  law?'  .Vnd  continuing  his  train  of 
argument,  he  demonstrates  that  the  Jews  were 
in  bondage  as  servants,  but  that  those  who  have 
come  to  Christ  are  '  called  into  the  liberty  of 
sons.'^  'Moreover  he  exhorts  them  in  no  way 
to  regard  'days,  and  months,  and  years.' ^ 
Again  in  his  epistle  to  the  Colossians  •*  he  dis- 
tinctly declares,  that  such  observances  are  merely 
shadows  :  wherefore  he  says,  '  Let  no  man  judge 
•  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  any 
holy-day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sab- 
bath-days ;  which  are  a  shadow  of  things  to 
come.'  The  same  truths  are  also  confirmed  by 
him  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  '  in  these 
words:     'For   the    priesthood    being    changed. 


'  Cf.  VII.  5  and  12. 
'  Gal.  iv.  21. 
'  Gal.  V.  13. 


'  Gal.  iv.  10. 
■*  Col.  ii.  16,  17. 
•''  Heb.  vii.  12. 


there  is  made  of  necessity  a  change  also  of  the 
law.'  Neither  the  apostles,  therefore,  nor  the 
Gospels,*^  have'  anywhere  imposed  the  '  yoke  of 
servitude  ' '  on  those  who  have  embraced  the 
truth ;  but  have  left  Easter  and  every  other 
feast  to  be  honored  by  the  gratitude  of  the 
recipients  of  grace.  Wherefore,  inasmuch  as 
men  love  festivals,  because  they  afford  them 
cessation  from  labor :  each  individual  in  every 
place,  according  to  his  own  pleasure,  has  by  a 
prevalent  custom  celebrated  the  memory  of  the 
saving  passion.  I'he  Saviour  and  his  apostles 
have  enjoined  us  by  no  law  to  keep  this  feast : 
nor  do  the  Gospels  and  apostles  threaten  us 
with  any  penalty,  punishment,  or  curse  for  the 
neglect  of  it,  as  the  Mosaic  law  does  the  Jews. 
It  is  merely  for  the  sake  of  historical  accuracy, 
and  for  the  reproach  of  the  Jews,  because  they 
polluted  themselves  with  blood  on  their  very 
feasts,  that  it  is  recorded  in  the  Ciospels  that 
our  Saviour  suffered  in  the  days  of  'unleavened 
bread.'  **  The  aim  of  the  apostles  was  not  to 
appoint  festival  days,  but  to  teach  a  righteous 
life  and  piety.  And  it  seems  to  me  that  just  as 
many  other  customs  have  been  established  in 
individual  locaUties  according  to  usage.  So  also 
the  feast  of  Easter  came  to  be  obser\'ed  in  each 
place  according  to  the  individual  peculiarities 
of  the  peoples  inasmuch  as  none  of  the  apostles 
legislated  on  the  matter.  And  that  the  observ- 
ance originated  not  by  legislation,  but  as  a 
custom  the  facts  themselves  indicate.  In  Asia 
Minor  most  people  kept  the  fourteenth  day  of 
the  moon,  disregarding  the  sabbath  :  yet  they 
never  separated  from  those  who  did  otherwise, 
until  Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  influenced  by  too 
ardent  a  zeal,  fulminated  a  sentence  of  excom- 
munication against  the  Quartodecimans^  in  Asia. 
Wherefore  also  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  Lyons  in 
France,  severely  censured  Victor  by  letter  for 
his  immoderate  heat ; '"  telling  him  that  although 
the  ancients  differed  in  their  celebration  of 
Easter,  they  did  not  desist  from  intercom- 
munion. Also  that  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna, 
who  afterwards  suffered  martyrdom  under  Gor- 
dian,"  continued  to  communicate  with  Anicetus 
bishop  of  Rome,  although  he  himself,  accord- 


''  6  on-do-ToAos  .  .  .  ra.  ivayyf^ia,  the  two  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, speaking  generally.  See  Sophocles'  Greek  Lex.  0/ the  Rom. 
and  Byzant.  Periods  under  an-oo-ToAos  and  iixxyyiki-ov. 

'  Gal.  V.  I. 

"  Matt.  xxvi.  2;  Mark  xiv.  i;  Luke  xxii.  i. 

"  Ttao-apio-KatiitKaTtTai,  those  who  observed  Easter  on  the  four- 
teenth day  of  the  lunar  month  (Nisan  of  the  Jewish  calendar).  On 
the  (^uartodeciman  controversy,  see  Schiirer,  dc  Ceiiirovcrsiis  Pas- 
chalibus  secuiido  post  Christum  natiim  Sieculo  exortis ;  also, 
Salmon,  introduction  to  the  Neiu  Testament,  3  ed.  p.  252-267. 

'"  Irenaeus,  Hier.  III.  3,  4. 

"  Polycarp  suffered  martyrdom  in  156  a.d.  (see  Lightfoot, 
Apostolic  I-'athers,  Part  II.  Vol.  I.  p.  629-702,  cont.iining  conclii- 
sive  proof  of  this,  as  well  as  a  history  of  the  question);  whence  it 
appears  that  it  was  under  Antoninus  Pius  that  he  died.  Valesius 
therefore  infers  that  Socrates  meant  to  speak  of  Irenseus  as  suffer- 
ing martyrdom  under  Gordian,  and  not  of  Polycarp.  If  this  be  the 
case,  we  must  assume  a  serious  corruption  of  the  text,  or  an  unpar- 
alleled confusion  in  Socrates. 


V.  22.] 


DIFFERENCES    OF    USAGE    IN    REGARD    TO    EASTER. 


131 


ing  to  the  usage  of  his  native  Smyrna,  kept 
Easter  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon,  as 
Eusebius  attests  in  the  fifth  book  of  his  Ec- 
clesiastical History}'-  While  therefore  some  in 
Asia  Minor  observed  the  day  above-mentioned, 
others  in  the  East  kept  that  feast  on  the  sab- 
bath indeed,  but  differed  as  regards  the  month. 
The  former  thought  the  Jews  should  be  followed, 
though  they  were  not  exact :  the  latter  kept 
Easter  after  the  equinox,  refusing  to  celebrate 
with  the  Jews  ;  '  for,'  said  they,  '  it  ought  to 
be  celebrated  when  the  sun  is  in  Aries,  in  the 
month  called  Xanthicus  by  the  Antiochians, 
and  April  by  the  Romans.'  In  this  practice, 
they  averred,  they  conformed  not  to  the  modern 
Jews,  who  are  mistaken  in  almost  everything, 
but  to  the  ancients,  and  to  Josephus  according 
to  what  he  has  written  in  the  third  book  of  his 
Jewish  Antiquities}^  Thus  these  people  were 
at  issue  among  themselves.  But  all  other  Chris- 
tians in  the  Western  parts,  and  as  far  as  the 
ocean  itself,  are  found  to  have  celebrated  Easter 
after  the  equinox,  from  a  very  ancient  tradition. 
And  in  fact  these  acting  in  this  manner  have 
never  disagreed  on  this  subject.  It  is  not  true, 
as  some  have  pretended,  that  the  Synod  under 
Constantine  altered  this  festival :  "  for  Constan- 
tine  himself,  writing  to  those  who  differed  re- 
specting it,  recommended  that  as  they  were  few 
in  number,  they  could  agree  with  the  majority 
of  their  brethren.  His  letter  will  be  found  at 
length  in  the  third  book  of  the  Life  of  Co ?is tan- 
tine  by  Eusebius  ;  but  the  passage  in  it  relative 
to  Easter  runs  thus  :  ^^ 

'  It  is  a  becoming  order  which  all  the  churches 
in  the  Western,  Southern,  and  Northern  parts  of 
the  world  observe,  and  some  places  in  the  East 
also.  Wherefore  all  on  the  present  occasion 
have  judged  it  right,  and  I  have  pledged  myself 
that  it  will  have  the  acquiescence  of  your  pru- 
dence, that  what  is  unanimously  observed  in  the 
city  of  Rome,  throughout  Italy,  Africa,  and  the 
whole  of  Egypt,  in  Spain,  France,  Britain, 
Libya,  and  all  Greece,  the  diocese  of  Asia  and 
Pontus,  and  Cilicia,  your  wisdom  also  will  readily 
embrace  ;  considering  not  only  that  the  number 
of  churches  in  the  aforesaid  places  is  greater, 
but  also  that  while  there  should  be  a  universal 
concurrence  in  what  is  most  reasonable,  it  be- 
comes us  to  have  nothing  in  common  with  the 
perfidious  Jews.' 


12  Euseb.  V.  24. 

^■^  Josephus,  Antig.  III.  lo.  The  passage  is  worth  quoting 
entire,  running  as  follows:  'In  the  month  Xanthicus,  which  is 
called  Nisan  by  us,  and  is  the  beginning  of  the  year,  on  the  four- 
teenth day  of  the  moon,  while  the  sun  is  in  the  sign  of  Aries  (the 
Ram),  for  during  this  month  we  were  freed  from  bondage  under  the 
Egyptians,  he  has  also  appointed  that  we  should  sacrifice  each  year 
the  sacrifice  which,  as  we  went  out  of  Egypt,  they  commanded  us 
to  offer,  it  being  called  the  Passover.' 

'■*  The  Audiani,  who  averred  that  the  Synod  of  Nicsea  first  fixed 
the  time  of  Easter. 

1^  Euseb.  Liye  of  Constant.  III.  19. 


Such  is  the  tenor  of  the  emperor's  letter. 
Moreover  the  Quartodecimans  affirm  that  the 
observance  of  the  fourteenth  day  was  delivered 
to  them  by  the  apostle  John  :  while  the 
Romans  and  those  in  the  Western  parts  assure 
us  that  their  usage  originated  with  the  apostles 
Peter  and  Paul.  Neither  of  these  parties  how- 
ever can  produce  any  written  testimony  in  con- 
firmation of  what  they  assert.  But  that  the  time 
of  keeping  Easter  in  various  places  is  dependent 
on  usage,  I  infer  from  this,  that  those  who  agree 
in  faith,  differ  among  themselves  on  questions  of 
usage.  And  it  will  not  perhaps  be  unseasonable 
to  notice  here  the  diversity  of  customs  in  the 
churches. '*"  The  fasts  before  Easter  will  be 
found  to  be  differently  observed  among  different 
people.  Those  at  Rome  fast  three  successive 
weeks  before  Easter,  excepting  Saturdays  and 
Sundays.^"  Those  in  Illyrica  and  all  over  Greece 
and  Alexandria  observe  a  fast  of  six  weeks,  which 
they  term  '  The  forty  days'  fast.'  ^^  Others  com- 
mencing their  fast  from  the  seventh  week  before 
Easter,  and  fasting  three  five  days  only,  and  that 
at  intervals,  yet  call  that  time  '  The  forty  days' 
fast.'  It  is  indeed  surprising  to  me  that  thus 
differing  in  the  number  of  days,  they  should  both 
give  it  one  common  appellation  ;  but  some  as- 
sign one  reason  for  it,  and  others  another,  ac- 
cording to  their  several  fancies.  One  can  see 
also  a  disagreement  about  the  manner  of  absti- 
nence from  food,  as  well  as  about  the  number 
of  days.  Some  wholly  abstain  from  things  that 
have  life  :  others  feed  on  fish  only  of  all  living 
creatures  :  many  together  with  fish,  eat  fowl  also, 
saying  that  according  to  Moses,^'-*  these  were  like- 
wise made  out  of  the  waters.  Some  abstain  from 
eggs,  and  all  kinds  of  fruits  :  others  partake  of 
dry  bread  only ;  still  others  eat  not  even  this  : 
while  others  having  fasted  till  the  ninth  hour,^ 
afterwards  take  any  sort  of  food  without  dis- 
tinction. And  among  various  nations  there  are 
other  usages,  for  which  innumerable  reasons  are 
assigned.  Since  however  no  one  can  produce  a 
written  command  as  an  authoritv,  it  is  evident 
that  the  apostles  left  each  one  to  his  own  free 
will  in  the  matter,  to  the  end  that  each  might 


1''  Cf.  Bingham.,  Christ.  Antig.  XX.  v. 

'^  Baronius  {Ann.  57  and  391  A.D.)  finds  two  mistakes  here:  first, 
in  the  assertion  that  the  Romans  fasted  three  weeks  only  before 
Easter,  and  second,  in  the  assertion  that  during  those  three  weeks 
Saturdays  were  excepted.  Cf.  also  Ceillier,  Hist,  des  Autetcrs 
Sacres  ct  Ecclesiast.  Vol.  VIII.  p.  523,  524.  Valesius,  however, 
quotes  Pope  Leo  (fourth  sermon  on  the  Lent  Fast)  and  Venerable 
Beda  to  prove  that  Socrates'  assertion  concerning  the-  exception  of 
Saturday  may  be  defended.  See  Quesnell,  de  Jejnnio  Sabbati ; 
Bingham,  Origin.  Eccl.  XXI.  i.  14;  also  Beveridge,  t/^  Jejunio 
Qnadragtsitnali. 

1'  Tecro-apaicocrTij  =  Lent ;  the  Latin  equivalent  is,  of  course, 
Quadragesima.  '"  Gen.  i.  20. 

""  Valesius  rightly  conjectures  that  very  few  observed  this  mode 
of  fasting  during  Lent,  basing  his  opinion  on  the  order  of  worship 
and  various  deprecatory  expressions  in  ancient  authors  with  respect 
to  it.  It  may  be  noted  that  the  Mohammedan  Fast  of  Ramadan  is 
observed  on  the  same  principle  and  in  a  similar  manner.  The  fast 
begins  with  the  dawn  of  the  sun  and  continues  until  sunset,  being 
complete  for  that  space  of  time.  With  the  setting  of  the  sun,  how- 
ever, every  person  is  at  liberty  to  eat  as  he  may  please. 


132 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


[V. 


22. 


perform  what  is  good  not  by  constraint  or  neces- 
sity. Such  is  the  difference  in  the  churches  on 
the  subject  of  fasts.  Nor  is  there  less  variation 
in  regard  to  rehgious  assembhes.-'  For  although 
almost  all  churches  throughout  the  world  cele- 
brate the  sacred  mysteries  on  the  sabbath "  of 
every  week,  yet  the  Christians  of  Alexandria  and 
at  Rome,  on  account  of  some  ancient  tradition, 
have  ceased  to  do  this.  The  Egyptians  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Alexandria,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Thebai's,  hold  their  religious  assemblies  on 
the  sabbath,  but  do  not  participate  of  the  mys- 
teries in  the  manner  usual  among  Christians  in 
general :  for  after  having  eaten  and  satisfied 
themselves  with  food  of  all  kinds,  in  the  evening 
making  their  offerings  -''  they  partake  of  the  mys- 
teries. At  Alexandria  again,  on  the  Wednes- 
day-'* in  Passion  week  and  on  Good  Friday,  the 
scriptures  are  read,  and  the  doctors  expound 
them  ;  and  all  the  usual  services  are  performed 
in  their  assemblies,  except  the  celebration  of 
the  mysteries.  This  practice  in  Alexandria  is 
of  great  antiquity,  for  it  appears  that  Origen 
most  commonly  taught  in  the  church  on  those 
days.  He  being  a  very  learned  teacher  in 
the  Sacred  Books,  and  perceiving  that  the 
'  impotence  of  the  law '  ^  of  Moses  was  weak- 
ened by  literal  explanation,  gave  it  a  spiritual 
interpretation ;  declaring  that  there  has  never 
been  but  one  true  Passover,  which  the  Saviour 
celebrated  when  he  hung  upon  the  cross  :  for 
that  he  then  vanquished  the  adverse  powers, 
and  erected  this  as  a  trophy  against  the  devil. 
In  the  same  city  of  Alexandria,  readers  and 
chanters  ^^  are  chosen  indifferently  from  the 
catechumens  and  the  faithful  ;  whereas  in  all 
other  churches  the  faithful  only  are  promoted 
to  these  offices.  I  myself,  also,  learned  of  an- 
other custom  in  Thessaly.  If  a  clergyman  in 
that  country,  after  taking  orders,  should  sleep 
with  his  wife,  whom  he  had  legally  married 
before  his  ordination,  he  would  be  degraded.-' 

21  (Tvvd^euiv.  Sophocles  {Creek  Lex.  of  the  Ro»i.  atid  Byzant. 
Period)  gives  the  following  senses  to  the  word:  i.  '  Religious 
meeting';  2.  '  Religious  service ':  3.  '  Pl.-ice  of  meeting ';  4.  'Con- 
gregation.' To  these  we  may  add  on  the  authority  of  Casaubon 
{Exercit.  XVI.  nd  Ainial.  Baronii,  No.  42)  5.  'The  celebration 
of  the  Eucharist.'  It  is  in  the  second  sense  given  by  Sophocles 
that  it  is  used  here. 

'--  i.e.  Saturday.  Sunday  is  never  called  '  the  Sabbath '  by  the 
ancient  Fathers  and  historians,  but  'the  Lord's  day'  (<irpia<i/). 
Sophocles  ( f7>'cc/t /,cj-.  0/ the  Rom.  and  liyzant.  Period)  gives 
three  senses  to  the  word;  viz.,  i.  'The  Sabbath'  [of  the  Jews]  (so 
in  the  LXX  and  Jewish  writers).  2.  '  The  week.'  3.  '  Saturday'.' 
Many  early  Christians,  however,  continued  to  observe  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  along  with  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Cf.  Bingham,  Christ. 
Atitiq.  XX.  3. 

2-'  7Tpo<r'^tpoi/Te<r,  freely  =  '  celebrating  the  Eucharist.'  Irenseus, 
Cotitra  Hceres.  XVIIl.  3;  Euseb.  Demonstr.  Evan.  X.  i;  Athan. 
Apol.  Contr.  ^Irian,  28. 

''■'  '  If  any  bishop  .  .  .  does  not  fast  on  Wednesday  or  Friday 
let  him  be  deposed.'  So  Apost.  Can.  69.  These  two  days  are 
universally  joined  together  by  the  Greek  and  Roman  Catholic 
Churches.  -•"'  Cf.  Rom.  viii.  3. 

2«  vKo0o\e7<;,  lit.  =  '  prompters,'  whose  duty  it  was  to  read  the 
Psalms  which  the  people  chanted. 

2'  On  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy  and  its  gradual  growth,  see 
Bingham,  Christ.  Antig.  IV.  5;  Apost.  Can.  51,  and  Council  of 
Gangra,  Can.  i  (Hefele,  Hist.  Ch.  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.  325  seg.). 


In  the  East,  indeed,  all  clergymen,  and  even 
the  bishops  themselves,  abstain  from  their 
wives  :  but  this  they  do  of  their  own  accord, 
and  not  by  the  necessity  of  any  law  ;  for  there 
have  been  among  them  many  bishops,  who  have 
had  children  by  their  lawful  wives,  during  their 
episcopate.  It  is  said  that  the  author  of  the 
usage  which  obtains  in  Thessaly  was  Heliodo- 
rus  bishop  of  Tricca  in  that  country ;  under 
whose  name  there  are  love  books  extant,  en- 
titled Et/iiopica,-^  which  he  composed  in  his 
youth.  The  same  custom  prevails  at  Thessa- 
lonica,  and  in  Macedonia,  and  in  Greece.  I 
have  also  known  of  another  peculiarity  in  Thes- 
saly, which  is,  that  they  baptize  there  on  the 
days  of  Easter  only ;  in  consequence  of  which 
a  very  great  number  of  them  die  without  having 
received  baptism.  At  Antioch  in  Syria  the  site 
of  the  church  is  inverted  ;  so  that  the  altar  does 
not  face  toward  the  east,  but  toward  the  west.-'' 
In  Greece,  however,  and  at  Jerusalem  and  in 
Thessaly  they  go  to  prayers  as  soon  as  the  can- 
dles are  lighted,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Novatians  do  at  Constantinople.  At  Csesarea 
likewise,  and  in  Cappadocia,  and  in  Cyprus,  the 
presbyters  and  bishops  expound  the  Scriptures 
in  the  evening,  after  the  candles  are  lighted. 
The  Novatians  of  the  Hellespont  do  not  per- 
form their  prayers  altogether  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  those  of  Constantinople  ;  in  most  things, 
however,  their  usage  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
prevailing^"  church.  In  short,  it  is  impossible  to 
find  anywhere,  among  all  the  sects,  two  churches 
which  agree  exactly  in  their  ritual  respecting 
prayers.  At  Alexandria  no  presbyter  is  allowed 
to  address  the  public  :  a  regulation  which  was 
made  after  Arius  had  raised  a  disturbance  in 
that  church.  At  Rome  they  fast  every  Satur- 
day .^^  At  Csesarea  of  Cappadocia  they  exclude 
from  communion  those  who  have  sinned  after 
baptism  as  the  Novatians  do.  The  same  disci- 
pline was  practiced  by  the  Macedonians  in  the 
Hellespont,  and  by  the  Quartodecimans  in  Asia. 
The  Novatians  in  Phrygia  do  not  admit  such  as 
have  twice  married  ;  ^'-    but  those  of  Constanti- 


-*  A  novel  on  the  adventures  of  Theagenes  and  Chariclea.  The 
Heliodorus  who  wrote  the  Ethiopica  was,  according  to  Photius, 
Biblioth.  chap.  94,  a  native  of  Phoenicia,  hence  not  the  same  as  the 
bishop  of  Tricca.  Others  ascribe  the  Ethiopica  to  Heliodorus  the 
Sophist,  who  flourished  under  the  Emperor  Hadrian. 

-■'  .According  to  the  Apost.  Coiistit.  (II.  57)  a  church  should  be 
built  so  as  to  face  the  east.  This  regulation  was  generally  followed, 
but  there  were  e.xccptions.    Cf.  Bingham,  Christ.  Aiitiq.  VIII.  3.  2. 

""  i.e.  the  catholic  or  orthodo.v  church;  used  perh.Tps  in  the 
same  way  as  the  e.xpression  '  established  church  '  in  modern  limes. 

^'  Apost.  Can.  64,  provides  that  no  cleric  or  layman  shall  fast  on 
the  Sabbath  day  (Saturday,  see  note  22,  above),  the  former  on  pain 
of  being  deposed,  the  latter,  of  being  excommunicated.  It  appears, 
however,  that  the  Roman  church  observed  the  day  as  a  fast,  while 
the  Greek  church  held  it  to  be  a  feast.  Socrates,  however,  seems  to 
contradict  the  statement  he  had  made  above  (see  note  17)  that  at 
Rome  Saturdays  and  Sundays  were  excepted  from  the  list  of  fasting 
flays  in  Lent.  From  Augustine's  Epistles,  36.  31  et  al.,  it  appears 
that  he  fasted  on  Saturd.ay  and  regarded  this  the  regular  and  proper 
course  to  be  pursued,  and  actually  pursued  by  members  of  the 
church.  Hence  the  present  statement  of  Socrates  must  be  taken  as 
correct  to  the  exclusion  of  the  former. 

■i^  Apost.  Can.  17.     '  He  who  has  been  twice  married  after  bap- 


V.  22.]        DIVERSITIES  OF  USAGE  IN  EXTERNAL  OBSERVANCES.     133 


nople  neither  admit  nor  reject  them  openly, 
while  in  the  Western  parts  they  are  openly  re- 
ceived. This  diversity  was  occasioned,  as  I 
imagine,  by  the  bishops  wiio  in  their  respective 
eras  governed  the  churches ;  and  those  who  re- 
ceived these  several  rites  and  usages,  trans- 
mitted them  as  laws  to  their  posterity.  How- 
ever, to  give  a  complete  catalogue  of  all  the 
various  customs  and  ceremonial  observances  in 
use  throughout  every  city  and  country  would  be 
difficult  —  rather  impossible;  but  the  instances 
we  have  adduced  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the 
Easter  Festival  was  from  some  remote  prece- 
dent differently  celebrated  in  every  particular 
province.  They  talk  at  random  therefore  who 
assert  that  the  time  of  keeping  Easter  was  al- 
tered in  the  Nicene  Synod ;  for  the  bishops 
there  convened  earnestly  labored  to  reduce  the 
first  dissenting  minority  to  uniformity  of  prac- 
tice with  the  rest  of  the  people.  Now  that 
many  differences  existed  even  in  the  apostolic 
age  of  the  church  occasioned  by  such  subjects, 
was  not  unknown  even  to  the  apostles  them- 
selves, as  the  book  of  Tlie  Acts  testifies.  For 
when  they  understood  that  a  disturbance  occurred 
among  believers  on  account  of  a  dissension  of 
the  Gentiles,  having  all  met  together,  they  pro- 
mulgated a  Divine  law,  giving  it  the  form  of  a 
letter.  By  this  sanction  they  liberated  Chris- 
tians from  the  bondage  of  formal  observances, 
and  all  vain  contention  about  these  things  ;  and 
they  taught  them  the  path  of  true  piety,  pre- 
scribing such  things  only  as  were  conducive 
to  its  attainment.  The  epistle  itself,  which  I 
shall  here  transcribe,  is  recorded  in  The  Acts 
of  the  Apostles F' 

'  The  apostles  and  elders  and  brethren  send 
greeting  unto  the  brethren  which  are  of  the 
Gentiles  in  Antioch  and  Syria  and  Cilicia.  For- 
asmuch as  we  have  heard,  that  certain  which 
went  out  from  us  have  troubled  you  with  words, 
subverting  your  souls,  saying.  Ye  must  be  cir- 
cumcised, and  keep  the  law ;  to  whom  we  gave 
no  such  commandment :  it  seemed  good  unto 
us,  being  assembled  with  one  accord,  to  send 
chosen  men  unto  you,  with  our  beloved  Barna- 
bas and  Paul,  men  that  have  hazarded  their 
lives  for   the  name   of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

tism  .  .  .  cannot  become  bishop,  presbyter,  or  deacon,  or  any  other 
[cleric]  included  in  the  sacerdotal  list.' 

'^  Acts  XV.  23-39.  The  quotation  is  here  from  the  Authorized 
Version.  The  Revised  has  it  slightly  altered.  We  subjoin  it  for 
comparison.  '  The  apostles  and  the  elder  brethren  unto  the  breth- 
ren which  are  of  the  Gentiles  in  Antioch  and  Syria  and  Cilicia, 
greeting:  Forasmuch  as  we  have  heard  that  certain  which  went  out 
from  us  have  troubled  you  with  words,  subverting  your  souls:  to 
whom  we  gave  no  commandment:  it  seemed  good  unto  us,  having 
come  to  one  accord,  to  choose  out  men  and  send  them  unto  you  with 
our  beloved  Barnabas  and  Paul,  men  that  have  hazarded  their  lives 
for  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  sent  therefore 
Judas  and  Silas,  who  themselves  also  shall  tell  you  the  same  things 
by  word  of  mouth.  For  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to 
us,  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater  burden  than  these  necessan.'  things; 
that  ye  abstain  from  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and 
from  things  strangled,  and  from  fornication :  from  which  if  ye  keep 
yourselves,  it  shall  be  well  with  you.     Fare  ye  well.' 


We  have  sent  therefore  Judas  and  Silas,  who 
shall  also  tell  you  the  same  thing  by  mouth. 
For  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to 
us,  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater  burden  than 
these  necessary  things :  that  ye  abstain  from 
meats  offered  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and 
from  things  strangled,  and  from  fornication ; 
from  which  if  ye  keep  yourselves,  ye  shall  do 
well.     Fare  ye  well.' 

These  things  indeed  pleased  God  :  for  the 
letter  expressly  says,  '  It  seemed  good  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater  burden 
than  these  necessary  things.'  There  are  never- 
theless some  persons  who,  disregarding  these 
precepts,  suppose  all  fornication  to  be  an  in- 
different matter ;  but  contend  about  holy-days 
as  if  their  lives  were  at  stake,  thus  contravening 
the  commands  of  God,  and  legislating  for  them- 
selves, and  making  of  none  effect  the  decree  of 
the  apostles  :  neither  do  they  perceive  that  they 
are  themselves  practicing  the  contrary  to  those 
things  which  God  approved.  It  is  possible 
easily  to  extend  our  discourse  respecting  Easter, 
and  demonstrate  that  the  Jews  observe  no  exact 
rule  either  in  the  time  or  manner  of  celebratmg 
the  paschal  solemnity  :  and  that  the  Samaritans, 
who  are  an  offshoot  from  the  Jews,  always  cele- 
brate this  festival  after  the  equinox.  But  this 
subject  would  require  a  distinct  and  copious 
treatise  :  I  shall  therefore  merely  add,  that 
those  who  affect  so  much  to  imitate  the  Jews, 
and  are  so  very  anxious  about  an  accurate 
observance  of  types,  ought  to  depart  from  them 
in  no  particular.  For  if  they  have  chosen 
to  be  so  correct,  they  must  not  only  observe 
days  and  months,  but  all  other  things  also, 
which  Christ  (who  was  '  made  under  the 
law')^  did  in  the  manner  of  the  Jews;  or 
which  he  unjustly  suffered  from  them  ;  or  wrought 
typically  for  the  good  of  all  men.  He  entered 
into  a  ship  and  taught.  He  ordered  the  Pass- 
over to  be  made  ready  in  an  upper  room.  He 
commanded  an  ass  that  was  tied  to  be  loosed. 
He  proposed  a  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water 
as  a  sign  to  them  for  hastening  their  prepara- 
tions for  the  Passover.  [He  did]  an  infinite 
number  of  other  things  of  this  nature  which  are 
recorded  in  the  gospels.  And  yet  those  who 
suppose  themselves  to  be  justified  by  keeping 
this  feast,  would  think  it  absurd  to  observe  any 
of  these  things  in  a  bodily  manner.  For  no  doc- 
tor ever  dreams  of  going  to  preach  from  a  ship 

—  no  person  imagines  it  necessary  to  go  up  into 
an  upper  room  to  celebrate   the  Passover  there 

—  they  never  tie,  and  then  loose  an  ass  again  — 
and  finally  no  one  enjoins  another  to  carry  a 
pitcher  of  water,  in  order  that  the  symbols  might 
be  fulfilled.     They  have  justly    regarded    such 

^  Gal.  iv.  4. 


134 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[V.  22. 


things  as  savoring  rather  of  Judaism  :  for  the 
Jews  are  more  sohcitous  about  outward  solemni- 
ties than  the  obedience  of  the  heart ;  and  there- 
fore are  they  under  the  curse,  because  they  do 
not  discern  the  spiritual  bearing  of  the  Mosaic 
law,  but  rest  in  its  types  and  shadows.  Those 
who  favor  the  Jews  admit  the  allegorical  mean- 
ing of  these  things  ;  and  yet  they  wage  a  deadly 
warfare  against  the  observance  of  days  and 
months,  without  applying  to  them  a  similar 
sense  :  thus  do  they  necessarily  involve  them- 
selves in  a  common  condemnation  with  the 
Jews. 

But  enough  I  think  has  been  said  concerning 
these  things.  Let  us  now  return  to  the  subject 
we  were  previously  treating  of,  the  fact  that  the 
Church  once  divided  did  not  stay  with  that  divi- 
sion, but  that  those  separated  were  again  divided 
among  themselves,  taking  occasion  from  the 
most  trivial  grounds.  The  Novatians,  as  I  have 
stated,  were  divided  among  themselves  on  ac- 
count of  the  feast  of  Easter,  the  controversy  not 
being  restricted  to  one  point  only.  For  in  the 
different  provinces  some  took  one  view  of  the 
question,  and  some  another,  disagreeing  not  only 
about  the  month,  but  the  days  of  the  week  also, 
and  other  unimportant  matters  ;  in  some  places 
they  hold  separate  assemblies  because  of  it,  in 
others  they  unite  in  mutual  comnnuiion. 

CHAPTER   XXIIL 

Further  Dissensions  among  the  Arians  at  Con- 
stantinople.     TJie  Psathyrians. 

But  dissensions  arose  among  the  Arians  ^  also 
on  this  account.  The  contentious  questions  which 
were  daily  agitated  among  them,  led  them  to 
start  the  most  absurd  propositions.  For  whereas 
it  has  been  always  believed  in  the  church  that 
God  is  the  Father  of  the  Son,  the  Word,  it 
was  asked  whether  God  could  be  called  '  Father ' 
before  the  Son  had  subsistence?  Thus  in  assert- 
ing that  the  Word  of  (iod  was  not  begotten  of 
the  Father,  but  was  created  out  '  of  nothing,' 
and  thus  falling  into  error  on  the  chief  and  main 
point,  they  deservedly  fell  into  al)surd  cavilings 
about  a  mere  name.  Dorotheus  therefore  being 
sent  for  by  them  from  Antioch  maintained  that 
God  neither  was  nor  could  be  called  Father 
before  the  Son  existed.  But  Marinus  whom  they 
had  summoned  out  of  Thrace  before  Dorotheus, 
piqued  at  the  superior  deference  which  was  paid 
to  his  rival,  undertook  to  defend  the  contrary 
opinion.  In  consequence  of  these  things  there 
arose  a  schism  among  them,  and  being  thus  di- 
vided respecting  this  term,  each  party  held  sepa- 
rate meetings.     Those  under  Dorotheus  retained 

'  See  above,  chap.  20. 


their  original  places  of  assembly  :  but  the  fol- 
lowers of  Marinus  built  distinct  oratories  for 
themselves,  and  asserted  that  the  Father  had 
always  been  Father,  even  when  the  Son  was  not. 
This  section  of  the  Arians  was  denominated 
Psathyrians^-  because  one  of  the  most  zealous 
defenders  of  this  opinion  was  Theoctistus,  a 
Syrian  by  birth,  and  a  cake-seller  \_Psathyro- 
pdla~\  ^  by  trade.  Selenas  "*  bishop  of  the  Goths 
adopted  the  views  of  this  party,  a  man  of  mixed 
descent ;  he  was  a  Goth  by  his  father's  side,  but 
by  his  mother's  a  Phrygian,  by  which  means  he 
taught  in  the  church  with  great  readiness  in  both 
these  languages.  This  faction  however  soon 
quarreled  among  themselves,  Marinus  disagree- 
ing with  Agapius,  whom  he  himself  had  preferred 
to  the  bishopric  of  Ephesus.  They  disputed, 
however,  not  about  any  point  of  religion,  but  in 
narrow-mindedness  about  precedence,  in  which 
the  Goths  sided  with  Agapius.  Wherefore  many 
of  the  ecclesiasticsunder  their  jurisdiction,  abom- 
inating the  vain-glorious  contest  between  these 
two,  abandoned  them  both,  and  became  adher- 
ents to  the  '  homoousian  '  faith.  The  Arians 
having  continued  thus  divided  among  themselves 
during  the  space  of  thirty-five  years,  were  re- 
united in  the  reign  of  Theodosius  the  Younger, 
under  the  consulate  ^  of  Plintha  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army,  he  being  a  member  of  the 
sect  of  Psathyrians ;  these  were  prevailed  on  to 
desist  from  contention.  They  afterwards  passed 
a  resolution,  giving  it  all  the  cogency  of  law,  that 
the  question  which  had  led  to  their  separation, 
should  never  be  mooted  again.  But  this  recon- 
ciliation extended  no  farther  than  Constanti- 
nople ;  for  in  other  cities  where  any  of  these 
two  parties  were  found,  they  persisted  in  their 
former  separation.  So  much  respecting  the  di- 
vision among  the  Arians. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

The  Eimomians  divide  into  Several  Factions. 

Bur  neither  did  the  followers  of  Eunomius 
remain  without  dissensions  :  for  Eunomius  ^  him- 
self had  long  before  this  separated  from  Eudoxius 
who  ordained  him  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  taking  oc- 
casion from  that  bishop's  refusal  to  restore  to 
communion  his  master  Aetius  who  had  been 
ejected.  But  those  who  derived  their  name 
from  him  were  subsequently  divided  into  several 
factions.  For  first  Theoi)hronius  a  Cappado- 
cian,  who  had  been  instructed  in  the  art  of  dis- 
putation by  Eunomius,  and  had  acquired  a  smat- 

2  Cf.  Theodoret,  Hceret.  Fahal.  IV.  4;  also  Sozomen  (probably 
dependent  on  Socrates),  VII.  17. 

3  liaSupioi',  a  species  of  cake;  hence  liafli^poTrujATj?,  '  cake-seller.' 
*  Sozomen   (VII.  17)   adds  that  Selenas  w.is  a  secretary  of  Ul- 

filas  and  had  been  promoted  to  be  his  successor. 

°  419  .\.D.  ^  Cf.  IV.  7  and  13. 


\ 


^5-] 


THE    USURPER    EUGENIUS. 


135 


tering  of  Aristotle's  Categories,  and  his  Book  of 
Jnterpretation,  composed  some  treatises  which  he 
entitled,  On  flic  Exercise  of  tJic  Mind.  Having, 
ho\ve\'er,  drawn  down  upon  himself  the  reproba- 
tion of  his  own  sect,  he  was  ejected  as  an  apostate. 
He  afterwards  held  assemblies  aj^art  from  them, 
and  left  behind  him  a  heresy  which  bore  his  own 
name.  Furthermore  at  Constantinople  a  cer- 
tain Eutychius  from  some  absurd  dispute,  with- 
drew from  the  Eunomians,  and  still  continues  to 
hold  separate  meetings.  The  followers  of  Theo- 
phronius  are  denominated  '  Eunomiotheophro- 
nians ' ;  and  those  of  Eutychius  have  the  ai)pel- 
lation  of  '  Eunomieutychians.'  What  those 
nonsensical  terms  were  about  which  they  dif- 
fered I  consider  unworthy  of  being  recorded  in 
this  history,  lest  I  should  go  into  matters  foreign 
to  my  purpose.  I  shall  merely  observe  that  they 
adulterated  baptism  :  for  they  do  not  baptize  in 
the  name  of  the  Trinity,  but  into  the  death  of 
Christ.-  Among  the  Macedonians  also  there 
was  for  some  time  a  division,  when  Eutropius  a 
presbyter  held  separate  assemblies,  and  Carte- 
rius  did  not  agree  with  him.  There  are  possibly 
in  other  cities  sects  which  have  emanated  from 
these  :  but  living  at  Constantinople,  where  I  was 
born  and  educated,  I  describe  more  particularly 
what  has  taken  place  in  that  city ;  both  because 
I  have  myself  witnessed  some  of  these  transac- 
tions, and  also  because  the  events  which  have 
there  occurred  are  of  pre-eminent  importance, 
and  are  therefore  more  worthy  of  commemora- 
tion. Let  it  however  be  understood  that  what  I 
have  here  related  happened  at  different  periods, 
and  not  at  the  same  time.  But  if  any  one  should 
be  desirous  of  knowing  the  names  of  the  various 
sects,  he  may  easily  satisfy  himself,  by  reading  a 
book  entitled  Ancoratiis^'  composed  by  Epipha- 
nius,  bishop  of  Cyprus :  but  I  shall  content 
myself  with  what  I  have  already  stated.  The 
public  affairs  were  again  thrown  into  agitation 
from  a  cause  I  shall  now  refer  to. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  Usurper  Eitgeniiis  compasses  tJie  Death  of 
Valentinian  the  Yotinger.  Theodosius  obtains 
a  Victory  over  him. 

There  was  in  the  Western  regions  a  gramma- 


-  Apost.  Can.  50  reads:  '  If  any  bishop  or  presbyter  does  not 
perform  the  one  initiation  with  three  immersions,  but  with  one  im- 
mersion only  into  the  death  of  the  Lord,  let  him  be  deposed.'  Also 
the  Second  General  Synod  (that  of  Constantinople,  381)  in  its 
7th  Canon  passed  the  following:  '  But  the  Eunomians,  wlio  only 
baptize  luith  one  immersion,  and  the  Montanists,  who  are  here 
called  Phrygians,  and  the  Sabellians,  who  teach  the  doctrine  of  the 
Fatherhood  of  the  Son  .  .  .  (if  they  wish  to  be  joined  to  the  Ortho- 
dox faith)  we  receive  as  heathen ;  on  the  first  day  we  make  them 
Christians,  on  the  second,  catechumens,  &c.'  See  Hefele,  Hist,  of 
the  Church  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.  367,  368. 

'  Epiphan.  Ancoratus,  13.  Photius  calls  the  Ancoraius  a 
synopsis  of  the  treatise  of  Epiphanius  on  Heresies  {Biblioth.  123). 


rian  named  Eugenius,^  who  after  having  for  some 
time  taught  the  Latin  language,  left  his  school, 
and  was  appointed  to  service  at  the  palace,  being 
constituted  chief  secretary  to  the  emperor.  Pos- 
sessing a  considerable  degree  of  eloquence,  and 
being  on  that  account  treated  with  greater  dis- 
tinction than  others,  he  was  unable  to  bear  his 
good  fortune  with  moderation.  For  associating 
with  himself  Arbogastes,  a  native  of  Galatia 
INIinor,  who  then  had  the  command  of  a  division 
of  the  army,  a  man  harsh  in  manner  and  very 
bloodthirsty,  he  determined  to  usurp  the  sover- 
eignty. These  two  therefore  agreed  to  murder 
the  Emperor  Valentinian,  having  corrupted  the 
eunuchs  of  the  imperial  bed-chamber.  These, 
on  receiving  tempting  promises  of  promotion, 
strangled  the  emperor  in  his  sleep.  Eugenius 
immediately  assuming  the  supreme  authority  in 
the  Western  parts  of  the  empire,  conducted  him- 
self in  such  a  manner  as  might  be  expected  from 
a  usurper.  When  the  Emperor  Theodosius  was 
made  acquainted  with  these  things,  he  was  ex- 
ceedingly distressed,  because  his  defeat  of  Maxi- 
mus  had  only  prepared  the  way  for  fresh  troubles. 
He  accordingly  assembled  his  military  forces, 
and  having  proclaimed  his  son  Honorius  Augus- 
tus, on  the  loth  of  January,  in  his  own  third 
consulate  -  which  he  bore  with  Abundantius,  he 
again  set  out  in  great  haste  toward  the  Western 
parts,  leaving  both  his  sons  invested  with  imperial 
authority  at  Constantinople.  As  he  marched 
against  Eugenius  a  very  great  number  of  the 
barbarians  beyond  the  Danube  volunteered  their 
services,  and  followed  him  in  this  expedition. 
After  a  rapid  march  he  arrived  in  the  Gauls  with 
a  numerous  army,  where  Eugenius  awaited  him, 
also  at  the  head  of  an  immense  body  of  troops. 
Accordingly  an  engagement  took  place  near  the 
river  Frigidus,  which  is  [about  thirty-six  miles] 
distant  [from  Aquileia].  Li  that  part  of  the 
battle  where  the  Romans  fought  against  their 
own  countrymen,  the  conflict  was  doubtful  :  but 
where  the  barbarian  auxiliaries  of  the  Emperor 
Theodosius  were  engaged,  the  forces  of  Eugenius 
had  greatly  the  advantage.  When  the  emperor 
saw  the  barbarians  perishing,  he  cast  himself  in 
great  agony  upon  the  ground,  and  invoked  the 
help  of  God  in  this  emergency  :  nor  was  his  re- 
quest unheeded ;  for  Bacurius  ^  his  principal 
officer,  inspired  with  sudden  and  extraordinary 
ardor,  rushed  with  his  vanguard  to  the  part 
where  the  barbarians  were  hardest  pressed,  broke 
through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and  put  to  flight 
those  who  a  little  before  were  themselves  engaged 
in   pursuit.      Another   marvelous    circumstance 


The  subject  here  referred  to  was  treated  by  Epiphanius   in   Hter. 
LXVI.  and  LXVIII. 

1  This  account  of  Arbogastes  and  Eugenius  is  also  given  by 
Zosimus  flV.  53-58),  who  adds  that  Arbogastes  was  a  Frank;  and 
also  by  Philortorgius  (XI.  i),  who  says  that  Eugenius  was  a  pagan. 

2  393  A.D.  ^  Cf.  Zosimus,  IV.  57. 


136 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[y-  25- 


also  occurred.  A  violent  wind  suddenly  arose, 
which  retorted  upon  themselves  the  darts  cast 
by  the  soldiers  of  Eugenius,  and  at  the  same 
time  drove  those  hurled  by  the  imperial  forces 
with  increased  impetus  against  their  adversaries.'' 
So  prevalent  was  the  emperor's  prayer.  The 
success  of  the  struggle  being  in  this  way  turned, 
the  usurper  threw  himself  at  the  emperor's  feet, 
and  begged  that  his  life  might  be  spared  :  but 
as  he  lay  a  prostrate  suppliant  at  the  feet  [of  the 
emperor]  he  was  beheaded  by  the  soldiers,  on 
the  6th  of  September,  in  the  third  consulate  of 
Arcadius,  and  the  second  of  Honorius.''  x\rbo- 
gastes,  who  had  been  the  chief  cause  of  so  much 
mischief,  having  continued  his  flight  for  two  days 
after  the  battle,  and  seeing  no  chance  of  escape, 
despatched  himself  with  his  own  sword. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Illness  and  Dcalh  of  Theo'dosii/s  flie  Elder. 

The  Emperor  Theodosius  was  in  consequence 
of  the  anxiety  and  fatigues  connected  with  this 


^  Cf.  Zosimus,  IV.  58,  who  gives  the  additional  item  that  the 
sun  was  eclipsed  during  this  battle. 
=  394  A.D. 


war  thrown  into  bodily  illness ;  and  believing 
the  disease  which  had  attacked  him  would  be 
fatal,  he  became  more  concerned  about  the  pub- 
lic affairs  than  his  own  life,  considering  how 
great  calamities  often  overtook  the  people  after 
the  death  of  -their  sovereign.  He  therefore 
hastily  summoned  his  son  Honorius  from  Con- 
stantinople, being  principally  desirous  of  setting 
in  order  the  state  of  things  in  the  western  parts 
of  the  empire.  After  his  son's  arrival  at  Milan, 
he  seemed  to  recover  a  little,  and  gave  directions 
for  the  celebration  of  the  games  of  the  hippo- 
drome on  account  of  his  victory.  Before  dinner 
he  was  pretty  well,  and  a  spectator  of  the  sports  ; 
but  after  he  had  dined  he  became  suddenly  too 
ill  to  return  to  them,  and  sent  his  son  to  preside 
in  his  stead  ;  when  the  night  came  on  he  died, 
it  being  the  seventeenth  of  January,  during  con- 
sulate of  Olybrius  and  Probus.^  This  was  in  the 
first  year  of  the  two  hundred  and  ninety-fourth 
Olympiad.  The  emperor  Theodosius  lived 
sixty  years,-  and  reigned  sixteen.  This  book 
therefore  comprehends  the  transactions  of  six- 
teen years  and  eight  months. 


1  395  A.D. 

2  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  length  of  Theodosius'  life;  most 
of  the  ancient  historians  (Sozomen,  Theophanes,  Cedrenus)  agree 
with  Socrates  in  giving  it  as  sixty  years.  Am.  Marcellinus,  Rerum 
Gestarum,  XXIX.  6.  15,  and  Victor,  Epit.  XLVII.,  leave  the 
impression  that  he  was  fifty. 


END    OF   THE    FIFTH    BOOK. 


BOOK    VI. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  commission  with  wliicli  you  charged  us, 
O  holy  man  of  God,  Theodore,  we  have  exe- 
cuted in  the  five  foregoing  books  ;  in  which  to 
the  best  of  our  abihty,  we  have  comprised  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  from  the  time  of  Constan- 
tine.  Notice,  however,  that  we  have  been  by 
no  means  studious  of  style  ;  for  we  considered 
that  had  we  showed  too  great  fastidiousness 
about  elegance  of  expression  we  might  have  de- 
feated the  object  in  view.^  But  even  supposing 
our  purpose  could  still  have  been  accomplished, 
we  were  wholly  precluded  from  the  exercise  of 
that  discretionary  power  of  which  ancient  his- 
torians seem  to  have  so  largely  availed  them- 
selves, whereby  any  one  of  them  imagined 
himself  quite  at  liberty  to  amplify  or  curtail 
matters  of  fact.  Moreover,  refined  composi- 
tion would  by  no  means  be  edifying  to  the 
masses  and  illiterate  men,  who  are  intent 
merely  on  knowing  the  facts,  and  not  on  admir- 
ing beauty  of  diction.  In  order  therefore  not 
to  render  my  production  unprofitable  to  both 
classes  of  readers,  —  to  the  learned  on  the  one 
hand,  because  no  elaboration  of  language  could 
satisfy  them  to  rank  it  with  the  magniloquence 
of  the  writers  of  antiquity,  and  to  the  unlearned 
on  the  other,  because  they  could  not  understand 
the  facts,  should  they  be  clouded  by  a  parade  of 
words,  —  we  have  purposely  adopted  a  style, 
divested  indeed  of  all  affectation  of  sublimity, 
but  at  the  same  time  clear  and  perspicuous. 

As  we  begin,  however,  our  sixth  book,  we 
must  premise  this,  that  in  undertaking  to  detail 
the  events  of  our  own  age,  we  are  apprehensive 
of  advancing  such  things  as  may  be  unpalatable 
to  many  :  either  because,  according  to  the  pro- 
verb, '  Truth  is  bitter  ] '  on  account  of  our  not 
mentioning  with  encomium  the  names  of  those 
whom  some  may  love  ;  or  from  our  not  magni- 
fying their  actions.  The  zealots  of  our  churches 
will  condemn  us  for  not  calling  the  bishops 
'  Most  dear  to  God,'  '  Most  holy,'  and  such  like. 
Others  will  be  litigious  because  we  do  not  be- 
stow the  appellations  '  Most  divine,'  and  '  Lords  ' 
on  the  emperors,  nor  apply  to  them  such  other 
epithets  as  they  are  commonly  assigned.  But 
since  I  could  easily  prove  from  the  testimony  of 


'  Cf.  V.  Int. 


ancient  authors,^  that  among  them  the  servant 
was  accustomed  to  address  his  master  simply 
by  name,  without  reference  to  his  dignity  or 
titles,  on  account  of  the  pressure  of  business,  I 
shall  in  like  manner  obey  the  laws  of  history, 
which  demand  a  simple  and  faithful  narration, 
unobscured  by  a  veil  of  any  kind.  I  shall  pro- 
ceed to  record  accurately  what  I  have  either 
myself  seen,  or  have  been  able  to  ascertain  from 
actual  observers  ;  having  tested  the  truth  by  the 
unanimity  of  the  witnesses  that  spoke  of  the 
same  affairs,  and  by  every  means  I  could  possi- 
bly command.  The  process  of  ascertaining  the 
truth  was  indeed  laborious,  inasmuch  as  many 
and  different  persons  gave  different  accounts 
and  some  claimed  to  be  eyewitnesses,  while 
others  professed  to  be  more  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  these  things  than  any  others. 


CHAPTER    I. 

On  the  Death  of  Thcodosius  his  Two  Sons 
divide  the  Empire.  Riifinus  is  slain  at  the 
Feet  of  Arcadius. 

x^FTER  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius, 
in  the  consulate  of  Olybrius  and  Probinus  or 
the  seventeenth  of  January,  his  two  sons  under- 
took the  administration  of  the  Roman  empire. 
Thus  Arcadius  assumed  the  government  of  the 
East,  and  Honorius  of  the  West."'  At  that 
time  Damasus  was  bishop  of  the  church  at 
Imperial  Rome,  and  Theophilus  of  that  of 
Alexandria,  John  of  Jerusalem,  and  Flavian  of 
Antioch ;  while  the  episcopal  chair  at  Constan- 
tinople or  New  Rome  was  filled  by  Nectarius, 
as  we  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  book.^  The 
body  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  was  taken  to 
Constantinople  on  the  Sth  of  November  in  the 
same  consulate,  and  was  honorably  interred  by 
his  son  Arcadius  with  the  usual  funeral  solemni- 
ties.^ Not  long  afterwards  on  the  28th  day  of 
the  same  month  the  army  also  arrived,  which 
had  served  under  the  Emperor  Theodosius  in 
the  war  against  the  usurper.     When   therefore 

-  The  comic  poets,  e.g.  Menander,  Plautus,  Terence. 

1  Cf.  Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Rom.  Empire,  chap.  29. 

2  V   8. 

3  See  Bennett,  Christian  Archceology,  p.  210  seq.,  and  Bing- 
ham, Christ.  Aiiiiif.  XXII.  i  and  2,  for  details  on  the  burial  of  the 
dead  in  the  early  Church. 


iS8 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.   I. 


according  to  custom  the  Emperor  Arcadius  met 
the  army  without  the  gates,  the  soldiery  slew 
Rufinus  the  Praetorian  prefect.  For  he  was  sus- 
pected of  aspiring  to  the  sovereignty,  and  had 
the  reputation  of  having  invited  ^into  the  Roman 
territories  the  Huns,"'  a  barbarous  nation,  who 
had  already  ravaged  Armenia,  and  were  then 
making  predatory  incursions  into  other  provinces 
of  the  East.  On  the  very  day  on  which  Rufinus 
was  killed,  Marcian  bishop  of  the  Novatians 
died,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  episcopate  by 
Sisinnius,  of  whom  we  have  already  made  men- 
tion.^ 

CHAPTER   II. 

Death  of  Nectariiis  and  Ordination  of  John. 

A  SHORT  time  after  Nectarius  ^  also,  bishop  of 
Constantinople  died,  during  the  consulate  of 
Csesarius  and  Atticus,-  on  the  27th  of  September. 
A  contest  thereupon  immediately  arose  respect- 
ing the  appointment  of  a  successor,  some  pro- 
posing one  person,  and  some  another :  at  length 
however  it  was  determined  to  send  for  John,'^ 
a  presbyter  of  the  church  at  Antioch,  for  there 
was  a  report  that  he  was  very  instructive,  and  at 
the  same  time  eloquent.  By  the  general  con- 
sent therefore  of  both  the  clergy  and  laity,  he 
was  summoned  very  soon  afterwards  to  Con- 
stantinople by  the  Emperor  Arcadius  :  and  to 
Tender  the  ordination  more  authoritative  and 
imposing,  several  prelates  were  requested  to  be 
present,  among  whom  also  was  Theophilus  bishop 
of  Alexandria.^  This  person  did  everything  he 
could  to  detract  from  John's  reputation,  being 
desirous  of  promoting  to  that  see,  Isidore^  a 
presbyter  of  his  own  church,  to  whom  he  was 
greatly  attached,  on  account  of  a  very  delicate 
and  perilous  affair  which  Isidore  had  undertaken 
to  serve  his  interests.  What  this  was  I  must 
now  unfold.  \V'hile  the  Emperor  Theodosius 
was  preparing  to  attack  the  usurper  Maximus, 
Theodosius  sent  Isidore  with  gifts  giving  twofold 
letters,  and  enjoining  him  to  present  both  the 


*  Zosimus  (V.  5)  says  Rufinus  invited  Alaric  and  the  Goths  to 
invade  the  Roman  territories;  Valesius  reconciles  Socrates'  and 
Zosimus'  statements  by  assuming  that  thejr  are  partial  and  supple- 
mentary to  one  another;  Rufinus,  according  to  him,  invited  both 
the  Huns  and  the  Goths. 

^  V.  10,  21,  et  al.  I  Cf.  V.  8.  =  397  A.p. 

3  The  well-known  bishop  of  Antioch  and  Constantinople,  who 
on  account  of  his  extraordinary  gift  of  eloquence  was  surnamed 
Chrysostom,  '  the  Golden-mouth.'  See  T/te  Nicene  ami  Post-Ni- 
cenc  Fathers,  Vol.  IX.  Prolegomena  on  the  life  and  writings  of 
St.  John  Chrysostom  by  Dr.  Schaff.  Also  cf.  ancient  authorities: 
Palladius,  Diatogus  historicits  lie  vita  et  conversatioue  hcati 
yoannis  CItrysostoiui  cum  Theodora  Ecclesiip  Romano;  diacono; 
Jerome,  de  Viris  Illustribiis,  c.  129;  Sozomen,  VHI.  2-23;  Theo- 
doret,  H.  E.  V.  27-36;  and  modern  Smith  &  Wace,  Diet.  0/ Christ. 
Biog.;  F.  W.  Farrar,  Lilies  of  the  Fathers,  Vol.  II.  p.  460-527, 
and  many  monograms  and  longer  or  briefer  notices  in  the  standard 
church  histories. 

■*  Cf.  Theodoret,  V.  22,  under  this  Theophilus  the  pagan  temples 
of  Mithras  and  Sempis  were  attacked,  as  related  above  in  V.  16  and 
17.  For  a  fuller  notice  of  Theophilus,  see  Smith  &  Wace,  Diet,  of 
Christ.  Biog. 

^  Cf.  chap.  9  of  this  book. 


gifts  and  the  proper  letters  to  him  who  should 
become  the  victor.  In  accordance  with  these 
injunctions  Isidore  on  his  arrival  at  Rome 
awaited  there  the  event  of  the  war.  But  this 
business  did  not  long  remain  a  secret :  for  a 
reader  who  accompanied  him  privately  seques- 
tered the  letters  ;  upon  which  Isidore  in  great 
alarm  returned  to  Alexandria.  This  was  the 
reason  why  Theophilus  so  warmly  favored  Isi- 
dore. The  court  however  gave  the  preference 
to  John :  and  inasmuch  as  many  had  revived 
the  accusations  against  Theophilus,  and  prepared 
for  presentation  to  the  bishops  then  convened 
memorials  of  various  charges,  I^utropius''  the 
chief  officer  of  the  imperial  bed-chamber  col- 
lected these  documents,  and  showed  them  to 
Theophilus,  bidding  him  '  choose  between  or- 
daining John,  and  undergoing  a  trial  on  the 
charges  made  against  him.'  Theophilus  terri- 
fied at  this  alternative,  consented  to  ordain 
John.  Accordingly  John  was  invested  with  the 
episcopal  dignity  on  the  26th  of  February,  under 
the  following  consulate,'  which  the  Emperor 
Honorius  celebrated  with  public  games  at  Rome, 
and  Eutychian,  then  Pr^torian  prefect,  at  Con- 
stantinople. But  since  the  man  is  famous,  both 
for  the  writings  he  has  left,  and  the  many 
troubles  he  fell  into,  it  is  proper  that  I  should 
not  pass  over  his  affairs  in  silence,  but  to  relate 
as  compendiously  as  possible  whence  he  was, 
and  from  what  ancestry ;  also  the  particulars  of 
his  elevation  to  the  episcopate,  and  the  means 
by  which  he  was  subsequently  degraded ;  and 
finally  how  he  was  more  honored  after  his  death, 
than  he  had  been  during  his  life. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Birth  and  Education  of  John  Bishop  of  Con- 
stantinoph\ 

John  was  a  native  of  Antioch  in  Syria-Coele, 
son  of  Secundus  and  Anthusa,  and  scion  of  a 
noble  family  in  that  country.  He  studied  rhet- 
oric under  Libanius  the  soj^hist,  and  philosophy 
under  Andragathius  the  philosopher.^  Being  on 
the  point  of  entering  the  i)ractice  of  civil  law, 
and  reflecting  on  the  restless  and  unjust  course 
of  those  who  devote  themselves  to  the  practice 
of  the  forensic  courts,  he  was  turned  to  the 
more  tranquil  mode  of  life,  which  he  adopted, 
following  the  example  of  Evagrius.-     Evagrius 

°  Cf.  Zosimus,  V.  3,  8,  10,  17,  18,  and  Eunapius,  Fragm.  53,  56. 

''    398  A.D. 

1  Sozomen  (VIII,  2)  also  says  that  Chrysostom  went  from  the 
school  of  Libanius  to  a  ])rivate  life  instead  of  the  legal  profession  as 
was  expected  of  him,  but  from  some  utterances  of  Libanius,  as  well 
as  from  Chrysostom's  own  representation,  de  Saccrdct.  I.  i.  4,  it 
appears  that  he  had  spent  some  time  in  the  practice  of  the  law. 

-  It  is  not  certain  who  this  Evagrius  was.  Valesius  thinks  he 
was  the  presbyter  of  that  name  mentioned  by  Jerome,  de  Scriptor, 
Eccl. 


VI.  4.] 


JOHN  CHRYSOSTOM  AND  SERAPION  THE  DEACON.  139 


himself  had  been  educated  under  the  same 
masters,  and  had  some  time  before  retired  to  a 
private  mode  of  hfe.  Accordingly  he  laid  aside 
his  legal  habit,  and  applied  his  mind  to  the 
reading  of  the  sacred  scriptures,  frequenting  the 
church  with  great  assiduity.  He  moreover  in- 
duced Theodore  and  Maximus,  who  had  been 
his  fellow-students  under  Libanius  the  sophist, 
to  forsake  a  profession  whose  primary  object 
was  gain,  and  embrace  a  life  of  greater  simplic- 
ity. Of  these  two  persons,  Theodore  afterwards 
became  bishop  of  Mopsuestia^  in  Cilicia,  and 
Maximus  of  Seleucia  in  Isauria.  At  that  time 
being  ardent  aspirants  after  perfection,  they 
entered  upon  the  ascetic  life,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Diodorus  ■*  and  Carterius,  who  then  pre- 
sided over  a  monastic  institution.  The  former 
of  these  was  subsequently  elevated  to  the  bish- 
opric of  Tarsus,  and  wrote  many  treatises,  in 
which  he  limited  his  attention  to  the  literal 
sense  of  scripture,  avoiding  that  which  was  mys- 
tical.'^ But  enough  respecting  these  persons. 
Now  John  was  then  li\-ing  on  the  most  inti- 
mate terms  with  Basil,*^  at  that  time  constituted 
a  deacon  by  Meletius,  but  afterwards  ordained 
bishop  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia.  Accord- 
ingly Zeno^  the  bishop  on  his  return  from  Jeru- 
salem, appointed  him  a  reader  in  the  church  at 
Antioch.  While  he  continued  in  the  capacity 
of  a  reader  he  composed  the  book  Against  the 
Je-ios.  Meletius  having  not  long  after  conferred 
on  him  the  rank  of  deacon,  he  produced  his 
work  On  the  Priesthood^  and  those  Against 
Stagirius ;  and  moreover  those  also  On  the 
Incomprehensibility  of  the  Divine  Nature,  and 
On  the  IVotnen'''  who  lived  with  the  Ecclesias- 


■'■  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  this  was  the  Theodore  ad- 
dressed in  II.  I,  VI.  Int.  and  VII.  47;  but  not  with  good  reason. 
Cf.  note  4,  p.  xii.  of  Int.  On  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  the  great 
'  Exegete '  and  theologian,  see  Smith  &  Wace;  also  .Sieflert,  Theo- 
dor.  Mflpsursteitus  I'd.  Test.  Sobrie  Interpret.  Viiidex  and 
H.  B.  Swete,  Theodori  Episc.  Mopsitestite  'va.Epp.B.  Paiili.  Coin- 
inentarii. 

■•  Sozomen  also  attests  the  simplicity  of  Diodorus'  interpretations 
of  the  Old  Testament.  The  principle  v/hich  he  adopted,  of  seeking 
for  a  literal  and  historical  meaning  in  preference  to  the  allegorical 
and  mystical  interpretations  attached  to  the  Old  Testament  by 
Origen  and  the  Alexandrians,  became  the  corner-stone  of  the  An- 
tiochian  system  of  interpretation  as  elaborated  by  his  pupils  Theo- 
dore of  Mopsuestia  and  Theodoret. 

o  deujpia?,  lit.  '  speculations,'  by  which  are  evidently  meant  the 
allegorical  and  subjective  or  contemplative  explanations  of  the  Alex- 
andrians. 

''  '  Socrates  and  Kurtz  (in  the  tenth  edition  of  his  Kircheit- 
gesckichte,  I.  223)  confound  this  Basil  with  Basil  the  Great  of 
Cappadocia,  who  was  eighteen  years  older  than  Chrysostom,  and 
died  in  379.  Chrysostom's  friend  was  probably  (as  Baronius  and 
Montfaucon  conjecture)  identical  with  Basil,  bishop  of  Raphanea  in 
Syria,  near  Antioch,  who  attended  the  Council  of  Constantinople  in 
381.'  Comp.  Venables  in  Smith  and  Wace;  .Schaff  in  Prolegomena 
to  Vol.  IX.  of  Tke  Nicene  and  Fost-Nicetie  Fathers,  p.  6,  note  2. 
The  conjecture  of  Baronius  is  assented  to  also  by  Valesius. 

'  According  to  Baronius,  this  Zeno  was  bishop  of  Tyre,  but 
Valesius  makes  an  ingenious  objection  to  this  view,  and  asserts  that 
some  other  city  must  have  been  the  real  see  of  Zeno. 

*  This  treatise,  commonly  termed  de  Sacerdotio,  and  the  Homi- 
lies are  the  most  famous  of  Chrysostom's  works:  for  a  full  account, 
as  well  as  translation,  of  these  works,  see  Nicetie  and  Post-Nicene 
Fathers,  Vol.  IX. 

"  These  were  women  who  lived  in  the  houses  of  the  clerg\'  as  sis- 
ters, and  exercised  themselves  in  works  of  piety  and  charity.  At  a  very 
early  period,  however,  scandal  seems  to  have  arisen  from  this  prac- 
tice, and  strong  measures  were  repeatedly  adopted  by  the  Church 


tics.  Afterwards,  upon  the  death  of  Meletius 
at  Constantinople,  —  for  there  he  had  gone  on 
account  of  Gregory  Nazianzen's  ordination,  — 
John  separated  himself  from  the  Meletians,  with- 
out entering  into  communion  with  Paulinus,  and 
spent  three  whole  years  in  retirement.  Later, 
when  Paulinus  was  dead,  he  was  ordained  a 
presbyter  by  Evagrius  the  successor  of  Pauli- 
nus. Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  John's  career 
previous  to  his  call  to  the  episcopal  office.  It 
is  said  that  on  account  of  his  zeal  for  temper- 
ance he  was  stern  and  severe ;  and  one  of  his 
early  friends  has  said  '  that  in  his  youth  he  mani- 
fested a  proneness  to  irritability,  rather  than  to 
modesty.'  Because  of  the  rectitude  of  his  life, 
he  was  free  from  anxiety  about  the  future, 
and  his  simplicity  of  character  rendered  him 
open  and  ingenuous  ;  nevertheless  the  liberty 
of  speech  he  allowed  himself  was  offensive  to 
very  many.  In  public  teaching  he  was  power- 
ful in  reforming  the  morals  of  his  auditors  ;  but 
in  private  conversation  he  was  frequently  thought 
haughty  and  assuming  by  those  who  did  not 
know  him. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Of  Serapion  the  Deacon  on  whose  Account  John 
becomes  Odious  to  his  Clergy. 

Being  such  in  disposition  and  manners,  and 
promoted  to  the  episcopacy,  John  was  led  to 
conduct  himself  toward  his  clergy  with  more 
than  proper  superciliousness,  designing  to  cor- 
rect the  morals  of  the  clergy  under  him.  Hav- 
ing thus  chafed  the  temper  of  the  ecclesiastics, 
he  was  disliked  by  them  \  and  so  many  of  them 
stood  aloof  from  him  as  a  passionate  man,  and 
others  became  his  bitter  enemies.  Serapion,  a 
deacon  of  his  retinue,  led  him  to  alienate  their 
minds  still  more  from  him  ;  and  once  in  pres- 
ence of  the  whole  assembled  clergy  he  cried  out 
with  a  loud  voice  to  the  bishop  — '  You  will  never 
be  able  to  govern  these  men,  my  lord,  unless  you 
drive  them  all  with  a  rod,'  This  speech  of.  his 
excited  a  general  feeling  of  animosity  against  the 
bishop  ;  the  bishop  also  not  long  after  expelled 
many  of  them  from  the  church,  some  for  one 
cause,  and  some  for  another.  And,  as  it  usually 
happens  when  persons  in  office  adopt  such  vio- 
lent measures,  those  who  were  thus  expelled  by 
him  formed  combinations  and  inveighed  against 
him  to  the  people.  What  contributed  greatly  to 
gain  credence  for  these  complaints  was  the  fact 
that  the  bishop  was  not  willing  to  eat  with  any 
one  else,  and  never  accepted  an  invitation  to  a 


for  their  suppression.  Paul  of  Samosata  was,  according  to  Eusebius 
{H .  E.  VII.  30),  deposed  partly  for  keeping  these  sisters  in  his 
house.  They  were  called  Syneisactse  (2ui'ei<TaKToi).  Cf.  Bingham, 
Christ.  Atiiiq.  XVII.  5.  20,  and  Council  of  Nicaea,  Can.  3. 
Hefele,  Hist.  c/Ch.  Councils,  Vol.  I.  p.  379. 


140 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.  4. 


feast.  On  account  of  this  the  plot  against  him 
became  widespread.  His  reasons  for  not  eating 
with  others  no  one  knew  with  any  certainty/  but 
some  persons  in  justification  of  his  conduct  state 
that  he  had  a  very  dehcate  stomach,  and  weak 
digestion,  which  obhged  him  to  be  careful  in  his 
diet,  and  therefore  he  ate  alone  ;  while  others 
thought  this  was  due  to  his  rigid  and  habitual 
abstinence.  Whatever  the  real  motive  may  have 
been,  the  circumstance  itself  contributed  not  a 
little  to  the  grounds  of  accusation  by  his  calum- 
niators. The  people  nevertheless  continued  to 
regard  him  with  love  and  veneration,  on  account 
of  his  valuable  discourses  in  the  church,  and 
therefore  those  who  sought  to  traduce  him,  only 
brought  themselves  into  contempt.  How  elo- 
quent, convincing,  and  persuasive  his  sermons 
were,  both  those  which  were  published  by  him- 
self, and  such  as  were  noted  down  by  short-hand 
writers  as  he  delivered  them,  why  should  we  stay 
to  declare  ?  Those  who  desire  to  form  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  them,  must  read  for  themselves, 
and  will  thereby  derive  both  pleasure  and  profit. 


CHAPTER   V. 

y^ohn  draws  down  upon  Himself  the  Displeasure 
of  Many  Persons  of  Rank  and  Power.  Of  the 
Eunuch  Eutropius. 

As  long  as  John  was  in  conflict  with  the  clergy 
only,  machinations  against  him  were  utterly  pow- 
erless ;  but  when  he  proceeded  to  rebuke  many 
of  those  in  public  office  also  with  immoderate 
vehemence,  the  tide  of  unpopularity  began  to 
set  against  him  with  far  greater  impetus.  Hence 
many  stories  were  told  to  his  disparagement. 
And  most  of  these  found  attentive  and  believing 
listeners.  This  growing  prejudice  was  not  a  little 
increased  by  an  oration  which  he  pronounced  at 
that  time  against  Eutropius.  For  Eutropius  was 
the  chief  eunuch  of  the  imperial  bed-chamber, 
and  the  first  of  all  eunuchs  that  was  admitted  to 
the  dignity  of  consul.  He,  desiring  to  inflict 
vengeance  on  certain  persons  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  churches,  induced  the  emperors 
to  make  a  law  ^  excluding  delinquents  from  the 
privilege  of  sanctuary,  and  authorizing  the  seizure 
of  those  who  had  sought  the  shelter  of  the  sa- 
cred edifices.     But  its  author  was  punished  for 

•  These  reasons  are  given  by  Palladius  as  follows:  'He  was 
accustomed  to  eat  alone,  as  I  partially  know,  for  these  reasons: 
first,  he  drank  no  wine  .  .  secondly,  his  stomach  was,  on  account  of 
certain  nifirmiiies,  irregular,  so  that  often  the  food  prepared  for  him 
was  repugnant,  and  other  food  not  put  before  him  was  desired. 
Again  he  at  times  neglected  to  eat,  lengthening  out  his  meal  until 
evening,  sometimes  being  absorbed  in  ecclesiastical  cares  and  some- 
times in  contemplation;  .  .  .  but  it  is  a  custom  with  table  companions 
if  we  do  not  relish  the  same  articles  of  food  which  they  do,  or  laugh 
at  uisignificant  witticisms  ...  to  make  this  an  occasion  of  ill-speech.' 
Palladius,  de  I'ita  S.  Joan/iis,  12. 

'  Sozomen  (VIII.  7)  says  that  this  law  was  rescinded  very  soon 
afterwards. 


this  almost  immediately  ;  for  scarcely  had  the 
law  been  promulgated,  before  Eutropius  himself, 
having  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  emperor, 
fled  for  protection  to  the  church."  The  bishop 
therefore,  while  Eutropius  trembling  with  fear 
lay  under  the  table  of  the  altar,  mounting  the 
pulpit'^  from  which  he  was  accustomed  to  ad- 
dress the  people  in  order  to  be  the  more  dis- 
tinctly heard,  uttered  an  invective  against  him  : 
wherefore  he  seemed  to  create  greater  displeasure 
in  some,  as  he  not  only  denied  compassion  to 
the  unfortunate,  but  added  insult  to  cruelty.  By 
the  emperor's  order  however,  for  certain  of- 
fences committed  by  him,  Eutropius,  though 
bearing  the  consulate,  was  decapitated,  and  his 
name  effaced  from  the  list  of  consuls,  that  of 
Theodore  his  colleague  being  alone  suffered  to 
remain  as  in  office  for  that  year.''  It  is  said  that 
John  afterwards  used  the  same  license  towards 
Gainas  also,  who  was  then  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army;  treating  him  with  characteristic 
rudeness,  because  he  had  presumed  to  request 
the  emperor  to  assign  the  Arians,  with  whom  he 
agreed  in  sentiment,  one  of  the  churches  within 
the  city.  Many  others  also  of  the  higher  orders, 
for  a  variety  of  causes,  he  censured  with  the  same 
unceremonious  freedom,  so  that  by  these  means 
he  created  many  powerful  adversaries.  Where- 
fore Theophilus  bishop  of  Alexandria,  immedi- 
ately after  his  ordination,  was  plotting  his  over- 
throw ;  and  concerted  measures  for  this  purpose 
in  secret,  both  with  the  friends  who  were  around 
him,  and  by  letter  with  such  as  were  at  a  dis- 
tance. For  it  was  not  so  much  the  boldness 
with  which  John  lashed  whatever  was  obnoxious 
to  him,  that  affected  Theophilus,  as  his  own  fail- 
ure to  place  his  favorite  presbyter  Isidore  in  the 
episcopal  chair  of  Constantinople.  In  such  a 
state  were  the  affiiirs  of  John  the  bishop  at  that 
time  ;  mischief  thus  threatened  him  at  the  very 
commencement  of  his  episcopate.  But  we  shall 
enter  into  these  things  more  at  large  as  we  pro- 
ceed, 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Gainas  the  Goth  attempts  to  usurp  the  Sovereign 
Poiver ;  after  filling  Constantinople  7vith  Dis- 
order, he  is  slain. 

1  SHALL  now  narrate  some  memorable  circum- 
stances that  occurred  at  that  period,  in  which  it 

2  See  also  Chrysostom,  Oral,  in  Eutropiicm,  1.  3  {Nicene  and 
Post-Nice7ie  Fathers,  Vol.  IX.  p.  251).  From  these  statements 
it  appears  that  Zosimus  is  in  error  when  he  says  (V.  18)  that  Eutro- 
pius was  seized  in  violation  of  the  law  of  sanctuarj'  and  taken  out 

of  the  church.     Chrysostom  assigns  his  seizure  to  a  time  when  he 
h.ad  left  the  church  for  some  purpose  or  other. 

•'  aw^l<)^,  high  reading-desk  from  which  the  Scriptures  were 
recited,  situated  toward  the  middle  of  the  church  and  distinguished 
from  tlie  altar,  where  the  main  service  of  worship  was  chanted. 
Hishops  were  accustomed  to  preach  from  the  steps  of  the  altar  (cf. 
Bingham,  C/irist.  Antiq.  VIII.  4.  5);  but  Chrysostom,  on  account 
of  his  little  stature,  as  some  say,  used  the  '  ambon '  as  a  pulpit. 

*    399  A.D. 


VI.  6.] 


THE    REBELLION    OF    GAIN  AS. 


141 


will  be  seen  how  Divine  Providence  interposed 
by  extraordinary  agencies  for  the  preservation 
of  the  city  and  Roman  empire  from  the  utmost 
peril.  Gainas  was  a  barbarian  by  extraction, 
but  after  becoming  a  Roman  subject,  and  hav- 
ing engaged  m  military  service,  and  risen  by 
degrees  from  one  rank  to  another,  he  was  at 
length  appointed  general-in-chief  both  of  the 
Roman  horse  and  foot.  When  he  had  obtained 
this  lofty  position,  he  forgot  his  position  and 
relations,  and  was  unable  to  restrain  himself, 
and  on  the  other  hand  according  to  the  common 
saying  '  left  no  stone  unturned '  in  order  to  gain 
control  of  the  Roman  government.  To  accom- 
plish this  he  sent  for  the  Goths  out  of  their  own 
country,  and  gave  the  principal  commissions  in 
the  army  to  his  relations.  Then  when  Tribi- 
gildus,  one  of  his  kinsmen  who  had  the  com- 
mand of  the  forces  in  Phrygia,  had  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Gainas  broken  out  into  open  revolt, 
and  was  filling  the  people  of  Phrygia  with  con- 
fusion and  dismay,  he  managed  to  have  deputed 
to  him  the  oversight  of  matters  in  the  disturbed 
province.  Now  the  Emperor  Arcadius  not  sus- 
pecting [any  harm]  committed  the  charge  of 
these  affairs  to  him.  Gainas  therefore  immedi- 
ately set  out  at  the  head  of  an  immense  number 
of  the  barbarous  Goths,  apparently  on  an  expe- 
dition against  Tribigildus,  but  with  the  real  in- 
tention of  establishing  his  own  unjust  domination. 
On  reaching  Phrygia  he  began  to  subvert  every- 
thing. Consequently  the  affairs  of  the  Romans 
were  immediately  thrown  into  great  consterna- 
tion, not  only  on  account  of  the  vast  barbarian 
force  which  Gainas  had  at  his  command,  but  also 
because  the  most  fertile  and  opulent  regions  of 
the  East  were  threatened  with  desolation.  In 
this  emergency  the  emperor,  acting  with  much 
prudence,  sought  to  arrest  the  course  of  the 
barbarian  by  address  :  he  accordingly  sent  him 
an  embassy  with  instructions  to  appease  him  for 
the  present  by  every  kind  of  concession.  Gainas 
having  demanded  that  Saturninus  and  Aurelian, 
two  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  senatorial 
order,  and  men  of  consular  dignity,  whom  he 
knew  to  be  unfavorable  to  his  pretensions, 
should  be  delivered  up  to  him,  the  emperor 
most  unwillingly  yielded  to  the  exigency  of  the 
crisis  :  and  these  two  persons,  prepared  to  die 
for  the  public  good,  nobly  submitted  themselves 
to  the  emperor's  disposal.  They  therefore  pro- 
ceeded to  meet  the  barbarian,  at  a  place  used 
for  horse-racing  some  distance  from  Chalcedon, 
being  resolved  to  endure  whatever  he  might  be 
disposed  to  inflict ;  but  however  they  suffered 
no  harm.  The  usurper  simulating  dissatisfaction, 
advanced  to  Chalcedon,  whither  the  emperor 
Arcadius  also  went  to  meet  him.  Both  then 
entered  the  church  where  the  body  of  the  mar- 
tyr Euphemia  is  deposited,  and  there   entered 


into  a  mutual  pledge  on  oath  that  neither 
would  plot  against  the  other.  The  emperor 
indeed  kept  his  engagement,  having  a  religious 
regard  to  an  oath,  and  being  on  that  account 
beloved  of  God.  Ikit  Gainas  soon  violated  it, 
and  did  not  swerve  from  his  original  pur- 
pose ;  on  the  contrary  he  was  intent  on  car- 
nage, plunder,  and  conflagration,  not  only 
against  Constantinople,  but  also  against  the  whole 
extent  of  the  Roman  empire,  if  he  could  by  any 
means  carry  it  into  effect.  The  city  was  accord- 
ingly quite  inundated  by  the  barbarians,  and  its 
residents  were  reduced  to  a  condition  equivalent 
to  that  of  captives.  Moreover  so  great  was  the 
danger  of  the  city  that  a  comet  of  prodigious 
magnitude,  reaching  from  heaven  even  to  the 
earth,  such  as  was  never  before  seen,  gave  fore- 
warning of  it.^  (iainas  first  most  shamelessly 
attempted  to  make  a  seizure  of  the  silver  pub- 
licly exposed  for  sale  in  the  shops  :  but  when 
the  proprietors,  advised  beforehand  by  report  of 
his  intention,  abstained  from  exposing  it  on  their 
counters,  his  thoughts  were  diverted  to  another 
object,  which  v/as  to  send  an  immense  body  of 
barbarians  at  night  for  the  purpose  of  burning 
down  the  palace.  Then  indeed  it  appeared  dis- 
tinctly that  God  had  providential  care  over  the 
city  :  for  a  multitude  of  angels  appeared  to  the 
rebels,  in  the  form  of  armed  men  of  gigantic 
stature,  before  whom  the  barbarians,  imagining 
them  to  be  a  large  army  of  brave  troops,  turned 
away  with  terror  and  departed.  "When  this  was 
reported  to  Gainas,  it  seemed  to  him  quite  in- 
credible—  for  he  knew  that  the  greatest  part  of 
the  Roman  army  was  at  a  distance,  dispersed  as 
a  garrison  over  the  Elastern  cities  —  and  he  sent 
others  on  the  following  night  and  repeatedly 
afterwards.  Now  as  they  constantly  returned 
with  the  same  statement —  for  the  angels  of  God 
always  presented  themselves  in  the  same  form  — 
he  came  with  a  great  multitude,  and  at  length 
became  himself  a  spectator  of  the  prodigy. 
Then  supposing  that  what  he  saw  was  really  a 
body  of  soldiers,  and  that  they  concealed  them- 
selves by  day,  and  baffled  his  designs  by  night, 
he  desisted  from  his  attempt,  and  took  another 
resolution  which  he  conceived  would  be  detri- 
mental to  the  Romans  ;  but  the  event  proved  it 
to  be  greatly  to  their  advantage.  Pretending  to 
be  under  demoniacal  possession,  he  went  forth 
as  if  for  prayer  to  the  church  of  S^.  John  the 
Apostle,  which  is  seven  miles  distant  from  the 
city.  Together  with  him  went  barbarians  who 
carried  out  arms,  having  concealed  them  in 
casks  and  other  specious  coverings.  And  when 
the  soldiers  who  guarded  the  city  gates  detected 
these,  and  would  not  suffer  them  to  pass,  the 
barbarians  drew  their  swords  and  put  them  to 


•  Cf.   Vergil,   Georg.  I. 
and  A  III.  X.  272-274. 


'Nee  diri  toties   arsere  cometse'; 


142 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.  6. 


death.  A  fearful  tumult  thence  arose  in  the  city, 
and  death  seemed  to  threaten  every  one  ;  never- 
theless the  city  continued  secure  at  that  time,  its 
gates  being  every  where  well  defended.  The 
emperor  with  timely  wisdom  proclaimed  Gainas 
a  public  enemy,  and  ordered  that  all  the  bar- 
barians who  remained  shut  up  in  the  city  should 
be  slain.  Thus  one  day  after  the  guards  of  the 
gates  had  been  killed,  the  Romans  attacked  the 
barbarians  within  the  walls  near  the  church  of 
the  Goths  —  for  thither  such  of  them  as  had 
been  left  in  the  city  had  betaken  themselves  — 
and  after  destroying  a  great  number  of  them, 
they  set  the  church  on  fire,  and  burnt  it  to  the 
ground.  Gainas  being  informed  of  the  slaughter 
of  those  of  his  party  who  did  not  manage  to  get 
out  of  the  city,  and  perceiving  the  failure  of  all 
his  artifices,  left  St.  John's  church,  and  advanced 
rapidly  towards  Thrace.  On  reaching  the  Cher- 
sonnese  he  endeavored  to  pass  over  from  thence 
and  take  Lampsacus,  in  order  that  from  that 
place  he  might  make  himself  master  of  the  East- 
ern parts.  As  the  emperor  had  immediately  dis- 
patched forces  in  pursuit  both  by  land  and  by 
sea,  another  wonderful  mterposition  of  Divine 
Providence  occurred.  For  while  the  barbarians, 
destitute  of  ships,  hastily  put  together  rafts  and 
were  attempting  to  cross  on  them,  suddenly  the 
Roman  fleet  appeared,  and  the  west  wind  began 
to  blow  hard.  This  afforded  an  easy  passage  to 
the  Romans ;  but  the  barbarians  with  their 
horses,  tossed  up  and  down  in  their  frail  barks 
by  the  violence  of  the  gale,  were  at  length 
overwhelmed  by  the  waves  ;  many  of  them  also 
were  destroyed  by  the  Romans.  In  this  manner 
during  the  passage  a  vast  number  of  the  bar- 
barians perished  ;  but  (jainas  departing  thence 
fled  into  Thrace,  where  he  fell  in  with  another 
body  of  the  Roman  forces  and  was  slain  by  them 
together  with  the  barbarians  that  attended  him.- 
Let  this  cursory  notice  of  Gainas  suffice  here. 

Those  who  may  desire  more  minute  details 
of  the  circumstances  of  that  war,  should  read 
The  Gdinea  of  Eusebius  Scholasticus,'*  who  was 
at  that  time  a  pupil  of  Troilus  the  sophist; 
and  having  been  a  spectator  of  the  war,  related 
the  events  of  it  in  an  heroic  poem  consisting  of 
four  books  ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  events  alhuled 
to  had  but  recently  taken  place,  he  accjuired  for 
himself  great  celebrity.  The  poet  Ammonius  has 
also  very  lately  composed  another  description 
in  verse  of  the  same  transactions,  which  he  re- 
cited before  the  emperor  in  the  sixteenth  con- 
sulate ^  of  Theodosius  the  younger,  which  he 
bore  with  Faustus. 


2  Cf.    an   account  of  Gainas    and  his   rebellion  in  Zosimus,  V. 

l8-22. 

"  On  the  surname  of  '  Scholasticus,'  sec  Introd.  p.  ix.  note  20, 
also  Macar.  Hotiiil.  15,  §  24.  On  Eusebius  Scholasticus,  see  Smith 
and  Wace,  Eusebius  (134)  Scholasticus. 

*    438  A.D. 


This  war  was  terminated  under  the  consulate 
of  Stilicho  and  Aurelian.'^  The  year  following," 
the  consulate  was  celebrated  by  Fravitus  also  a 
Goth  by  extraction,  who  was  honored  by  the  Ro- 
mans, and  showed  great  fidelity  and  attachment 
to  them,  rendering  important  services  in  this 
very  war.  For  this  reason  he  attained  to  the 
dignity  of  consul.  In  that  year  on  the  tenth  of 
April  there  was  born  a  son  to  the  Emperor  Arca- 
dius,  the  good  Theodosius. " 

But  while  the  affairs  of  the  state  were  thus 
troubled,  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  refrained 
not  in  the  least  from  their  disgraceful  cabals 
against  each  other,  to  the  great  reproach  of  the 
Christian  religion  ;  for  during  this  time  the  ec- 
clesiastics incited  tumults  against  each  other. 
The  source  of  the  mischief  originated  in  Eg}"pt 
in  the  following  manner. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Dissension  betiveen  Theophilus  Bishop  of  Alex- 
andria and  ilie  Monks  of  the  Desert.  Con- 
demnation of  Origen's  Books. 

The  question  had  been  started  a  little  before,^ 
whether  God  is  a  corporeal  existence,  and  has 
the  form  of  man  ;  or  whether  he  is  incorporeal, 
and  without  human  or,  generally  speaking,  any 
other  bodily  shape  ?  From  this  question  arose 
strifes  and  contentions  among  a  very  great  num- 
ber of  persons,  some  favoring  one  opinion  on 
the  subject,  and  others  patronizing  the  opposite. 
Very  many  of  the  more  simple  ascetics  as- 
serted that  God  is  corporeal,  and  has  a  human 
figure :  but  most  others  condemn  their  iudg- 
ment,  and  contended  that  (jod  is  incorporeal, 
and  free  of  all  form  whatever.  ■  With  these 
latter  Theo])hilus  bishop  of  Alexandria  agreed 
so  thoroughly  that  in  the  church  before  all  the 
people  he  inveighed  against  those  who  attrib- 
uted to  CJod  a  human  form,  expressly  teaching 
that  the  Divine  Being  is  wholly  incorporeal. 
When  the  Egyptian  ascetics  were  apprised  of 
this,  they  left  their  monasteries  and  came  to 
Alexandria  ;  where  they  excited  a  tumult  against 
the  bishop,  accusing  him  of  impiety,  and  threat- 
ening to  put  him  to  death.  Theophilus  becom- 
ing aware  of  his  danger,  after  some  considera- 
tion had  recourse  to  this  expedient  to  extricate 
himself  from  the  threatened  death.  Going  to 
the  monks,  he  in  a  conciliatory  tone  thus 
addressed  them  :  •  In  seeing  you,  I  behold 
the  face  of  God.'  The  utterance  of  this 
saying'    moderated    the    fury    of    these     men 

■'■'   400  A.D.  "   401  A.D. 

'  V>y  Audius  or  .Auda;us,  the  founder  of  the  Audian  heresy.  Cf. 
Epiphan.  Hter.  LXX.;  Walch,  Histor.  tier  Ketzereicn,  Vol.  III. 
p.  300;  also  Iselin,  Auiiios  mid  die  Audianer,  in  Jahrbiicher 
fiir  Protestant.  Tlieologie,  April,  1890,  p.  298  seq. 


VI.  7.] 


THE   TALL   MONKS. 


H3 


and  they  replied :  '  If  you  really  admit  that 
God's  countenance  is  such  as  ours,  anathema- 
tize Origen's  book  ;  -  for  some  drawing  argu- 
ments from  them  oppose  themselves  to  our 
opinion.  If  you  will  not  do  this,  expect  to  be 
treated  by  us  as  an  impious  person,  and  the 
enemy  of  God.'  '  But  as  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned,' said  Theophilus,  '  I  will  readily  do  what 
you  require  :  and  be  ye  not  angry  with  me,  for 
I  myself  also  disapprove  of  Origen's  works, 
and  consider  those  who  countenance  them  de- 
serving of  censure.'  Thus  he  succeeded  in  ap- 
peasing and  sending  away  the  monks  at  that 
time  ;  and  probably  the  whole  dispute  respect- 
ing this  subject  would  have  been  set  at  rest, 
had  it  not  been  for  another  circumstance  which 
happened  immediately  after.  Over  the  monas- 
teries in  Egypt  there  were  four  devout  persons 
as  superintendents  named  Dioscorus,  Ammonius, 
Eusebius,  and  Euthymius :  these  men  were 
brothers,  and  had  the  appellation  of  '  the  Tall 
Monks  '  given  them  on  account  of  their  stature. 
They  were  moreover  distinguished  both  for  the 
sanctitv  of  their  lives,  and  the  extent  of  their 
erudition,  and  for  these  reasons  their  reputation 
was  very  high  at  Alexandria.  Theophilus-  in 
particular,  the  prelate  of  that  city,  loved  and 
honored  them  exceedingly :  insomuch  that  he 
constituted  one  of  them,  Dioscorus,  bishop  of 
Hermopolis^  against  his  will,  having  forcibly 
drawn  him  from  his  retreat.  Two  of  the  others 
he  entreated  to  continue  with  him,  and  with 
difficulty  prevailed  upon  them  to  do  so ;  still  by 
the  exercise  of  his  authority  as  bishop  he  ac- 
complished his  purpose  :  when  therefore  he  had 
invested  them  with  the  clerical  office,  he  com- 
mitted to  their  charge  the  management  of 
ecclesiastical  affairs.  They,  constrained  by  neces- 
sity, performed  the  duties  thus  imposed  on  them 
successfully  ;  nevertheless  they  were  dissatisfied 
because  they  were  unable  to  follow  philosophical 
pursuits  and  ascetic  exercises.  And  as  in  process 
of  time,  they  thought  they  were  being  spiritu- 
ally injured,  observing  the  bishop  to  be  devoted 
to  gain,  and  greedily  mtent  on  the  acquisition 
of  wealth,  and  according  to  the  common  saying 
'  leaving  no  stone  unturned  '  for  the  sake  of  gain, 
they  refused  to  remain  with  him  any  longer, 
declaring  that  they  loved  solitude,  and  greatly 
preferred  it  to  living  in  the  city.  As  long  as  he 
was  ignorant  of  the  true  motive  for  their  depart- 
ure, he  earnestly  begged  them  to  abide  with 
him  ;  but  when  he  perceived  that  they  were 
dissatisfied  with  his  conduct,  he  became  exces- 
sively irritated,  and  threatened  to  do  them  all 
kinds  of  mischief.     But  they  making  little  ac- 

-  On  the  dispute  concerning  Origen's  views,  see  below,  chap.  13 

^  There  were  two  cities  named  Hermopolis  in  Eg\'pt;  the  most 

important  of  these  in  the  Thebaid  was  known  as  Hermopolis  proper, 

whereas  the  other  (the  one  here  alluded  to)  was  situated  in  lower 

Egypt  and  designated  Hermopolis  parva. 


count  of  his  menaces  retired  into  the  desert ; 
upon  which  Theophilus,  who  was  evidently  of  a 
hasty  and  malignant  temperament,  raised  not  a 
small  clamor  against  them,  and  by  every  con- 
trivance earnestly  sought  to  do  them  injury. 
He  also  conceived  a  dislike  against  their  brother 
Dioscorus,  bishop  of  Hermopolis.  He  was 
moreover  extremely  annoyed  at  the  esteem 
and  veneration  in  which  he  was  held  by 
the  ascetics.  Being  aware,  however,  that  he 
would  be  able  to  do  no  harm  to  these  persons 
unless  he  could  stir  up  hostility  in  the  minds  of 
the  monks  against  them,  he  used  this  artifice  to 
effect  it.  He  well  knew  that  these  men  in  their 
frequent  theological  discussions  with  him,  had 
maintained  that  the  Deity  was  incorporeal,  and 
by  no  means  had  a  human  form  ;  because  [they 
argued]  such  a  constitution  would  involve  the 
necessary  accompaniment  of  human  passions. 
Now  this  has  been  demonstrated  by  the  ancient 
writers  and  especially  Origen.  Theophilus,  how- 
ever, though  entertaining  the  very  same  opinion 
respecting  the  Divine  nature,  yet  to  gratify  his 
vindictive  feelings,  did  not  hesitate  to  pervert 
what  he  and  they  had  rightly  taught :  but  im- 
posed upon  the  majority  of  the  monks,  men 
who  were  sincere  but  '  rude  in  speech,'  ■*  the 
greater  part  of  whom  were  quite  illiterate. 
Sending  letters  to  the  monasteries  in  the  desert, 
he  advised  them  not  to  give  heed  either  to 
Dioscorus  or  to  his  brothers,  inasmuch  as  they 
affirmed  that  God  had  not  a  body.  '  Whereas,' 
said  he,  '  according  to  the  sacred  Scripture  God 
has  eyes,  ears,  hands,  and  feet,  as  men  have ; 
but  the  partisans  of  Dioscorus,  being  followers 
of  Origen,  introduce  the  blasphemous  dogma 
that  God  has  neither  eyes,  ears,  feet,  nor  hands.* 
By  this  sophism  he  took  advantage  of  the  sim- 
plicity of  these  monks  and  thus  a  hot  dissension 
was  stirred  up  among  them.  Such  as  had  a 
cultivated  mind  indeed  were  not  beguiled  by 
this  plausibihty,  and  therefore  still  adhere  tO' 
Dioscorus  and  Origen ;  but  the  more  ignorant 
who  greatly  exceeded  the  others  in  number, 
inflamed  by  an  ardent  zeal  without  knowledge, 
immediately  raised  an  outcry  against  their  breth- 
ren. A  division  being  thus  made,  both  parties 
branded  each  other  as  impious;  and  some  lis- 
tening to  Theophilus  called  their  brethren  '  Ori- 
genists,'  and  '  impious  '  and  the  others  termed 
those  who  were  convinced  by  Theophilus  '  An- 
thropomorphitce.'  On  this  account  violent  alter- 
cation arose,  and  an  inextinguishable  war  between 
the  monks.  Theophilus  on  receiving  intimation 
of  the  success  of  his  device,  went  to  Nitria 
where  the  monasteries  are,  accompanied  by  a 
multitude  of  persons,  and  armed  the  monks 
against  Dioscorus  and  his  brethren ;  who  being 

*  2  Cor.  xi.  6. 


144 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.  7. 


in  danger  of  losing  their  lives,  made  their  escape 
with  great  difficulty. 

While  these  things  were  in  progress  in  Egypt 
John  bishop  of  Constantinople  was  ignorant  of 
them,  but  flourished  in  eloquence  and  became 
increasingly  celebrated  for  his  discourses.  More- 
over he  first  enlarged  the  prayers  contained  in 
the  nocturnal  hymns,  for  the  reason  I  am  about 
to  assign. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  Avians  and  the  Supporters  of  the  '■  Homooii- 
sion '  hold  Nocturnal  Assemblies  and  sing 
Antiphonal  Hymns,  a  Species  of  Composition 
ascribed  to  Ignatius,  surnamed  Theophorus} 
Conflict  between  the  Two  Parties. 

The  Arians,  as  we  have  said,  held  their  meet- 
ings without  the  city.  As  often  therefore  as  the 
festal  days  occurred  —  I  mean  Saturday  -  and 
Lord's  day  —  in  each  week,  on  which  assemblies 
are  usually  held  in  the  churches,  they  congre- 
gated within  the  city  gates  about  the  public 
squares,  and  sang  responsive  verses  adapted  to 
the  Arian  heresy.  This  they  did  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  night :  and  again  in  the 
morning,  chanting  the  same  songs  which  they 
called  responsive,  they  paraded  through  the 
midst  of  the  city,  and  so  passed  out  of  the  gates 
to  go  to  their  places  of  assembly.  But  since 
they  did  not  desist  from  making  use  of  insulting 
expressions  in  relation  to  the  Homoousians, 
often  singing  such  words  as  these  :  '  Where  are 
they  that  say  three  things  are  but  one  power?' 
—  John  fearing  lest  any  of  the  more  simple 
should  be  drawn  away  from  the  church  by 
such  kind  of  hymns,  opposed  to  them  some 
of  his  own  people,  that  they  also  employing 
themselves  in  chanting  nocturnal  hymns, 
might  obscure  the  effort  of  the  Arians,  and  con- 
firm his  own  party  in  the  profession  of  their 
faith.  John's  design  indeed  seemed  to  be  good, 
but  it  issued  in  t\nnult  and  dangers.  For  as  the 
Homoousians  performed  their  nocturnal  hymns 
with  greater  display,  —  for  there  were  invented 
by  John  silver  crosses  for  them  on  which  lighted 
wax-tapers  were  carried,  provided  at  the  expense 
of  the  empress  Eudoxia,  —  the  Arians  who  were 
very  numerous,  and  fired  with  envy,  resolved  to 
revenge  themselves  by  a  desperate  and  riotous 
attack  upon  their  rivals.     For  from  the  remem- 


1  l=)6oifropo?  =  '  borne  by  God,'  used  in  the  sense  of  being  '  pos- 
sessed by  a  god,'  '  inspired,'  by  /Esch.  Agaiu.  1150;  but  here  '  borne 
in  the  arms  of  God  '  or  '  carried  by  God,'  and  applied  to  Ignatius 
because  tradition  made  him  the  very  child  whom  the  Saviour  '  took 
up  in  his  arms,'  and  set  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples.  Cf.  Mark  ix. 
36;  to  be  distinguished  therefore  from  ©eo^opos,  'bearing'  or 
'  carrying  a  god.' 

-  The  ancient  Christians  observed  the  Lord's  day  as  the  greatest 
day  of  the  week,  and  also  in  the  second  place  the  Jewish  .Sabbath  or 
Saturday.  See  Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  XX.  2,  on  the  Lord's 
day,  and  3,  on  the  Sabbath. 


brance  of  their  own  recent  domination,  they  were 
full  of  confidence  in  their  ability  to  overcome, 
and  of  contempt  for  their  adversaries.  Without 
delay  therefore,  on  one  of  these  nights,  they 
engaged  in  a  conflict ;  and  Briso,  one  of  the 
eunuchs  of  the  empress,  who  was  at  that  time 
leading  the  chanters  of  these  hymns,  was  wounded 
by  a  stone  in  the  forehead,  and  also  some  of  the 
people  on  both  sides  were  killed.  Wliereupon 
the  emperor  being  angered,  forbade  the  Arians 
to  chant  their  hymns  any  more  in  public.  Such 
were  the  events  of  this  occasion. 

We  must  now  however  make  some  allusion  to 
the  origin  of  this  custom  in  the  church  of  re- 
sponsive singing.  Ignatius^  third  bishop  of  An- 
tioch  in  Syria  from  the  apostle  Peter,  who  also 
had  held  intercourse  with  the  apostles  them- 
selves, saw  a  vision  of  angels  hymning  in  alter- 
nate chants  the  Holy  Trinity.  Accordingly  he 
introduced  the  mode  of  singing  he  had  observed 
in  the  vision  into  the  Antiochian  church  ;  whence 
it  was  transmitted  by  tradition  to  all  the  other 
churches.  Such  is  the  account  [we  have  re- 
ceived] in  relation  to  these  responsive  hymns. 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Dispute  betzueen  Theophilus  and  Peter  leading  to 
an  Attempt  on  the  Part  of  the  Former  to  de- 
pose 'jfohn  Bishop  of  Constantinople. 

Not  long  after  this,  the  monks  of  the  desert, 
together  with  Dioscorus  and  his  brothers,  came 
to  Constantinople.  There  was  also  with  them  Isi- 
dore,^ formerly  the  most  intimate  friend  of  the 
bishop  Theophilus,  but  then  become  his  bitterest 
enemy,  on  account  of  the  following  circumstance  : 
A  certain  man  named  Peter  was  at  that  time  the 
archpresbyter^  of  the  Alexandrian  church  ;  The- 
ophilus being  irritated  against  this  person,  de- 
termined to  eject  him  from  the  church ;  and  as 
the  ground  of  expulsion,  he  brought  the  charge 
against  him  of  having  admitted  to  a  participation 
of  the  sacred  mysteries,  a  woman  of  the  Mani- 
chcean  sect,  without  first  compelling  her  to  re- 
nounce her  Manich?ean  heresy.  As  Peter  in  his 
defence  declared,  that  not  only  had  the  errors 
of  this  woman  been  previously  abjured,  but  that 
Theophilus  himself  had  sanctioned  her  admis- 
sion to  the  eucharist,  Theophilus  became  indig- 
nant, as  if  he  had  been  grievously  calumniated  ; 
whereupon  he  affirmed  that   he  was  altogether 

•''  There  has  been  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  Socra- 
tes is  correct  in  here  ascribing  the  institution  of  responsive  chants  to 
Ignatius.  Valesius  doubts  Socrates'  accuracy,  but  other  authorities 
are  inclined  to  the  view  tliat  Ignatius  did  introduce  these  chants, 
and  Flavian  and  Diodorus,  during  the  reign  of  Constantine,  to 
whom  Valesius  ascribes  their  origin,  simply  developed  them.  Cf. 
Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  XIV.  i. 

'  For  an  account  of  Theophilus'  outrageous  treatment  of  Isidore, 
see  Palladius,  I'ita  S.  Joainiis  Chrysost.  chap.  6. 

2  See  Bingham,  Christ.  Aiitig.  II.  19.  18,  for  a  statement  of  the 
functions  of  this  office. 


VI.  II.] 


INTRIGUES    OF   THEOPHILUS. 


145 


unacquainted  with  the  circumstance.  Peter  there- 
fore summoned  Isidore  to  bear  witness  to  the 
bishop's  knowledge  of  the  facts  concerning  the 
woman.  Now  Isidore  happened  to  be  then  at 
Rome,  on  a  mission  from  Theophihis  to  Damasus 
the  prelate  of  the  imperial  city,  for  the  purpose 
of  affecting  a  reconciliation  between  him  and 
Flavian  bishop  of  Antioch  ;  for  the  adherents  of 
Meletius  had  separated  from  Flavian  in  detesta- 
tion of  his  perjury,  as  we  have  already  observed;' 
When  Isidore  had  returned  from  Rome,  and  was 
cited  as  a  witness  by  Peter,  he  deposed  that  the 
woman  was  received  by  consent  of  the  bishop  ; 
and  that  he  himself  had  administered  the  sacra- 
ment to  her.  Upon  this  Theophilus  became  en- 
raged and  in  anger  ejected  them  both.  This 
furnished  the  reason  for  Isidore's  going  to  Con- 
stantinople with  Dioscorus  and  his  brethren,  in 
order  to  submit  to  the  cognizance  of  the  em- 
peror, and  John  the  bishop,  the  injustice  and 
violence  with  which  Theophilus  had  treated  them. 
John,  on  being  informed  of  the  facts,  gave  the 
men  an  honorable  reception,  and  did  not  exclude 
them  from  communion  at  prayers,  but  postponed 
their  communion  of  the  sacred  mysteries,  until 
their  affairs  should  be  examined  into.  Whilst 
matters  were  in  this  posture,  a  false  report  was 
brought  to  Theophilus'  ears,  that  John  had  both 
admitted  them  to  a  participation  of  the  myster- 
ies, and  was  also  ready  to  give  them  assistance  ; 
wherefore  he  resolved  not  only  to  be  revenged 
on  Isidore  and  Dioscorus,  but  also  if  possible  to 
cast  John  out  of  his  episcopal  chair.  With  this 
design  he  wrote  to  all  the  bishops  of  the  various 
cities,  and  concealing  his  real  motive,  ostensibly 
condemned  therein  the  books  of  Origen  merely  : 
which  Athanasius,^  his  predecessor,  had  used  in 
confirmation  of  his  own  faith,  frequently  appeal- 
ing to  the  testimonv  and  authoritv  of  Origen's 
writings,  in  his  orations  against  the  Arians. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Epiphanius  Bishop  of  Cvpn/s  convenes  a  Synod 
to  coiuiann  tlic  Books  of  Origen.. 

He  moreover  renewed  his  friendship  with 
Epiphanius  ^  bishop  of  Constantia  in  Cyprus, 
with  whom  he  had  formerly  been  at  variance. 
For  Theophilus  accused  Epiphanius  of  enter- 
taining low  thoughts  of  God,  by  supposing  him 
to  have  a  human  form."     Now  although  The- 

^  See  above,  V.  15.  ^  Cf.  Athan.  de  Deer.  Nic.  27. 

1  There  were  thirty-five  bishops,  besides  several  presbyters  and 
laymen  of  some  distinction  in  the  ancient  church,  who  bore  the 
name  of  Epiphanius.  The  bishop  here  mentioned  is  the  most  illus- 
trious of  them  all,  being  the  author  of  the  well-known  treatise  de 
Heeres.  His  see  —  that  of  Constantia  in  Cyprus  —  was  the  old 
'  Salamis '  of  Acts  xiii.  5. 

2  It  seems  strange  that  Epiphanius  should  be  classed  with  the 
Anthropomorphitse  as  Epiphanius  himself  repudiates  their  views 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Jerome.  Cf.  Jerome,  ad  Paminach- 
ium,  2  et  seq.     Socrates  must  have  been  imposed  upon  by  some 


ophilus  was  really  unchanged  in  sentiment,  and 
had  denounced  those  who  thought  that  the  di- 
vinity was  human  in  form,  yet  on  account  of  his 
hatred  of  others,  he  openly  denied  his  own  con- 
victions ;  and  he  now  professed  to  be  friendly 
with  Epiphanius,  as  if  he  had  altered  his  mind 
and  agreed  with  him  in  his  views  of  God.  He 
then  managed  it  so  that  Epiphanius  by  letter 
should  convene  a  Synod  of  the  bishops  in 
Cyprus,  in  order  to  condemn  the  writings  of 
Origen.  Epiphanius  being  on  account  of  his 
extraordinary  piety  a  man  of  simple  mind  and 
manners  was  easily  influenced  by  the  letters  of 
Theophilus  :  having  therefore  assembled  a  coun- 
cil of  bishops  in  that  island,  he  caused  a  prohi- 
bition to  be  therein  made  of  the  reading  of  Ori- 
gen's works.  He  also  wrote  to  John,  exhorting 
him  to  abstain  from  the  study  of  Origen's  books, 
and  to  convoke  a  Synod  for  decreeing  the  same 
thing  as  he  had  done.  Accordingly  when  The- 
ophilus had  in  this  way  deluded  Epiphanius,  who 
was  famous  for  his  piety,  seeing  his  design  pros- 
per according  to  his  wish,  he  became  more 
confident,  and  himself  also  assembled  a  great 
number  of  bishops.  In  that  convention,  pur- 
suing the  same  course  as  Epiphanius,  he  caused 
a  like  sentence  of  condemnation  to  be  pro- 
nounced on  the  writings  of  Origen,  who  had 
been  dead  nearly  two  hundred  years  :  not  hav- 
ing this  as  his  first  object,  but  rather  his  pur- 
pose of  revenge  on  Dioscorus  and  his  brethren. 
John  paying  but  little  attention  to  the  commu- 
nications of  Epiphanius  and  Theophilus,  was 
intent  on  instructing  the  churches  ;  and  he 
flourished  more  and  more  as  a  preacher,  but 
made  no  account  of  the  plots  which  were  laid 
against  him.  As  soon,  however,  as  it  became 
apparent  to  every  body  that  Theophilus  was  en- 
deavoring to  divest  John  of  his  bishopric,  then 
all  those  who  had  any  ill-will  against  John,  com- 
bined in  calumniating  him.  And  thus  many  of 
the  clergy,  and  many  of  those  in  office,  and  of 
those  who  had  great  influence  at  the  court, 
believing  that  they  had  found  an  opportunity 
now  of  avenging  themselves  upon  John,  exerted 
themselves  to  procure  the  convocation  of  a 
Grand  Synod  at  Constantinople,  partly  by  send- 
ing letters  and  partly  by  dispatching  messengers 
in  all  directions  for  that  purpose. 

CHAPTER   XI. 

Of  Severian  and  Antiochiis  :    their  Disagree- 
ment from  John. 

The  odium  against  John  Chrysostom  was  con- 
siderably increased  by  another  additional  event 
as  follows  :  two  bishops  flourished  at  that  time, 

Origenist,  as  the  Origenists  were  accustomed  to  call  all  who  con- 
demned their  views  Anthropomorphitae.     Cf.  above,  chap.  7. 


146 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.  II. 


Syrians  by  birth,  named  Severian  and  Antiochus  ; 
Severian  presided  over  the  church  at  Gabala,  a 
city  of  Syria,  and  Antiochus  over  that  of  Ptole- 
mais  in  Phoenicia.  They  were  both  renowned 
for  their  eloquence ;  but  although  Severian  was 
a  very  learned  man,  he  did  not  succeed  in  using 
the  Greek  language  perfectly ;  and  so  while 
speaking  Greek  he  betrayed  his  Syrian  origin. 
Antiochus  came  first  to  Constantinople,  and  hav- 
ing preached  in  the  churches  for  some  time  with 
great  zeal  and  ability,  and  having  thus  amassed 
a  large  sum  of  money,^  he  returned  to  his  own 
church.  Severian  hearing  that  Antiochus  had 
collected  a  fortune  by  his  visit  to  Constantinople, 
determined  to  follow  his  example.  He  therefore 
exercised  himself  for  the  occasion,  and  having 
composed  a  number  of  sermons,  set  out  for  Con- 
stantinople. Being  most  kindly  received  by 
John,  to  a  certain  point,  he  soothed  and  flattered 
the  man,  and  was  himself  no  less  beloved  and 
honored  by  him :  meanwhile  his  discourses 
gained  him  great  celebrity,  so  that  he  attracted 
the  notice  of  many  persons  of  rank,  and  even 
of  the  emperor  himself.  And  as  it  happened  at 
that  time  that  the  bishop  of  Ephesus  died,  John 
was  obliged  to  go  to  Ephesus  for  the  purpose  of 
ordaining  a  successor.  On  his  arrival  at  that 
city,  as  the  people,  were  divided  in  their  choice, 
some  proposing  one  person,  and  some  another, 
John  perceiving  that  both  parties  were  in  a  con- 
tentious mood,  and  that  they  did  not  wish  to 
adopt  his  counsel,  he  resolved  without  much  ado 
to  end  their  dispute  by  preferring  to  the  bishop- 
ric a  certain  Heraclides,  a  deacon  of  his  own, 
and  a  Cypriot  by  descent.  And  thus  both  parties 
desisting  from  their  strife  with  each  other  had 
peace.-  Now  as  this  detention  [at  Ephesus] 
was  lengthened,  Severian  continued  to  preach 
at  Constantinople,  and  daily  grew  in  favor  with 
his  hearers.  C3f  this  John  was  not  left  ignorant, 
for  he  was  promptly  made  acquainted  with  what- 
ever occurred,  Serapion,  of  whom  we  have  be- 
fore spoken,'^  communicating  the  news  to  him 
and  asserting  that  the  church  was  being  troubled 
by  Severian ;  thus  the  bishop  was  aroused  to  a 
feeling  of  jealousy.  Having  therefore  among 
other  matters  deprived  many  of  the  Novatians 
and  Quartodecimans  of  their  churches,  he  re- 
turned to  Constantinople.'^     Here  he  resumed 


^  The  offerings  of  the  congregations  seem  to  have  been  divided 
usually  among  the  officiating  clergymen.  Cf.  Bingham,  Christ. 
Antiq.  v.  4.  I. 

-  in  another  version  of  this  eleventh  chapter  of  the  sixth  book, 
appended  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  book  in  the  Greek  text  of  Bright, 
instead  of  the  sentence  beginning  '  And  thus  both  parties,'  &c.  is 
found  the  following  more  consistent  statement:  'Inasmuch,  how- 
ever, as  on  this  account  a  tumult  arose  at  Epliesus,  on  the  ground 
that  Heraclides  was  not  worthy  of  the  bishopric,  it  became  neces- 
sary for  John  to  remain  in  Ephesus  for  a  long  time.' 

■'  The  alternative  version  inserts  here  the  following  sentence: 
'  And  who  was  very  much  beloved  by  John  and  had  been  intrusted 
with  the  whole  care  of  the  episcopal  administration,  on  accoimt  of 
his  piety  and  faithfulness  and  watchfidness  in  respect  to  details 
of  every  sort,  and  diligence  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  interests 
of  the  bishop.' 


himself  the  care  of  the  churches  under  his  own 
especial  jurisdiction.  But  Serapion's  arrogance 
no  one  could  bear ;  for  thus  having  won  John's 
unbounded  confidence  and  regard,  he  was  so 
puffed  up  by  it  that  he  treated  every  one  with 
contempt.  And  on  this  account  also  animosity 
was  inflamed  the  more  against  the  bishop.  On 
one  occasion  when  Severian  passed  by  him,  Sera- 
pion neglected  to  pay  him  the  homage  due  to  a 
bishop,  but  continued  seated  [instead  of  rising], 
indicating  plainly  how  little  he  cared  for  his  pres- 
ence. Severian,  unable  to  endure  patiently  this 
[supposed]  rudeness  and  contempt,  said  with  a 
loud  voice  to  those  present,  '  If  Serapion  should 
die  a  Christian,  Christ  has  not  become  incarnate.' 
Serapion,  taking  occasion  from  this  remark,  pub- 
licly incited  Chrysostom  to  enmity  against  Seve- 
rian :  for  suppressing  the  conditional  clause  of 
the  sentence,  '  If  Serapion  die  a  Christian,'  and 
saying  that  he  had  made  the  assertion  that '  Christ 
has  not  become  incarnate,'  he  brought  several 
witnesses  of  his  own  party  to  sustain  this  charge. 
But  on  being  Informed  of  this  the  Empress  Eu- 
doxia  severely  reprimanded  John,  and  ordered 
that  Severian  should  be  immediately  recalled 
from  Chalcedon  in  Bithynia.  He  returned  forth- 
with ;  but  John  would  hold  no  intercourse  what- 
ever with  him,  iior  did  he  listen  to  any  one  urging 

*  From  this  point  to  within  one  or  two  sentences  of  the  end  of 
the  chapter  the  parallel  version  is  so  difierent  at  times  that  it  will 
be  well  to  insert  it  entire  here  for  the  purpose  of  comparison.  It 
runs  thus:  '  Not  long  afterward  John  came  to  Constantinople  and 
assumed  himself  the  churches  which  belonged  to  his  jurisdiction. 
But  between  Serapion,  the  deacon,  and  Severian  there  had  arisen  a 
certain  coolness:  Serapion  was  opposed  to  Severian  because  the 
latter  seemed  desirous  of  excelling  John  in  public  speaking,  and 
Severian  was  jealous  of  Serapion  because  the  bishop  John  favored 
him,  and  the  care  of  the  bishopric  had  been  intrusted  to  him.  They 
being  thus  disposed  toward  one  another,  it  happened  that  the  evil  of 
hatred  was  increased  from  the  following  cause.  As  Severian  was 
passing  by  on  one  occasion  Serapion  did  not  render  him  the  homage 
due  to  a  bishop,  but  he  continued  silting;  whether  because  he  had 
not  noticed  him,  as  he  afterwards  affirmed  upon  oath  before  a  coun- 
cil, or  because  he  cared  little  for  him,  being  himself  the  vicegerent 
of  a  bishop,  as  Severian  asserted,  I  am  unable  to  say:  God  only 
knows.  At  the  time,  however,  Severian  did  not  tolerate  the  con- 
tempt: but  immediately,  and  in  anticipation  of  a  public  investigation 
before  a  council,  he  condemned  Serapion  upon  oath,  and  not  only 
declared  him  deposed  from  the  dignity  of  the  diaconate,  but  also 
put  him  out  of  the  church.  John  upon  learning  this  was  very  much 
grieved.  As  the  matter  afterwards  was  investigated  by  a  council 
and  Serapion  defended  himself  declaring  that  he  had  not  perceived 
[the  approach  of  the  bishop],  and  summoned  witnesses  to  the  fact, 
the  common  verdict  of  the  assembled  bishops  was  in  favor  of  ac- 
quitting him  and  urging  Severian  to  accept  the  apology  of  Serapion. 
The  Bishop  John,  for  his  part,  to  satisfy  Severian,  suspended  .Sera- 
pion from  the  diaconate  for  a  week:  although  he  used  him  in  all 
his  affairs  as  his  right  hand,  because  he  was  very  keen  and  diligent 
in  ecclesiastical  disputation.  Severian  however  was  not  satisfied 
with  these  measures,  but  used  all  means  to  effect  the  permanent 
deposition  of  Serapion  from  the  diaconate  and  his  excommunication. 
John  was  extremely  grieved  at  these  words  and  arose  from  the 
council,  leaving  the  adjudication  of  the  case  to  the  bishops  present, 
saying  to  them,  "  Do  you  examine  the  matter  in  hand  and  render 
judgment  according  to  your  own  conclusions:  as  for  me  I  resign 
my  part  in  the  arbitration  between  them."  These  things  having 
been  said  by  John  as  he  arose,  the  council  likewise  arose  and  left 
the  case  as  it  stood,  blaming  Severian  the  more  for  not  yielding  to 
the  request  of  the  Bishop  John.  After  this  John  never  received 
Severian  into  a  private  interview:  but  advised  him  to  return  to  his 
own  country,  communicating  to  him  the  following  message:  "It  is 
not  expedient,  Severian,"  said  he,  "that  the  parish  intrusted  to 
you  should  remain  for  sn  long  without  care  and  bereft  of  a  bishop: 
wherefore  hasten  and  take  charge  of  your  churches,  and  do  not 
neglect  the  gift  which  is  in  you."  As  he  now  prepared  for  his 
journey  and  started,  the  Empress  Eudoxia,  on  being  informed  of 
the  facts,'  &c.  From  this  point  the  variations  are  few,  verbal,  and 
unimportant. 


VI.  13.] 


EPIPHANIUS    OFFENDS    CHRYSOSTOM. 


147 


him  to  do  so,  until  at  length  the  Empress  Eu- 
doxia  herself,  in  the  church  called  The  Apostles, 
placed  her  son  Theodosius,  who  now  so  happily 
reigns,  but  was  then  quite  an  intant,  before  John's 
■  knees,  and  adjuring''*  him  repeatedly  by  the  young 
prince  her  son,  with  difficulty  prevailed  upon  him 
to  be  reconciled  to  Severian.  In  this  manner 
then  these  men  were  outwardly  reconciled  ;  but 
they  nevertheless  continued  cherishing  a  rancor- 
ous feeling  toward  each  other.  Such  was  the 
origin  of  the  animosity  [of  John]  against  Seve- 
rian. 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Epiphanius,  in  order  to  gratify  Theophilus,  per- 
forms Ordinations  at  Constantinople  witlioiit 
Jo/in's  Permission. 

Not  long  after  this,  at  the  suggestion  of  The- 
ophilus, the  bishop  Epiphanius  again  came  from 
Cyprus  to  Constantinople  ;  he  brought  also  with 
him  a  copy  of  the  synodical  decree  in  which 
they  did  not  excommunicate  Origen  himself, 
but  condemned  his  books.  On  reaching  St. 
John's  church,  which  is  seven  miles  distant 
from  the  city,  he  disembarked,  and  there  cele- 
brated a  service  ;  then  after  having  ordained  a 
deacon,^  he  again  entered  the  city.  In  com- 
plaisance to  Theophilus  he  declined  John's 
courtesy,  and  engaged  apartments  in  a  private 
house.  He  afterwards  assembled  those  of  the 
bishops  who  were  then  in  the  capital,  and  pro- 
ducing his  copy  of  the  synodical  decree  con- 
demnatory of  Origen's  works,  recited  it  before 
them  ;  not  being  able  to  assign  any  reason  for 
this  judgment,  than  that  it  seemed  fit  to  The- 
ophilus and  himself  to  reject  them.  Some  indeed 
from  a  reverential  respect  for  Epiphanius  sub- 
scribed the  decree  ;  but  many  refused  to  do  so  ; 
among  whom  was  Theotimus  bishop  of  Scythia, 
who  thus  addressed  Epiphanius  :  —  'I  neither 
choose,  Epiphanius,'  said  he,  '  to  insult  the 
memory  of  one  who  ended  his  life  piously  long 
ago  ;  nor  dare  I  be  guilty  of  so  impious  an  act, 
as  that  of  condemning  what  our  predecessors 
did  not  reject :  and  especially  when  I  know  of 
no  evil  doctrine  contained  in  Origen's  books.' 


5  The  ancients  often  swore  by  their  children,  e-specially  when 
they  wished  to  entreat  others  most  earnestly.  Cf.  Vergil,  .■En, -id,  VI. 
364,  ^  Per  caput  hoc  jiiro,  per  spent  surgentis  yitli.'  The  form 
of  abjuration  used  by  Eudoxia  was  probably  this:  '  By  this  little 
child  of  mine,  and  your  spiritual  son,  whom  I  brought  forth  and 
whom  you  received  out  of  the  sacred  font,  be  reconciled  to  Severian.' 
Valesius,  however,  doubts  the  reality  of  this  affair. 

1  It  was  contrary  to  the  canons  of  the  church  for  a  bishop  to 
ordain  a  presbyter  or  a  deacon  in  another's  diocese.  Cf.  Apostol. 
_Ca«.  35.  '  Let  not  a  bishop  dare  to  ordain  beyond  his  own  limits, 
m  cities  and  places  not  subject  to  him.  But  if  he  be  convicted  of 
domg  so  without  the  consent  of  those  persons  who  have  authority 
over  such  cities  and  places,  let  him  be  deposed,  and  those  also 
whom  he  has  ordained.'  Also  Cati.  16  of  the  Council  of  Nicaea:  '  If 
any  one  should  dare  to  steal,  as  it  were,  a  person  who  belongs  to 
another  [bishop],  and  to  ordain  him  for  his  own  church,  without 
permission  of  the  bishop  from  whom  he  was  withdrawn,  the  ordina- 
tion shall  be  void.' 


Having  said  this,  lie  brought  forward  one  of 
that  author's  works,  and  reading  a  few  passages 
therefrom,  showed  that  the  sentiments  pro- 
pounded were  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
orthodox  faith.  He  then  added,  'Those  who 
speak  evil  of  these  writings  are  unconsciously 
casting  dishonor  upon  the  sacred  volume  whence 
their  principles  are  drawn.'  Such  was  the  reply 
which  Theotimus,  a  bishop  celebrated  for  his 
piety  and  rectitude  of  life,  made  to  Epiphanius. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Atithor's  Defence  of  Origen) 

But  since  carping  detractors  have  imposed 
upon  many  persons  and  have  succeeded  in  deter- 
ring them  from  reading  Origen,  as  though  he 
were  a  blasphemous  writer,  I  deem  it  not  un- 
seasonable to  make  a  few  observations  respect- 
ing him.  Worthless  characters,  and  such  as  are 
destitute  of  ability  to  attain  eminence  them- 
selves, often  seek  to  get  into  notice  by  decrying 
those  who  excel  them.  And  first  Methodius, 
bishop  of  a  city  in  Lycia  named  Olympus, 
labored  under  this  malady ;  next  Eustathius, 
who  for  a  short  time  presided  over  the  church 
at  Antioch ;  after  him  Apollinaris  ;  and  lastly 
Theophilus.  This  quaternion  of  revilers  has 
traduced  Origen,  but  not  on  the  same  grounds, 
one  having  found  one  cause  of  accusation 
against  him,  and  another  another ;  and  thus 
each  has  demonstrated  that  what  he  has  taken 
no  objection  to,  he  has  fully  accepted.  For 
since  one  has  attacked  one  opinion  in  particular, 
and  another  has  found  fault  with  another,  it  is 
evident  that  each  has  admitted  as  true  what  he 
has  not  assailed,  giving  a  tacit  approbation  to 
what  he  has  not  attacked.  Methodius  indeed, 
when  he  had  in  various  places  railed  against 
Origen,  afterwards  as  if  retracting  all  he  had 
previously  said,  expresses  his  admiration  of  the 
man,  in  a  dialogue  which  he  entitled  Xeiwn? 
But  I  affirm  that  from  the  censure  of  these 
men,  greater  commendation  accrues  to  Origen. 
For  those  who  have  sought  out  whatever  they 
deemed  worthy  of  reprobation  in  him,  and  yet 
have  never  charged  him  with  holding  unsound 
views  respecting  the  holy  Trinity,  are  in  this 
way  most  distinctly  shown  to  bear  witness  to 
his  orthodox  piety :  and  by  not  reproaching 
him  on  this  point,  they  commend  him  by  their 
own  testimony.     But  Athanasius    the    defender 

'  The  views  of  Origen  met  with  opposition  from  the  very  outset. 
During  his  own  lifetime  he  was  condemned  at  Alexandria,  and  after 
his  death  repeatedly  until  541  .vd.,  and  perhaps  also  by  the  fifth 
general  council  held  at  Constantinople  in  553.  For  a  full  account 
of  the  Origenistic  Controversy,  see  Smith  and  Wace,  Diet.  0/ 
Christ.  Biog.  ajid  Antiq.,  art.  Origenistic  Controversies. 

-  '  The  house  of  entertainment  for  strangers.'  Methodius'  works 
were  in  the  literary  form  of  the  dialogue.  Cf.  his  Co/fr'iz'uin  decent 
I'irgiiuim  in  Migne's  Patrologia  Grceca,  V^ol.  XVIII. 


148 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


[VI.  13. 


of  the  doctrine  of  consubstantiality,  in  his  Dis- 
courses against  the  Arians;'  continually  cites 
this  author  as  a  witness  of  his  own  faith,  inter- 
weaving his  words  with  his  own,  and  saying, 
'The  most  admirable  and  assiduous  Origen,' 
says  he,  '  by  his  own  testimony  confirms  our 
doctrine  concerning  the  Son  of  God,  affirming 
him  to  be  co-eternal  with  the  Father.'  Those 
therefore  who  load  Origen  with  opprobrium, 
overlook  the  fact  that  their  maledictions  fall  at 
the  same  time  on  Athanasius,  the  eulogist  of  Ori- 
gen. So  much  will  be  enough  for  the  vindication 
of  Origen  ;  we  shall  now  return  to  the  course  of 
our  history. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Epiphanius  is  asked  to  meet  Jolin  ;  ofi  7-ef using 
he  is  admonished  concerning  his  Anticanofiical 
Proceedings ;  alarmed  at  this  he  leaves  Con- 
stantinople. 

John  was  not  offended  because  Epiphanius, 
contrary  to  the  ecclesiastical  canon,  had  made 
an  ordination  in  his  church  ;  ^  but  invited  him  to 
remain  with  him  at  the  episcopal  palace.  He, 
however,  replied  that  he  would  neither  stay  nor 
pray  with  him,  unless  he  would  expel  Dioscorus 
and  his  brethren  from  the  city,  and  with  his  own 
hand  subscribe  the  condemnation  of  Origen's 
books.  Now  as  John  deferred  the  performance 
of  these  things,  saying  that  nothing  ought  to  be 
done  rashly  before  investigation  by  a  general 
council,  John's  adversaries  led  Epiphanius  to 
adopt  another  course.  For  they  contrived  it  so 
that  as  a  meeting  was  in  the  church  named  The 
Apostles,  Epiphanius  came  forth  and  before  all 
the  people  condemned  the  books  of  Origen, 
excommunicated  Dioscorus  with  his  followers, 
and  charged  John  with  countenancing  them. 
These  things  were  reported  to  John  ;  whereupon 
on  the  following  day  he  sent  the  appended  mes- 
sage to  Epiphanius  just  as  he  entered  the  church  : 

'You  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  canons, 
Epiphanius.  In  the  first  place  you  have  made 
an  ordination  in  the  churches  under  my  jurisdic- 
tion :  then  without  my  appointment,  you  have 
on  your  own  authority  officiated  in  them.  More- 
over, when  heretofore  I  invited  you  hither,  you 
refused  to  come,  and  now  you  take  that  liberty 
yourself.  Beware  therefore,  lest  a  tumult  being 
excited  among  the  people,  you  yourself  should 
also  incur  danger  therefrom.' 

Epiphanius  becoming  alarmed  on  hearing 
these  admonitions,  left  the  church ;  and  after 
accusing  John  of  many  things,  he  set  out  on  his 
return  to  Cyprus.  Some  say  that  when  he  was 
about  to  depart,  he  said  to  John,  '  I  hope  that 

•■'  Athan.  de  Deer.  Nic.  27. 

1  See  above,  chap.  12  and  note  i. 


you  will  not  die  a  bishop '  :  to  which  John  re- 
plied, '  Expect  not  to  arrive  at  your  own  coun- 
try.' I  cannot  be  sure  that  those  who  reported 
these  things  to  me  spoke  the  truth  ;  but  never- 
theless the  event  was  in  the  case  of  both  as- 
prophesied  above.  For  Epiphanius  did  not 
reach  Cyprus,  having  died  on  board  the  ship 
during  his  voyage  ;  and  John  a  short  time  after- 
wards was  driven  from  his  see,  as  we  shall  show 
in  proceeding. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

John  is  expelled  from  his  Church  by  a  Synod 
held  at  Chalcedoji  on  account  of  his  Dispraise 
of  Women. 

When  Epiphanius  was  gone,  John  was  informed 
by  some  person  that  the  Empress  Eudoxia  had 
stimulated  Epiphanius  against  him.  And  being 
of  a  fiery  temperament,  and  of  a  ready  utter- 
ance, he  soon  after  pronounced  a  public  invec- 
tive against  women  in  general.  The  people 
readily  took  this  as  uttered  indirectly  against 
the  empress  and  so  the  speech  was  laicl  hold  of 
by  evil-disposed  persons,  and  reported  to  those 
in  authority.  At  length  on  being  informed  of 
it  the  empress  immediately  complained  to  her 
husband,  telling  him  that  the  insult  offered  to 
herself  was  equally  an  insult  against  him.  The 
emperor  therefore  authorized  Theophilus  to  con- 
voke a  Synod  without  delay  against  John ;  Se- 
verian  also  co-operated  in  promoting  this,  for  he 
still  retained  his  grudge  against  Chrysostom. 
Not  long  time  accordingly  intervened  before 
Theophilus  arrived,  having  induced  several 
bishops  from  different  cities  to  accompany  him  ; 
these  however  had  been  summoned  by  the  em- 
peror's orders  also.  Many  of  the  bishops  in 
Asia  John  had  deposed  when  he  went  to  Ephesus 
and  ordained  Heraclides.  Accordingly  they  all 
by  previous  agreement  assembled  at  Chalcedon 
in  Bithynia.  Cyrinus  was  at  that  time  bishop  of 
Chalcedon,  an  Egyptian  by  birth,  who  said  many 
things  to  the  bishops  in  disparagement  of  John, 
denouncing  him  as  '  the  impious,'  '  the  haughty,' 
'  the  inexorable.'  They  indeed  were  very  much 
satisfied  at  these  denunciations.  But  Maruthas 
bishop  of  Mesopotamia  having  involuntarily  trod 
on  Cyrinus'  foot,  he  was  severely  hurt  by  it  and 
was  mial)le  to  embark  with  the  rest  for  Constanti- 
nople, but  remained  behind  at  Chalcedon.  The 
rest  crossed  over.  Now  Theophilus  had  so 
openly  avowed  his  hostility  to  John,  that  none 
of  the  clergy  would  go  forth  to  meet  him,  or 
pay  him  the  least  honor ;  but  some  Alexandrian 
sailors  happening  to  be  on  the  spot  —  for  at  that 
time  the  grain  transporting  vessels  were  there  — 
greeted  him  with  joyful  acclamations.  He  ex- 
cused  himself  from    entering   the    church,  and 


VI.  17.]   CHRYSOSTOM  CONDEMNED,  BANISHED,  AND  RECALLED.    149 


took  up  his  abode  at  one  of  the  imperial  man- 
sions called  '  The  Placidian.'  Then  on  this  ac- 
count a  torrent  of  accusations  began  to  be 
poured  forth  against  John  ;  for  no  mention 
was  now  made  of  Origen,  but  all  were  intent 
on  urging  a  variety  of  criminations,  many  of 
which  were  ridiculous.  Preliminary  matters 
being  thus  settled,  the  bishops  were  convened 
in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Chalcedon,  a  place 
called  '  The  Oak,'  ^  and  immediately  cited 
John  to  answer  the  charges  which  were  brought 
against  him.  He  also  summoned  Serapion 
the  deacon ;  Tigris  the  eunuch  presbyter, 
and  Paul  the  reader,  were  likewise  summoned 
to  appear  there  with  him,  for  these  men  were 
included  in  the  impeachments,  as  participators 
in  his  guilt.  And  since  John  taking  exception 
to  those  who  had  cited  him,  on  the  ground  of 
their  being  his  enemies,  refused  to  attend,^  and 
demanded  a  general  council,  without  delay  they 
repeated  their  citation  four  times  in  succession  ; 
and  as  he  persisted  in  his  refusal  to  meet  them 
as  his  judges,  always  giving  the  same  answer, 
they  condemned  him,  and  deposed  him  without 
assigning  any  other  cause  for  his  deposition  but 
that  he  refused  to  obey  the  summons.  This 
decision  on  being  announced  towards  evening, 
incited  the  people  to  a  most  alarming  sedition  ; 
insomuch  that  they  kept  watch  all  night,  and 
would  by  no  means  suffer  him  to  be  removed 
from  the  church,  but  cried  out  that  his  cause 
ought  to  be  determined  in  a  larger  assembly. 
A  decree  of  the  emperor,  however,  commanded 
that  he  should  be  immediately  expelled,  and  sent 
into  exile  ;  which  as  soon  as  John  was  apprised 
of,  he  voluntarily  surrendered  himself  about  noon 
unknown  to  the  populace,  on  the  third  day  after 
his  condemnation  :  for  he  dreaded  any  insurrec- 
tionary movement  on  his  account,  and  was  ac- 
cordingly led  away. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Sedition  on  Account  of  John  Chrysostom's  Ban- 
ishment.    He  is  recalled. 

The  people  then  became  intolerably  tumult- 
uous ;  and  as  it  frequently  happens  in  such 
cases,  many  who  before  were  adversely  disposed 
against  him,  now  changed  their  hostility  into 
compassion,  and  said  of  him  whom  they  had  so 
recently  desired  to  see  deposed,  that  he  had  been 
traduced.  By  this  means  therefore  they  became 
very  numerous  who  exclaimed  against  both  the 
emperor  and  the  Synod  of  bishops ;  but  the  ori- 


'  Hence  this  is  called  the  Synod  at  '  the  Oak  '  {Synodns  ad 
Quercuiit).  See  Hefele,  History  of  ike  Church  Councils,  Vol. 
II.  p.  430. 

-  For  a  similar  action  of  Athanasius  based  on  the  same  reason, 
see  I.  31. 


gin  of  the  intrigue  they  more  particularly  referred 
to  Theophilus.  For  his  fraudulent  conduct  could 
no  longer  be  concealed,  being  exposed  Ijy  many 
other  indications,  and  especially  by  the  fact  of 
his  having  held  communion  with  ]  )ioscorus,  and 
those  termed  '  the  Tall  Monks,'  ^  immediately 
after  John's  deposition.  ]5ut  Severian  preaching 
in  the  church,  and  thinking  it  a  suitable  occasion 
to  declaim  against  John,  said  :  '  If  John  had  been 
condemned  for  nothing  else,  yet  the  haughtiness 
of  his  demeanor  was  a  crime  sufficient  to  justify 
his  deposition.  Men  indeed  are  forgiven  all 
other  sins  :  but  "  God  resisteth  the  proud,"  ^  as 
the  Divine  Scriptures  teach  us.'  These  reproaches 
made  the  people  still  more  inclined  to  opposi- 
tion ;  so  that  the  emperor  gave  orders  for  his 
immediate  recall.  Accordingly  Briso  a  eunuch 
in  the  service  of  the  empress  ^  was  sent  after  him, 
who  finding  him  at  Prsenetum  —  a  commercial 
town  situated  over  against  Nicomedia  —  brought 
him  back  toward  Constantinople.  And  as  he 
had  been  recalled,  John  refused  to  enter  the 
city,  declaring  he  would  not  do  so  until  his  in- 
nocence had  been  admitted  by  a  higher  tribunal. 
Thus  he  remained  at  a  suburb  called  Marianae. 
Now  as  he  delayed  at  that  place  the  commotion 
increased,  and  caused  the  people  to  break  forth 
into  very  indignant  and  opprobrious  language 
against  their  rulers,  wherefore  to  check  their 
fury  John  was  constrained  to  proceed.  On  his 
way  a  vast  multitude,  with  veneration  and  honor, 
conducted  him  immediately  to  the  church  ;  there 
they  entreated  him  to  seat  himself  in  the  episco- 
pal chair,  and  give  them  his  accustomed  bene- 
diction. When  he  sought  to  excuse  himself, 
saying  that  '  this  ought  to  be  brought  about  by 
an  order  from  his  judges,  and  that  those  who 
condemned  him  must  first  revoke  their  sentence,' 
they  were  only  the  more  inflamed  with  the  desire 
of  seeing  him  reinstated,  and  of  hearing  him  ad- 
dress them  again.  The  people  finally  prevailed 
on  him  to  resume  his  seat,  and  pray  as  usual  for 
peace  upon  them  ;  after  which,  acting  under  the 
same  constraint,  he  preached  to  them.  This 
compliance  on  John's  part  afforded  his  adversa- 
ries another  ground  of  crimination  ;  but  respect- 
ing this  they  took  no  action  at  that  time. 


CHAPTER   XVn. 

Co7iflict  betiueen  the  Constaiitinopolitans  and 
Alexandrians  on  Account  of  Heraclides ; 
Flight  of  Theophilus  and  the  Bishops  of  his 
Party. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  Theophilus  attempted 
to  investigate  the  case  of  the  ordination  of  Her- 


'  See  above,  chap.  7. 
3  Chap.  8. 


"  I  Pet.  V.  5:  James  iv.  6. 


i50 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.  17. 


aclides/  that  thereby  he  might  if  possible  find  oc- 
casion of  again  deposing  John.  HeracHdes  was 
not  present  at  this  scrutiny.  He  was  neverthe- 
less judged  in  his  absence,  on  the  charge  of 
-having  unjustly  beaten  some  persons,  and  after- 
wards dragged  them  in  chains  through  the  midst 
of  the  city  of  Ephesus.  As  John  and  his  ad- 
herents remonstrated  against  the  injustice  of 
passing  sentence  upon  an  absent  person,  the 
Alexandrians  contended  that  they  ought  to  hear 
the  accusers  of  Heraclides,  although  he  was  not 
present.  A  sharp  contest  therefore  ensued  be- 
tween the  Alexandrians  and  the  Constantinopoli- 
tans,  and  a  riot  arose  whereby  many  persons  were 
wounded,  and  some  were  killed.  Theophilus, 
seeing  what  was  done,  fled  to  Alexandria  with- 
out ceremony ;  and  the  other  bishops,  except 
the  few  who  supported  John,  followed  his  ex- 
ample, and  returned  to  their  respective  sees. 
After  these  transactions,  Theophilus  was  de- 
graded in  every  one's  estimation :  but  the 
odium  attacheci  to  him  was  exceedingly  in- 
creased by  the  shameless  way  in  which  he  con- 
tinued to  read  Origen's  works.  And  when  he 
was  asked  why  he  thus  countenanced  what  he 
had  publicly  condemned,  he  repUed,  '  Origen's 
books  are  like  a  meadow  enameled  with  flowers 
of  every  kind.  If,  therefore,  I  chance  to  find  a 
beautiful  one  among  them,  I  cull  it :  but  what- 
ever appears  to  me  to  be  thorny.  I  step  over,  as 
that  which  would  prick.'  But  Theophilus  gave 
this  answer  without  reflecting  on  the  saying  of 
the  wise  Solomon,-  that  '  the  words  of  the  wise 
are  as  goads  ' ;  and  those  who  are  pricked  by 
the  precepts  they  contain,  ought  not  to  kick 
against  them.  For  these  reasons  then  Theoph- 
ilus was  held  in  contempt  by  all  men.  Dios- 
corus  bishop  of  Hermopolis,  one  of  those  termed 
'the  Tall  Monks,'  died  a  short  time  after  the 
flight  of  Theophilus,  and  was  honored  with  a 
magnificent  funeral,  being  interred  in  the  church 
at  '  The  Oak,'  where  the  Synod  was  convened 
on  John's  account.  John  meanwhile  was  sedu- 
lously employed  in  preaching.  He  ordained 
Serapion  bishop  of  Heraclea  in  Thrace,  on 
whose  account  the  odium  against  himself  had 
been  raised.  Not  long  after  the  following 
events  occurred. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Of  Eudoxia's  Silver  Statue.      On  account  of  it 
.   John  is  exiled  a  Second  Time. 

At  this  time  a  silver  statue  of  the  Empre.ss 
Eudoxia  covered  with  a  long  robe  was  erected ' 


>  Sec  above,  chap.  11.  2  Eccl.  .\ii.  11. 

1  From  Prosper  Aquitamus  and  Marcellinus'  Chronkoi,  we  learn 
that  this  was  done  in  403  a.d.,  or  rather  the  consulship  of  Theodo- 
siiis  the  younger  and  Rumoridius. 


upon  a  column  of  porphyry  supported  by  a  lofty 
base.  And  this  stood  neither  near  nor  far  from 
the  church  named  Sophia,  but  one-half  the 
breadth  of  the  street  separated  them.  At  this 
statue  public  games  were  accustomed  to  be  per- 
formed ;  these  John  regarded  as  an  insult  offered 
to  the  church,  and  having  regained  his  ordinary 
freedom  and  keenness  of  tongue,  he  employed 
his  tongue  against  those  who  tolerated  them. 
Now  while  it  would  have  been  proper  to  induce 
the  authorities  by  a  supplicatory  petition  to  dis- 
continue the  games,  he  did  not  do  this,  but  em- 
ploying abusive  language  he  ridiculed  those  who 
had  enjoined  such  practices.  The  empress  once 
more  applied  his  expressions  to  herself  as  indi- 
cating marked  contempt  toward  her  own  person  : 
she  therefore  endeavored  to  procure  the  convo- 
cation of  another  council  of  bishops  against  him. 
When  John  became  aware  of  this,  he  delivered 
in  the  church  that  celebrated  oration  commenc- 
ing with  these  words  :  -  '  Again  Herodias  raves  ; 
again  she  is  troubled  ;  she  dances  again ;  and 
again  desires  to  receive  John's  head  in  a  charger.' 
This,  of  course,  exasperated  the  empress  still 
more.  Not  long  after  the  following  bishops 
arrived :  Leontius  bishop  of  Ancyra  in  Asia, 
Ammonius  of  Laodicea  in  Pisidia,  Briso  of  Phi- 
lippi  in  Thrace,  Acacius  of  Beroea  in  Syria,  and 
some  others.  John  presented  himself  fearlessly 
before  them,  and  demanded  an  investigation  of 
the  charges  which  were  made  against  him.  But 
the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  having 
recurred,  the  emperor  would  not  attend  church 
as  usual,  but  sent  Chrysostom  a  message  to  the 
eftect  that  he  should  not  partake  of  the  commun- 
ion with  him  until  he  had  cleared  himself  of  the 
crimes  v>'ith  which  he  stood  impeached.  Now 
as  John  maintained  a  bold  and  ardent  bearing, 
and  his  accusers  seemed  to  grow  faint-hearted, 
the  bishops  present,  setting  aside  all  other  mat- 
ters, said  they  would  confine  themselves  to  this 
sole  consideration,  that  he  had  on  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, after  his  deposition,  again  seated 
himself  in  the  episcopal  chair,  without  being 
authorized  by  an  ecclesiastical  council.  As  he 
alleged  that  sixty-five  bishops  who  had  held 
communion  with  him  had  reinstated  him,  the 
partisans  of  Leontius  objected,  saying  :  '  A  larger 
number  voted  against  you,  John,  in  the  Synod.' 
But  although  John  then  contended  that  this  was 
a-  canon  of  the  Arians,  and  not  of  the  catholic 
church,  and  therefore  it  was  inoperative  against 
him  —  for  it  had  been  framed  in  the  council  con- 
vened against  Athanasius  at  Antioch,  for  the  sub- 
version of  the  doctrine  of   consubstantiality "  — 


-  This  discourse  entitled  '  In  decoUationetu  Pr<eci4rsoris  et 
hapiistre  yoattnis'  is  to  be  found  in  Migne's  Patrologia  Gracia, 
Vol.  I.TV.  p.  48^,  and  in  Savile's  edition  of  Chry  sostom's  works, 
Vol.  VII.  545.  Savile,  however,  places  it  among  the  spurious  pieces, 
and  considers  it  unworthy  of  the  genius  of  Chrysostom. 

3  Cf.  II.  8. 


VI.  21.]        FINAL  BANISHMENT  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRYSOSTOM.        151 


the  bishops  would  not  listen  to  liis  defence,  but 
immediately  condemned  him,  without  consider- 
ing that  by  using  this  canon  they  were  sanction- 
ing the  deposition  of  Athanasius  himself.  This 
sentence  was  pronounced  a  little  before  Easter ; 
the  emperor  therefore  sent  to  tell  John  that  he 
could  not  go  to  the  church,  because  two  Synods 
had  condemned  him.  Accordingly  Chrysostom 
was  silenced,  and  went  no  more  to  the  church  ; 
but  those  who  were  of  his  j^arty  celebrated 
Easter  in  the  public  baths  which  are  called  Con- 
stantianse,  and  thenceforth  left  the  church.  Among 
them  were  many  bishops  and  presbyters,  with 
others  of  the  clerical  order,  wlio  from  that  time 
held  their  assemblies  apart  in  various  places, 
and  were  from  him  denominated  '  Johannites.' 
For  the  space  of  two  months,  John  refrained 
from  appearing  in  public  ;  after  which  a  decree 
of  the  emperor  sent  him  into  exile.  Thus 
he  was  led  into  exile  by  force,  and  on  the  very 
day  of  his  departure,  some  of  the  Johannites  set 
fire  to  the  church,  which  by  means  of  a  strong 
easterly  wind,  communicated  with  the  senate- 
house.  This  conflagration  happened  on  the 
20th  of  June,  under  the  sixth  consulate  of 
Honorius,  which  he  bore  in  conjunction  with 
Aristsenetus.*  The  severities  which  Optatus,  the 
prefect  of  Constantinople,  a  pagan  in  religion, 
and  a  hater  of  the  Christians,  inflicted  on  John's 
friends,  and  how  he  put  many  of  them  to  death 
on  account  of  this  act  of  incendiarism,  I  ought, 
I  beheve,  to  pass  by  in  silence.* 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Ordination    of  Arsaciiis  as  John^s    Successor. 
Indisposition  of  Cyri?ius  Bishop  of  Chalccdon. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  Arsacius  was 
ordained  bishop  of  Constantinople  ;  he  was  a 
brother  of  Nectarius  who  so  ably  administered 
the  see  before  John,  although  he  was  then  very 
aged,  being  upwards  of  eighty  years  old.  While 
he  very  mildly  and  peacefully  administered  the 
episcopate,  Cyrinus  bishop  of  Chalcedon,  upon 
whose  foot  Maruthas  bishop  of  Mesopotamia 
had  inadvertently  trodden,  became  so  seriously 
affected  by  the  accident,  that  mortification  en- 
sued, and  it  became  necessary  to  amputate  his 
foot.  Nor  was  this  amputation  performed  once 
only,  but  was  required  to  be  often  repeated  : 
for  after  the  injured  limb  was  cut  off,  the  evil  so 
permeated  his  whole  system,  that  the  other  foot 
also  having  become  affected  by  the  disease  had 
to   submit   to   the    same    operation.^      I    have 

*   404  A.D. 

"  Some  of  these  details  presumably  are  given  by  Sozomen  in 
VIII.  23  and  24. 

1  Palladius  makes  mention  of  this  case  without,  however, jaam- 
ing  Cyrinus.  Cf.  Vit.  S.  Joau.  Chrysostom,  chap.  17  (Vol.  XIII. 
p.  63  A.  of  Benedictine  ed.  of  Chrj-sostom). 


alluded  to  this  circumstance,  because  many  have 
affirmed  that  what  he  suffered  was  a  judgment 
upon  him  for  his  calumnious  aspersions  of  John, 
whom  he  so  often  designated  as  arrogant  and 
inexorable,^  as  I  have  already  said.^  Further- 
more as  on  tlie  30th  of  September,  in  the  last- 
mentioned  consulate,'*  there  was  an  extraordinary 
fall  of  hail  of  immense  size  at  Constantinople 
and  its  suburbs,  it  also  was  declared  to  be  an 
expression  of  Divine  indignation  on  account  of 
Chrysostom's  unjust  deposition  :  and  the  death 
of  the  empress  tended  to  give  increased  credi- 
bility to  these  reports,  for  it  took  place  four  days 
after  the  hail-storm.  Others,  however,  asserted 
that  John  had  been  deservedly  deposed,  because 
of  the  violence  he  had  exercised  in  Asia  and 
Lydia,  in  depriving  the  Novatians  and  Quarto- 
decimans  of  many  of  their  churches,  when  he 
went  to  Ephesus  and  ordained  Heraclides.  But 
whether  John's  deposition  was  just,  as  his 
enemies  declare,  or  Cyrinus  suffered  in  chastise- 
ment for  his  slanderous  revilings  ;  whether  the 
hail  fell,  or  the  empress  died  on  John's  account, 
or  whether  these  things  happened  for  other 
reasons,  or  for  these  in  connection  with  others, 
God  only  knows,  who  is  the  discerner  of  secrets, 
and  the  just  judge  of  truth  itself.  I  have  simply 
recorded  the  reports  which  were  current  at  that 
time. 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Death  of  Arsacius,  and  Ordination  of  Atticus. 

But  Arsacius  did  not  long  survive  his  acces- 
sion to  the  bishopric;  for  he  died  on  the  nth 
of  November  under  the  following  consulate, 
which  was  Stilicho's  second,  and  the  first  of  An- 
themius.^  In  consequence  of  the  fact  that  the 
bishopric  became  desirable  and  many  aspired 
to  the  vacant  see,  much  time  elapsed  before  the 
election  of  a  successor  :  but  at  length  in  the 
following  consulate,  which  was  the  sixth  of 
Arcadius,  and  the  first  of  Probus,-  a  devout  man 
named  Atticus  was  promoted  to  the  episcopate. 
He  was  a  native  of  Sebastia  in  Armenia,  and 
had  followed  an  ascetic  life  from  an  early  age  : 
moreover  in  addition  to  a  moderate  share  of 
learning,  he  possessed  a  large  amount  of  natural 
prudence.  But  I  shall  speak  of  him  more  par- 
ticularly a  little  later.^ 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

John  dies  in  Exile. 

John  taken  into  exile  died  in  Coraana  on  the 
Euxine,  on  the  14th  of  September,  in  the  following 


-  a-^ovnTov,  lit.  ==  '  kneeless.' 

1  40;  A.D. 

3  Cf.  chap.  15,  above. 

-   406  A.D. 

*  404  A.D. 

3    Cf.  VII.  2. 

152 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VI.  21. 


consulate,  which  was  the  seventh  of  Honorius,  and 
the  second  of  Theodosius.^  A  man,  as  we  have 
before  observed,-  who  on  account  of  zeal  for 
temperance  was  inclined  rather  to  anger  than 
forbearance  :  and  his  personal  sanctity  of  char- 
acter led  him  to  indulge  in  a  latitude  of  speech 
which  to  others  was  intolerable.  Indeed,  it  is 
most  inexplicable  to  me,  how  with  a  zeal  so 
ardent  for  the  practice  of  self-control  and  blame- 
lessness  of  life,  he  should  in  his  sermons  appear 
to  teach  a  loose  view  of  temperance.  For 
whereas  by  the  Synod  of  bishops  repentance 
was  accepted  but  once  from  those  who  had 
sinned  after  baptism ;  he  did  not  scruple  to 
say, '  Approach,  although  you  may  have  repented 
a  thousand  times.'  •'  For  this  doctrine,  many 
even  of  his  friends  censured  him,  but  especially 
Sisinnius  bishop  of  the  Novatian ;  who  wrote  a 
book  condemnatory  of  the  above  quoted  ex- 
pression of  Chrysostom's,  and  severely  rebuked 
him  for  it.     But  this  occurred  long  before.'' 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

0/  Sisinnms   Bishop   of  the   Novatians.     His 
Readiness  at  Repartee. 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  here,  I  conceive, 
to  give  some  account  of  Sisinnius.  He  was,  as 
I  have  often  said,^  a  remarkably  eloquent  man, 
and  well-instructed  in  philosophy.  But  he  had 
particularly  cultivated  logic,  and  was  profoundly 
skilled  in  the  interpretation  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  insomuch  that  the  heretic  Eunomius  often 
shrank  from  the  acumen  which  his  reasoning 
displayed.  As  regards  his  diet  he  was  not 
simple ;  for  although  he  practised  the  strictest 
moderation,  yet  his  table  was  always  sumptu- 
ously furnished.  He  was  also  accustomed  to 
indulge  himself  by  wearing  white  garments,  and 
bathing  twice  a  day  in  the  public  baths.  And 
when  some  one  asked  him  '  why  he,  a  bishop, 
bathed  himself  twice  a  day  ? '  he  replied,  '  Be- 
cause it  is  inconvenient  to  bathe  thrice.'  Going 
one  day  from  courtesy  to  visit  the  bishop  Arsa- 
cius,  he  was  asked  by  one  of  the  friends  of  that 
bishop,  'why  he  wore  a  garment  so  unsuitable 
for  a  bishop?  and  where  it  was  written  that  an 
ecclesiastic  should  be  clothed  in  white  ?  '  '  Do 
you  tell  me  first,'  said  he,  '  where  it  is  written 
that  a  bishop  should  wear  black  ? '  When  he 
that  made  the  inquiry  knew  not  what  to  reply 

'  407  A.D.  2  Cf.  above,  chap.  3. 

'  These  words  are  not  found  in  any  of  Chrysostom's  extant  homi- 
lies. There  is  no  reason,  however,  for  thinking  that  they  were  not 
uttered  by  him  in  a  sermon  now  not  in  existence.  Socrates'  remarks 
on  Chrysostom's  attitude  made  here  are  amonu  the  considerations 
which  have  led  some  to  think  that  he  was  a  Novatian.  Cf.  Introd. 
p.  X. 

*  For  further  particulars  on  Chrysostom's  life  and  the  circum- 
stances of  his  death,  see  authorities  mentioned  in  chap.  2,  note  3. 

'  Cf.  V.  10  and  21. 


to  this  counter-question :  '  You  cannot  show,' 
rejoined  Sisinnius,  '  that  a  priest  should  be 
clothed  in  black.  But  Solomon  is  my  author- 
ity, whose  exhortation  is,  "  Let  thy  garments 
be  white."  ^  And  our  Saviour  in  the  Gospels 
appears  clothed  in  white  raiment :  ^  moreover 
he  showed  Moses  and  Elias  to  the  apostles, 
clad  in  white  garments.'  His  prompt  reply  to 
these  and  other  questions  called  forth  the  admi- 
ration of  those  present.  Again  when  Leontius 
bishop  of  Ancyra  in  Galatia  Minor,  who  had 
taken  away  a  church  from  the  Novatians,  was  on 
a  visit  to  Constantinople,  Sisinnius  went  to  him, 
and  begged  him  to  restore  the  church.  But  he 
received  him  rudely,  saying, '  Ye  Novatians  ought 
not  to  have  churches  ;  for  ye  take  away  repent- 
ance, and  shut  out  Divine  mercy.'  As  Leontius 
gave  utterance  to  these  and  many  other  such 
revilings  against  the  Novatians,  Sisinnius  replied  : 
'  No  one  repents  more  heartily  than  I  do.'  And 
when  Leontius  asked  him  '  Why  do  you  repent?  ' 
'That  I  came  to  see  you,'  said  he.  On  one 
occasion  John  the  bishop  having  a  contest  with 
him,  said,  '  The  city  cannot  have  two  bishops.'  * 
'  Nor  has  it,'  said  Sisinnius.  John  being  irritated 
at  this  response,  said, '  You  see  you  pretend  that 
you  alone  are  the  bishop.'  '  I  do  not  say  that,' 
rejoined  Sisinnius  ;  '  but  that  I  am  not  bishop  in 
your  estimation  only,  who  am  such  to  others.' 
John  being  still  more  chafed  at  this  reply,  said, 
'  I  will  stop  your  preaching  ;  for  you  are  a  heretic' 
To  which  Sisinnius  good-humoredly  replied,  '  I 
will  give  you  a  reward,  if  you  will  relieve  me 
from  so  arduous  a  duty.'  John  being  softened 
a  little  by  this  answer,  said, '  I  will  not  make  you 
cease  to  preach,  if  you  find  speaking  so  trouble- 
some.' So  facetious  was  Sisinnius,  and  so  ready 
at  repartee  :  but  it  would  be  tedious  to  dwell 
further  on  his  witticisms.  Wherefore  by  means 
of  a  few  specimens  we  have  illustrated  what  sort 
of  a  person  he  was,  deeming  these  as  sufficient. 
I  will  merely  add  that  he  was  celebrated  for  eru- 
dition, and  on  account  of  it  all  the  bishops  who 
succeeded  him  loved  and  honored  him  ;  and  not 
only  they  but  all  the  leading  members  of  the 
senate  also  esteemed  and  admired  him.  He  is 
the  author  of  many  works  :  but  they  are  charac- 
terized by  too  great  an  affectation  of  elegance 
of  diction,  and  a  lavish  intermingling  of  poetic 
expressions.      On  which  account  he  was  more 


2  F.ccl.  ix.  8.  .  ^       ^       ,    u-         r 

8  Matt.  xvii.  2;  Mark  ix.  3:  Luke  ix.  29.  On  the  clothing  ot 
the  clergy,  see  Bingham,  Christ.  Atitig.  VI.  4.  18. 

*  The  canons  forbade  the  existence  of  two  authoritative  bishops  in 
one  city.  Cf.  V.  5,  note  3.  It  was  supposed  to  be  an  apostolic 
tradition  that  prescribed  this  practice,  and  the  faithful  always  re- 
sisted and  condemned  any  attempts  to  consecrate  a  second  bishop  in 
a  city.  Thus  '  when  Constantius  proposed  that  I.iberiu  and  Felix 
should  sit  as  co-partners  in  the  Roman  see  and  govern  the  church 
in  common,  the  people  with  one  accord  rejected  the  proposal,  cryiiig 
out  "  One  God,  one  Christ,  one  bishop."  The  rule,  however,  did 
not  .apply  to  the  case  of  co.adjutors,  where  the  bishop  was  too  old  or 
infirflS  to  discharge  his  episcopal  duties.'  See  Bingham,  Christ. 
Antiq.  II.  13. 


VI.  230 


DEATH    OF    ARCADIUS. 


153 


admired  as  a  speaker  than  as  a  writer  ;  for  there 
was  dignity  in  his  countenance  and  voice,  as  well 
as  in  his  form  and  aspect,  and  every  movement 
of  his  person  was  graceful.  On  account  of  these 
features  he  was  loved  by  all  the  sects,  and  he 
was  in  especial  favor  with  Atticus  the  bishop. 
But  I  must  conclude  this  brief  notice  of  Sisinnius. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Death  of  the  Emperor  Arcadius. 

Not  long  after  the  death  of  John,  the  Em- 
peror Arcadius  died  also.  This  prince  was  of  a 
mild  and  gentle  disposition,  and  toward  the  close 
of  his  life  was  esteemed  to  be  greatly  beloved 
of  God,  from  the  following  circumstance.  There 
was  at  Constantinople  an  immense  mansion  called 
Carya ;  for  in  the  court  of  it  there  is  a  walnut 
tree  on  which  it  is  said  Acacius  suffered  martyr- 
dom by  hanging ;  on  which  account  a  chapel 
was  built  near  it,  which  the  Emperor  Arcadius 
one  day  thought  iit  to  visit,  and  after  having 
prayed  there,  left  again.  All  who  lived  near  this 
chapel  ran  in  a  crowd  to  see  the  emperor ;  and 


some  going  out  of  the  mansion  referred  to,  en- 
deavored to  preoccupy  the  streets  in  order  to 
get  a  better  view  of  their  sovereign  and  his  suite, 
while  others  followed  in  his  train,  until  all  who 
inhabited  it,  including  the  women  and  children, 
had  wholly  gone  out  of  it.  No  sooner  was  this 
vast  pile  emptied  of  its  occupants,  the  buildings 
of  which  completely  environed  the  church,  than 
the  entire  building  fell.  On  which  there  was  a 
great  outcry,  followed  by  shouts  of  admiration, 
because  it  was  believed  the  emperor's  prayer 
had  rescued  so  great  a  number  of  persons  from 
destruction.  This  event  occurred  in  that  man- 
ner. On  the  ist  of  May,  Arcadius  died,  leaving 
his  son  Theodosius  only  eight  years  old,  under 
the  consulate  of  Bassus  and  Philip,  in  the  second 
year  of  the  297th  Olympiad.^  He  had  reigned 
thirteen  years  with  Theodosius  his  father,  and 
fourteen  years  after  his  death,  and  had  then 
attained  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  age.  This 
book  includes  the  space  of  twelve  years  and  six 
months.' 

1   408  A.D. 

"  The  Greek  editions  [of  Stephens,  Valesius,  Hussey,  Bright, 
&c.]  add  the  alternate  form  of  chap,  ii  at  this  place.  For  purposes 
of  convenience  in  comparing  the  two  versions  we  have  given  the 
variants  with  chapter  ii. 


END    OF   THE    SIXTH    BOOK. 


BOOK    VIL 


CHAPTER.  I. 

Antheniiiis  the  PrcBtorian  Prefect  administers  the 
Government  of  the  East  in  Behalf  of  Young 
Theodosius. 

After  the  death  of  Arcadius  on  the  first  of 
May,  during  the  consulate  of  Bassus  and  Phihp,^ 
his  brother  Honorius  still  governed  the  Western 
parts  of  the  empire  ;  but  the  administration  of 
the  East  devolved  on  his  son  Theodosius  the 
Younger,  then  only  eight  years  old.  The  man- 
agement of  public  affairs  was  therefore  intrusted 
to  Anthemius  the  Praetorian  prefect,  grandson 
of  that  Philip  who  in  the  reign  of  Constantius 
ejected  Paul  from  the  see  of  Constantinople,  and 
established  Macedonius  in  his  place.  By  his  di- 
rections Constantinople  was  surrounded  with  high 
walls.^  He  was  esteemed  and  actually  was  the 
most  prudent  man  of  his  time,  and  seldom  did 
anything  unadvisedly,  but  consulted  with  the 
most  judicious  of  his  friends  respecting  all  prac- 
tical matters,  and  especially  with  Troilus  ^  the 
sophist,  who  while  excelling  in  philosophical  at- 
tainments, was  equal  to  Anthemius  himself  in 
poUtical  wisdom.  Wherefore  almost  all  things 
were  done  with  the  concurrence  of  Troilus. 


CHAPTER    n. 

Character  and  Conduct  of  Atticus  Bishop   of 
Constantinople. 

When  Theodosius  the  emperor  was  in  the 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  xAtticus  was  in  the  third 
year  of  his  presidency  over  the  church  at  Con- 
stantinople, a  man  as  we  have  by  anticipation 
said'  distinguished  alike  for  his  learning,  piety, 
and  discretion,  wherefore  it  came  about  that  the 
churches  under  his  episcopate  attained  a  very 
flourishing  condition.  For  he  not  only  united 
those  of  'the  household  of  faith,' -but  also  by 

^  408  A.D.  Cf.  VI.  23.  See  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  chap.  32. 

2  This  was  done,  according  to  Cedrenus,  several  years  later  by 
another  prefect.  For  this  reason  and  because  of  the  grammatical 
construction  in  the  original,  Valesius  rightly  conjectures  that  the 
phrase  is  a  gloss  introduced  from  the  margin,  and  should  be  ex- 
punged from  the  text. 

••  Tro'ilus  was  a  sophist  of  distinction  who  taught  at  Constanti- 
nople under  Arcadius  and  Honorius  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century  a.d.,  a  native  of  Side  and  author  of  a  treatise  entitled 
Aoyoi  TToAiTticoi.     See  Suidas  s.v.  TpuiiAo5. 

1  Cf.  VI.  20.  2  Gal.  vi.  10. 


his  prudence  called  forth  the  admiration  of  the 
heretics,  whom  indeed  he  by  no  means  desired 
to  harass  ;  but  if  he  sometimes  was  obliged  to  im- 
press them  with  the  fear  of  himself,  he  soon  after- 
ward showed  himself  mild  and  clement  toward 
them.  But  indeed  he  did  not  neglect  his  studies  ; 
for  he  assiduously  labored  in  perusing  the  writ- 
ings of  the  ancients,  and  often  spent  whole  nights 
in  the  task ;  and  thus  he  could  not  be  confused 
by  the  reasonings  of  the  philosophers,  and  the 
fallacious  subtleties  of  the  sophists.  Besides  this 
he  was  affable  and  entertaining  in  conversation, 
and  ever  ready  to  sympathize  with  the  afflicted  : 
and  in  a  word,  to  sum  up  his  excellences  in  the 
apostle's  saying,  '  He  was  made  all  things  to  all 
men.'^  Formerly  while  a  presbyter,  he  had 
been  accustomed,  after  composing  his  sermons, 
to  commit  them  to  memory,  and  then  recite 
them  in  the  church  :  but  by  diligent  application 
he  acquired  confidence  and  made  his  instruction 
extemporaneous  and  eloquent.  His  discourses 
however  were  not  such  as  to  be  received  with 
much  applause  by  his  auditors,  nor  to  deserve  to 
be  committed  to  writing.  Let  these  particulars 
respecting  his  talents,  erudition,  and  manners 
suffice.  We  must  now  proceed  to  relate  such 
things  as  are  worthy  of  record,  that  happened  in 
his  time. 

CHAPTER   HI. 

Of  Theodosius  and  Agape tus  Bishops  of  Synada. 

A  CERTAIN  Theodosius  was  bishop  of  Synada 
in  Phrygia  Pacata ;  he  violently  persecuted  the 
heretics  in  that  province  —  and  there  was  a 
great  number  of  them  —  and  especially  those 
of  the  Macedonian  sect ;  he  drove  them  out 
not  only  from  the  city,  but  also  out  of  the 
country.  This  course  he  pursued  not  from  any 
precedent  in  the  orthodox  church,  nor  frcm  the 
desire  of  jiropagating  the  true  faith ;  but  being 
enslaved  by  the  love  of  filthy  lucre,  he  was  im- 
pelled by  the  avaricious  motive  of  amassing 
money,  by  extorting  it  from  the  heretics.  To 
this  end  he  made  all  sorts  of  attempts  upon  the 
Macedonians,  putting  arms  into  the  hands  of 
his  clergy ;  and  employing  innumerable  strata- 
gems against  them  ;  nor  did  he  refrain  from  de- 

2  I  Cor.  ix.  22. 


VII.  5-] 


SABBATIUS  AND  THE  NOVATIANS. 


155 


livering  them  up  to  the  secular  tribunals.^  But 
he  especially  annoyed  their  bishop  whose  name 
was  Agapetus :  and  finding  the  governors  of 
the  pro\  ince  were  not  invested  with  sufficient  au- 
thority to  punish  heretics  according  to  his  wish, 
he  went  to  Constantinople  and  petitioned  for 
edicts  of  a  more  stringent  nature  from  the  Prae- 
torian prefect.  ^Vhile  Theodosius  was  absent 
on  this  business,  Agapetus  who,  as  I  have  said, 
presided  over  the  Macedonian  sect,  came  to  a 
■wise  and  prudent  conclusion.  Communicating 
with  his  clergy,  he  called  all  the  people  under 
his  guidance  together,  and  persuaded  them  to 
embrace  the  '  homoousian  '  faith.  On  their  ac- 
quiescing in  this  proposition,  he  proceeded 
immediately  to  the  church  attended  not  merely 
by  his  ow-n  adherents,  but  by  the  whole  body  of 
the  people.  There  having  offered  prayer,  he 
took  possession  of  the  episcopal  chair  in  which 
Theodosius  was  accustomed  to  seat  himself; 
and  preaching  thenceforth  the  doctrine  of  con- 
substantiality,  he  reunited  the  people,  and  made 
himself  master  of  the  churches  in  the  diocese  of 
Synada.  Soon  after  these  transactions,  Theo- 
dosius returned  to  Synada,  bringing  with  him 
extended  powers  from  the  prefect,  and  know- 
ing nothing  of  what  had  taken  place,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  church  just  as  he  was.  Being 
forthwith  unanimously  expelled,  he  again  be- 
took himself  to  Constantinople ;  upon  his  ar- 
rival at  that  place  he  complained  to  Atticus,  the 
bishop,  of  the  treatment  he  had  met  with,  and 
the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  deprived  of 
his  bishopric.  Atticus  perceiving  that  this  move- 
ment had  resulted  advantageously  to  the  church, 
consoled  Theodosius  as  well  as  he  could ; 
recommending  him  to  embrace  with  a  contented 
mind  a  retired  life,  and  thus  sacrifice  his  own 
private  interests  to  the  public  good.  He  then 
wrote  to  Agapetus  authorizing  him  to  retain  the 
episcopate,  and  bidding  him  be  under  no  ap- 
prehension of  being  molested  in  consequence 
of  Theodosius'  grievance. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

A  Paralytic  Jew  healed  by  Atticus  in  Baptism. 

This  was  one  important  improvement  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  Church,  which  happened 
during  the  administration  of  Atticus.  Nor  were 
these  times  without  the  attestation  of  miracles 
and  healings.  For  a  certain  Jew  being  a  para- 
lytic had  been  confined  to  his  bed  for  many 
years ;  and  as  every  sort  of  medical  skill,  and 
the  prayers  of  his  Jewish  brethren  had  been 
resorted  to  but  had    availed   nothing,  he    had 


1  On  the  limits  of  the  secular  power  over  ecclesiastical  dignita- 
ries, and  the  cases  in  which  the  clergy  were  amenable  to  the  civil 
law  as  well  as  those  in  which  they  were  not,  see  Bingham,  Christ. 
Antiq.  V.  2. 


recourse  at  length  to  Christian  baptism,  trusting 
in  it  as  the  only  true  remedy  to  be  used.^ 
When  Atticus  the  bishop  was  informed  of  his 
wishes,  he  instructed  him  in  the  first  principles 
of  Christian  truth,  and  having  preached  to  him 
to  hope  in  Christ,  directed  that  he  should  be 
brought  in  his  bed  to  the  font.  The  paralytic 
Jew  receiving  baptism  with  a  sincere  faith,  as 
soon  as  he  was  taken  out  of  the  baptismal  font 
found  himself  perfectly  cured  of  his  disease, 
and  continued  to  enjoy  sound  health  afterwards. 
This  miraculous  power  Christ  vouchsafed  to  be 
manifested  even  in  our  times  ;  and  the  fame  of 
it  caused  many  heathens  to  believe  and  be  bap- 
tized. But  the  Jews  although  zealously  '  seek- 
ing after  signs,'  -  not  even  the  signs  which 
actually  took  place  induced  to  embrace  the 
faith.  Such  blessings  were  thus  conferred  by 
Christ  upon  men. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Presbyter  Sabbatius,  formerly  a  Jew,  sepa- 
rates from  the  Novatians. 

Many,  however,  making  no  account  of  these 
events  yielded  to  their  own  depravity ;  for  not 
only  did  the  Jews  continue  in  unbelief  after 
this  miracle,  but  others  also  who  love  to  follow 
them  were  shown  to  hold  views  similar  to  theirs. 
Among  these  was  Sabbatius,  of  whom  mention 
has  before  been  made  ;  ^  who  not  being  content 
with  the  dignity  of  presbyter  to  which  he  had 
attained,  but  aiming  at  a  bishopric  from  the 
beginning,  separated  himself  from  the  church 
of  the  Novatians,  making  a  pretext  of  observ- 
ing the  Jewish  Passover."  Holding  therefore 
schismatic  assemblies  apart  from  his  own  bishop 
Sisinnius,  in  a  place  named  Xerolophus,  where 
the  forum  of  Arcadius  now  is,  he  ventured  on 
the  performance  of  an  act  deserving  the  severest 
punishments.  Reading  one  day  at  one  of  these 
meetings  that  passage  in  the  Gospel  where  it  is 
said,"'  '  Now  it  was  the  Feast  of  the  Jews  called 
the  Passover,'  he  added  what  was  never  written 
nor  heard  of  before  :  '  Cursed  be  he  that  cele- 
brates the  Passover  out  of  the  days  of  unleav- 
ened bread.'  When  these  words  were  reported 
among  the  people,  the  more  simple  of  the 
Novatian  laity,  deceived  by  this  artifice,  flocked 
to  him.  But  his  fraudulent  fabrication  was  of 
no  avail  to  him  ;  for  his  forgery  issued  in  most 
disastrous  consequences.  For  shortly  afterwards 
he  kept  this  feast  in  anticipation  of  the  Christian 
Easter ;    and  many  according  to    their  custom 


'  On  the  supposed  miraculous  effects  of  baptism,  see  Tertullian, 
de  bapttsmo,  passim.  -  i  Cor.  i.  22. 

1  v.  21. 

-  Cf.  I.  8,  note  2,  and  V.  22  and  notes. 

•'  Not  an  exact  quotation.  Luke  xxii.  i,  resembles  it  more  than 
any  other  of  the  parallels. 


156 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VII.  5. 


flocked  to  him.  While  they  were  passing  the 
night  in  the  accustomed  vigils,  a  panic  as  if 
caused  by  evil  spirits  fell  upon  them,  as  if  Sisin- 
nius  their  bishop  were  coming  with  a  multitude 
of  persons  to  attack  them.  From  the  perturba- 
tion that  might  be  expected  in  such  a  case,  and 
their  being  shut  up  at  night  in  a  confined  ]:)lace, 
they  trod  upon  one  another,  insomuch  that  above 
seventy  of  them  were  crushed  to  death.  On  this 
accoimt  many  deserted  Sabbatius  :  some  how- 
ever, holding  his  ignorant  prejudice,  remained 
with  him.  In  what  way  Sabbatius,  by  a  viola- 
tion of  his  oath,  afterwards  managed  to  get 
himself  ordained  a  bishop,  we  shall  relate  here- 
after.^ 

CHAPTER   VI. 

The  Leaders  of  Arianistn  at  this  Time. 

DoROTHEUS  bishop  of  the  Arians,  who,  as  we 
have  said,^  was  translated  by  that  sect  from  An- 
tioch  to  Constantinople,  having  attained  the  age 
of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  years,  died  on  the 
6th  of  November,  in  the  seventh  consulate  of 
Honorius,  and  the  second  of  Theodosius  Augus- 
tus." After  him  Barbas  presided  over  the  Arian 
sect,  in  whose  time  the  Arian  faction  was  favored 
by  possessing  two  very  eloquent  members,  both 
having  the  rank  of  presbyter,  one  of  whom  was 
named  Timothy,  and  the  other  George.  Now 
George  excelled  in  Grecian  literature  ;  Timothy, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  proficient  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures.  George  indeed  constantly  had  the 
writings  of  Aristotle  and  Plato  in  his  hands  : 
Timothy  found  his  inspiration  in  Origen ;  he 
also  evinced  in  his  public  expositions  of  the  holy 
Scriptures  no  inconsiderable  acquaintance  with 
the  Hebrew  language.  Now  Timothy  had  for- 
merly identified  himself  with  the  sect  of  the 
Psathyrians  ;^  but  George  had  been  ordained  by 
Barbas.  I  have  myself  conversed  with  Timothy, 
and  was  exceedingly  struck  by  the  readiness  with 
which  he  would  answer  the  most  difficult  ques- 
tions, and  clear  up  the  most  obscure  passages  in 
the  Divine  oracles ;  he  also  invariably  quoted 
Origen  as  an  unquestionable  authority  in  confir- 
mation of  his  own  utterances.  But  it  is  aston- 
ishing to  me  that  these  two  men  should  continue 
to  uphold  the  heresy  of  the  Arians  ;  the  one  be- 
ing so  conversant  with  Plato,  and  the  other  hav- 
ing Origen  so  frequently  on  his  lips.  For  Plato 
does  not  say  that  the  second  and  third  cause,  as 
he  usually  terms  them,  had  a  beginning  of  ex- 
istence :  ■*  and  Origen  everywhere  acknowledges 
the   Son    to    be    co-eternal^   with    the    Father. 

*  Cf.  chap.  12  below.  '  407  A.D. 

'  Cf.  v.  3,  12  and  23.  ■''  Cf.  V.  23,  note  2. 

*  The  special  views  of  Plato  which  are  here  alluded  to  are  proba- 
bly those  found  in  the  Timtpus.  Cf  Jowett,  Tlw  Dialogues  0/ 
Plato  translated  into  English,  Vol.  II.  p.  451  et  sea. 

5  Cf.  VI.  13. 


Nevertheless  although  they  remained  connected 
with  their  own  church,  still  they  unconsciously 
changed  the  Arian  sect  for  the  better,  and 
displaced  many  of  the  blasphemies  of  Arius 
by  their  own  teachings.  But  enough  of  these 
persons.  Sisinnius  bishop  of  the  Novatians  dy- 
ing under  the  same  consulate,  Chrysanthus  was 
ordained  in  his  place,  of  whom  we  shall  have  to 
speak  by  and  by. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Cyril  succeeds  Theophiius  Bishop  of  Alexandria. 

Shortly  afterwards  Theophiius  bishop  of  Al- 
exandria having  fallen  into  a  lethargic  state,  died 
on  the  15th  of  October,^  in  the  ninth  consulate 
of  Honorius,  and  the  fifth  of  Theodosius.  A 
great  contest  immediately  arose  about  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  successor,  some  seeking  to  place 
Timothy  the  archdeacon  in  the  episcopal  chair ; 
and  others  desiring  Cyril,  who  was  a  nephew 
of  Theophiius.  A  tumult  having  arisen  on  this 
account  among  the  people,  Abundantius,  the 
commander  of  the  troops  in  Egypt,  took  sides 
with  Timothy.  [Yet  the  partisans  of  Cyril  tri- 
umphed.] -  Whereupon  on  the  third  day  after 
the  death  of  Theophiius,  Cyril  came  into  posses- 
sion of  the  episcopate,  with  greater  power  than 
Theophiius  had  ever  exercised.  For  from  that 
time  the  bishopric  of  Alexandria  went  beyond 
the  limits  of  its  sacerdotal  functions,  and  as- 
sumed the  administration  of  secular  matters.^ 
Cyril  immediately  therefore  shut  up  the  churches 
of  the  Novatians  at  Alexandria,  and  took  pos- 
session of  all  their  consecrated  vessels  and 
ornaments ;  and  then  stripped  their  bishop 
Theopemptus  of  all  that  he  had. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Propagation  of  Christianity  among  the  Persians 
by  Maruthas  Bishop  of  Mesopotamia. 

About  this  same  time  it  happened  that  Chris- 
tianity was  disseminated  in  Persia,  by  reason  of 
the  following  causes.  Frequent  embassies  were 
sent  to  and  fro  between  the  sovereigns  of  Persia 
and  the  Roman  empire,  for  which  there  were 
continual  occasions.  Necessity  brought  it  about 
at  that  time  that  the  Roman  emperor  thought 
proper  to  send  Maruthas  bishop  of  Mesopota- 
mia, who  has  been  before  mentioned,'  on  a 
mission  to  the  king  of  the  Persians.     The  king 

'  412  A.D.  This  chapter  is  out  of  chronological  sequence,  as 
appears  from  the  fact  that  Alaric  took  Rome  in  410  a.d.  See  chap. 
10  below. 

-  The  words  included  in  brackets  are  not  found  in  the  Greek; 
they  were  probably  inserted  into  the  English  translation  as  necessary 
to  explain  the  context. 

■'  Cf.  chap.  II.  1  Cf.  VI.  15. 


I 


VII.  lo.] 


PROGRESS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  IN  PERSIA. 


157 


discoverina: 


great 


piety 


with    great  honor,   and 


in  the  man  treated  him 
ufave    heed   to   him    as 


one  who  was  indeed  beloved  of  (iod.  This 
excited  the  jealousy  of  the  magi/  whose  influ- 
ence is  considerable  o\er  the  Persian  monarch, 
for  they  feared  lest  he  should  persuade  the  king 
to  embrace  Christianity.  For  Maruthas  had  by 
his  prayers  cured  the  king  of  a  violent  headache 
to  which  he  had  been  long  subject,  and  which 
the  magi  had  been  unable  to  relieve.  The  ma- 
gicians therefore  had  recourse  to  this  decep- 
tion. As  the  Persians  worship  fire,  and  the  king 
was  accustomed  to  pay  his  adorations  in  a  certain 
edifice  to  the  fire  which  was  kept  perpetually 
burning,  they  concealed  a  man  underneath  the 
sacred  hearth,  ordering  him  to  make  this  excla- 
mation at  the  time  of  day  when  the  king  was 
accustomed  to  perform  his  devotion  !  '  The  king 
should  be  thrust  out  because  he  is  guilty  of  im- 
piety, in  imagining  a  Christian  priest  to  be  loved 
by  the  Deity.'  ^Vhen  Isdigerdes  —  for  that  was 
the  king's  name  —  heard  these  words,  he  deter- 
mined to  dismiss  Maruthas,  notwithstanding  the 
reverence  with  which  he  regarded  him.  But 
Maruthas  being  truly  a  God-loving  man,  by  the 
earnestness  of  his  prayers,  detected  the  imposi- 
tion of  the  magi.  Going  to  the  king  therefore, 
he  addressed  him  thus  :  '  Be  not  deluded,  O 
king,'  said  he,  'but  when  you  again  enter  that 
edifice  and  hear  the  same  voice,  explore  the 
ground  below,  and  you  will  discover  the  fraud. 
For  it  is  not  the  fire  that  speaks,  but  human 
contrivance  does  this.'  The  king  received  the 
suggestion  of  Maruthas  and  went  as  usual  to  the 
little  house  where  the  ever-burning  fire  was.  When 
he  again  heard  the  same  voice,  he  ordered  the 
hearth  to  be  dug  up  ;  whereupon  the  impostor, 
who  uttered  the  supposed  words  of  the  Deity, 
was  discovered.  Becoming  indignant  at  the 
deception  thus  attempted  the  king  commanded 
that  the  tribe  of  the  magi  should  be  decimated. 
When  this  was  effected  he  permitted  Maruthas 
to  erect  churches  wherever  he  wished  ;  and  from 
that  time  the  Christian  religion  was  diffused 
among  the  Persians.  Then  Maruthas  being 
recalled  went  to  Constantinople  ;  not  long  after- 
wards however,  he  was  again  sent  as  ambassador 
to  the  Persian  court.  Again  the  magi  devised 
contrivances  so  as  by  all  possible  means  to  pre- 
vent the  king  from  giving  him  audience.  One 
of  their  devices  was  to  cause  a  most  disgusting 
smell  where  the  king  was  accustomed  to  go,  and 
then  accuse  the  Christians  of  being  the  authors 
of  it.  The  king  however  having  already  had 
occasion  to  suspect  the  magi,  very  diligently 
and  closely  scnitinized  the  matter  ;  and  again 
the    authors   of    the    nuisance   were    detected. 

-  A  caste  of  priests  who  exercised  great  influence  in  Persia  men- 
tioned both  in  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  Cf.  Smith,  Diet. 
efthe  Bible,  art.  Magi. 


AVherefore  he  punished  several  of  them,  and 
held  Maruthas  in  sUll  higher  honor.  For  the 
Romans  as  a  nation  he  had  much  regard,  and 
prized  good  feeling  on  their  part  very  highly. 
Nay,  he  almost  embraced  the  Christian  faith 
himself,  as  Maruthas  in  conjunction  with  Abdas 
bishop  of  Persia  gave  another  experimental 
proof  of  its  power :  for  these  two  by  giving 
themselves  to  much  fasting  and  prayer,  had 
cast  out  a  demon  with  which  the  king's  son 
was  possessed.  But  the  death  of  Isdigerdes" 
prevented  his  making  an  open  profession  of 
Christianity.  The  kingdom  then  devolved  on 
Vararanes  his  son,  in  whose  time  the  treaty 
between  the  Romans  and  Persians  was  broken 
as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  narrate  a  little  later.'* 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Bishops  of  Antioch  and  Rome. 

During  this  period  upon  the  death  of  Fla- 
vian ^  Porphyry  received  the  episcopate  of 
Antioch,  and  after  him  Alexander-  was  set 
over  that  church.  But  at  Rome,  Damasus 
having  held  that  bishopric  eighteen  years  Siri- 
cius  succeeded  him  ;  '^  and  Siricius  having  pre- 
sided there  fifteen  years,  Anastasius  held  sway 
over  the  church  for  three  years ;  after  Anasta- 
sius Innocent  [was  promoted  to  the  same  see]. 
He  was  the  first  persecutor  of  the  Novatians  at 
Rome,  and  many  of  their  churches  he  took 
away. 

CHAPTER   X. 

Rome  taken  and  sacked  by  Alaric. 

About  this  same  time  ^  it  happened  that  Rome 
was  taken  by  the  barbarians  ;  for  a  certain  Ala- 
ric, a  barbarian  who  had  been  an  ally  of  the 
Romans,  and  had  served  as  an  ally  with  the  em- 
peror Theodosius  in  the  war  against  the  usurper 
Eugenius,  having  on  that  account  been  hon- 
ored with  Roman  dignities,  was  unable  to  bear 
his  good  fortune.  He  did  not  choose  to  assume 
imperial  authority,  but  retiring  from  Constan- 
tinople went  into  the  ^Vestern  parts,  and  arriv- 
ing at  lUyricum  immediately  laid  waste  the 
whole  country.  As  he  marched,  however,  the 
Thessalians  opposed  him  at  the  mouths  of 
the  river  Peneus,  whence  there  is  a  pass  over 
Mount  Pindus  to  Nicopolis  in  Epirus  ;  and  com- 
ing to  an  engagement,  the  Thessalians  killed 
about  three  thousand  of  his  men.      After    this 


'  420  A.D.  ■»  Chap.  18  below. 

1   404  A.D.  2   414  A.D.  2    385  A.D. 

'  On  Alaric's  career,  see  Zosimus,  V.  5,  6;  28-51  and  V.  1-13. 
Cf.  also  parallel  accounts  in  Sozomen,  IX.  4,  6-9:  and.Philostorgius, 
XII.  2,  3;  and  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  31. 


158 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VII.  lo. 


the  barbarians  that  were  with  him  destroying 
everything  in  their  way,  at  last  toolc  Rome  itself^ 
which  they  pillaged,  burning  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  the  magnificent  structures  and  other  ad- 
mirable works  of  art  it  contained.  The  money 
and  valuable  articles  they  plundered  and  di- 
vided among  themselves.  Many  of  the  prin- 
cipal senators  they  put  to  death  on  a  variety  of 
pretexts.  Moreover,  Alaric  in  mockery  of  the 
imperial  dignity,  proclaimed  one  Attains"  em- 
peror, whom  he  ordered  to  be  attended  with  all 
the  insignia  of  sovereignty  on  one  day,  and  to  be 
exhibited  in  the  habit  of  a  slave  on  the  next. 
After  these  achievements  he  made  a  precipitate 
retreat,  a  report  having  reached  him  that  the 
emperor  Theodosius  had  sent  an  army  to  fight 
him.  Nor  was  this  report  a  fictitious  one ;  for 
the  imperial  forces  were  actually  on  their  way ; 
but  Alaric,  not  waiting  for  the  materialization  of 
the  rumor,  decamped  and  escaped.  It  is  said 
that  as  he  was  advancing  towards  Rome,  a  pious 
monk  exhorted  him  not  to  delight  in  the  per- 
petuation of  such  atrocities,  and  no  longer  to 
rejoice  in  slaughter  and  blood.  To  whom  Ala- 
ric rephed,  '  I  am  not  going  on  in  this  course  of 
my  own  will ;  but  there  is  a  something  that  irre- 
sistibly impels  me  daily,  saying,  '  Proceed  to 
Rome,  and  desolate  that  city.'  Such  was  the 
career  of  this  person. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

The  Bishops  of  Rome. 

After  Innocent,  Zosimus  governed  the  Roman 
church  for  two  years  :  and  after  him  Boniface  ^ 
presided  over  it  for  three  years.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Celestinus.  And  this  Celestinus  took 
away  the  churches  from  the  Novatians  at  Rome 
also,  and  obliged  Rusticula  their  bishop  to  hold 
his  meetings  secretly  in  private  houses.  Until 
this  time  the  Novatians  had  flourished  exceed- 
ingly in  Rome,  possessing  many  churches  there, 
which  were  attended  by  large  congregations. 
But  envy  attacked  them  also,  as  soon  as  the 
Roman  episcoi)ate,  like  that  of  Alexandria, 
extended  itself  beyond  the  limits  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal jurisdiction,  and  degenerated  into  its  present 
state  of  secular  domination.  For  thenceforth 
the  bishops  would  not  suffer  even  those  who 
agreed  with  them  in  matters  of  faith  to  enjoy 
the  privilege  of  assembling  in  peace,  but  stripped 
them  of  all  they  j^ossessed,  praising  them  merely 
for  these  agreements  in  faith.  The  bishops  of 
Constantinople  kept  themselves  free  from  this 
[sort  of  conduct]  ;  inasmuch  as  in  addition  to 
tolerating   them  and  permitting    them    to    hold 

2  This  incident  is  also  given  by  Procopius  of  Caesarea  in  Hist. 
Vandal.  I.  p.  8.  i  418  a.d. 


their  assemblies  within  the  city,  as  I  have  already 
stated,-  they  treated  them  with  every  mark  of 


Christian  regard. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Of  Chrysanthtts  Bishop  of  the  Novatians  at 
Constantinople. 

After  the  death  of  Sisinnius,  Chrysanthus 
was  constrained  to  take  upon  him  the  episcopal 
office.  He  was  the  son  of  Marcian  the  prede- 
cessor of  Sisinnius,  and  having  had  a  military 
appointment  in  the  palace  at  an  early  age,  he 
was  subsec[uently  under  Theodosius  the  Great 
made  governor^  of  Italy,  and  after  that  lord- 
lieutenant^  of  the  British  Isles,  in  both  which 
capacities  he  elicited  for  himself  the  highest 
admiration.  Returning  to  Constantinople  at  an 
advanced  age,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  consti- 
tuted prefect  of  that  city,  he  was  made  bishop 
of  the  Novatians  against  his  will.  For  as  Sisin- 
nius, when  at  the  point  of  death,  had  referred  to 
him  as  a  most  suitable  person  to  occupy  the  see, 
the  people  regarding  this  declaration  as  law, 
sought  to  have  him  ordained  forthwith.  Now 
as  Chrysanthus  attempted  to  avoid  having  this 
dignity  forced  upon  him,  Sabbatius  imagining 
that  a  seasonable  opportunity  was  now  afforded 
him  of  making  himself  master  of  the  churches, 
and  making  no  account  of  the  oath  by  which 
he  had  bound  himself,'  procured  his  own  ordi- 
nation at  the  hands  of  a  few  insignificant 
bishops.''  Among  these  was  Hermogenes,  who 
had  been  excommunicated  with  curses  by  [Sab- 
batius] himself  on  account  of  his  blasphemous 
writings.  But  this  perjured  procedure  of  Sab- 
batius was  of  no  avail  to  him  :  for  the  people 
disgusted  with  his  obstreperousness,  used  every 
effort  to  discover  the  retreat  of  Chrysanthus ; 
and  having  found  him  secluded  in  Bithynia, 
they  brought  him  back  by  force,  and  invested 
him  with  the  bishopric.  He  was  a  man  of  un- 
surpassed modesty  and  prudence  ;  and  thus  he 
established  and  enlarged  the  churches  of  the 
Novatians  at  Constantinople.  Moreover  he  was 
the  first  to  distribute  gold  among  the  poor  out 
of  his  own  private  property.  Futhermore  he 
would  receive  nothing  from  the  churches  but 
two   loaves    of    the    consecrated    bread  ^   every 


2  Cf.  V.  10. 

'  vn-aTiK05=  consnlaris,  consul  Itonorariits  ;  the  title  was,  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  republic,  given  to  ex-consuls,  but  later  it  be- 
came a  common  custom,  especially  under  the  emperors,  for  the 
governors  of  the  imperial  provinces  to  be  called  consuls,  and  the 
title  cnnsiilaris  became  the  established  designation  of  those  intrusted 
with  the  administration  of  imperial  provinces.  See  Smith,  Diet,  of 
Greek  and  Rom.  Antiq. 

2  Utxapio?  [oi'uicapio^]  transliterated  from  the  Lat.  vicarius,  of 
which  the  Eng.  '  lieutenant '  is  an  exact  equivalent. 

3  Cf.  V.  21.  *  Cf.  Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  II.  16. 

•'■'  The  loaves  which  were  offered  by  the  faithful  as  a  sacrifice 
were  called  '  loaves  of  benediction,'  and  were  used  partly  for  the 
Eucharist  and  partly  as  food  by  the  bishop  and  clergy. 


VII.  13.] 


DISTURBANCES 


AT  ALEXANDRIA. 


159 


Lord's  day.  So  anxious  was  he  to  promote  the 
advantage  of  his  own  church,  that  he  drew 
Ablabius,  the  most  eminent  orator  of  that  time, 
from  the  school  of  Troihis,  and  ordained  him  a 
presbyter ;  whose  sermons  are  in  circulation, 
being  remarkably  elegant  and  full  of  point.  But 
Ablabius  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the  bish- 
opric of  the  church  of  the  Novatians  at  Nicsea, 
where  he  also  taught  rhetoric  at  the  same  time. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Conflict  bettveen  the  Christians  and  Jetvs  at  Al- 
exandria :  and  hrcacJi  betiueen  the  Bishop 
Cytil  and  the  Prefect  Orestes. 

About  this  same  time  it  happened  that  the 
Jewish  inhabitants  were  driven  out  of  Alexandria 
by  Cyril  the  bishop  on  the  following  account. 
The  Alexandrian  public  is  more  delighted  with 
tumult  than  any  other  people  :  and  if  at  any 
time  it  should  find  a  pretext,  breaks  forth  into 
the  most  intolerable  excesses ;  for  it  never 
ceases  from  its  turbulence  without'  bloodshed. 
It  happened  on  the  present  occasion  that  a  dis- 
turbance arose  among  the  populace,  not  from  a 
cause  of  any  serious  importance,  but  out  of  an 
evil  that  has  become  very  popular  in  almost  all 
cities,  viz.  a  fondness  for  dancing  exhibitions.^ 
In  consequence  of  the  Jews  being  disengaged 
from  business  on  the  Sabbath,  and  spending 
their  time,  not  in  hearing  the  Law,  but  in  theat- 
rical amusements,  dancers  usually  collect  great 
crowds  on  that  day,  and  disorder  is  almost  in- 
variably produced.  And  although  this  was  in 
some  degree  controlled  by  the  governor  of 
Alexandria,  nevertheless  the  Jews  continued 
opposing  these  measures.  And  although  they 
are  alwavs  hostile    toward    the  Christians    thev 

■J  ■' 

were  roused  to  still  greater  opposition  against 
them  on  account  of  the  dancers.  When  there- 
fore Orestes  the  prefect  was  publishing  an  edict 
—  for  so  they  are  accustomed  to  call  public 
notices  —  in  the  theatre  for  the  regulation  of 
the  shows,  some  of  the  bishop  Cyril's  party  were 
present  to  learn  the  nature  of  the  orders  about  to 
be  issued.  There  was  among  them  a  certain 
Hierax,  a  teacher  of  the  rudimental  branches  of 
literature,  and  one  who  was  a  very  enthusiastic 
listener  of  the  bishop  Cyril's  sermons,  and  made 
himself  conspicuous  by  his  forwardness  in  ap- 
plauding. When  the  Jews  observed  this  person  in 
the  theatre,  they  immediately  cried  out  that  he 
had  come  there  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  excite 
sedition  among  the  people.  Now  Orestes  had 
long  regarded  with  jealousy  the  growing  power  of 

^  As  to  how  the  ancient  Church  looked  upon  theatrical  shows, 
see  Bingham,  Christ.  Autiq.  XVI.  11.  15,  and  passages  there 
referred  to. 


the  bishops,  because  they  encroached  on  the  juris- 
diction of  the  authorities  appointed  by  the  em- 
peror, especially  as  Cyril  wished  to  set  spies  over 
his  proceedings  ;  he  therefore  ordered  Hierax 
to  be  seized,  and  publicly  subjected  him  to  the 
torture  in  the  theatre.  Cyril,  on  being  informed 
of  this,  sent  for  the  principal  Jews,  and  threat- 
ened them  with  the  utmost  severities  unless  they 
desisted  from  their  molestation  of  the  Christians. 
The  Jewish  populace  on  hearing  these  menaces, 
instead  of  suppressing  their  violence,  only  be- 
came more  furious,  and  were  led  to  form  con- 
spiracies for  the  destruction  of  the  Christians ; 
one  of  these  was  of  so  desperate  a  character  as 
to  cause  their  entire  expulsion  from  Alexandria ; 
this  I  shall  now  describe.  Having  agreed  that 
each  one  of  them  should  wear  a  ring  on  his 
finger  made  of  the  bark  of  a  palm  branch,  for 
the  sake  of  mutual  recognition,  they  determined 
to  make  a  nightly  attack  on  the  Christians.  They 
therefore  sent  persons  into  the  streets  to  raise 
an  outcry  that  the  church  named  after  Alexander 
was  on  fire.  Thus  many  Christians  on  hearing 
this  ran  out,  some  from  one  direction  and  some 
from  another,  in  great  anxiety  to  save  their 
church.  The  Jews  immediately  fell  upon  and 
slew  them  ;  readily  distinguishing  each  other  by 
their  rings.  At  davbreak  the  authors  of  this 
atrocity  could  not  be  concealed :  and  Cyril, 
accompanied  by  an  immense  crowd  of  people, 
going  to  their  synagogues — for  so  they  call  their 
house  of  prayer  —  took  them  away  from  them, 
and  drove  the  Jews  out  of  the  city,  permitting 
the  multitude  to  plunder  their  goods.  Thus  the 
Jews  who  had  inhabited  the  city  from  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Macedonian  were  expelled  from 
it,  stripped  oif  all  they  possessed,  and  dispersed 
some  in  one  direction  and  some  in  another.  One 
of  them,  a  physician-  named  Adamantius,  fled 
to  Atticus  bishop  of  Constantinople,  and  profess- 
ing Christianity,  some  time  afterwards  returned 
to  Alexandria  and  fixed  his  residence  there.  But 
Orestes  the  governor  of  Alexandria  was  filled 
with  great  indignation  at  these  transactions,  and 
was  excessively  grieved  that  a  city  of  such  mag- 
nitude should  have  been  suddenly  bereft  of  so 
large  a  portion  of  its  population ;  he  therefore 
at  once  communicated  the  whole  affair  to  the 
emperor.  Cyril  also  wrote  to  him,  describing 
the  outrageous  conduct  of  the  Jews  ;  and  in  the 
meanwhile  sent  persons  to  Orestes  who  should 
mediate  concerning  a  reconciliation :  for  this 
the  people  had  urged  him  to  do.  And  when 
Orestes  refused  to  listen  to  friendly  advances, 
Cyril  extended  toward  him  the  book  of  gospels,'^ 
beheving  that  respect  for  religion  would  induce 

-  iaTpiKwv  \6yiav  <ro</>icrT7J?,  also  called  by  other  writers  of  the 
period  laTpoa-oiftia-Tri^;  see  Sophocles,  Greek  Lex.  of  the  Rom. 
and  Byzani.  Periods. 

3  As  a  mode  of  abjuration,  see  VI.  11,  note  5.  In  this  case  the 
sacred  volume  takes  the  place  of  the  child. 


i6o 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VII.  I. 


him  to  lay  aside  his  resentment.  When,  however, 
even  this  had  no  pacific  effect  on  the  prefect, 
but  he  persisted  in  implacable  hostility  against 
the  bishop,  the  following  event  afterwards  oc- 
curred. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Monks  of  Nitria  come  doivn  and  raise  a 
Sedition  against  the  Prefect  of  Alexandria. 

Some  of  the  monks  inhabiting  the  mountains  of 
Nitria,  of  a  very  fiery  disposition,  whom  Theophi- 
lus  some  time  before  had  unjustly  armed  against 
Dioscorus  and  his  brethren,  being  again  trans- 
ported with  an  ardent  zeal,  resolved  to  fight  in 
behalf  of  Cyril.  About  five  hundred  of  them 
therefore  quitting  their  monasteries,  came  into 
the  city ;  and  meeting  the  prefect  in  his  chariot, 
they  called  him  a  pagan  idolater,  and  applied  to 
him  many  other  abusive  epithets.  He  supposing 
this  to  be  a  snare  laid  for  him  by  Cyril,  exclaimed 
that  he  was  a  Christian,  and  had  been  baptized 
by  Atticus  the  bishop  at  Constantinople.  As 
they  gave  but  little  heed  to  his  protestations,  and 
a  certain  one  of  them  named  Ammonius  threw 
a  stone  at  Orestes  which  struck  him  on  the  head, 
and  covered  him  with  the  blood  that  flowed  from 
the  wound,  all  the  guards  with  a  few  exceptions 
iied,  plunging  into  the  crowd,  some  in  one  direc- 
tion and  some  in  another,  fearing  to  be  stoned 
to  death.  Meanwhile  the  populace  of  Alexan- 
dria ran  to  the  rescue  of  the  governor,  and  put 
the  rest  of  the  monks  to  flight ;  but  having 
secured  Ammonius  they  delivered  him  up  to  the 
prefect.  He  immediately  put  him  publicly  to 
the  torture,  which  was  inflicted  with  such  severity 
that  he  died  under  the  effects  of  it :  and  not  long 
after  he  gave  an  account  to  the  emperors  of  what 
had  taken  place.  Cyril  also  on  the  other  hand 
forwarded  his  statement  of  the  matter  to  the 
emperor :  and  causing  the  body  of  Ammonius 
to  be  deposited  in  a  certain  church,  he  gave  him 
the  new  appellation  of  Thaumasius,^  ordering 
him  to  be  enrolled  among  the  martyrs,  and  eu- 
logizing his  magnanimity  in  churcli  as  that  of 
one  who  had  fallen  in  a  conflict  in  defence  of 
piety.  But  the  more  sober-minded,  although 
Christians,  did  not  accept  Cyril's  prejudiced  es- 
timate of  him  ;  for  they  well  knew  that  he  had 
suffered  the  punishment  due  to  his  rashness,  and 
that  he  had  not  lost  his  life  under  the  torture 
because  he  would  not  deny  Christ.  And  Cyril 
himself  being  conscious  of  this,  suffered  the  recol- 
lection of  the  circumstance  to  be  gradually  ob- 
literated by  silence.  But  the  animosity  between 
Cyril  and  Orestes  did  not  by  any  means  subside 
at  this  point,  but  was  kindled  ^  afresh  by  an  oc- 
currence similar  to  the  preceding. 

1  (=)ai;/ndo-io?,  '  wonderful,'  '  admirable.' 

2  The  original  here  has  an-ca/Seo-e,  '  quenched,' '  extinguished,' 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Of  Hypatia  the  Female  Philosopher. 

There  was  a  woman  at  Alexandria  named 
Hypatia,^  daughter  of  the  philosopher  Theon, 
who  made  such  attainments  in  literature  and 
science,  as  to  far  surpass  all  the  philosophers  of 
her  own  time.  Having  succeeded  to  the  school 
of  Plato  and  Plotinus,  she  explained  the  princi- 
ples of  philosophy  to  her  auditors,  many  of  whom 
came  from  a  distance  to  receive  her  instructions. 
On  account  of  the  self-possession  and  ease  of 
manner,  which  she  had  acquired  in  consequence 
of  the  cultivation  of  her  mind,  she  not  unfre- 
quently  appeared  in  public  in  presence  of  the 
magistrates.  Neither  did  she  feel  abashed  in 
coming  to  an  assembly  of  men.  For  all  men 
on  account  of  her  extraordinary  dignity  and  vir- 
tue admired  her  the  more.  Yet  even  she  fell  a 
victim  to  the  political  jealousy  which  at  that 
time  prevailed.  For  as  she  had  frequent  inter- 
views with  Orestes,  it  was  calumniously  reported 
among  the  Christian  populace,  that  it  was  she 
who  prevented  Orestes  from  being  reconciled  to 
the  bishop.  Some  of  them  therefore,  hurried 
away  by  a  fierce  and  bigoted  zeal,  whose  ring- 
leader was  a  reader  named  Peter,  waylaid  her 
returning  home,  and  dragging  her  from  her  car- 
riage, they  took  her  to  the  church  called  Ccesa- 
reum,  where  they  completely  stripped  her,  and 
then  murdered  her  with  tiles. ^  After  tearing  her 
body  in  pieces,  they  took  her  mangled  limbs  to 
a  place  called  Cinaron,  and  there  burnt  them. 
This  affair  brought  not  the  least  opprobrium,  not 
only  upon  Cyril/  but  also  upon  the  whole  Alex- 
andrian church.  And  surely  nothing  can  be 
farther  from  the  spirit  of  Christianity  than  the 
allowance  of  massacres,  fights,  and  transactions 
of  that  sort.  This  happened  in  the  month  of 
March  during  Lent,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Cyril's 
episcopate,  under  the  tenth  consulate  of  Hono- 
rius,  and  the  sixth  of  Theodosius."' 


but  the  context  demands  the  very  opposite  meaning,  unless  indeed 
the  outrage  on  Hypatia  was  considered  the  last  in  the  series  of  occa- 
sions of  quarrel  between  Orestes  and  Cyril,  after  which  the  differ- 
ence gradually  died  out. 

'  The  following  incident  has  been  popularized  by  Charles  Kings- 
ley  in  his  well-known  novel  of  Hypatia,  which  has,  however,  the 
accessory  aim  of  antagonizing  the  over-estimation  of  early  Chris- 
tianity by  Dr.  Pusey  and  his  followers.  The  original  sources  for 
the  history  of  Hypatia,  besides  the  present  chapter,  are  the  letters 
of  her  pupil  Synesius,  and  Philostorgius,  VHl.  o.  Cf.  also  Werns- 
dorf,  df   Hypatia,  philosopha  Alex.  diss.  4,  Viieb.  1748. 

-  oiTTpdKOLt;,  lit.  '  oystershells,'  but  the  word  was  also  applied  to 
brick  tiles  used  on  the  roofs  of  houses. 

"  The  responsibility  of  Cyril  in  this  afl'air  has  been  variously 
estimated  by  different  historians.  Walch,  Gibbon,  and  Milman 
incline  to  hold  him  guilty.  J.  C.  Robertson  ascribes  him  indirect 
responsibility,  asserting  that  the  perpetrators  of  the  crime  'were 
mostly  officers  of  his  church,  and  had  unquestionably  drawn  encour- 
agement from  his  earlier  proceedings.'  Hist,  of  the  CJirist.  Ch. 
Vol.  I.  p.  401.  W.  Bright  s.ays,  '  Cyril  was  no  party  to  this  hideous 
deed,  but  it  was  the  work  of  men  whose  passions  he  had  originally 
called  out.  Had  there  been  no  onslaught  on  the  synagogues,  there 
would  doubtless  have  been  no  murder  of  Hypatia.'  Hist,  of  the 
C/nirch  from  313  to  451,  pp.  274,  273.  See  also  Schaff,  Hist,  of 
the  Christ.  Ch.  Vol.  III.  p.  943. 

••  415  A.D. 


VII.  i8.]         MACHINATIONS  OF  JEWS  AGAINST  CHRISTIANS. 


i6i 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Jews   commit  Anotlier   Oiitra^j^c    upon    the 
Christians  and  are  punished. 

Soon  afterwards  the  Jews  renewed  their  ma- 
levolent and  impious  practices  against  the  Chris- 
tians, and  drew  down  upon  themselves  deserved 
punishment.  At  a  place  named  Inmestar,  situ- 
ated between  Chalcis  and  Antioch  in  Syria,  the 
Jews  were  amusing  tliemselves  in  their  usual 
way  with  a  variety  of  sports.  In  this  way  they 
indulged  in  many  absurdities,  and  at  length  im- 
pelled by  drunkenness  they  were  guilty  of  scoff- 
ing at  Christians  and  even  Christ  himself;  and 
in  derision  of  the  cross  and  those  who  put  their 
trust  in  the  Crucified  One,  they  seized  a  Chris- 
tian boy,  and  having  bound  him  to  a  cross, 
began  to  laugh  and  sneer  at  him.  But  in  a 
little  while  becoming  so  transported  with  fury, 
they  scourged  the  child  until  he  died  under 
their  hands.  This  conduct  occasioned  a  sharp 
conflict  between  them  and  the  Christians  ;  and 
as  soon  as  the  emperors  were  informed  of  the 
circumstance,  they  issued  orders  to  the  governor 
of  the  province  to  find  out  and  punish  the  de- 
linquents. And  thus  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of 
this  place  paid  the  penalty  for  the  wickedness 
they  had  committed  in  their  impious  sport. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Miracle  performed  by  Paul  Bishop  of  the  Nova- 
tians  at  the  Baptism  of  a  Jewish  Impostor. 

About  this  time  Chrysanthus  bishop  of  the 
Novatians,  after  presiding  over  the  churches  of 
his  own  sect  seven  years,  died  on  the  26th  of 
August,  under  the  consulate  of  Monaxius  and 
PHntha.^  He  was  succeeded  in  the  bishopric 
by  Paul,  who  had  formerly  been  a  teacher  of  the 
Latin  language  :  but  afterwards,  setting  aside  the 
Latin  language,  had  devoted  himself  to  an  as- 
cetic course  of  life  ;  and  having  founded  a  mon- 
astery of  religious  men,  he  adopted  a  mode  of 
living  not  very  different  from  that  pursued  by 
the  monks  in  the  desert.  In  fact  I  myself  found 
him  just  such  a  person  as  Evagrius^  says  the 
monks  dwelling  in  the  deserts  ought  to  be ; 
imitating  them  in  continued  fastings,  silence, 
abstinence  from  animal  food,  and  for  the  most 
part  abstaining  also  from  the  use  of  oil  and 
wine.  He  was,  moreover,  solicitous  about  the 
wants  of  the  poor  to  as  great  an  extent  as  any 
other  man ;  he  untiringly  visited  those  who 
were  in  prison,  and  in  behalf  of  many  criminals 
interceded  with  the  judges,  who  readily  attended 


^    419  A.D. 

2  On  Evagrius,  see  IV.  23.     On  the  passage  in  his  works  alhided, 
see  Evagrius,  Ecclesiastical  History,  IV.  35,  36. 


to  him  on  account  of  his  eminent  piety.  But  why 
should  I  lengthen  my  account  of  him  ?  For  I  am 
about  to  mention  a  deed  done  by  hmi  which  is 
well  worthy  of  being  recorded  in  writing.  A 
certain  Jewish  impostor,  pretending  to  be  a 
convert  to  Chri.stianity,  was  in  the  habit  of  bemg 
baptized  often^  and  by  that  artifice  he  amassed 
a  good  deal  of  money.  x\fter  having  deceived 
many  of  the  Christian  sects  by  this  fraud  —  for 
he  received  baptism  from  the  Arians  and  Mace- 
donians —  as  there  remained  no  others  to  prac- 
tise his  hypocrisy  upon,  he  at  length  came  to 
Paul  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  and  declaring 
that  he  earnestly  desired  baptism,  requested  that 
he  might  obtain  it  at  his  hand.  Paul  com- 
mended the  determination  of  the  Jew,  but  told 
him  he  could  not  perform  that  rite  for  him,  until 
he  had  been  instructed  in  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  the  faith,  and  given  himself  to  fasting 
and  prayer  for  many  days.''  The  Jew  compelled 
to  fast  against  his  will  became  the  more  impor- 
tunate in  his  request  for  baptism  ;  now  as  Paul 
did  not  wish  to  discourage  him  by  longer  delays, 
since  he  was  so  urgent,  consented  to  grant  his 
request,  and  made  all  the  necessary  preparations 
for  the  baptism.  Having  purchased  a  white 
vestment  for  him,  he  ordered  the  font  to  be 
filled  with  water,  and  then  led  the  Jew  to  it  in 
order  to  baptize  him.  But  a  certain  invisible 
power  of  God  caused  the  water  suddenly  to  dis- 
appear. The  bishop,  of  course,  and  those  pres- 
ent, had  not  the  least  suspicion  of  the  real 
cause,  but  imagined  that  the  water  had  escaped 
by  the  channels  underneath,  by  means  of  which 
they  are  accustomed  to  empty  the  font ;  these 
passages  were  therefore;  very  carefully  closed, 
and  the  font  filled  again.  Again,  however,  as 
the  Jew  was  taken  there  a  second  time,  the 
water  vanished  as  before.  Then  Paul  addressing 
the  Jew,  said,  *  Either  you  are  an  evil-doer, 
wretched  man,  or  an  ignorant  person  who  has 
already  been  baptized.'  The  people  having 
crowded  together  to  witness  this  miracle,  one 
among  them  recognized  the  Jew,  and  iden- 
tified him  as  having  been  baptized  by  Atticus, 
the  bishop,  a  httle  while  before.  Such  was  the 
portent  wrought  by  the  hands  of  Paul  bishop  of 
the  Novatians. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Reneival  of  Hostilities  bctiucen  the  Ro7nans  and 
Persians  after  the  Death  of  Isdigerdes  King  of 
the  Persians. 

Isdigerdes  king  of  the  Persians,  who  had  in 
no  way  molested  the  Christians  in  his   domin- 

^  The  repetition  of  baptism,  except  in  cases  in  which  there  was 
doubt  as  to  the  validity  of  a  first  baptism,  was  considered  a  sacrilege. 
See  Smith  and  Cheetham,  Diet,  of  Christ.  Atitiq.  art.  Iteration 
Baptism.  *  Cf.  I.  8. 


l62 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[VII.  iS. 


ions,  having  died/  his  son  Vararanes  by  name 
succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom.  This  prince 
yielding  to  the  influence  of  the  magi,  persecuted 
the  Christians  there  with  rigor,  by  inflicting  on 
them  a  variety  of  Persian  punishments  and  tor- 
tures. They  were  therefore  on  account  of  the 
oppression  obhged  to  desert  their  country  and 
seek  refuge  among  the  Romans,  entreating  them 
not  to  suffer  them  to  be  completely  extirpated. 
Atticus  the  bishop  received  these  suppliants  with 
great  benignity,  and  did  his  utmost  to  help  them 
in  whatsoever  way  it  was  possible  :  accordingly  he 
made  the  emperor  Theodosius  acquainted  with 
the  facts.  It  happened  at  the  same  time  that 
another  grievance  of  the  Romans  against  Per- 
sians came  to  light.  The  Persians,  that  is  to 
say,  would  not  send  back  the  laborers  in  the 
gold  mines  who  had  been  hired  from  among  the 
Romans ;  and  they  also  plundered  the  Roman 
merchants.  The  bad  feeling  which  these 
things  produced  was  greatly  increased  by  the 
flight  of  the  Persian  Christians  into  the  Roman 
territories.  For  the  Persian  king  immediately 
sent  an  embassy  to  demand  the  fugitives.  But 
the  Romans  were  by  no  means  disposed  to  de- 
liver them  up  ;  not  only  as  desirous  of  defend- 
ing their  suppliants,  but  also  because  they  were 
ready  to  do  anything  for  the  sake  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  For  which  reason  they  chose 
rather  to  renew  the  war  with  the  Persians,  than 
to  suffer  the  Christians  to  be  miserably  destroyed. 
The  league  was  accordingly  broken,  and  a  fierce 
war  followed.^  Of  which  war  I  deem  it  not  un- 
seasonable to  give  some  brief  account.  The 
Roman  emperor  first  sent  a  body  of  troops  under 
the  command  of  the  ggneral  Ardaburius  ;  ^  who 
making  an  irruption  through  Armenia  into  Persia, 
ravaged  one  of  its  provinces  called  Azazene. 
Narsseus  the  Persian  general  marched  against 
him  with  the  Persian  army ;  but  on  coming  to 
an  engagement  he  was  defeated,  and  obliged  to 
retreat.  Afterwards  he  judged  it  advantageous 
to  make  an  unexpected  irruption  through  Meso- 
potamia into  the  Roman  territories  there  un- 
guarded, thinking  by  this  means  to  be  revenged 
on  the  enemy.  But  this  design  of  Narsseus  did 
not  escape  the  observation  of  the  Roman  gen- 
eral. Having  therefore  plundered  Azazene,  he 
then  himself  also  hastily  marched  into  Mesopo- 
tamia. Wherefore  Narsseus,  although  furnished 
with  a  large  army,  was  prevented  from  invading 
the  Roman  provinces;  but  arriving  at  Nisibis  — 
a  city  in  the  possession  of  the  Persians  situated 
on  the  frontiers  of  both  empires  —  he  sent  to 
Ardaburius  desiring  that  they  might  make  mutual 
arrangements  about   carrying  on  the.  war,  and 

»  Having  reigned  between  399  and  420  a.d.  Cf.  Clinton,  Fasti 
Romani,  year  420. 

*  There  had  been  peace  between  the  Persian  and  the  Roman 
powers  since  381.     Cf.  Pagi,  Ant.  420,  note  14. 

•''  Mentioned  in  Theophanes'  Chroiwgraphia,  p.  74. 


appoint  a  time  and  place  for  an  engagement. 
But  he  said  to  the  messengers,  '  Tell  Narsaeus 
that  the  Roman  emperors  will  not  fight  when  it 
pleases  him.'     The  emperor  perceiving  that  the 
Persian  Avas   mustering  his  whole   force,  made 
additional  levies  to  his  army,  and  put  his  whole 
trust  in  God  for  the  victory  :  and  that  the  king 
was  not  without  immediate   benefit    from    this 
pious    confidence    the    following    circumstance 
proves.      As    the   Constantinopolitans   were   in 
great  consternation,  and  apprehensive  respecting 
the  issue  of  the  war,  angels  from  God  appeared 
to  some  persons  in  Bithynia  who  were  travelling 
to  Constantinople  on  their  own  affairs,  and  bade 
them  tell  the  people  not  to  be  alarmed,  but  pray 
to  God  and  be  assured  that  the  Romans  would  be 
conquerors.     For  they  said  that  they  themselves 
were  appointed  by  God  to  defend  them.     When 
this    message   was  circulated  it  not  only  com- 
forted the  residents  of  the  city,  but  rendered 
the  soldiers  more  courageous.     The  seat  of  war 
being  transferred,  as  we  have  said,  from  Armenia 
to  Mesopotamia,  the  Romans  shut  up  the  Per- 
sians in  the  city  of  Nisibis,  which  they  besieged  ; 
and  having  constructed  wooden   towers  which 
they  advanced  by  means  of  machines  to   the 
walls,  they  slew  great  numbers  of  those  who  de- 
fended them,  as  well  as  of  those  who  ran  to  their 
assistance.     When  Vararanes  the  Persian  mon- 
arch learned  that  his  province  of  Azazene  on  the 
one  hand  had  been  desolated,  and  that  on  the 
other  his  army  was  closely  besieged  in  the  city 
of  Nisibis,  he  resolved  to  march  in  person  with 
all  his  forces  against  the  Romans  :  but  dreading 
the  Roman  valor,  he   implored  the  aid  of  the 
Saracens,  who  were  then  governed  by  a  warlike 
chief  named  Alamundarus.     This  prince  accord- 
ingly brought  with  him  a  large  reinforcement  of 
Saracen  auxiliaries,  exhorted  the  king  of  the  Per- 
sians to  fear  nothing,  for  that   he  would  soon 
reduce  the  Romans  under  his  power,  and  deliver 
Antioch  in  Syria  into  his  hands.     But  the  event 
did  not  realize  these  promises ;  for  God  infused 
into  the  minds  of  the  Saracens  a  terrible  panic  ; 
and  imagining  that  the  Roman   army  was  falling 
upon  them,  and  finding  no  other  way  of  escape, 
they  precipitated  themselves,  armed  as  they  were, 
into  the   river    Euphrates,   wherein    nearly    one 
hundred  thousand  of  them  were  drowned.   Such 
was  the  nature  of  the  panic. 

The  Romans  besieging  Nisibis,  understand- 
ing that  the  king  of  Persia  was  bringing  with 
him  a  great  number  of  elephants,  became 
alarmed  in  their  turn,  burnt  all  the  machines 
they  had  used  in  carrying  on  the  siege,  and 
retired  into  their  own  country.  What  engage- 
ments afterwards  took  place,  and  how  Areo- 
bindus  another  Roman  general  killed  the  bravest 
of  the  Persians  in  single  combat,  and  by  what 
means  Ardaburius  destroyed  seven  Persian  com- 


VII.  20.] 


WAR  WITH  THE  PERSIANS. 


163 


manders  in  an  ambuscade,  and  in  what  manner 
Vitian  anotlier  Roman  general  van(|uished  the 
remnant  of  the  Saracen  forces,  I  believe  I  ought 
to  pass  by,  lest  I  should  digress  too  far  from  my 
subject. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Of  Palladins  the  Courier. 

How  the  Emperor  Theodosius  received  in- 
telligence of  what  was  done  in  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time,  and  how  he  was  quickly 
•  informed  of  events  taking  place  far  away,  I 
shall  attempt  to  explain.  For  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  possess  among  his  subjects  a  man 
endowed  with  extraordinary  energy  both  of  body 
and  mind,  named  Palladius ;  who  rode  so  vigor- 
ously that  he  would  reach  the  frontiers  of  the 
Roman  and  Persian  dominions  in  three  days,^ 
and  again  return  to  Constantinople  in  as  many 
more.  The  same  individual  traversed  other 
parts  of  the  world  on  missions  from  the  emperor 
with  equal  celerity :  so  that  an  eloquent  man 
once  said  not  unaptly,  '  This  man  by  his  speed 
proves  the  vast  expanse  of  the  Roman  Empire 
to  be  little.'  The  king  of  the  Persians  himself 
was  astonished  at  the  expeditious  feats  which 
were  related  to  him  of  this  courier :  but  we 
must  be  content  with  the  above  details  concern- 
ing him. 

CHAPTER   XX. 

A  Second  Overthroio  of  the  Persians  by  the 
Romans. 

Now  the  emperor  of  the  Romans  dwelling  in 
Constantinople  being  fully  aware  that  God  had 
plainly  given  him  the  victory  was  so  benevolent 
that  although  those  under  him  had  been  suc- 
cessful in  war  nevertheless  he  desired  to  make 
peace  \  and  to  that  end  he  dispatched  Helion, 
a  man  in  whom  he  placed  the  greatest  confi- 
dence, with  a  commission  to  enter  into  a  pacific 
treaty  with  the  Persians.  Helion.  having  arrived 
in  Mesopotamia,  at  the  place  where  the  Romans 
for  their  own  security  had  formed  a  trench, 
sent  before  him  as  his  deputy  Maximin  an  elo- 
quent man  who  was  the  associate  of  Ardaburius 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  to  make 
preliminary  arrangements  concerning  the  terms 
of  peace.  Maximin  on  coming  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Persian  king,  said  he  had  been  sent 
to  him  on  this  matter,  not  by  the  Roman  em- 
peror, but  by  his   generals ;    for   he    said    this 


^  Much,  of  course,  depends,  in  estimating  the  rate  of  speed  here  re- 
corded, on  the  exact  distance  between  Constantinople  and  the  rather 
indefinite  limits  of  the  Persian  empire.  But  even  if  the  minimum  of 
500  miles  be  taken  as  a  basis,  the  speed  seems  almost  incredible. 


war  was  not  even  known  to  the  emperor,  and 
if  known  would  be  considered  insignificant  by 
him.  And  as  the  sovereign  of  Persia  had  gladly 
decided  to  receive  the  embassy,  —  for  his  troops 
were  suffering  from  want  of  provisions,  —  there 
came  to  him  that  corps  among  them  which  is 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  '  the  Immortals.'  ^ 
This  is  a  body  of  brave  men  numbering  about 
ten  thousand  —  and  counselled  the  king  not  to 
listen  to  any  overtures  for  peace,  until  they 
should  have  made  an  attack  upon  the  Romans, 
who,  they  said,  were  now  become  extremely 
incautious.  The  king  approving  their  advice, 
ordered  the  ambassador  to  be  imprisoned  and 
a  guard  set  over  him,  and  permitted  the  Im- 
mortals to  put  their  design  upon  the  Romans 
into  execution.  They  therefore,  on  arriving  at 
the  place  appointed,  divided  themselves  into 
two  bands,  with  a  view  to  surround  some  por- 
tion of  the  Roman  army.  The  Romans  observ- 
ing but  one  body  of  Persians  approaching  them, 
prepared  themselves  to  receive  it,  not  having 
seen  the  other  division,  in  consequence  of  their 
suddenly  rushing  forth  to  battle.  But  just  as 
the  engagement  was  about  to  commence,  Divine 
Providence  so  ordered  it,  that  another  division 
of  the  Roman  army  under  Procopius  a  general 
emerged  from  behind  a  certain  hill  and  per- 
ceiving their  comrades  in  danger,  attacked  the 
Persians  in  the  rear.  Thus  were  they,  who  but 
a  little  before  had  surrounded  the  Romans, 
themselves  encompassed.  Having  utterly  de- 
stroyed these  in  a  short  time,  the  Romans 
turned  upon  those  who  broke  forth  from  their 
ambuscade  and  in  like  manner  slew  every  one 
of  them  with  darts.  In  this  way  those  who  by 
the  Persians  were  termed  '  the  Immortals  '  were 
all  of  them  shown  to  be  mortal,  Christ  having 
executed  this  vengeance  upon  the  Persians  be- 
cause they  had  shed  the  blood  of  so  many  of 
his  pious  worshippers.  The  king  of  the  Persians 
on  being  informed  of  the  disaster,  pretended  to 
be  ignorant  of  what  had  taken  place,  and 
ordered  the  embassy  to  be  admitted,  he  thus 
addressing  the  ambassador :  '  I  agree  to  the 
peace,  not  as  yielding  to  the  Romans,  but  to 
gratify  you,  whom  I  have  found  to  be  the  most 
prudent  of  all  the  Romans.'  Thus  was  that 
war  concluded  which  had  been  undertaken  on 
account  of  the  suffering  Christians  in  Persia, 
under  the  consulate  of  the  two  Augusti,-  being 
the  thirteenth  of  Honorius,  and  the  tenth  of 
Theodosius,  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  300th 
Olympiad  :  and  with  it  terminated  the  persecu- 
tion which  had  been  excited  in  Persia  against 
the  Christians. 


'  A  Persian  body-guard  called  'ASaraToi,  '  Immortals,'  existed 
during  the  period  of  the  invasion  of  Greece  by  the  Persians  (cf. 
Herodotus,  VII.  31).  The  organization  and  discipline  of  the  later 
body  must  have  been,  of  course,  very  different. 

-  422  A.D. 


164 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VII.  21. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

Kind  Treatment  of  the  Persian  Captives  by  Aca- 
cius  Bishop  of  A?nida. 

A  NOBLE  action  of  Acacius  bishop  of  Amida, 
at  that  time  greatly  enhanced  his  reputation 
among  all  men.  As  the  Roman  soldiery  would 
on  no  consideration  restore  to  the  Persian  king 
the  captives  whom  they  had  taken,  these  cap- 
tives, about  seven  thousand  in  number,  were 
being  destroyed  by  famine  in  devastating  Aza- 
zene,  and  this  greatly  distressed  the  king  of  the 
Persians.  Then  Acacius  thought  such  a  matter 
was  by  no  means  to  be  trifled  with ;  having 
therefore  assembled  his  clergy,  he  thus  ad- 
dressed them  :  '  Our  God,  my  brethren,  needs 
neither  dishes  nor  cups  ;  for  he  neither  eats, 
nor  drinks,  nor  is  in  want  of  anything.  Since 
then,  by  the  liberality  of  its  faithful  members, 
the  church  possesses  many  vessels  both  of  gold 
and  silver,  it  behooves  us  to  sell  them,  that  by 
the  money  thus  raised  we  may  be  able  to  re- 
deem the  prisoners,  and  also  supply  them  with 
food.'  Having  said  these  things  and  many 
others  similar  to  these,  he  ordered  the  vessels 
to  be  melted  down,  and  from  the  proceeds  paid 
the  soldiers  a  ransom  for  their  captives,  whom 
he  supported  for  some  time  ;  and  then  furnish- 
ing them  with  what  was  needful  for  their  jour- 
ney, sent  them  back  to  their  sovereign.  This 
"benevolence  on  the  part  of  the  excellent  Aca- 
chis,  astonished  the  king  of  the  Persians,  as  if 
the  Romans  were  accustomed  to  conquer  their 
enemies  as  well  by  their  beneficence  in  peace  as 
their  prowess  in  war.  They  say  also  that  the 
Persian  king  wished  that  Acacius  should  come 
into  his  presence,  that  he  might  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  beholding  such  a  man  ;  a  wish  which  by 
the  emperor  Theodosius'  order  was  soon  grati- 
fied. So  signal  a  victory  having  through  Divine 
favor  been  achieved  by  the  Romans,  many  who 
were  illustrious  for  their  eloquence,  wrote  pan- 
egyrics in  honor  of  the  emperor,  and  recited 
them  in  public.  The  empress  herself  also  com- 
posed a  poem  in  heroic  verse  :  for  she  had  ex- 
cellent literary  taste ;  being  the  daughter  of 
Leontius  the  Athenian  sophist,  she  had  been  in- 
structed in  every  kind  of  learning  by  her  father ; 
Atticus  the  bishop  had  baptized  her  a  little 
while  previous  to  her  marriage  with  the  em- 
peror, and  had  then  given  her  the  Christian 
name  of  Eudocia,^  instead  of  her  pagan  one  of 
Athenais.-     Many,  as  I  have  said,  produced  eu- 

'  EiiSoKi'a,  '  Benevolence.' 

2  The  Chronicon  Paschale  gwcs  a  different  account  of  Eudocux. 
It  says  that  her  father's  name  was  Heracliliis.  When  he  died  her 
brothers  Gesius  and  Valerian  refused  to  give  her  her  share  of  the 
inheritance.  She  came  to  Constantinople  to  plead  for  her  rights 
through  Pulcheria,  the  sister  of  Theodosius,  and  impressed  the 
latter  so  favorably  that  Pulcheria  persuaded  Theodosius  to  make 
her  his   wife   (cf.   Chronic.   Pascli.  year  420).      Her  brothers  on 


logiums  on  this  occasion.  Some,  indeed,  were 
stimulated  by  the  desire  of  being  noticed  by 
the  emperor ;  while  others  were  anxious  to  dis- 
play their  talents  to  the  masses,  being  unwilling 
that  the  attainments  they  had  made  by  dint  of 
great  exertion  should  lie  buried  in  obscurity. 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

Virtues  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Younger. 

But  although  I  am  neither  eager  for  the 
notice  of  the  emperor,  nor  wish  to  make  an 
exhibition  of  my  oratorical  powers,  yet  have  I 
felt  it  my  duty  to  record  plainly  the  singular 
virtues  with  which  the  emperor  is  endowed  :  for 
I  am  persuaded  that  silence  concerning  them,  as 
they  are  so  excellent,  would  be  injustice  to  those 
who  should  come  after  us.  In  the  first  place 
then,  this  prince  though  born  and  nurtured  to 
empire,  was  neither  stultified  nor  effeminated 
by  the  circumstances  of  his  birth  and  educa- 
tion. He  evinced  so  much  prudence,  that  he 
appeared  to  those  who  conversed  with  him  to 
have  acquired  wisdom  from  experience.  Such 
was  his  fortitude  in  undergoing  hardships,  that 
he  would  courageously  endure  both  heat  and 
cold ;  fasting  very  frequently,  especially  on 
Wednesdays  and  Fridays ; '  and  this  he  did 
from  an  earnest  endeavor  to  observe  with  accu- 
racy all  the  prescribed  forms  of  the  Christian 
religion.  He  rendered  his  palace  little  different 
from  a  monastery  :  for  he,  together  with  his 
sisters,  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  recited 
responsive  hymns  in  praise  of  the  Deity.  By 
this  training  he  learnt  the  holy  Scriptures  by 
heart ;  and  he  would  often  discourse  with  the 
bishops  on  scriptural  subjects,  as  if  he  had 
been  an  ordained  priest  of  long  standing.  He 
was  a  more  indefatigable  collector  of  the  sacred 
books  and  of  the  expositions  which  had  been 
written  on  them,  than  even  Ptolemy  Philadel- 
phus^  had  formerly  been.  In  clemency  and 
humanity  he  far  surpassed  all  others.  For  the 
emperor  Julian  although  he  professed  to  be  a 

hearing  of  her  elevation  to  the  throne  fled  to  Greece,  but  she  sent 
for  them  and  persuaded  Theodosius  to  appoint  them  to  high  offices, 
on  the  ground  that  she  was  indebted  to  them  for  her  good  fortune 
(cf.  Chronic.  Pasch.  year  421).  Besides  her  ode  commemorating 
the  victory  of  the  imperial  forces  over  the  Persians,  several  other 
works  of  hers  are  mentioned,  viz.  parajjhrases  of  the  Pentateuch, 
Joshua,  and  Judges  into  Greek  hexameters,  a  version  of  the  prophe- 
cies of  Zachariah  and  Daniel,  and  a  poem  in  three  books  on  St. 
Cyprian  and  St.  Justina;  to  these  Zonaras  adds  that  she  completed 
the  Centones  Homerici  oi  Patricius.  Her  later  years  were  clouded 
by  a  misunderstanding  between  her  husband  and  herself,  which  is 
variously  given  by  the  contemporaneous  historians  and  altogether 
passed  over  by  Socrates.  Cf.  Evagrius,  H.  E.  I.  20,  22,  and  Zona- 
ras, Ann.  Xlll. 

1  On  the  observance  of  these  two  days  of  the  week  as  fast  days 
in  the  early  Church,  see  Bingham,  Christ.  Anlig.  XXI.  3. 

-  <tnAa6€A<|)0?=  '  lover  of  his  brothers,'  but  applied  to  him  by 
the  rhetorical  figure  of  antiphrasis  because  he  killed  his  brothers. 
This  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  reit'ned  in  Eg>-pt  from  285  to  247  B.C. 
and  is  famous  for  having  the  Old  Testament  translated  from  Hebrew 
into  Greek,  according  to  the  common  tradition,  by  seventy  learned 
men,  whence  the  translation  has  been  known  as  the  Septuagint. 


VII. 


23-] 


THEODOSIUS  THE  YOUNGER. 


165 


philosopher,  could  not  moderate  his  rage  against 
the  Antiochians  who  derided  him,  but  inllicted 
upon  Theodore  the  most  agonizing  tortures.'' 
Theodosius  on  the  contrary,  bidding  farewell  to 
Aristotle's  syllogisms,  exercised  philosophy  in 
deeds,  by  getting  the  mastery  over  anger,  grief, 
and  pleasure.  Never  has  he  revenged  himself 
on  any  one  by  whom  he  has  been  injured  ;  nor 
has  any  one  ever  even  seen  him  irritated.  And 
when  some  of  his  most  intimate  friends  once 
asked  him,  why  he  never  inflicted  capital  pun- 
ishment upon  offenders,  his  answer  was,  '  Would 
that  it  were  even  possible  to  restore  to  life  those 
that  have  died.'  To  another  making  a  similar 
inquiry  he  repUed,  '  It  is  neither  a  great  nor  a 
difficult  thing  for  a  mortal  to  be  put  to  death  : 
but  it  is  God  only  that  can  resuscitate  by  re- 
pentance a  person  that  has  once  died.'  So 
habitually  indeed  did  he  practice  mercy,  that  if 
any  one  were  guilty  and  sentence  of  death  was 
passed  upon  him,  and  he  was  conducted  toward 
the  place  of  execution,  he  was  never  suffered  to 
reach  the  gates  of  the  city  before  a  pardon  was 
issued,  commanding  his  immediate  return.  Hav- 
ina:  once  exhibited  a  show  of  huntinar  wild  beasts 
in  the  Amphitheatre  at  Constantinople,  the  peo- 
ple cried  out,  '  Let  one  of  the  boldest  bestiarii  ^ 
encounter  the  enraged  animal.'  But  he  said  to 
them,  '  Do  ye  not  know  that  we  are  wont  to  view 
these  spectacles  with  feelings  of  humanity  ?  '  By 
this  expression  he  instructed  the  people  to  be 
satisfied  in  future  with  shows  of  a  less  cruel  de- 
scription. His  piety  was  such  that  he  had  a 
reverential  regard  for  all  who  were  consecrated 
to  the  service  of  God  ;  and  honored  in  an  es- 
pecial manner  those  whom  he  ascertained  to  be 
eminent  for  their  sanctity  of  life.  It  is  said  that 
the  bishop  of  Chebron  *  having  died  at  Constan- 
tinople, the  emperor  expressed  a  wish  to  have 
his  cassock  of  sackcloth  of  hair  ;  which,  although 
it  was  excessively  filthy,  he  wore  as  a  cloak,  hop- 
ing that  thus  he  should  become  a  partaker  in 
some  degree  of  the  sanctity  of  the  deceased. 
In  a  certain  year,  during  which  the  weather  had 
been  very  tempestuous,  he  was  obliged  by  the 
eagerness  of  the  people  to  exhibit  the  usual 
sports  in  the  Hippodrome  ;  and  when  the  circus 
was  filled  with  spectators,  the  violence  of  the 
storm  increased,  and  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of 
snow.  Then  the  emperor  made  it  very  evident 
how  his  mind  was  affected  towards  God  ;  for  he 
caused  the  herald  to  make  a  proclamation  to  the 
people  to  this  effect :  '  It  is  far  better  and  fitter 
to  desist  from  the  show,  and  unite  in  common 


=  Cf.  III.  19. 

■*  Persons  who  fought  with  wild  beasts  in  the  games  of  the  circus. 
They  were  of  two  classes:  (i)  professionals,  those  who  fought  for 
pay,  and  (2)  criminals,  allowed  to  use  arms  in  defending  themselves 
against  the  wild  beasts  to  which  they  had  been  condemned.  .It  is 
one  of  the  first  class  that  is  here  meant. 

=  An  altogether  unknown  and  doubtful  diocese. 


prayer  to  God,  that  we  may  be  preserved  unhurt 
from  the  impending  storm.'  Scarcely  had  the 
herald  executed  his  commission,  when  all  the 
people,  with  the  greatest  joy,  began  with  one  ac- 
cord to  offer  supplication  and  sing  praises  to 
God,  so  that  the  whole  city  became  one  vast 
congregation  ;  and  the  emperor  himself  in  un- 
official garments,  went  into  the  midst  of  the  mul- 
titude and  commenced  the  hymns.  Nor  was  he 
disappointed  in  his  expectation,  for  the  atmos- 
phere began  to  resume  its  wonted  serenity  :  and 
Divine  benevolence  bestowed  on  all  an  abundant 
harvest,  instead  of  an  expected  deficiency  of 
corn.  If  at  any  time  war  was  raised,  like  David 
he  had  recourse  to  God,  knowing  that  he  is  the 
arbiter  of  battles,  and  by  prayer  brought  them 
to  a  prosperous  issue.  At  this  point  therefore, 
I  shall  relate,  how  a  little  after  the  war  against 
the  Persians,  by  placing  his  confidence  in  God 
he  vanquished  the  usurper  John,  after  Honorius 
had  died  on  the  15  th  of  August,  in  the  consulate 
of  Asclepiodotus  and  Marian.^  For  I  judge  what 
then  occurred  worthy  of  mention,  inasmuch  as 
there  happened  to  the  emperor's  generals  who 
were  dispatched  against  the  tyrant,  something 
analogous  to  what  took  place  when  the  IsraeHtes 
crossed  the  Red  Sea  under  the  guidance  of 
Moses.  These  things  however,  I  shall  set  forth 
very  briefly,  leaving  to  others  the  numerous  de- 
tails which  would  require  a  special  treatise. 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

After  the  Death  of  the  Emperor  Honorius  John 
usurps  the  Sovereignty  at  Rome.  He  is  de- 
stroyed through  the  Prayers  of  Theodosius  the 
Younger. 

When  the  Emperor  Honorius  died  Theodosius 
—  now  sole  ruler — having  received  the  news 
concealed  the  truth  as  long  as  possible,  mislead- 
ing the  people  sometimes  with  one  report,  and 
then  with  another.  But  he  privately  dispatched 
a  military  force  to  Salonae,  a  city  of  Dalmatia, 
that  in  the  event  of  any  revolutionary  movement 
in  the  West  there  might  be  resources  at  hand  to 
check  it ;  and  after  making  these  provisional 
arrangements,  he  at  length  openly  announced 
his  uncle's  death.  In  the  meantime  John,  the 
superintendent  of  the  emperor's  secretaries,^  not 
content  with  the  dignity  to  which  he  had  already 
attained,  seized  upon  the  sovereign  authority; 
and  sent  an  embassy  to  the  emperor  Theodosius, 
requesting  that  he  might  be  recognized  as  his 
colleague  in  the  empire.  But  that  prince  first 
caused  the  ambassadors  to  be  arrested,  then  sent 
off  Ardaburius,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army,  who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  in 


423  A.D. 


*  So  also  Zosimus,  V.  40. 


i66 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[VII.  23. 


the  Persian  war.-  He,  on  arriving  at  Salonae,  set 
sail  from  thence  for  Aquileia.  And  he  was  fortu- 
nate as  was  thought,  but  fortune  was  adverse  to 
him  as  it  afterwards  appeared.  For  a  contrary 
wind  having  arisen,  he  was  driven  into  the  usurp- 
er's hand.  The  latter  having  seized  him  became 
more  sanguine  in  his  hope  that  the  emperor 
would  be  induced  by  the  urgency  of  the  case  to 
elect  and  proclaim  him  emperor,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  life  of  his  general- in-chief.  And  the 
emperor  was  in  fact  greatly  distressed  when  he 
heard  of  it,  as  was  also  the  army  which  had  been 
sent  against  the  usurper,  lest  Ardaburius  should 
be  subjected  to  evil  treatment  by  the  usurper. 
Aspar  the  son  of  Ardaburius,  having  learnt  that 
his  father  was  in  the  usurper's  power,  and  aware 
at  the  same  time  that  the  party  of  the  rebels  was 
strengthened  by  the  accession  of  immense  num- 
bers of  barbarians,  knew  not  what  course  to  pur- 
sue. Then  again  at  this  crisis  the  prayer  of  the 
pious  emperor  prevailed.  For  an  angel  of  God, 
under  the  appearance  of  a  shepherd,  undertook 
the  guidance  of  Aspar  and  the  troops  which 
were  with  him,  and  led  him  through  the  lake 
near  Ravenna  —  for  in  that  cit\'  the  usurper  was 
then  residing  —  and  there  detained  the  military 
chief.  Now,  no  one  had  ever  been  known  to 
have  forded  that  lake  before ;  but  God  then 
rendered  that  passable,  which  had  hitherto  been 
impassable.  Having  therefore  crossed  the  lake, 
as  if  going  over  dry  ground,  they  found  the  gates 
of  the  city  open,  and  overpowered  the  usurper. 
This  event  aftbrded  that  most  devout  emperor 
an  opportunity  of  giving  a  fresh  demonstration 
of  his  piety  towards  God.  For  the  news  of  the 
usurper's  being  destroyed,  having  arrived  while 
he  was  engaged  at  the  exhibition  of  the  sports 
of  the  Hippodrome,  he  immediately  said  to  the 
people  :  '  Come  now,  if  you  please,  let  us  leave 
these  diversions,  and  proceed  to  the  church  to 
offer  thanksgivings  to  God,  whose  hand  has 
overthrown  the  usurper.'  Thus  did  he  address 
them ;  and  the  spectacles  were  immediately 
forsaken  and  neglected,  the  people  all  passing 
out  of  the  circus  singing  praises  together  with 
him,  as  with  one  heart  and  one  voice.  And 
arriving  at  the  church,  the  whole  city  again  be- 
came one  congregation  ;  and  once  in  the  church 
they  passed  the  remainder  of  the  day  in  these 
devotional  exercises. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Valenti?iia7i  a  Son  of  Constantius  and  Placidia, 
Aunt  of  Theodosius,  is  proclaimed  Ejnperor. 

After  the  usurper's  death,  the  emperor  Theo- 
dosius became    very   anxious    as   to   whom    he 

-  See  above,  chap.  18. 


should  proclaim  emperor  of  the  West.  He  had 
a  cousin  then  very  young  named  Valentinian  ; 
the  son  of  his  aunt  Placidia,  daughter  of  Theo- 
dosius the  Great,  and  sister  of  the  two  x\ugusti 
Arcadius  and  Honorius  and  of  that  Constantius 
who  had  been  proclaimed  emperor  by  Honori- 
us,^ and  had  died  after  a  short  reign  with  him. 
This  cousin  he  created  Caesar,  and  sent  into  the 
Western  parts,  committing  the  administration  of 
affairs  to  his  mother  Placidia.  He  himself  also 
hastened  towards  Italy,  that  he  might  in  person 
both  proclaim  his  cousin  emperor,  and  also  being 
present  among  them,  endeavor  to  influence  the 
natives  and  residents  by  his  counsels  not  to  sub- 
mit to  usurpers  readily.  But  when  he  reached 
Thessalonica  he  was  prevented  from  proceed- 
ing further  by  sickness ;  he  therefore  sent  for- 
ward the  imperial  crown  to  his  cousin  by  Helion 
the  patrician,  and  he  himself  returned  to  Con- 
stantinople. But  concerning  these  matters  I 
deem  the  narrative  here  given  sufficient. 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Christian  Benevolence  of  Atticus  Bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople. He  7-egisters  "yohn's  Name  in  the 
Diptychs.  His  Fore-hiowledge  of  his  Own 
Death. 

Meanwhile  Atticus  the  bishop  caused  the 
affairs  of  the  church  to  flourish  in  an  ex- 
traordinary manner ;  administering  all  things 
with  prudence,  and  inciting  the  people  to 
virtue  by  his  instruction.  Perceiving  that  the 
church  was  on  the  point  of  being  divided  inas- 
much as  the  Johannites^  assembled  themselves 
apart,  he  ordered  that  mention  of  John  should 
be  made  in  the  prayers,  as  was  customary  to  be 
done  of  the  other  deceased-  bishops ;  by  which 
means  he  trusted  that  many  would  be  induced 
to  return  to  the  Church.  And  he  was  so  liberal 
that  he  not  only  provided  for  the  poor  of  his 
own  parishes,  but  transmitted  contributions  to 
supply  the  wants  and  promote  the  comfort  of 
the  indigent  in  the  neighboring  cities  also. 
On  one  occasion  as  he  sent  to  Calliopius  a  pres- 
byter of  the  church  at  Nicfea,  three  hundred 
pieces^  of  gold  he  also  dispatched  the  following 
letter. 

'  Atticus  to  Calliopius  —  salutations  in  the 
Lord. 

'  I  have  been  informed  that  there  are  in  your 
city  ten  thousand  necessitous  persons  whose 
condition  demands  the  compassion  of  the  pious. 

1  Cf.  1. 39,  and  11. 1. 

'  The  adherents  of  Chr>'sostom.     See  VI.  3. 

-  He  effected  this  restoration  by  having  the  name  John  enrolled 
in  the  diptychs  or  registers  of  those  whose  names  should  be  included 
in  the  prayers  of  the  liturgy. 

^  Xputru'oi'?,  with  <narr)pa<:  probably  to  be  supplied;  if  so  the 
value  of  these  gold  pieces  was  about  $5.00,  or  £i  os.  gd. 


VII.  25-] 


ATTICUS  BISHOP  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


167 


And  I  say  ten  thousand,  designating  their  mul- 
titude rather  than  using  the  number  precisely. 
As  therefore  I  have  received  a  sum  of  money 
from  him,  who  with  a  bountiful  hand  is  wont  to 
supply  faithful  stewards ;  and  since  it  happens 
that  some  are  pressed  by  want,  that  those  who 
have  may  be  proved,  who  yet  do  not  minister  to 
the  needy  —  take,  my  friend,  these  three  hun- 
dred pieces  of  gold,  and  dispose  of  them  as 
you  may  think  fit.  It  will  be  your  care,  I  doubt 
not,  to  distribute  to  such  as  are  ashamed  to  beg, 
and  not  to  those  who  through  life  have  sought 
to  feed  themselves  at  others'  expense.  In  be- 
stowing these  alms  make  no  distinction  on  relig- 
ious grounds ;  but  feed  the  hungry  whether 
they  agree  with  us  in  sentiment,  or  not.' 

Thus  did  Atticus  consider  even  the  poor  who 
were  at  a  distance  from  him.  He  labored  also 
to  abolish  the  superstitions  of  certain  persons. 
For  on  being  informed  that  those  who  had  sep- 
arated themselves  from  the  Novatians,  on  ac- 
count of  the  Jewish  Passover,  had  transported 
the  body  of  Sabbatius*  from  the  island  of  Rhodes 
—  for  in  that  island  he  had  died  in  exile  —  and 
having  buried  it,  were  accustomed  to  pray  at  his 
grave,  he  caused  the  body  to  be  disinterred  at 
night,  and  deposited  in  a  private  sepulchre  ;  and 
those  who  had  formerly  paid  their  adorations  at 
that  place,  on  finding  his  tomb  had  been  opened, 
ceased  honoring  that  tomb  thenceforth.  More- 
over he  manifested  a  great  deal  of  taste  in  the 
application  of  names  to  places.  To  a  port  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Euxine  sea,  anciently  called 
Pharmaceus,''  he  gave  the  appellation  of  Thera- 
peia ;  ^  because  he  would  not  have  a  place  where 
religious  assemblies  were  held,  dishonored  by  an 
inauspicious  name.  Another  place,  a  suburb  of 
Constantinople,  he  termed  Argyropolis,'  for  this 
reason.  Chrysopolis  *  is  an  ancient  port  situated 
at  the  head  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  is  mentioned 
by  several  of  the  early  writers,  especially  Strabo, 
Nicolaus  Damascenus,  and  the  illustrious  Xeno- 
phon  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  Anabasis  of  Cyrus  ;  ^ 
and  again  in  the  first  of  his  Hellcuica  ^^  he  says 
concerning  it,  '  that  Alcibiades  having  walled  it 
round,  established  a  toll  in  it ;  for  all  who  sailed 
out  of  Pontus  were  accustomed  to  pay  tithes 
there.'  Atticus  seeing  the  former  place  to  be 
directly  opposite  to  Chrysopolis,  and   very  de- 

*  See  above,  chaps.  5  and  12. 
^  (fcap^iaKea  =  ' poisoner.' 

<>  6epa77eia?:  the  word  occurs  in  three  senses,  viz.  (i)  healing, 
(2)  service,  (3)  worship.  Probably,  and  as  the  sentence  following 
seems  to  indicate,  the  last  of  these  was  the  one  meant  to  be  empha- 
sized; this  is  also  borne  out  by  the  plural  number  used.  If  the  first 
sense  were  the  one  for  which  the  word  was  chosen,  it  must  have 
been  because  of  its  being  in  complete  contrast  to  the  previous  name. 
The  place  retains  the  name  thus  given  it  to  this  day  and  constitutes 
one  of  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople. 

•  Silver  City.  «  Golden  City. 
!>  Cf.  Xenophon,  Anab.  VI.  6.  38. 

'"  Cf.  Xenophon,  Hellenica,  I.  i.  22.  The  event  mentioned 
took  place  in  411  B.C. 


lightfully  situated,  declared  that  it  was  most 
fitting  it  should  be  called  Argyropolis ;  and  as 
soon  as  this  was  said  it  firmly  established  the 
name.  Some  persons  having  said  to  him  that 
the  Novatians  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  hold 
their  assemblies  within  the  cities  :  '  Do  you  not 
know,'  he  replied,  '  that  they  were  fellow-sufferers 
with  us  in  the  persecution  under  Constantius  and 
Valens?"  Besides,'  said  he,  *  they  are  witnesses 
to  our  creed  :  for  although  they  separated  from 
the  church  a  long  while  ago,  they  have  never 
introduced  any  innovations  concerning  the  faith.' 
Being  once  at  Nicaea  on  account  of  the  ordina- 
tion of  a  bishop,  and  seeing  there  Asclepiades 
bishop  of  the  Novatians,  then  very  aged,  he 
asked  him,  '  How  many  years  have  you  been  a 
bishop  ? '  When  he  was  answered  fifty  years  : 
'  You  are  a  happy  man,'  said  he,  '  to  have  had 
charge  of  so  "  good  a  work  "  ^-  for  such  a  length 
of  time.'  To  the  same  Asclepiades  he  observ^ed  : 
'  I  commend  Novatus ;  but  can  by  no  means 
approve  of  the  Novatians.'  And  when  Ascle- 
piades, surprised  at  this  strange  remark,  said, 
'  What  is  the  meaning  of  your  remark,  bishop  ?  ' 
Atticus  gave  him  this  reason  for  the  distinction. 
'  I  approve  of  Novatus  for  refusing  to  commune 
with  those  who  had  sacrificed,  for  I  myself 
would  have  done  the  same  :  but  I  cannot  praise 
the  Novatians,  inasmuch  as  they  exclude  laymen 
from  communion  for  very  trivial  offenses.' 
Asclepiades  answered,  '  There  are  many  other 
"sins  unto  deatjj,"  ^^  as  the  Scriptures  term 
them,  besides  sacrificing  to  idols ;  on  account 
of  which  even  you  excommunicate  ecclesiastics 
only,  but  we  laymen  also,  reserving  to  God 
alone  the  power  of  pardoning  them.'  "  Atticus 
had  moreover  a  presentiment  of  his  own  death  ; 
for  at  his  departure  from  Nicjea,  he  said  to 
Calliopius  a  presbyter  of  that  place  :  '  Hasten 
to  Constantinople  before  autumn  if  you  wish  to 
see  me  again  alive  ;  for  if  you  delay  beyond 
that  time,  you  will  not  find  me  surviving.'  Nor 
did  he  err  in  this  prediction ;  for  he  died  on 
the  loth  of  October,  in  the  21st  year  of  his 
episcopate,  under  the  eleventh  consulate  of 
Theodosius,  and  the  first  of  Valentinian  Caesar.'^ 
The  Emperor  Theodosius  indeed,  being  then 
on  his  way  from  Thessalonica,  did  not  reach 
Constantinople  in  time  for  his  funeral,  for  Atti- 
cus had  been  consigned  to  the  grave  one  day 
before  the  emperor's  arrival.  Not  long  after- 
wards, on  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  October, 
the  young  Valentinian  was  proclaimed  Augustus."' 


"  Cf.  IV.  1-6.  12  I  Tim.  iii.  i.  13  i  John  v.  17. 

'*  The  Catholic  Church  was  more  severe  in  its  discipline  regarding 
the  clergy  than  the  laity,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  excommunica- 
tion was  in  any  case  absolute  and  reinstatement  impossible.  See 
on  this  point  the  liberal  views  of  Chrysostom,  VI.  21.  Cf.  also 
Bennett,  Christ.  Archceology,  p.  383. 

^^   425  A.D. 

1^  This  was  Valentinian  III.  See  chap.  24  above  for  his  rela- 
tionship to  the  reigning  Theodosius. 


1 68 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VIL  26. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Sisinnius  is  chosen  to  succeed  Atticus. 

After  the  decease  of  Atticus,  there  arose  a 
strong  contest  about  the  election  of  a  successor, 
some  proposing  one  person,  and  some  another. 
One  party,  they  say,  was  urgent  in  favor  of  a 
presbyter  named  Phihp  ;  another  wished  to  pro- 
mote Proclus  who  was  also  a  presbyter ;  but  the 
general    desire    of    the    people    was    that    the 
bishopric    should    be   -conferred     on    Sisinnius. 
This  person  was  also  a  presbyter  but  held  no 
ecclesiastical  office  within  the  city,  having  been 
appointed  to  the  sacred  ministry  in  a  church  at 
Etea,  a  village  in  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople. 
This  village  is  situated  across  the  harbor  from 
the  city,  and  in  it  from  an  ancient  custom  the 
whole   population    annually  assembled    for   the 
celebration  of  our  Saviour's  ascension.     All  of 
the   laity   were   warmly   attached    to   the  man 
because  he  was  famous  for  his  piety,  and  espe- 
cially because  he  was  diligent  in  the  care  of  the 
poor  even  '  beyond  his  power.'  ^     The  earnest- 
ness of  the  laity  thus  prevailed,  and  Sisinnius 
was  ordained  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, under  the   following  consulate,  which  was 
the  twelfth  of  Theodosius,  and  the  second  of 
Valentinian.-     The  presbyter  Philip  was  so  cha- 
grined at  the  preference   of  another  to  himself, 
that  he   even    introduced   the   subject  into    his 
Christian  History,^  making  spme  very  censori- 
ous remarks,   both  about   the   person   ordained 
and  those  who  had    ordained  him,  and  much 
more  severely  on  the  laity.     But  he  said  such 
things   as  I   cannot  by  any  means   commit  to 
writing.     Since  I   do  not  approve  of  his  unad- 
vised action  in  committing  them  to  writing,  I 
do  not  deem  it  unseasonable,  however,  to  give 
some  notice  here  of  him  and  of  his  works. 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Voluminous  Productions  of  Philip,  a  Presbyter 
of  Side. 

Philip  was  a  native  of  Side  ;  Side  is  a  city 
of  Pamphylia.  From  this  place  also  Troilus  the 
sophist  came,  to  whom  Philip  boasted  himself  to 
be  nearly  related.  He  was  a  deacon  and  thus 
admitted  to  the  privilege  of  familiar  intercourse 
with  John  Chrysostom,  the  bishop.  He  labored 
assiduously  in  literature,  and  besides  making 
very  considerable  literary  attainments,  formed 
an  extensive  collection  of  books  in  every  branch 
of  knowledge.     Affecting  the  Asiatic  style, ^  he 

^  2  Cor.  viii.  3.  2  426  A.D. 

^  See  Introd.  p.  12.  Photius,  Bihlioth.  chap.  35,  mentions 
Philip's  attack  on  Sisinnius  and  assigns  the  reason  for  it  as  jealousy, 
because  Philip  and  Sisinnius  both  being  of  the  same  rank  in  the 
clergy,  the  latter  was  made  archbishop  of  Constantinople. 

^  This  was  a  heavy,  redundant,  and  turgid  style  deprecated  by 


became  the  author  of  many  treatises,  attempt- 
ing among  others  a  refutation  of  the  Emperor 
Julian's    treatises    against    the    Christians,    and 
compiled  a  Christian  History,  which  he  divided 
into    thirty-six   books ;    each    of    these   books 
occupied  several  volumes,  so  that  they  amounted 
altogether  to  nearly  one  thousand,  and  the  mere 
argument^  of  each  volume  equalled  in  magni- 
tude   the  volume  itself.     This  composition  he 
has  entided  not  an  Ecclesiastical,  but  a  Chris- 
tian  History,  and   has   grouped  together  in  it 
abundance    of    very  heterogeneous    materials, 
wishing  to  show  that  he  is  not  ignorant  of  phil- 
osophical and  scientific  learning  :  for  it  contains 
a  medley  of  geometrical  theorems,  astronomical 
speculations,  arithmedcal  calculations,  and  musi- 
cal principles,  with  geographical  delineations  of 
islands,    mountains,  forests,  and   various   other 
matters  of  htUe  moment.     By  forcing  such  irrel- 
evant details  into  connection  with  his  subject, 
he  has  rendered  his  work  a  very  loose  produc- 
tion, useless  alike,  in  my  opinion,  to  the  igno- 
rant  and    the    learned ;     for   the    illiterate    are 
incapable    of  appreciating   the    loftiness   of  his 
diction,  and  such   as   are  really  competent   to 
form   a  just   estimate,  condemn  his  wearisome 
tautology.     But  let  every  one  exercise  his  own 
judgment  concerning  these  books  according  to 
his  taste.     All  I  have  to  add  is,  that  he  has  con- 
founded the  chronological  order  of  tlie  transac- 
tions he  describes  :  for  after  having  related  what 
took  place  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Theo- 
dosius, he  immediately  goes  back  to  the  times 
of  the  bishop  Athanasius  ;  and  this  sort  of  thing 
he  does  frequendy.     But  enough  has  been  said 
of  Philip :    we   must   now  mention   what   hap- 
pened under  the  episcopate  of  Sisinnius. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

Proclus  ordained  Bishop  of  Cyzicus  by  Sisinnius, 
but  refected  by  the  People. 

The  bishop  of  Cyzicus  having  died,  Sisinnius 
ordained  Proclus  to  the  bishopric  of  that  city. 
But  while  he  was  preparing  to  depart  thither, 
the  inhabitants  anticipated  him,  by  electing  an 
ascetic  named  Dalmatius.  This  they  did  in  dis- 
regard of  a  law  which  forbade  their  ordination 
of  a  bishop  without  the  sancdon  of  the  bishop 
of  Constantinople;^    but    they    pretended    that 

rhetoricians  of  the  better  class  from  the  time  of  Cicero  onwards.  Cf. 
Cicero,  Brut.  XIII.  51;  Quinctilian,  Instit.  Oral.  XII.  10,  and 
Jerome,  rt(/7?K^/'V.  (125.  6). 

2  uTToflf  0-19  =  lit.  'subject'  or  'substance';  the  contents,  or  as 
later,  called  the  argument,  or  summary  of  contents. 

1  The  Council  in  its  6th  Canon  declared  that  no  one  should  be 
ordained  bishop  without  the  consent  of  his  metropolitan:  but  tnai 
the  bishop  of  Constantinople  was  the  metropolitan  of  the  V>"'''^^ 
does  not  appear  unless  the  decree  of  the  (Canon  3d)  Council  ot  Con- 
stantinople makinc:  the  latter  a  patriarchate  is  to  be  understood  as 
rendering  the  see  of  Cyzicus  subordinate  to  that  of  Constantinople, 
as  an  individual  church  is  to  the  metropolitan.  Cf.  Bingham^ 
Christ.  Antiq.  II.  16.  12. 


VII.  30.]       NESTORIUS    MADE   BISHOP   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 


169 


this  was  a  special  privilege  granted  to  Atticus 
personally.  Proclus  therefore  continued  desti- 
tute of  the  presidency  over  his  own  church,  but 
acquired  celebrity  for  his  discourses  in  the 
churches  of  Constantinople.  We  shall  however 
speak  of  him  more  particularly  in  an  appropriate 
place.  Sisinnius  having  survived  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  bishopric  by  barely  two  entire  years, 
was  removed  by  death  on  the  24th  of  Decem- 
ber, in  the  consulate  of  Hierius  and  Ardaburius." 
For  his  temperance,  integrity  of  life,  and  be- 
nignity to  the  poor,  he  was  deservedly  eminent ; 
he  was  moreover  singularly  affable  and  guileless 
in  disposition,  and  this  rendered  him  rather 
averse  to  business,  so  that  by  men  of  active 
habits  he  was  accounted  indolent. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

Nestorius  of  Antiochprcrmoted  to  the  See  of  Con- 
stantinople.    His  Persecution  of  the  Heretics. 

Afier  the  death  of  Sisinnius,  on  account  of 
the  spirit  of  ambitious  rivalry  displayed  by  the 
ecclesiastics  of  Constantinople,  the  emperors 
resolved  that  none  of  that  church  should  fill  the 
vacant  bishopric,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
many  eagerly  desired  to  have  Philip  ordained, 
and  no  less  a  number  were  in  favor  of  the  elec- 
tion of  Proclus.  They  therefore  sent  for  a 
stranger^  from  Antioch,  whose  name  was  Nes- 
torius,- a  native  of  Germanicia,"  distinguished 
for  his  excellent  voice  and  fluency  of  speech ; 
qualifications  which  they  judged  important  for 
the  instruction  of  the  people.  After  three  months 
had  elapsed  therefore,  Nestorius  was  brought 
from  Antioch,  being  greatly  lauded  by  some  for 
his  temperance  :  but  what  sort  of  a  disposition 
he  was  of  in  other  respects,  those  who  possessed 
any  discernment  were  able  to  perceive  from  his 
first  sermon.  Being  ordained  on  the  loth  of 
April,  under  the  consulate  of  Felix  and  Taurus,'' 
he  immediately  uttered  those  famous  words, 
before  all  the  people,  in  addressing  the  emperor, 
*  Give  me,  my  prince,  the  earth  purged  of  here- 
tics, and  I  will  give  you  heaven  as  a  recompense. 


-  427  A.D. 

1  i-KT]Kvha.,  perhaps  in  a  contemptuous  sense  = 'an  imported 
fellow.' 

-  Founder  of  Nestorianism  (Nestorian  church  and  heresy).  For 
details  on  Nestorianism,  see  Assemani,  Bibliotheca  Oriental,  torn. 
IV.,  said  to  be  the  most  exhaustive  work  on  the  subject,  ancient 
and  modern  alike,  being  a  volume  of  950  pp.  and  occupied  with 
Nestorianism  alone.  '  It  collects  information  from  all  quarters, 
especially  from  the  Oriental  writers,  concerning  the  history,  ritual, 
organization,  schools,  and  missions.'  (Stokes,  in  Smith  and  Wace.) 
The  peculiar  characteristic  of  the  Nestorian  Christology  will  appear 
in  the  sequel  of  Socrates'  account.  Other  accessible  sources  of  in- 
formation on  Nestorianism  and  Nestorius  will  be  found  in  the 
standard  ecclesiastical  histories.  Cf.  Neander,  Hist,  of  the  Christ. 
Churck,  Vol.  II.  p.  446-524;  SchafT,  Hist,  of  the  Christ.  Church, 
Vol.  III.  p.  714-734;  Kuriz,  Church  Hist.  Vol.  I.  p.  334;  also 
Gibbon,  Decline  a7id  Fall  of  the  Rom.  Ejnpire.  chap.  47. 

^  A  city  in  Cilicia,  on  the  western  border  of  Syria. 
■*  428  A.D. 


Assist  me  in  destroying  heretics,  and  I  will  a.s- 
sist  you  in  vanquishing  the  Persians.'"'  Now 
although  these  utterances  were  extremely  grati- 
fying to  some  of  the  multitude,  who  cherished 
a  senseless  antipathy  to  the  very  name  of  heretic  ; 
yet  those,  as  I  have  said,  who  were  skillful  in 
predicating  a  man's  character  from  his  expres- 
sions, did  not  fail  to  detect  his  levity  of  mind, 
and  violent  and  vainglorious  temperament,  inas- 
much as  he  had  burst  forth  into  such  vehemence 
without  being  able  to  contain  himself  for  even 
the  shortest  space  of  time  ;  and  to  use  the  pro- 
verbial phrase,  '  before  he  had  tasted  the  water 
of  the  city,'  showed  himself  a  furious  persecutor. 
Accordingly  on  the  fifth  day  after  his  ordination, 
having  determined  to  demolish  a  chapel  in  which 
the  Arians  were  accustomed  to  perform  their 
devotions  privately,  he  drove  these  people  to 
desperation ;  for  when  they  saw  the  work  of 
destruction  going  forward  in  their  chapel,  they 
threw  fire  into  it,  and  the  fire  spreading  on  all 
sides  reduced  many  of  the  adjacent  buildings 
also  to  ashes.  A  tumult  accordingly  arose  on 
account  of  this  throughout  the  city,  and  the 
Arians  burning  to  revenge  themselves,  made 
preparations  for  that  purpose  :  but  God  the 
Guardian  of  the  city  suffered  not  the  mischief 
to  gather  to  a  climax.  From  that  time,  how- 
ever, they  branded  Nestorius  as  an  'incendiary,' 
and  it  was  not  only  the  heretics  who  did  this, 
but  those  also  of  his  own  faith.  For  he  could 
not  rest,  but  seeking  every  means  of  harassing 
those  \\\\o  embraced  not  his  own  sentiments,  he 
continually  disturbed  the  public  tranquillity.  He 
annoyed  the  Novatians  also,  being  incited  to 
jealousy  because  Paul  their  bishop  was  every- 
where respected  for  his  piety  ;  but  the  emperor 
by  his  admonitions  checked  his  fury.  With 
what  calamities  he  visited  the  Quartodecimans 
throughout  Asia,  Lydia,  and  Caria,  and  what 
multitudes  perished  in  a  popular  tumult  of  which 
he  was  the  cause  at  Miletus  and  Sardis,  I  think 
proper  to  pass  by  in  silence.  What  punishment 
he  suffered  for  all  these  enormities,  and  for  that 
unbridled  license  of  speech  in  which  he  indulged 
himself,  I  shall  mention  somewhat  later." 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

The  Burgi/ttdians   embrace   Christianity  under 
Theodosius  the  Younger. 

I  MUST  now  relate  an  event  well  worthy  of 

'•  '  What  the  bishops  and  especially  the  prelates  of  the  greater 
churches  said  in  their  first  sermon  to  the  people  was  very  carefully 
observed  among  the  early  Christians.  For  from  that  sermon  a  con- 
jecture was  made  as  to  the  fiith,  doctrine,  and  temper  of  every 
bishop.  Hence  the  people  were  wont  to  take  particular  notice,  and 
remember  their  sayings.  A  remark  of  this  nature  occurs  above, 
Bk.  II.  chap.  43,  concerning  the  first  sermon  of  Eudoxius,  bishop  of 
Constantinople.  And  Theodoret  and  Epiphanius  declare  the  same 
concerning  the  first  sermon  of  Melitius  to  the  people.'  —  Valesius. 

I-  Below,  chap.  36. 


170 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY 


[VII.  30. 


being  recorded,  which  happened  about  this 
time.  There  is  a  barbarous  nation  dwelHng 
beyond  the  Rhine,  denominated  Burgundians  ; 
they  lead  a  peaceful  life  ;  for  being  almost  all 
artisans,  they  support  themselves  by  the  exer- 
cise of  their  trades.  The  Huns,  by  making  con- 
tinual irruptions  on  this  people,  devastated  their 
country,  and  often  destroyed  great  numbers  of 
them.  In  this  perplexity,  therefore,  the  Bur- 
gundians resolved  to  have  recourse  not  to  any 
human  being,  but  to  commit  themselves  to  the 
protection  of  some  god  :  and  having  seriously 
considered  that  the  God  of  the  Romans  might- 
ily defended  those  that  feared  him,  they  all  with 
common  consent  embraced  the  faith  of  Christ. 
Going  therefore  to  one  of  the  cities  of  Gaul, 
they  requested  the  bishop  to  grant  them  Chris- 
tian baptism  :  who  ordering  them  to  fast  seven 
days,  and  having  meanwhile  instructed  them  in 
the  elementary  principles  of  the  faith,  on  the 
eighth  day  baptized  and  dismissed  them.  Ac- 
cordingly becoming  confident  thenceforth,  they 
marched  against  their  invaders  ;  nor  were  they 
disappointed  in  their  hope.  For  the  king  of 
the  Huns,  Uptar  ^  by  name,  having  died  in  the 
night  from  the  effects  of  a  surfeit,  the  Burgun- 
dians attacked  that  people  then  without  a  com- 
mander-in-chief; and  although  they  were  few 
in  numbers  and  their  opponents  very  many, 
they  obtained  a  complete  victory ;  for  the  Bur- 
gundians were  altogether  but  three  thousand 
men,  and  destroyed  no  less  than  ten  thousand 
of  the  enemy.  From  that  period  this  nation 
became  zealously  attached  to  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. About  the  same  time  Barbas  bishop  of 
the  Arians  died,  on  the  24th  of  June,  under  the 
thirteenth  consulate  of  Theodosius,^  and  the 
third  of  Valentinian,  and  Sabbatius  was  consti- 
tuted his  successor.  Enough  has  been  said  of 
these  matters. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Nestorius  harasses  the  Macedonians. 

Nestorius  indeed  acted  contrary  to  the  usage 
of  the  Church,  and  caused  himself  to  be  hated 
in  other  ways  also,^  as  is  evident  from  what  hap- 
pened during  his  episcopate.  For  Anthony 
bishop  of  Gerraa,  a  city  of  the  Hellespont,  ac- 
tuated by  the  example  of  Nestorius  in  his  intol- 
erance of  heretics,  began  to  persecute  the  Mac- 
edonians, under  the  pretext  of  carrying  out  the 


1  Octar,  mentioned  as  an  uncle  (father's  brother)  of  Attila  by 
Jornandcs,  Hisioria  Getarum ,  chap.  35. 

^  430  A.D. 

1  By  a  slight  change  in  the  Greek  text,  Valesius  renders  this 
phrase  '  but  caused  others  also  to  imitate  him,'  alleging  that  the 
conduct  of  Anthony  of  Germa  was  in  imitation  of  Nestorius ;  but  the 
emendation  seems  unnecessary.  Socrates  means  that  Nestorius 
made  himself  odious  in  other  ways,  perhaps  through  other  persons 
such  as  Anthony,  &c. 


intentions  of  the  patriarch.  The  Macedonians 
for  some  time  endured  his  annoyance ;  but 
when  Anthony  proceeded  to  farther  extremities, 
unable  any  longer  to  bear  his  harsh  treatment, 
they  were  led  to  a  sad  desperation,  and  suborn- 
ing two  men,  who  put  right  in  a  secondary 
place  and  profit  first,  they  assassinated  their 
tormenter.  When  the  Macedonians  had  per- 
petrated this  crime,  Nestorius  took  occasion 
from  it  to  increase  his  violence  of  conduct 
against  them,  and  prevailed  on  the  emperor  to 
take  away  their  churches.  They  were  there- 
fore deprived  of  not  only  those  which  they  pos- 
sessed at  Constantinople,  before  the  old  walls 
of  the  imperial  city,  but  of  those  also  which 
they  had  at  Cyzicus,  and  many  others  that  be- 
longed to  them  in  the  rural  districts  of  the 
Hellespont.  Many  of  them  therefore  at  that 
time  came  over  to  the  Catholic  church,  and 
professed  the  '  homoousian  '  faith.  But  as  the 
proverb  says,  '  drunkards  never  want  wine,  nor 
the  contentious  strife  ' :  and  so  it  fell  out  with 
regard  to  Nestorius,  who  after  having  exerted 
himself  to  expel  others  from  the  church,  was 
himself  ejected  on  the  following  account. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Of  the  Presbyter  Anastasiiis,  by  whom  the  Faith 
of  Nestorius  was  pe7~i'erted. 

Nestorius  had  an  associate  whom  he  had 
brought  from  Antioch,  a  presbyter  named  Anas- 
tasius ;  for  this  man  he  had  the  highest  esteem, 
and  consulted  him  in  the  management  of  his 
most  important  affairs.  This  Anastasius  preach- 
ing one  day  in  the  church  said,  'Let  no  one  call 
Mary  Thcotocos :  ^  for  Mary  was  but  a  woman  ;  ^ 
and  it  is  impossible  that  God  should  be  born  of 
a  woman.'  These  words  created  a  great  sensa- 
tion, and  troubled  many  both  of  the  clergy  and 
laity ;  they  having  been  heretofore  taught  to 
acknowledge  Christ  as  God,  and  by  no  means 
to  separate  his  humanity  from  his  divinity  on 
account  of  the  economy  of  incarnation,  heeding 
the  voice  of  the  apostle  when  he  said,  '  Yea, 
though  we  have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh  ;  yet 
now  henceforth  know  we  him  no  more.'  ^  And 
again, '  Wherefore,  leaving  the  word  of  the  begin- 
ning of  Christ,  let  us  go  on  unto  perfection.'  * 
While  great  offense  was  taken  in  the  church,  as 
we  have  said,  at  what  was  thus  propounded, 
Nestorius,  eager  to  establish  Anastasius'  propo- 
sition—  for  he  did  not  wish  to  have  the  man 
who  was  esteemed  by  himself  found  guilty 
of   blasphemy  —  delivered    several   public   dis- 

1  QeoToKov,  i.e.  '  Mother  of  God.'  See  Neander,  H/st.  of  Christ. 
Church,  Vol.  II.  p.  449. 

-  arOpojTTos,  '  human  being.' 

2  2  Cor.  V.  16.  *  Heb.  vi.  i. 


Vll.  33-] 


ORIGIN    OF    NESTORIANISM. 


171 


courses  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  assumed  ;i 
controversial  attitude,  and  totally  rejected  the 
epithet  Theotocos.  Wherefore  the  controversy 
on  the  subject  being  taken  in  one  s])irit  by  some 
and  in  another  by  others,  the  discussion  which 
ensued  divided  the  church,  and  resembled  the 
struggle  of  combatants  in  the  dark,  all  parties 
uttering  the  most  confused  and  contradictory 
assertions.  Nestorius  thus  acquired  the  reputa- 
tion among  the  masses  of  asserting  the  blas- 
phemous dogma  that  the  Lord  is  a  mere  man, 
and  attempting  to  foist  on  the  Church  the 
dogmas  of  Paul  of  Samosata  and  Photinus  ;  and 
so  great  a  clamor  was  raised  by  the  contention 
that  it  was  deemed  requisite  to  convene  a  gen- 
eral council  to  take  cognizance  of  the  matter  in 
dispute.  Having  myself  perused  the  writings 
of  Nestorius,  I  have  found  him  an  unlearned 
man  and  shall  candidly  express  the  conviction 
of  my  own  mind  concerning  him  :  and  as  in 
entire  freedom  from  personal  antipathies,  I  have 
already  alluded  to  his  faults,  I  shall  in  like  man- 
ner be  unbiassed  by  the  criminations  of  his 
adversaries,  to  derogate  from  his  merits.  I  can- 
not then  concede  that  he  was  either  a  follower 
of  Paul  of  Samosata  or  of  Photinus,  or  that  he 
denied  the  Divinity  of  Christ :  but  he  seemed 
scared  at  the  term  Theotocos,  as  though  it  were 
some  terrible  phantom.''  The  fact  is,  the  cause- 
less alarm  he  manifested  on  this  subject  just  ex- 
posed his  extreme  ignorance  :  for  being  a  man  of 
natural  fluency  as  a  speaker,  he  was  considered 
well  educated,  but  in  reality  he  was  disgracefully 
illiterate.  In  fact  he  contemned  the  drudgery 
of  an  accurate  examination  of  the  ancient  ex- 
positors :  and,  puffed  up  with  his  readiness  of 
expression,  he  did  not  give  his  attention  to  the 
ancients,  but  thought  himself  the  greatest  of  all. 
Now  he  was  evidently  unacquainted  with  the 
fact  that  in  the  First  Catholic  epistle  of  John  it 
was  written  in  the  ancient  copies,^  '  Every  spirit 
that  separates  Jesus,  is  not  of  God.'  The  muti- 
lation of  this  passage  '  is  attributable  to  those 
who  desired  to  separate  the  Divine  nature  from 
the  human  economy  :  or  to  use  the  very  lan- 
guage of  the  early  interpreters,  some  persons 
have  corrupted  this  epistle,  aiming  at  '  separat- 
ing the  manhood  of  Christ  from  his  Deity.'  But 
the  humanity  is  united  to  the  Divinity  in  the 
Saviour,  so  as  to  constitute  not  two  persons  but 
one  only.  Hence  it  was  that  the  ancients,  em- 
boldened by  this  testimony,  scrupled  not  to  style 
Mary  Theotocos.     For  thus  Eusebius  Pamphilus 

5  /iopiaoAvKior,  'hobgoblin,'  'bugbear.' 

^  I  John  iy.  2,  3.  The  findings  of  modern  textual  criticism  are 
at  variance  with  Socrates'  opinion  that  the  original  in  the  Epistle  of 
John  was  Auet  (separates).  Westcott  and  Hort  admit  Auet  into 
their  margin,  but  evidently  in  order  to  have  it  translated  as  the 
Revised  Version  has  it  (also  in  the  margin)  '  annulleth,'  taking 
away  all  the  force  of  the  passage  as  used  here. 

_  "  Of  what  nature  was  this  mutilation?  Some  authorities  omitted 
It  altogether  (see  Tischendorf,  No-'um.  Test.  ed.  Octav.  Maj.,  on 
the  passage) ;  others  changed  Auei  into  /xi)  bixoKoyrj, 


in  his  third  book  of  the  Life  of  Constantine* 
writes  in  these  terms  : 

'And  in  fact  "God  with  us"  submitted  to  be 
born  for  our  sake  ;  and  the  place  of  his  nativity 
is  by  the  Hebrews  called  Bethlehem.  Where- 
fore the  devout  empress  Helena  adorned  the 
place  of  accouchement  of  the  God-bearing  virgin 
with  the  most  splendid  monuments,  decorating 
that  sacred  spot  with  the  richest  ornaments.' 

Origen  also  in  the  first  volume  of  his  Commen- 
taries on  the  apostle's  epistle  to  the  Romans,'' 
gives  an  ample  exposition  of  the  sense  in  which 
the  term  Theotocos  is  used.  It  is  therefore  ob- 
vious that  Nestorius  had  very  little  acquaintance 
with  the  treatises  of  the  ancients,  and  for  that 
reason,  as  I  observed,  objected  to  the  word  only  : 
for  that  he  does  not  assert  Christ  to  be  a  mere 
man,  as  Photinus  did  or  Paul  of  Samosata,  his 
own  published  homilies  fully  demonstrate.  In 
these  discourses  he  nowhere  destroys  the  proper 
personality  ^^  of  the  Word  of  God  ;  but  on  the 
contrary  invariably  maintains  that  he  has  an  es- 
sential and  distinct  personality  and  existence. 
Nor  does  he  ever  deny  his  subsistence  as  Pho- 
tinus and  the  Samosatan  did,  and  as  the  Mani- 
chaeans  and  followers  of  Montanus  have  also 
dared  to  do.  Such  in  fact  I  find  Nestorius,  both 
from  having  myself  read  his  own  works,  and  from 
the  assurances  of  his  admirers.  But  this  idle 
contention  of  his  has  produced  no  slight  ferment 
in  the  religious  world. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Desecration  of  the  Altar  of  the  Great  Church 
by  Runaway  Slaves. 

While  matters  were  in  this  state  it  happened 
that  an  outrage  was  perpetrated  in  the  church. 
For  the  domestics  of  a  man  of  quality  who  were 
foreigners,  having  experienced  harsh  treatment 
from  their  master,  fled  from  him  to  the  church  ; 
and  thus  they  ran  up  to  the  very  altar  with  their 
swords  drawfi.^  Nor  could  they  be  prevailed 
upon  by  any  entreaties  to  withdraw  ;  so  that 
they  impeded  the  performance  of  the  sacred 
services  ;  but  inasmuch  as  they  obstinately  main- 
tained their  position  for  several  days,  brandishing 
their  weapons  in  defiance  of  any  one  who  dared 
to  approach  them  —  and  in  fact  killed  one  of  the 
ecclesiastics,  and  wounded  another  —  they  were 
finaUy  compelled  to  slay  themselves.  A  person 
who  was  present  at  this  desecration  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, remarked  that  such  a  profanation  was  an 
ominous  presage,  and  in  support  of  his  view  of 
the  matter,  quoted  the  two  following  iambics  of 
an  ancient  poet :  — 

8  Cf.  Euseb.  Life  of  Const.  III.  43. 
^  Cf.  Origen,  Com.  in  Rom.  I.  i.  5. 
'"  i.TTocTTacrii';  see  I.  chap.  5,  note  2. 
I  Cf.  Bingham,  Christ.  Antiq.  VIII.  11. 


172 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


[VII.  33. 


"  For  such  prognostics  happen  at  a  time 
When  temples  are  defiled  by  impious  crime." 

Nor  was  he  who  made  the  prediction  disap- 
pointed in  these  inauspicious  forebodings  :  for 
they  signified  as  it  seems  a  division  among  the 
people,  and  the  deposition  of  the  author  of  it. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Synod    at    Ephesus    against    Nestorius. 
Deposition. 


His 


Not  long  time  elapsed  before  a  mandate  from 
the  emperor  directed  the  bishops  in  all  places 
to  assemble  at  Ephesus.^  Immediately  after  the 
festival  of  Easter  therefore  Nestorius,  escorted 
by  a  great  crowd  of  his  adherents,  repaired  to 
Ephesus,  and  found  many  of  the  bishops  already 
there.  Cyril  bishop  of  Alexandria  making  some 
delay,  did  not  arrive  till  near  Pentecost.  Five 
days  after  Pentecost,  Juvenal  bishop  of  Jerusa- 
lem arrived.  While  John  of  Antioch  was  still 
absent,  those  who  were  now  congregated  entered 
into  the  consideration  of  the  question ;  and 
Cyril  of  Alexandria  began  a  sharp  skirmish  of 
words,  with  the  design  of  terrifying  Nestorius, 
for  he  had  a  strong  dislike  for  him.  When  many 
had  declared  that  Christ  was  God,  Nestorius 
said  :  '  I  cannot  term  him  God  who  was  two 
and  three  months  old.  I  am  therefore  clear  of 
your  blood,  and  shall  in  future  come  no  more 
among  you.'  Having  uttered  these  words  he 
left  the  assembly,  and  afterwards  held  meetings 
with  the  other  bishops  who  entertained  senti- 
ments similar  to  his  own.  Accordingly  those 
present  were  divided  into  two  factions.  That 
section  which  supported  Cyril,  having  consti- 
tuted themselves  a  council,  summoned  Nesto- 
rius :  but  he  refused  to  meet  them,  and  put 
them  off  until  the  arrival  of  John  of  Antioch. 
The  partisans  of  Cyril  therefore  proceeded  to 
the  examination  of  the  pul)lic  discourses  of  Nes- 
torius which  he  had  preached  on  the  subject  in 
dispute ;  and  after  deciding  from  a  repeated 
perusal  of  them  that  they  contained  distinct 
blasphemy  against  the  Son  of  God,  tliey  deposed 
him.  This  being  done,  the  partisans  of  Nes- 
torius constituted  themselves  another  council 
apart,  and  therein  deposed  Cyril  himself,  and 
together  with  him  Memnon  bishop  of  Ephesus. 
Not  long  after  these  events,  John  bishop  of 
Antioch  made  his  appearance ;  and  being  in- 
formed of  what  had  taken  place,  he  pronounced 
umjualified  censure  on  Cyril  as  the  author  of  all 
this  confusion,  in  having  so  precipitately  pro- 
ceeded to  the  deposition  of  Nestorius.     Upon 

'  This  was  the  third  of  the  Kcumenical  or  General  Synods:  it 
was  convened  in  431  and  dealt  with  the  Nestorian  controversy.  Cf. 
Hefele,  Hist,  of  the  Councils  of  the  Ch.  Vol.  III.  p.  i;  also  Eva- 
grius,  H.  E.\.  2,  3,  4. 


this  Cyril  combined  with  Juvenal  to  revenge 
themselves  on  John,  and  they  deposed  him  also. 
When  affairs  reached  this  confused  condition, 
Nestorius  saw  that  the  contention  which  had 
been  raised  was  thus  tending  to  the  destruction 
of  communion,  in  bitter  regret  he  called  Mary 
Theotocos,  and  cried  out :  '  Let  Mary  be  called 
Theotocos,  if  you  will,  and  let  all  disputing  cease.' 
But  although  he  made  this  recantation,  no  notice 
was  taken  of  it ;  for  his  deposition  was  not  re- 
voked, and  he  was  banished  to  the  Oasis,  where 
he  still  remains.-  Such  was  the  conclusion  of  this 
Synod.  These  things  were  done  on  the  28th  of 
June,  under  the  consulate  of  Bassus  and  Anti- 
ochus.'''  John  when  he  had  returned  to  his 
bishopric,  having  convened  several  bishops,  de- 
posed Cyril,  who  had  also  returned  to  his  see  : 
but  soon  afterwards,  having  set  aside  their  en- 
mity and  accepting  each  other  as  friends,  they 
mutually  reinstated  each  other  in  their  episcopal 
chairs.  But  after  the  deposition  of  Nestorius  a 
mighty  agitation  prevailed  through  the  churches 
of  Constantinople.  For  the  people  was  divided 
on  account  of  what  we  have  already  called  his 
unfortunate  utterances  ;  and  the  clergy  unani- 
mously anathematized  him.  For  such  is  the 
sentence  which  we  Christians  are  accustomed 
to  pronounce  on  those  who  have  advanced  any 
blasphemous  doctrines,  when  we  set  up  their 
impiety  that  it  may  be  publicly  exposed,  as  it 
were,  on  a  pillar,  to  universal  execration. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Maximiati  elected  to  the  Episcopate  of  Constan- 
tinople, thoiii^h  Some  7oished  Pivclus  to  take 
that  Place. 

Affer  this  there  was  another  debate  concern- 
ing the  election  of  a  bishop  of  Constantinople. 
Many  were  in  favor  of  Philip,  of  whom  we  have 
already  made  mention  ;  but  a  still  greater  num- 
ber advocated  the  claims  of  Proclus.  And  the 
candidacy  of  Proclus  would  have  succeeded, 
had  not  some  of  the  most  influential  persons  in- 
terfered, on  the  ground  of  its  being  forbidden  by 

2  After  his  deposition  Nestorius  was  banished  to  the  Oasis,  as 
above  stated.  This  Oasis  was  '  a  miserable  place  exposed  to  the 
wild  nomad  tribes;  all  around  were  shiftins;  sands,  forming  a  path- 
less solitude.  He  .  .  .  employed  himself  in  writing  a  defense  of 
the  opinions  for  which  he  had  lost  all.  The  P.lemmyes  at  length 
invaded  the  Oasis,  and  took  Nestorius,  among  others,  captive; 
then,  by  what  he  calls  a  most  unexpected  act  of  compassion,  released 
liim,  and  bade  him  hurry  away.  He  thought  it  best  to  proceed  to 
Panopolis  in  the  Thebaid,  and  voluntarily  reported  himself  to  the 
governor,  who,  unmoved  by  his  pathetic  entreaty  that  the  imperial 
authorities  would  not  be  less  merciful  than  the  barbarians,  ordered 
.some  soldiers  to  convey  him  to  Elephantine.  The  journey  under 
such  circumstances  exhausted  the  old  man;  a  fall  severely  hurt  his 
hand  and  side;  and  before  he  could  reach  Elephantine,  a  mandate 
came  for  his  return  to  Panopolis.  Two  more  compulsory  changes 
of  abode  were  added  to  sufferings  which  remind  us  perforce  of  the 
last  days  of  S.  John  Chry.sostom:  and  then  the  unhappy  Nestorius 
was  no  more.  The  exact  year  of  his  death  cannot  be  ascertained.'  — 
W.  Bright,  Hist,  of  the  Church  from  a.d.  313  to  451,  p.  371,  372- 

=  431  A.D. 


VII.  37] 


VALIDITY    OP^    EPISCOPAL    TRANSP^ERENCES. 


Vo 


the  ecclesiastical  canon  that  a  person  nominated 
to  one  bishopric  should  be  translated  to  that  of 
another  city.^  The  people  believing  this  asser- 
tion, were  thereby  restrained  ;  and  about  four 
months  after  the  deposition  of  Nestorius,  a  man 
named  Maximian  was  promoted  to  the  bishopric, 
who  had  lived  an  ascetic  life,  and  was  also  ranked 
as  a  presbyter.  He  had  acquired  a  high  reputa- 
tion for  sanctity,  on  account  of  having  at  his  own 
expense  constructed  sepulchral  depositaries  for 
the  reception  of  the  pious  after  their  decease, 
but  was  '  rude  in  speech  '  ■  and  inclined  to  live  a 
quiet  life. 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

The  Author's  OptJiioti  of  the  Validity  of  Trans- 
lations from  One  See  to  Another. 

Bar  since  some  parties  by  appealing  to  a  pro- 
hibition in  the  ecclesiastical  canon,  prevented  the 
election  of  Proclus,  because  of  his  previous  ap- 
pointment to  the  see  of  Cyzicus,  I  wish  to  make 
a  few  remarks  on  this  subject.  Those  who  then 
presumed  to  interpose  such  a  cause  of  exclusion 
do  not  appear  to  me  to  have  stated  the  truth  ;  but 
they  were  either  influenced  by  prejudice  against 
Proclus,  or  at  least  have  been  themselves  com- 
pletely ignorant  both  of  the  canons,  and  of  the 
frequent  and  often  advantageous  precedents  that 
had  been  established  in  the  churches.  Eusebius 
Pamphilus  relates  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  Eccle- 
siastical History,^  that  Alexander  bishop  of  a 
certain  city  in  Cappadocia,  coming  to  Jerusalem 
for  devotional  purposes,  was  detained  by  the  in- 
habitants of  that  city,  and  constituted  bishop,  as 
the  successor  of  Narcissus  ;  and  that  he  con- 
tinued to  preside  over  the  churches  there  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  So  indifferent  a  thing 
was  it  amongst  our  ancestors,  to  transfer  a  bishop 
from  one  city  to  another  as  often  as  it  was  deemed 
expedient.  But  if  it  is  necessary  to  place  beyond 
a  doubt  the  falsehood  of  the  statement  of  those 
who  prevented  the  ordination  of  Proclus,  I  shall 
annex  to  this  treatise  the  canon  bearing  on  the 
subject.     It  runs  thus  :  ^ 

'  If  any  one  after  having  been  ordained  a  bishop 
should  not  proceed  to  the  church  unto  which  he 
has  been  appointed,  from  no  fault  on  his  part, 

^  The  canon  referred  to  is  probably  the  fifteenth  of  Nicsea,  as 
follows:  '  On  account  of  the  numerous  troubles  and  divisions  which 
have  taken  place,  it  has  been  thought  good  that  ...  no  bishop, 
priest,  or  deacon  should  remove  from  one  city  to  another.  If  any 
one  should  venture,  even  after  this  ordinance  of  the  holy  and  great 
Synod,  to  act  contrary'  to  this  present  rule,  and  should  follow  the 
old  custom,  the  translation  shall  be  null,  and  he  shall  return  to  the 
church  to  which  he  had  been  ordained  bishop  or  priest.'  Cf.  also 
Apostol.  Ca?t.  14  and  15,  and  the  twenty-first  of  the  Council  of  An- 
tioch  given  by  Hefele,  Hist,  of  the  Ck.  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.  72. 

^  2  Cor.  ,xi.  6. 

1  Cf.  Euseb.  H.  E.  VI.  11. 

-  The  canon  here  quoted  is  the  eighteenth  of  the  Council  of 
Antioch  (see  Hefele,  Hist,  of  the  Ck.  Councils,  Vol.  II.  p.  71); 
whereas  the  canon  of  that  council  bearing  on  that  subject  is  the 
twenty-first,  as  noted  in  chap.  35,  note  i. 


but  either  because  the  people  are  unwilling  to 
receive  him,  or  for  some  other  reason  arising 
from  necessity,  let  him  be  partaker  of  the  honor 
and  functions  of  the  rank  with  which  he  has 
been  invested,  j^rovided  he  intermeddles  not 
with  the  affairs  of  the  church  wherein  he  may 
minister.  It  is  his  duty  however  to  submit  to 
whatever  the  Synod  of  the  province  may  see  fit 
to  determine,  after  it  shall  have  taken  cognizance 
of  the  matter.' 

Such  is  the  language  of  the  canon.  That 
many  bishops  have  been  transferred  from  one 
city  to  another  to  meet  the  exigences  of  pecuhar 
cases,  I  shall  now  prove  by  giving  the  names  of 
those  bishops  who  have  been  so  translated." 
Perigenes  was  ordained  bishop  of  Patrae  :  but 
inasmuch  as  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  refused 
to  admit  him,  the  bishop  of  Rome  directed  that 
he  should  be  assigned  to  the  metropolitan  see  of 
Corinth,  which  had  become  vacant  by  the  de- 
cease of  its  former  bishop ;  here  he  presided 
during  the  rest  of  his  days.  Gregory  was  first 
made  bishop  of  Sasima,  one  of  the  cities  of  Cap- 
padocia, but  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Na- 
zianzus.  Melitius  after  having  presided  over  the 
church  at  Sebastia,  subsequently  governed  that 
of  Antioch.  Alexander  bishop  of  Antioch  trans- 
ferred Dositheus  bishop  of  Seleucia,  to  Tarsus 
in  Cilicia.  .  Reverentius  was  removed  from  Area 
in  Phoenicia,  and  afterwards  to  Tyre.  John  was 
transferred  from  Gordum  a  city  of  Lydia,  to  Pro- 
connesus,  and  presided  over  the  church  there. 
Palladius  was  transferred  from  Helenopolis  to 
Aspuna ;  and  Alexander  from  the  same  city  to 
Adriani.  Theophilus  was  removed  from  Apamea 
in  Asia,  to  Eudoxiopolis  anciently  called  Salam- 
bria.  Polycarp  was  transferred  from  Sexanta- 
prista  a  city  of  Mysia,  to  Nicopolis  in  Thrace. 
Hierophilus  from  Trapezopolis  in  Phrygia  to 
Plotinopolis  in  Thrace.  Optimus  from  Agdamia 
in  Phrygia  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia ;  and  Silvanus 
from  Philippopolis  in  Thrace  to  Troas.  This 
enumeration  of  bishops  who  have  passed  from 
one  see  to  another  is  sufficient  for  the  present ; 
concerning  Silvanus  who  was  removed  from  Phil- 
ippopolis in  Thrace  to  Troas  I  deem  it  desirable 
here  to  give  a  concise  account. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

Miracle  performed  by  Silvanus  Bishop  of  Troas 
formerly  of  Philippopolis. 

Silvanus  was  formerly  a  rhetorician,  and  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  school  of  Troi'lus  the 
sophist ;  but  aiming  at  perfection  in  his  Chris- 


^  In  what  way  these  canons  against  the  translation  of  bishops 
were  understood  and  observed  by  the  early  church  is  discussed  by 
Bingham,  Christ.  Anti/j.  VI.  4.  6. 


174 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[VII.  37- 


tian  course,  he  entered  on  the  ascetic  mode  of 
life,  and  set  aside  the  rhetorician's  paUium.  Atti- 
cus  bishop  of  Constantinople  having  taken  notice 
of  him  afterwards  ordained  him  bishop  of  Phil- 
ippopolis.^  Thus  he  resided  three  years  in 
Thrace ;  but  being  unable  to  endure  the  cold  of 
that  region  —  for  his  constitution  was  delicate 
and  sickly  —  he  begged  Atticus  to  appoint  some 
one  else  in  his  place,  alleging  that  it  was  for  no 
other  reason  but  the  cold  that  he  resigned  resi- 
dence in  Thrace.  This  having  been  done,  Sil- 
vanus  resided  at  Constantinople,  where  he  prac- 
ticed so  great  austerities  that,  despising  the 
luxurious  refinements  of  the  age,  he  often  ap- 
peared in  the  crowded  streets  of  that  populous 
city  shod  with  sandals  made  of  hay.  Some  time 
having  elapsed,  the  bishop  of  Troas  died ;  on 
which  account  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  came 
to  Atticus  concerning  the  appointment  of  a  suc- 
cessor. While  he  was  deliberating  whom  he 
should  ordain  for  them,  Silvanus  happened  to 
pay  him  a  visit,  which  at  once  relieved  him  from 
further  anxiety ;  for  addressing  Silvanus,  he  said  : 
'  You  have  now  no  longer  any  excuse  for  avoid- 
ing the  pastoral  administration  of  a  church ;  for 
Troas  is  not  a  cold  place  :  so  that  God  has  con- 
sidered your  infirmity  of  body,  and  provided 
you  a  suitable  residence.  Go  thither  then,  my 
brother,  without  delay.'  Silvanus  therefore  re- 
moved to  that  city. 

Here  a  miracle  was  performed  by  his  instru- 
mentality, which  I  shall  now  relate.  An  immense 
ship  for  carrying  burdens,  such  as  they  term 
'  float,'  ^  intended  for  the  conveyance  of  enor- 
mous pillars,  had  been  recently  constructed  on 
the  shore  at  Troas.  This  vessel  it  was  neces- 
sary to  launch.  But  although  many  strong  ropes 
were  attached  to  it,  and  the  power  of  a  vast 
number  of  persons  was  applied,  the  vessel  was 
in  no  way  moved.  When  these  attempts  had 
been  repeated  several  days  successively  with  the 
like  result,  the  people  began  to  think  that  a 
devil  detained  the  ship  ;  they  therefore  went  to 
the  bishop  Silvanus,  and  entreated  him  to  go 
and  offer  a  prayer  in  that  place.  For  thus  only 
they  thought  it  could  be  launched.  He  replied 
with  his  characteristic  lowliness  of  mind  that  he 
was  but  a  sinner,  and  that  the  work  pertained  to 
some  one  who  was  just  and  not  to  himself. 
Being  at  length  prevailed  on  by  their  continued 
entreaties,  he  approached  the  shore,  where  after 
having  prayed,  he  touched  one  of  the  ropes,  and 
exhorting  the  rest  to  vigorous  exertion,  the  ship 


•  Another  indication  that  the  patriarchal  functions  of  the  bishop 
of  Constantinople  were  at  this  time  exercised  and  recognized.  The 
Council  of  Chalcedon  somewhat  later  (in  451  a.d.)  formally  ordered 
m  Its  twenty-eighth  canon  that  the  metropolitans  of  the  Thracian. 
Pontic,  and  Asian  dioceses  should  be  ordained  by  the  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  their  election  being  first  secured  by  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  the  dioceses,  and  referred  to  the  patriarch  afterwards. 

"^  ttAxttji',  a  sort  of  raff,  the  word  is  incorrectly  spelled  nKarrf 
according  to  Sophocles  {Greek  Lexic,  &c.),  and  should  be  jtAcotj;. 


was  by  the  first  pull  instantly  set  in  motion,  and 
ran  swiftly  into  the  sea.  This  miracle  wrought 
by  the  hands  of  Silvanus,  stirred  up  the  whole 
population  of  the  province  to  piety.  But  the 
uncommon  worth  of  Silvanus  was  manifested  in 
various  other  ways.  Perceiving  that  the  eccle- 
siastics made  a  merchandise  of  the  contentions 
of  those  engaged  in  law-suits,  he  would  never 
nominate  any  one  of  the  clergy  as  judge  :  but 
causing  the  documents  of  the  litigants  to  be  de- 
livered to  himself,  he  summoned  to  him  some 
pious  layman  in  whose  integrity  he  had  confi- 
dence ;  and  committing  to  him  the  adjudication 
of  the  case,  he  soon  equitably  settled  all  the  dif- 
ferences of  the  litigants  ;  and  by  this  procedure 
Silvanus  acquired  for  himself  great  reputation 
from  all  classes  of  persons. 

We  have  indeed  digressed  pretty  much  from 
the  course  of  our  history  in  giving  this  account 
of  Silvanus ;  but  yet  it  will  not,  we  imagine,  be 
unprofitable.  Let  us  now  however  return  to 
the  place  from  which  we  departed.  Maximian^ 
having  been  ordained  on  the  25th  of  October, 
under  the  consulate  of  Bassus  and  Antiochus,'* 
the  affairs  of  the  church  were  reduced  to  a 
better  ordered  and  more  tranquil  condition. 


CHAPTER  XXXVin. 

Many  of  the  Jews  in  Crete  ejnbrace  the   Chris- 
tian Faith. 

About  this  period  a  great  number  of  Jews 
who  dwelt  in  Crete  were  converted  to  Christi- 
anity, through  the  following  disastrous  circum- 
stance. A  certain  Jewish  impostor  pretended 
that  he  was  Moses,  and  had  been^  sent  from 
heaven  to  lead  out  the  Jews  inhabiting  that 
island,  and  conduct  them  through  the  sea :  for 
he  said  that  he  was  the  same  person  who  for- 
merly preserved  the  Israelites  by  leading  them 
through  the  Red  Sea.  During  a  whole  year 
therefore  he  perambulated  the  several  cities  of 
the  island,  and  persuaded  the  Jews  to  believe 
such  assurances.  He  moreover  bid  them  re- 
nounce their  money  and  other  property,  pledg- 
ing himself  to  guide  them  through  a  dry  sea 
into  the  land  of  promise.  Deluded  by  such  ex- 
pectations, they  neglected  business  of  every 
kind,  despising  what  they  possessed,  and  per- 
mitting any  one  who  chose  to  take  it.  When 
the  day  appointed  by  this  deceiver  for  their  de- 
parture had  arrived,  he  himself  took  the  lead, 
and  all  followed  with  their  wives  and  children. 
He  led  them  therefore  until  they  reached  a 
promontory  that  overhung  the  sea,  from  which 
he  ordered  them  to  fling  themselves  headlong 


■'   431   A.D. 

'  Nothing  further  is  heard  of  this  strange  affair. 


VII.  41.]       THE   PSEUDO-MOSES.     MAXIMIAN   AND    PROCLUS. 


175 


into  it.  Those  who  came  first  to  the  precipice 
did  so,  and  were  immediately  destroyed,  some 
of  them  being  dashed  in  pieces  against  the 
rocks,  and  some  drowned  in  the  waters  :  and 
more  would  have  perished,  had  not  the  Provi- 
dence of  God  led  some  fishermen  and  mer- 
chants who  were  Christians  to  be  present. 
These  persons  drew  out  and  saved  some  that 
were  almost  drowned,  who  then  in  their  perilous 
situation  became  sensible  of  the  madness  of 
their  conduct.  The  rest  they  hindered  from 
casting  themselves  down,  by  telling  them  of  the 
destruction  of  those  who  had  taken  the  first 
leap.  When  at  length  the  Jews  perceived  how 
fearfully  they  had  been  duped,  they  blamed 
first  of  all  their  own  indiscreet  credulity,  and 
then  sought  to  lay  hold  of  the  pseudo-Moses  in 
order  to  put  him  to  death.  But  they  were  lui- 
able  to  seize  him,  for  he  suddenly  disappeared  : 
which  induced  a  general  belief  that  it  was  some 
malignant  fiend,"  who  had  assumed  a  human 
form  for  the  destruction  of  their  nation  in  that 
place.  In  consequence  of  this  experience 
many  of  the  Jews  in  Crete  at  that  time  aban- 
doning Judaism  attached  themselves  to  the 
Christian  faith. 

CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

Preservation  of  the  Chiirch  of  the  Novatians 
from  Fire. 

A  LITTLE  while  after  this,  Paul  bishop  of  the 
Novatians  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  man 
truly  beloved  of  God  in  a  greater  measure  than 
he  had  before.  For  a  terrible  conflagration 
having  broken  out  at  Constantinople,  such  as 
had  never  happened  before,  —  for  the  fire 
destroyed  the  greater  part  of  the  city,  —  as  the 
largest  of  the  public  granaries,  the  Achillean 
bath,^  and  everything  else  in  the  way  of  the  fire 
were  being  consumed,  it  at  length  approached 
the  church  of  the  Novatians  situated  near  Pelar- 
gus.  When  the  bishop  Paul  saw  the  church 
endangered,  he  ran  upon  the  altar,  where  he 
commended  to  God  the  preservation  of  the 
church  and  all  it  contained ;  nor  did  he  cease 
to  pray  not  only  for  it,  but  also  for  the  city. 
And  God  heard  him,  as  the  event  clearly  proved  : 
for  although  the  fire  entered  this  oratory  through 
all  its  doors  and  windows,  it  did  no  damage. 
And  while  many  adjacent  edifices  fell  a  prey  to 
the  devouring  element,  the  church  itself  was 
seen  unscathed  in  the  midst  of  the  whole  con- 
flagration triumphing  over  its  raging  flames. 
This  went  on  for  two  days  and  two  nights,  when 

2  aAao-Tiop.  iEschylus  and  Sophocles  apply  this  word  to  the 
Furies. 

*  Rebuilt  and  rededicated,  according  to  the  Chronicon  of  Mar- 
cellinus,  under  the  consuls  Maximus  and  Paterius,  i.e.  443  A.D.  and 
ten  years  after  the  fire. 


the  fire  was  extinguished,  after  it  had  burnt 
down  a  great  part  of  the  city  :  but  the  church 
remained  entire,  and  what  is  more  marvelous 
still,  there  was  not  the  slightest  trace  even  of 
smoke  to  be  observed  either  on  its  timbers  or 
its  walls.  This  occurred  on  the  1 7th  of  August, 
in  the  fourteenth  consulate  of  Theodosius,  which 
he  bore  together  with  Maximus."  Since  that 
time  the  Novatians  annually  celebrate  the  pres- 
ervation of  their  church,  on  the  i  7th  of  August, 
by  special  thanksgivings  to  God.  And  almost 
all  men.  Christians  and  most  of  the  pagans 
from  that  time  forth  continue  to  regard  that 
place  with  veneration  as  a  peculiarly  consecrated 
spot,  because  of  the  miracle  which  was  wrought 
for  its  safeguard.  So  much  concerning  these 
affairs. 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Proclus  succeeds  Maximian  Bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople. 

Maximian,  having  peacefully  governed  the 
church  during  two  years  and  five  months,  died 
on  the  1 2th  of  April,  in  the  consulate  of  Areo- 
bindus  and  Aspar.^  This  happened  to  be  on 
the  fifth  day  of  the  week  of  fasts  which  imme- 
diately precedes  Easter.  The  day  of  the  week 
was  Thursday.  Then  the  Emperor  Theodosius 
wishing  to  prevent  the  disturbances  in  the 
church  which  usually  attend  the  election  of  a 
bishop,  made  a  wise  provision  for  this  affair ; 
for  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  dispute 
again  about  the  choice  of  a  bishop  and  tumult 
thus  arise,  without  delaying,  before  the  body  of 
Maximian  was  interred,  he  directed  the  bishops 
who  were  then  in  the  city  to  place  Proclus  in 
the  episcopal  chair.  For  he  had  received 
already  letters  from  Cselestinus  bishop  of  Rome 
approving  of  this  election,  which  he  had  for- 
warded to  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  John  of  Antioch, 
and  Rufus  of  Thessalonica ;  in  which  he  assured 
them  that  there  was  no  impediment  to  the  trans- 
lation to  another  see,  of  a  person  who  had  been 
nominated  and  really  was  the  bishop  of  some 
one  church.  Proclus,  being  thus  invested  with 
the  bishopric,  performed  the  funeral  obsequies 
of  Maximian  :  but  it  is  now  time  briefly  to  give 
some  account  of  him  also. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

Excellent  Qualities  of  Proclus. 

Proclus  was  a  reader  at  a  very  early  age,  and 
assiduously  frequenting  the  schools,  became  de- 
voted to  the  study  of  rhetoric.      On  attaining 


*   433  A.D. 


1  434  A.D. 


176 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


[VII.  41. 


manhood  he  was  in  the  habit  of  constant  inter- 
course with  Atticus  the  bishop,  having  been  con- 
stituted his  secretary.  When  he  had  made  great 
progress,  his  patron  promoted  him  to  the  rank 
of  deacon  ;  subsequently  being  elevated  to  the 
presbyterate,  as  we  have  before  stated,  he  was 
ordained  by  Sisinnius  to  be  bishop  of  Cyzicus.^ 
But  all  these  things  were  done  long  before.  At 
this  time  he  was  allotted  the  episcopal  chair  of 
Constantinople.  He  was  a  man  of  moral  excel- 
lence equal  to  any  other ;  for  having  been  trained 
by  Atticus,  he  was  a  zealous  imitator  of  all  that 
bishop's  virtues.  Patience,  however,  he  exercised 
to  a  greater  degree  than  his  master,  who  occa- 
sionally practiced  severities  upon  the  heretics  ; 
for  Proclus  was  gentle  towards  everybody,  being 
convinced  that  kindness  is  far  more  effective  than 
violence  in  advancing  the  cause  of  truth.  Re- 
solving therefore  to  vexatiously  interfere  with  no 
heresy  whatever,  he  restored  in  his  own  person 
to  the  church  that  mild  and  benign  dignity  of 
character,  which  had  so  often  before  been  un- 
happily violated.  In  this  respect  he  followed  the 
example  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  ;  for  as  the 
latter  had  determined  never  to  exercise  his  im- 
perial authority  against  criminals,  so  had  Proclus 
likewise  purposed  not  to  disquiet  those  who  en- 
tertained other  sentiments  on  divine  subjects  than 
those  which  he  cherished  himself. 


CHAPTER   XLH. 

Panegyric  of  the  Etnperor  Theodosius  the 
Younger} 

For  these  reasons  the  emperor  had  the  highest 
esteem  for  Proclus.  For  in  fact  he  himself  was 
a  pattern  to  all  true  clergymen,  and  never  ap- 
proved of  those  who ,  attempted  to  persecute 
others.  Nay  I  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  in 
meekness  he  surpassed  all  those  who  have  ever 
faithfully  borne  the  sacerdotal  otfice.  And  what 
is  recorded  of  Moses  in  the  book  of  Numbers,- 
'  Now  the  man  Moses  was  very  meek,  above  all 
the  men  which  were  u|)on  the  face  of  the  earth  ' 
—  may  most  justly  be  api^lied  at  this  day ;  for 
the  Emperor  Theodosius  is  '  meek  above  all  the 
men  which  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.'  It 
is  because  of  this  meekness  that  God  subdued 
his  enemies  without  martial  conflicts,  as  the  cap- 
ture of  the  usurper  John,''  and  the  subsequent 
discomfiture  of  the  barbarians  clearly  demon- 
strate. For  the  God  of  the  universe  has  afforded 
this  most  devout  emperor  in  our  times  super- 
natural aid  of  a  similar  kind  to  what  was  vouth- 
safed  to  the  righteous  heretofore.     I  write  not 


1  See  above,  chap.  28. 
1  See  chap.  22,  above. 
-  Num.  xii.  3. 
^  See  above,  chap.  23. 


This  was  about  the  year  427  a.d. 


these  things  from  adulation,  but  truthfully  narrate 
facts  such  as  everybody  can  attest. 


CHAPTER   XLIIL 

Calamities  of  the  Barbarians  who  had  been  the 
Usurper  Johfi's  Allies. 

After  the  death  of  the  usurper,  the  barbarians 
whom  he  had  called  to  his  assistance  against  the 
Romans,  made  preparations  for  ravaging  the  Ro- 
man provinces.  The  emperor  being  informed  of 
this,  immediately,  as  his  custom  was,  committed 
the  management  of  the  matter  to  God  ;  and 
continuing  in  earnest  prayer,  he  speedily  ob- 
tained what  he  sought ;  for  it  is  worth  while  to 
give  attention  to  disasters  which  befell  the  barba- 
rians.^ For  their  chief,  whose  name  was  Rougas, 
was  struck  dead  with  a  thunderbolt.  Then  a 
plague  followed  which  destroyed  most  of  the 
men  who  were  under  him  :  and  as  if  this  was 
not  sufficient,  fire  came  down  from  heaven,  and 
consumed  many  of  the  survivors.  This  filled 
the  barbarians  with  the  utmost  terror ;  not  so 
much  because  they  had  dared  to  take  up  arms 
against  a  nation  of  such  valor  as  the  Romans 
possessed,  as  that  they  perceived  them  to  be 
assisted  by  a  mighty  God.  On  this  occasion, 
Proclus  the  bishop  preached  a  sermon  in  the 
church  in  which  he  applied  a  prophecy  out  of 
Ezekiel  to  the  deliverance  effected  by  God  in 
the  late  emergency,  and  was  in  consequence 
much  admired.  This  is  the  language  of  the 
prophecy : " 

'  And  thou,  son  of  man,  prophesy  against  Gog 
the  prince  of  Rhos,  Mosoch,  and  Thobel.  For 
I  will  judge  him  with  death,  and  with  blood,  and 
with  overflowing  rain,  and  with  hail- stones.  I 
will  also  rain  fire  and  brimstone  upon  him,  and 
upon  all  his  bands,  and  upon  many  nations  that 
are  with  him.  And  I  will  be  magnified,  and 
glorified,  and  I  will  be  known  in  the  eyes  of 
many  nations  :  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord.' 

This  application  of  the  prophecy  was  received 
with  great  applause,  as  I  have  said,  and  enhanced 
the  estimation  in  which  Proclus  was  held.  More- 
over the  providence  of  God  rewarded  the  meek- 
ness of  the  emperor  in  various  other  ways,  one 
of  which  was  the  following. 

'  Who  these  barbarians  were  it  is  impossible  to  find  out  pre- 
cisely, and  that  not  because  no  mention  is  made  of  barbarian  inroads 
on  the  imperial  territories,  but  because  so  many  are  mentioned  by 
the  chronographers  and  the  historians  of  the  Goths  (Jornandes, 
Prosper  Aquitanus,  Marcellinus,  &c.)  that  it  is  impossible  to  iden- 
tify this  with  any  of  them  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest.  Rougas 
also  appears  in  these  historians  as  Rouas  (in  Priscus),  Roas  (in 
Jornandes),  Rugilas  (in  Prosper  Aquitanus),  and  is  said  to  be 
related  to  Attila;  but  nothing  certain  can  be  drawn  from  the 
accounts. 

-  Ezek.  xxxviii.  2,  22,  23.  Ambrose  has  also  used  this  prophecy, 
applying  it  to  the  Goths,  and  exhorted  Gratian  to  make  war  against 
them.  Of.  Ambrose,  de  Fide,  2.  16.  The  quotation  here  is  from  the 
LXX. 


VII.46.]    MARRIAGE  OF  VALENTINIAN  III.     PROCLUS.     MARCIAN.      177 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

Marriage  of  the   Emperor   Valefiti?iian   with 
Eudoxia  the  Daughter  of  Theodosius. 

He  had  by  the  empress  Kudocia,  his  wife,  a 
daughter  named  Eudoxia.  Her  his  cousin  Val- 
entinian,  appointed  by  him  emperor  of  the  West, 
demanded  for  himself  in  marriage.  When  the 
emperor  Theodosius  had  given  his  assent  to  this 
proposal,  and  they  had  consulted  with  each 
other  as  to  the  place  on  the  frontiers  of  both 
empires,  where  it  would  be  desirable  that  the 
marriage  should  be  celebrated,  it  was  decided 
that  both  parties  should  go  to  Thessalonica 
(which  is  about  half-way)  for  this  purpose. 
But  Valentinian  sent  a  message  to  the  effect 
that  he  would  not  give  him  the  trouble  of 
coming,  for  that  he  himself  would  go  to  Con- 
stantinople. Accordingly,  having  secured  the 
Western  parts  with  a  sufficient  guard,  he  pro- 
ceeded thither  on  account  of  his  nuptials,  which 
were  celebrated  in  the  consulate  of  Isidore  and 
Sinator ;  ^  after  which  he  returned  with  his  wife 
into  the  West.  This  auspicious  event  took  place 
at  that  time. 


CHAPTER   XLV. 

The  Body  of  John  Chrysostom  transferred  to 
Constantmople,  and  placed  in  the  Church  of 
the  Apostles  by  the  Emperor  at  the  Instigation 
of  Proclus. 

Not  long  after  this,  Proclus  the  bishop  brought 
back  to  the  Church  those  who  had  separated 
themselves  from  it  on  account  of  Bishop  John's 
deposition,  he  having  soothed  the  irrita- 
tion by  a  prudent  expedient.  What  this  was 
we  must  now  recount.  Having  obtained  the 
emperor's  permission,  he  removed  the  body  of 
John  from  Comana,  where  it  was  buried,  to  Con- 
stantinople, in  the  thirty-fifth  year  after  his  dep- 
osition. And  when  he  had  carried  it  in  solemn 
procession  through  the  city,  he  deposited  it  with 
much  honor  in  the  church  termed  The  Apos- 
tles. By  this  means  the  admirers  of  that  prel- 
ate were  conciliated,  and  again  associated  in 
communion  with  the  [catholic]  Church.  This 
happened  on  the  27th  of  January,  in  the  six- 
teenth consulate  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius.^ 
But  it  astonishes  me  that  envy,  which  has  been 
vented  against  Origen  since  his  death,  has  spared 
John.  For  the  former  was  excommunicated  by 
Theophilus  about  two  hundred  years  after  his 
decease  ;  while  the  latter  was  restored  to  com- 
munion by  Proclus  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  after 
his  death  !     So  different  was  Proclus  from  The- 


1   436  A.D. 


1   438  A.D. 


ophilus.  And  men  of  observation  and  intelli- 
gence cannot  be  deceived  in  reference  to  how 
these  things  were  done  and  are  continually  being 
done. 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 

Death  of  Paul  Bishop  of  the  Novatians,  and 
Electio7i  of  Marcian  as  his  Successor. 

A  LiTi'LE  while  after  the  removal  of  John's 
body,  Paul  bishop  of  the  Novatians  died,  on 
the  2 1  St  of  July,  under  the  same  consulate:^ 
who  at  his  own  funeral  united,  in  a  certain  sense, 
all  the  different  sects  into  one  church.  For 
all  parties  attended  his  body  to  the  tomb,  chant- 
ing psalms  together,  inasmuch  as  even  during 
his  lifetime  by  his  rectitude  he  was  in  universal 
esteem  by  all.  But  as  Paul  just  before  his  death 
performed  a  memorable  act,  I  deem  it  advan- 
tageous to  insert  it  in  this  history  as  it  may  be 
interesting  to  the  readers  of  this  work  to  be 
acquainted  with  it.  And  lest  the  brilliancy  of 
that  important  deed  should  be  obscured  by 
dwelling  on  circumstantial  details  of  minor  con- 
sequence, I  shall  not  stay  to  expatiate  on  the 
strictness  with  which  he  maintained  his  ascetic 
discipline  as  to  diet  even  throughout  his  illness, 
without  the  least  departure  from  the  course  he 
had  prescribed  for  himself,  or  the  omission  of 
any  of  the  ordinary  exercises  of  devotion  with 
his  accustomed  fervor.  But  what  was  this  deed? 
Conscious  that  his  departure  was  at  hand,  he 
sent  for  all  the  presbyters  of  the  churches  under 
his  care,  and  thus  addressed  them  :  '  Give  your 
attention  while  I  am  alive  to  the  election  of  a 
bishop  to  preside  over  you,  lest  the  peace  of 
your  churches  should  hereafter  be  disturbed.' 
They  having  answered  that  this  affair  had  better 
not  be  left  to  them  :  '  For  inasmuch,'  said  they, 
'  as  some  of  us  have  one  judgment  about  the 
matter,  and  some  another,  we  would  by  no 
means  nominate  the  same  individual.  We  wish 
therefore  that  you  would  yourself  designate  the 
person  you  would  desire  to  succeed  you.'  '  Give 
me  then,'  said  Paul, '  this  declaration  of  yours  in 
writing,  that  you  will  elect  him  whom  I  should 
appoint.'  When  they  had  written  this  pledge, 
and  ratified  it  by  their  signatures,  Paul,  rising  in 
his  bed  and  sitting  up,  wrote  the  name  of  Mar- 
cian in  the  paper,  without  informing  any  of  those 
present  what  he  had  inserted.  This  person  had 
been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  presbyter,  and 
instructed  in  the  ascetic  discipline  by  him,  but 
was  then  gone  abroad.  Having  folded  this 
document  and  put  his  own  seal  on  it,  he  caused 
the  principal  presbyters  to  seal  it  also  ;  after 
which  he  delivered  it  into  the  hands  of  Marcus 

'  As  above,  438  a.d. 


1 78 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


a  bishop  of  the  Novatians  in  Scythia,  who  was 
at  that  time  staying  at  Constantinople,  to  whom 
he  thus  spake,  'If  it  shall  please  God  that  I 
should  continue  much  longer  in  this  life,  restore 
me   this   deposit,  now   entrusted  to  your  safe 
keeping.     But  should  it  seem  fit  to  him  to  re- 
move me,  you  will  herein  discover  whom  I  have 
chosen  as  my  successor  in  the  bishopric'     Soon 
after  this  he  died ;  and  on  the  third  day  after 
his  death,  the  paper  having  been  unfolded  in 
the  presence  of  a  great  number  of  persons,  Mar- 
cian's  name  was  found  within  it,  when  they  all 
cried  out   that   he   was   worthy   of  the    honor. 
Messengers  were  therefore  sent  off  without  delay 
to  bring  him  to  Constantinople.     These,  by  a 
pious  fraud,  finding  him  residing  at  Tiberiopolis 
in  Phrygia,  brought  him  back  with  them  ;   where- 
upon he  was  ordained  and  placed  in  the  episco- 
pal chair  on  the  21st  of  the  same  month.- 


CHAPTER   XLVII. 

The  Empress  Eudocia  goes  to  yeriisalem  ;  sent 
there  by  the  Ejnperor  Theodosius. 

Moreover  the  Emperor  Theodosius  offered 
up  thanksgivings  to  God  for  the  blessings  which 
had  been  conferred  upon  him  ;  at  the  same  time 
reverencing  Christ  with  the  most  special  honors. 
He  also  sent  his  wife  Eudocia  to  Jerusalem,^ 
she  having  bound  herself  by  a  vow  to  go  thither, 
should  she  live  to  see  the  marriage  of  her  daugh- 
ter. The  empress  therefore,  on  her  visit  to  the 
sacred  city,  adorned  its  churches  with  the  most 
costly  gifts  ;  and  both  then,  and  after  her  return, 
decorated  all  the  churches  in  the  other  cities  of 
the  East  with  a  variety  of  ornaments. 

2  This  seems  hardly  probable  when  compared  with  the  opening 
sentence  of  the  chapter,  and  so  Valesius  with  Christophorson  and 
others  change  it  into  August.  The  emendation  suggested  in  the 
Greek  is  not  a  difficult  one ;  it  simply  adds  between  a.v-  and  tou  of 
the  word  auroO  (above  translated  '  the  same'),  the  syllable  youa- 
making  it  thus,  nvyoixnov  /i.T|i'05, '  month  of  August.'  The  eoienda- 
tion,  or  something  equivalent  to  it,  must  be  accepted,  otherwise  we 
are  compelled  to  place  the  death  of  Paul  and  the  ordination  of  War- 
cian  together  with  the  intervening  events  on  the  same  day. 

1  On  this  visit  of  the  empress  to  Jerusalem,  see  Evagnus,  H.  A. 
1.20-23.  During  this  visit  for  some  reason  or  other  —  variously 
stated  by  the  authors  of  the  period  — an  alienation  occurred  be- 
tween the  emperor  and  Eudocia.     See  above,  chap.  21,  note  2. 


CHAPTER    XLVni. 

Thalassius  is  ordained  Bishop  of  Ccesarea   in 
Cappadocia. 

About  this  same  time,  under  the  seventeenth 
consulate  of  Theodosius,^  Proclus  the  bishop  un- 
dertook the  performance  of  an  act,  such  as  no 
one  among  the  ancients  had  done.  Firmus  bishop 
of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia  being  dead,  the  in- 
habitants of  that  place  came  to  Constantinople 
to  consult  Proclus  about  the  appointment  of  a 
bishop.  While  Proclus  was  considering  whom 
he  should  prefer  to  that  see,  it  so  happened  that 
all  the  senators  came  to  tl-te  church  to  visit  him 
on  the  sabbath  day ;  among  whom  was  Thalas- 
sius also,  a  man  who  had  administered  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  nations  and  cities  of  Illyricum. 
And  as  it  was  reported  that  the  emperor  was 
about  to  entrust  the  government  of  the  Eastern 
parts  to  him,  Proclus  laid  his  hands  on  him,  and 
ordained  him  bishop  of  Caesarea,  instead  of 
Praetorian  Prefect. 

In  such  a  flourishing  condition  were  the  affairs 
of  the  Church  at  this  time.  But  we  shall  here 
close  our  history,  praying  that  the  churches 
everywhere,  with  the  cities  and  nations,  may  live 
in  peace  ;  for  as  long  as  peace  continues,  those 
who  desire  to  write  histories  will  find  no  materials 
for  their  purpose.  And  we  ourselves,  O  holy 
man  of  God,  Theodore,  should  have  been  una- 
ble to  accomplish  in  seven  books  the  task  we 
undertook  at  your  request,  had  the  lovers  of 
seditions  chosen  to  be  quiet. 

This  last  book  contains  an  account  of  the 
transactions  of  thirty-two  years  :  and  the  whole 
history  which  is  comprised  in  seven  books,  com- 
prehends a  period  of  140  years.^  It  commences 
from  the  first  year  of  the  271st  Olympiad,  in 
which  Constantine  was  proclaimed  emperor; 
and  ends  at  the  second  year  of  the  305  th  Olym- 
piad, in  which  the  Emperor  Theodosius  bore  his 
seventeenth  consulate.^ 


"-  Evidently  a  round  number,  as  he  begun  with  the  year  305  (cf 
I.  i),  and  the  exact  number  of  years  included  in  the  history  cannot 

Ko   rr,r>r<.    fVi^n    TIC  ^    430  A.D. 


be  more  than  135. 


END    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    SOCRATES. 


THE 

ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 

OF 

SOZOMEN, 

COMPRISING   A 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH, 

FROM    A.D.    323    TO    A.D.    425. 

TRANSLATED   FROM   THE  GREEK. 


Revised  by 


CHESTER    D.    HARTRANFT, 

HARTFORD    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY. 


2 


THE   TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


PAGli 

Introduction 191 

Prefatory  remarks  by  Valesius  concerning  the  life  and  writings  of  Sozomen   233 

Memoir  of  Sozomen   235 

Dedication  to  the  Emperor  Theodosius  II 236 

INDEX    OF   CHAPTERS. 

TABLE   OF   THE   NINE    BOOKS    OF   THE    ECCLESL\STICAL    HISTORY   BY   SALAMINIUS    HERMIAS    SOZOMEN, 

ARRANGED    BY   NICEPHORUS    CALLISTUS. 

BOOK   I. 

Address  to  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Younger,  to  whom  also  he  dedicates  his  treatise;   for  he  bestows  a 

moderate  encomium  upon  him;   and  makes  a  prefatory  division  of  his  work. 
Chap.  I. — The  preface  of  the  book,  in  which  he  investigates  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation;   mention  of 
those  who  began  such  a  work;   how  and  from  what  sources  he  collected  his  history;   how  he  was  intent 

upon  the  truth;   and  what  other  details  the  history  will  contain 239 

Chap.  II.  —  Of  the  bishops  of  the  large  towns  in  the  reign  of  Constantine;   and  how  from  fear  of  Licinius, 
Christianity  was  professed  cautiously  in  the  East  as  far  as  Libya,  while  in  the  West,  through  the  favor  of 

Constantine,  it  was  professed  with  freedom 241 

Chap.  III.  —  By  the  vision  of  the  cross,  and  by  the  appearance  of  Christ,  Constantine  is  led  to  embrace  Chris- 
tianity-    He  receives  religious  instruction  from  our  brethren 241 

Chap.  IV. — Constantine  commands  the  sign  of  the  cross  to  be  carried  before  him  in  battle;  an  extraordinary 

narrative  about  the  bearers  of  the  sign  of  the  cross 242 

Chap.  V.  —  Refutation  of  the  assertion  that  Constantine  became  a  Christian  in  consequence  of  the  murder  of 

his  son  Crispus , 242 

Chap.  VI.  —  The  father  of  Constantine  allows  the  name  of  Christ  to  be  extended;  Constantine  the  Great 

prepared  it  to  penetrate  everywhere 243 

Chap.  VII.  — Concerning  the  dispute  between  Constantine  and  Licinius,  his  brother-in-law,  about  the  Chris- 
tians;   and  how  Licinius  was  conquered  by  force  and  put  to  death 243 

Chap.  VIII.  —  List  of  the  benefits  which  Constantine  conferred,  in  the  freedom  of  the  Christians,  and  build- 
ing of  churches;  and  other  deeds  for  the  public  welfare 244 

Chap.  IX.  —  Constantine  enacts  a  law  in  favor  of  celibates  and  of  the  clergy 245 

Chap.  X.  —  Concerning  the  great  confessors  who  survived 246 

Chap.  XI.  —  Account  of  St.  Spyridon :  his  modesty  and  steadfastness 246 

CH.A.P.  XII.  —  On  the  organization  of  the  monks :  its  origin  and  founders 247 

Chap.  XIII.  —  About  Antony  the  Great  and  St.  Paul  the  Simple 248 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Account  of  St.  Ammon  and  Eutychius  of  Olympus ....     250 

Chap.  XV.  — The  Arian  heresy:  its  origin,  its  progress,  and  the  contention  which  it  occasioned  among  the 

bishops  25 1 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Constantine,  having  heard  of  the  strife  of  the  bishops  and  the  difference  of  opinion  concerning 
the  Passover,  is  greatly  troubled,  and  sends  Hosius,  a  .Spaniard,  bishop  of  Cordova,  to  Alexandria,  to 

abolish  the  dissension  among  the  bishops  and  to  settle  the  dispute  about  the  Passover 252 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Of  the  council  convened  at  Nica;a  on  account  of  Arius 253 

Chap.  XVIII.  — Two  philosophers  are  converted  to  the  faith  by  the  simplicity  of  two  old  men  with  whom 

they  hold  a  disputation 253 


i82  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

PAGE 

Chap.  XIX.  —  When  the  council  was  assembled,  the  emperor  delivered  a  public  address 254 

Chap.  XX.  —  After  having  given  audience  to  both  parties,  the  emperor  condemned  the  foUowrers  of  Arius  and 

banished  them 255 

Chap.  XXI.  —  What  the  council  determined  about  Arius;    the  condemnation  of  his  followers;    his  writings 

are  to  be  burnt;    certain  of  the  high  priests  differ  from  the  council;    the  settlement  of  the  Passover. . ..      255 

Chap.  XXII. —  Acesius,  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  is  summoned  by  the  emperor  to  be  present  at  the  first 

council    256 

Chap.    XXIII.  —  Canons  appointed  by  the  council.     Paphnutius,  a  certain  confessor,  restrains  the   council 

from  forming  a  canon  enjoining  celibacy  to  all  who  were  about  to  be  honored  with  the  priesthood 256 

Chap.  XXIV. — Concerning  Melitius;   the  excellent  directions  made  by  the  holy  council  in  his  complications     256 

Chap.  XXV.  —  The  emperor  prepared  a  public  table  for  the  synod,  after  inviting  its  members  to  Constanti- 
nople, and  honoring  them  with  gifts.  He  exhorted  all  to  be  of  one  mind,  and  forwarded  to  Alexandria 
and  every  other  place  the  decrees  of  the  holy  synod 257 

BOOK   11. 

Chap.  I.  —  The  discovery  of  the  life-bringing  cross  and  of  the  holy  nails 258 

Chap.  II.  —  Concerning  Helena,  the  mother  of  the  emperor;   she  visited  Jerusalem,  built  temples  in  that  city, 

and  performed  other  godly  works;    her  death 259 

Chap.  III. —Temples  built  by  Constantine  the  Great;  the  city  called  by  his  name;  its  founding;  the  build- 
ings within  it;   the  temple  of  Michael,  the  arch-soldier  in  the  Sosthenium,  and  the  miracles  which  have 

occurred  there 259 

Chap.  IV.  —  What  Constantine  the  Great  effected  about  the  oak  in  Mamre.     He  also  built-  a  temple 261 

Chap.  V.  —  Constantine  destroyed    the   places   dedicated  to  the  idols,  and  persuaded  the  people  to  prefer 

Christianity 261 

Chap.  VI.  —  The  reason  why,  under  Constantine,  the  name  of  Christ  was  spread  throughout  the  whole  world     262 

Chap.  VII.  —  How  the  Iberians  received  the  faith  of  Christ 263 

Chap.  VIII.  —  How  the  Armenians  and  Persians  embraced  Christianity 264 

Chap.  IX.  —  Sapor,  king  of  Persia,  is  excited  against  the  Christians.     Symeon,  bishop  of  Persia,  and  Ustha- 

zanes,  a  eunuch,  suffer  the  agony  of  martyrdom 264 

Chap.  X.  —  Christians  slain  by  Sapor  in  Persia 265 

Chap.  XI.  —  Pusices,  superintendent  of  the  artisans  of  Sapor 266 

Chap.  XII.  —  Tarbula,  the  sister  of  Symeon,  and  her  martyrdom   266 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Martyrdom  of  St.  Acepsimas  and  of  his  companions 267 

Chap.  XIV.  —  The  martyrdom  of  Bishop  Milles,  and  his  conduct.     Sixteen  thousand  distinguished  men  in 

Persia  suffer  martyrdom  under  Sapor,  besides  obscure  individuals 267 

Chap.  XV.  —  Constantine  writes  to  Sapor  to  stay  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 268 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Eusebius  and  Theognis,  who,  at  the  council  of  Nice,  had  assented  to  the  writings  of  Arius, 

restored  to  their  own  sees 268 

Chap.  XVII.  —  On  the  death  of  Alexander,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  at  his  suggestion  Athanasius  receives  the 

throne;    and  an  account  of  his  youth;   how  he  was  a  self-taught  priest,  and  beloved  by  Antony  the  Great     269 
Chap.  XVIII. — The  Arians  and   Melitians  confer  celebrity  on  Athanasius.     Concerning  Eusebius,  and  his 
request  of  Athanasius  to  admit  Arius  fo  communion.     Concerning  the  term  '  consubstantial.'     Eusebius 

Pamphilus  and  Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  create  tumults  above  all  the  rest 270 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Synod  of  Antioch.  Unjust  deposition  of  Eustathius.  Euphronius  receives  the  throne.  Con- 
stantine the  Great  writes  to  the  .Synod  and  to  Eusebius  Pamphilus,  who  refuses  the  bishopric  of  Antioch.      270 

Chap.  XX.  —  Concerning  Maximus,  who  succeeded  Macarius  in  the  see  of  Jerusalem 271 

Chap.  XXI.  —  The  Melitians  and  the  Arians  agree  in  sentiment,    Eusebius  and  Theognis  endeavor  to  inflame 

anew  the  disease  of  Arius 271 

Chap.  XXII.  — The  vain  machinations  of  the  Arians  and  Melitians  against  St.  Athanasius 272 

Chap.  XXIII.  — Calumny  respecting  .St.  Athanasius  and  the  hand  of  Arsenius 273 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Some  Indian  nations  received  Christianity  at   that  time,  through  the  instrumentality  of  two 

captives,  Frumentius  and  Edesius 274 

Chap.  XXV.  —  Council  of  Tyre.     Illegal  deposition  of  St.  Athanasius 275 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Erection  of  a  temple  by  Constantine  the  Great  at  Golgotha  in  Jerusalem.     Its  dedication  .  . .      276 
Chap.  XXVII.  —  Concerning  the  Presbyter  by  whom  Constantine  was  persuaded  to  recall  Arius  and  Euzoius 
from  exile;    the  tractate  concerning  his  possibly  pious  faith;    and  how  Arius  was  again  received  by  the 
Synod  assembled  at  Jerusalem 277 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  183 

PAGE 

Chap.  XXVIII. — Letter  from  the  Emperor  Constantine  to  the  Synod  of  Tyre;   and  exile  of  St.  Athanasius 

through  the  machination  of  the  Arian  faction 278 

Chap.  XXIX.  —  Alexander,  bishop  of  Constantinople.     His  refusal  to  receive  Arius  into  communion.     Arius 

is  burst  asunder  while  seeking  natural  relief 279 

Chap.  XXX.  —  Account  given  by  the  great  Athanasius  of  the  death  of  Arius 279 

Chap.  XXXI.  —  Events  which  occurred  in  Alexandria  after  the  death  of  Arius.     Letter  of  Constantine  the 

Great  to  the  church  there 280 

Chap.  XXXII.  —  Constantine  enacts  a  law  against  all  heresies,  and  prohibits  the  people  from  holding  church 
in  any  place  but  the  Catholic  Church,  and  thus  the  greater  number  of  heresies  disappear.  The  Arians 
who  sided  with  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia  artfully  attempted  to  obliterate  the  term  '  consubstantial ' 280 

Chap.  XXXIII.  —  Marcellus,  bishop  of  Ancyra.     His  heresy  and  deposition 281 

Chap.  XXXIV.  —  Death  of  Constantine  the  Great.     He  died  after  baptism,  and  was  buried  in  the  temple  of 

the  holy  Apostles ' 282 


BOOK   III. 

Chap.  I. — After  the  death  of  Constantine  the  Great  the  adherents  of  Eusebius  and  Theognis  attack  the 

Nicene  faith 283 

Chap.  II.  —  Return  of  Athanasius  the  Great  from  Rome;  letter  of  Constantine  Caesar,  son  of  Constantine  the 
Great;  renewed  machinations  of  the  Arians  against  Athanasius;  Acacius  of  Berrcea;  war  between  Con- 
stans  and  ConstantiHe .' 283 

Chap.  III.  —  Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  and  Macedonius,  the  pneumatomachian 284 

Chap.  IV.  —  A  sedition  was  excited  on  the  ordination  of  Paul 284 

Chap.  V.  —  The  partial  council  of  Antioch;  it  deposed  Athanasius;  it  substituted  Gregory;  its  two  state- 
ments of  the  faith;    those  who  agreed  with  them 285 

Chap.  VI.  —  Eusebius,  surnamed  Emesenus;  Gregory  accepted  Alexandria;  Athanasius  seeks  refuge  in  Rome     286 

Chap.  VII.  — High  priests  of  Rome  and  of  Constantinople;  restoration  of  Paul  after  Eusebius;  the  slaugh- 
ter of  Hermogenes,  a  general  of  the  army;  Constantius  came  from  Antioch  and  removed  Paul,  and  was 
wrathfully  disposed  toward  the  city;    he  allowed  Macedonius  to  be  in  doubt,  and  returned  to  Antioch. .      286 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Arrival  of  the  Eastern  high  priests  at  Rome;  letter  of  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome,  concerning 
them;  by  means  of  the  letters  of  Julius,  Paul  and  Athanasius  receive  their  own  sees;  contents  of  the 
letter  from  the  arch-priests  of  the  East  to  Julius 287 

Chap,  IX. — Ejection  of  Paul  and  Athanasius;   Macedonius  is  invested  with  the  government  of  the  church  of 

Constantinople 288 

CH.A.P.  X.  —  The  bishop  of  Rome  writes  to  the  bishops  of  the  East  in  favor  of  Athanasius,  and  they  send 
an  embassy  to  Rome,  who  with  the  bishop  of  Rome  are  to  investigate  the  charges  against  the  Eastern 
bishops.     This  deputation  is  dismissed  by  Constans  the  Caesar 288 

Chap.  XI. — The  long  formulary  and  the  enactments  issued  by  the  Synod  of  Sardica.  Julius,  bishop  of 
Rome,  and  Hosius,  the  Spanish  bishop,  deposed  by  the  bishops  of  the  East,  because  they  held  com- 
munion with  Athanasius  and  the  rest 289 

Chap.  XII. — The  bishops  of  the  party  of  Julius  and  Hosius  held  another  session  and  deposed  the  Eastern 

high  priests,  and  also  made  a  formulary  of  faith 290 

Chap.  XIII.  —  After  the  Synod,  the  East  and  the  West  are  separated;    the  West  nobly  adheres  to  the  faith  of 

the  Nicsean  Council,  while  the  East  is  disturbed  by  contention  here  and  there  over  this  dogma 290 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Of  the  holy  men  who  flourished  about  this  time  in  Egypt,  namely,  Antony,  the  two  Macariuses, 
Heraclius,  Cronius,  Paphnutius,  Putubastus,  Arsisius,  Serapion,  Piturion,  Pachomius,  ApoUonius,  Anuph, 
Hilarion,  and  a  register  of  many  other  saints , 291 

Chap.  XV.  —  Didymus  the  blind,  and  Aetius  the  heretic 294 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Concerning  St.  Ephraim 295 

Chap.  XVII. — Transactions  of  that  period,  and  progress  of  Christian  doctrine  through  the  joint  efforts  of 

emperors  and  arch-priests 297 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  Concerning  the  doctrines  held  by  the  sons  of  Constantine.  Distinction  between  the  terms 
'  Homoousios '  and  '  Homoiousios.'  Whence  it  came  that  Constantius  quickly  abandoned  the  correct 
faith 1 297 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Further  particulars  concerning  the  term  '  consubstantial.'  Council  of  Ariminum;  the  man- 
ner, source,  and  reason  of  its  convention 298 


i84  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

PAGE 

Chap.  XX.  —  Athanasius  again  reinstated  by  the  letter  of  Constantius,  and  receives  his  see.     The  arch-priests 

of  Antioch.     Question  put  by  Constantius  to  Athanasius.     The  praise  of  God  in  hymns 298 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Letter  of  Constantius  to  the  Egyptians  in  behalf  of  Athanasius.     Synod  of  Jerusalem 299 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Epistle  written  by  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem  in  favor  of  Athanasius 299 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Valens  and  Ursacius,  who  belonged  to  the  Arian  faction,  confess  to  the  bishop  of  Rome  that 

they  had  made  false  charges  against  Athanasius 300 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Letter  of  conciliation  from  Valens  and  Ursacius  to  the  great  Athanasius.     Restoration  of  the 

other  Eastern  bishops  to  their  own  sees.     Ejection  of  Macedonius  again,  and  accession  of  Paul  to  the  see     30a 


BOOK   IV. 

Chap.  I.  —  Death  of  Constans  Caesar.     Occurrences  which  took  place  in  Rome 301 

Chap.  II.  —  Constantius  again  ejects  Athanasius,  and  banishes  those  who  represented  the  Homoousian  doctrine. 
Death  of  Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople.     Macedonius :  his  second  usurpation  of  the  see,  and  his  evil 

deeds 301 

Chap.  III.  —  Martyrdom  of  the  holy  notaries 301 

Chap.  IV.  —  Campaign  of  Constantius  in  Sirmium,  and  details  concerning  Vetranio  and  Magnentius.     Gallus 

receives  the  title  of  Cssar,  and  is  sent  to  the  East 302 

Chap.  V.  — Cyril  directs  the  sacerdotal  office  after  Maximus;   and  the  largest  form  of  the  cross,  surpassing 

the  sun  in  splendor,  again  appears  in  the  heavens,  and  is  visible  during  several  days 302 

Chap.  VI.  —  Photinus,  bishop  of  Sirmium :  his  heresy  and  the  council  convened  at  Sirmium  in  opposition 
thereto.     The  three  formularies  of  faith.     This  agitator  of  empty  ideas  was  refuted  by  Basil  of  Ancyra. 

After  his  deposition,  Photinus,  although  solicited,  declined  reconciliation 302 

Chap.  VII.  —  Death  of  the  tyrants  Magnentius  and  Silvanus  the  apostate.     Sedition  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine. 

Gallus  Caesar  is  slain  on  suspicion  of  revolution 303 

Chap.  VIII. — Arrival  of  Constantius  at  Rome.     A  council  held  in  Italy.     Account  of  what  happened  to 

Athanasius  the  Great  through  the  machinations  of  the  Arians 304 

Chap.  IX.  —  Council  of  Milan.     Flight  of  Athanasius 305 

Chap.  X. — Divers  machinations  of  the  Arians  against  Athanasius,  and  his  escape  from  various  dangers 
through  divine  interposition.  Evil  deeds  perpetrated  by  George  in  Egypt  after  the  expulsion  of  Athana- 
sius       305 

Chap.  XI.  —  Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome,  and  the  cause  of  his  being  exiled  by  Constantius.     Felix  his  successor     306 
Chap.  XII.  —  Aetius,  the  Syrian,  and  Eudoxius,  the  successor  of  Leontius  in  Antioch.     Concerning  the  term 

'  consubstantial.' 307 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Innovations  of  Eudoxius  censured  in  a  letter  written  by  George,  bishop  of  Laodicea.  Depu- 
tation from  the  council  of  Ancyra  to  Constantius 308 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Letter  of  the  Emperor  Constantius  against  Eudoxius  and  his  partisans 309 

Chap.  XV.  —  The  Emperor  C"onstantius  repairs  to  Sirmium,  recalls  Liberius,  and  restores  him  to  the  church 

of  Rome;   he  also  commands  Felix  to  assist  Liberius  in  the  sacerdotal  office 309 

Chap.  XVI.  —  The  emperor  purposed  on  account  of  the  heresy  of  Aetius  and  the  innovations  in  Antioch,  to 
convene  a  council  at  Nicomedia;  but  as  an  earthquake  took  place  in  that  city,  and  many  other  affairs 
intervened,  the  council  was  first  convened  at  Niccea,  and  afterwards  at  Ariminum  and  Seleucia.     Account 

of  Arsacius  the  confessor.  ... 310 

Chap.  XVII. —  Proceedings  of  the  council  of  Ariminum.    312 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  Letter  from  the  council  at  Ariminum  to  the  emperor  Constantius 313 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Concerning  the  deputies  of  the  council  and  the  emperor's  letter;  agreement  of  the  adherents 
of  Ursacius  and  Valens  afterwards,  with  the  letter  put   forth;  exile  of  the   archbishops;   concerning  the 

Synod  at  Nicsea,  and  the  reason  why  the  synod  was  held  in  Ariminum 3H 

Chap.  XX. —  Events  which  took  place  in  the  Eastern  churches;  Marathonius,  Eleusius  of  Cyzicus,  and  Mace- 
donius  expel  these  who  maintain  the  term  '  consubstantial.'    Concerning  the  churches  of  the  Novatians; 

how  one  church  was  transported;    the  Novatians  enter  into  communion  with  the  orthodox 315 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Proceedings  of  Macedonius  in  Mantinium.     His  removal  from  his  see  when  he  attempted  to 

remove  the  coffin  of  Constantine  the  Great.     Julian  was  pronounced  Cresar 3'^ 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Council  of  Seleucia 316 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Acacius  and  Aetius;   and  how  the  deputies  of  the  two  councils  of  Ariminum  and  of  Seleucia 

were  led  by  the  emperor  to  accept  the  same  doctrines 318 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  185 

PAGE 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Formulary  of  the  council  of  Ariminum  approved  by  the  Acacians.      List  of  the  deposed 

chief  priests,  and  the  causes  of  their  condemnation 319 

Chap.  XXV.  —  Causes  of  the  deposition  of  Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem.     Mutual  dissensions  among  the  bishops. 

Meletius  is  ordained  by  the  Arians,  and  supplants  Eustathius  in  the  bishopric  of  Sebaste 321 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Death  of  Macedonius,  bishop  of  Constantinople.  What  Eudoxius  said  in  his  teaching.  Eudox- 
ius  and  Acacius  strenuously  sought  the  abolition  of  the  formularies  of  faith  set  forth  at  Nicsea'and  at 
Ariminum.      Troubles  which  thence  arose  in  the  churches 322 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Macedonius,  after  his  rejection  from  his  see,  blasphemes  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  Propaga- 
tion of  his  heresy  through  the  instrumentality  of  Marathonius  and  others 322 

Chap.  XXVIII. — The  Arians,  under  the  impression  that  the  divine  Meletius  upheld  their  sentiments,  trans- 
late him  from  Sebaste  to  Antioch.  On  his  bold  confession  of  the  orthodox  doctrines,  they  were  confounded; 
and  after  they  had  deposed  him,  they  placed  Euzoius  in  the  see.  Meletius  formed  his  own  church; 
but  those  who  held  to  consubstantiality  turned  away  from  him  because  he  had  been  ordained  by  Arians     323 

Chap.  XXIX. — The  partisans  of  Acacius  again  do  not  remain  quiet,  but  strive  to  abolish  the  term  '  consub- 

stantial,'  and  to  confirm  the  heresy  of  Arius 323 

Chap.  XXX.  —  George,  bishop  of  Antioch,  and  the  chief  priests  of  Jerusalem.  Three  chief  priests  succes- 
sively succeed  Cyril.     Restoration  of  Cyril  to  the  see  of  Jerusalem 324 

BOOK  V. 

Chap.  I.  — Apostasy  of  Julian  the  traitor.     Death  of  the  Emperor  Constantius 325 

Chap.  II.  — The  hfe,  education,  and  training  of  Julian,  and  his  accession  to  the  empire 325 

Chap.  III.  —  Julian,  on  his  settlement  in  the  empire,  began  quietly  to  stir  up  opposition  to  Christianity,  and  to 

introduce  Paganism  artfully • 328 

Chap.  IV.  —  Julian  inflicted  evils  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Caesarea.    Bold  fidelity  of  Maris,  bishop  of  Chalcedon     328 

Chap.  V. — Julian  restores  liberty  to  the  Christians,  in  order  to  excite  further  troubles  in  the  church.   The  evil 

treatment  of  Christians  he  devised , .      329 

Chap.  VI.  —  Athanasius,  after  having  been  seven  years  concealed  in  the  house  of  a  wise  and  beautiful  virgin, 

reappears  at  that  time  in  public,  and  enters  the  church  of  Alexandria 330 

Chap.  VII. — Violent  death  and  triumph  of  George,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  the  result  of  certain  occurrences  in 

the  temple  of  Mithra.     Letter  of  Julian  on  this  aggravated  circumstance 330 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Concerning  Theodoritus,  the  keeper  of  the  sacred  vessels  of  Antioch.     How  Julian,  the  uncle 

of  the  traitor,  on  account  of  these  vessels,  falls  a  prey  to  worms 331 

Chap.  IX.  —  Martyrdom  of  the  saints  Eusebius,  Nestabus,  and  Zeno,  in  the  city  of  Gaza 332 

Chap.  X.  —  Concerning  St.  Hilarion  and  the  virgins  in  Heliopolis  who  were  destroyed  by  swine.      .Strange 

martyrdom  of  Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa ^^^ 

Chap.  XI.  —  Concerning  Macedonius,  Theodulus,  Gratian,  Busiris,  Basil,  and  Eupsychius,  who  suffered  martyr- 
dom in  those  times 334 

Chap.  XII.  — Concerning  Lucifer  and  Eusebius,  bishops  of  the  West.  Eusebius,  with  Athanasius  the  Great 
and  other  bishops,  collects  a  council  at  Alexandria,  and  confirms  the  Nicene  faith  by  defining  the  consub- 
stantiality of  the  Spirit  with  the  Father  and  the  Son.     Their  decree  concerning  substance  and  hypostasis     334 

Chap.  XIII. — Concerning   Paulinus  and   Meletius,   chief  priests  of  Antioch.      How  Eusebius  and   Lucifer 

antagonized  one  another.     Eusebius  and  Hilarius  defend  the  Nicene  faith 335 

Chap.  XIV.  — The  partisans  of  Macedonius  disputed  with  the  Arians  concerning  Acacius 336 

Chap.  XV.  —  Athanasius  is  again  banished;   concerning  Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  and  Titus,  bishop  of 

Bostra.     Mention  of  the  ancestors  of  the  author 336 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Efforts  of  Julian  to  establish  paganism  and  to  abolish  our  usages.     The  epistle  which  he  sent 

to  the  pagan  high  priests 337 

Chap.  XVIL  —  In  order  that  he  might  not  be  thought  tyrannical,  Julian  proceeds  artfully  against  the  Chris- 
tians.    Abolition  of  the  sign  of  the  cross.     He  makes  the  soldiery  sacrifice,  although  they  were  unwilling     339 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  He  prohibited  the  Christians  from  the  markets  and  from  the  judicial  seats  and  from  shar- 
ing in  Greek  education.  Resistance  of  Basil  the  Great,  Gregory  the  theologian,  and  Apolinarius 
to  this  decree;  they  rapidly  translate  the  Scriptures  into  Greek  modes  of  expression.  Apolinarius  and 
Gregory  Nazianzen  do  this  more  than  Basil,  the  one  in  a  rhetorical  vein,  the  other  in  epic  style  and  in 
imitation  of  every  poet 34° 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Work  written  by  Julian  entitled  'Aversion  to  Beards.'  Daphne  in  Antioch,  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  it.    Translation  of  the  remains  of  Babylas,  the  holy  martyr 340 


i86  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


PAGE 


Chap.  XX.  —  In  consequence  of  the  translation,  many  of  the  Christians  are  ill-treated.  Theodore  the  con- 
fessor.    Temple  of  Apollo  at  Daphne  destroyed  by  tire  falling  from  heaven 342 

Chap.  XXI.  — Of  the  statue  of  Christ  in  Paneas  which  Julian  overthrew  and  made  valueless;  he  erected  his 
own  statue;  this  was  overthrown  by  a  thunder-bolt  and  destroyed.  Fountain  of  Emmaus  in  which  Christ 
washed  His  feet.  Concerning  the  tree  Persis  which  worshiped  Christ  in  Egypt,  and  the  wonders  wrought 
through  it 342 

Chap.  XXII.  —  From  aversion  to  the  Christians,  Julian  granted  permission  to  the  Jews  to  rebuild  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem;  in  every  endeavor  to  put  their  hands  to  the  work,  fire  sprang  upward  and  killed  many; 
about  the  sign  of  the  cross  which  appeared  on  the  clothing  of  those  who  had  exerted  themselves  in  this 
work 343 


BOOK  VI. 

Chap.  I.  — Expedition  of  Julian  into  Persia;   he  was  worsted  and  broke  oflf  his  life  miserably.     Letter  written 

by  Libanius  describing  his  death 345 

Chap.  II.  —  He  perished  under  Divine  wrath.  Visions  of  the  emperor's  death  seen  by  various  individuals. 
Reply  of  the  carpenter's  son;  Julian  tossed  his  blood  aloft  to  Christ.  Calamities  which  Julian  entailed 
upon  the  Romans 346 

Chap.  III.  —  The  reign  of  Jovian  :   he  introduced  many  laws,  which  he  carried  out  in  his  government 347 

Chap.  IV.  — Troubles  again  arise  in  the  churches;  Synod  of  Antioch,  in  which  the  Nicene  faith  is  con- 
firmed;  the  points  which  this  important  Synod  wrote  about  to  Jovian 348 

Chap.  V.  —  Athanasius  the  Great  is  very  highly  esteemed  by  the  emperor,  and  rules  over  the  churches  of 

Egypt.     Vision  of  Antony  the  Great 349 

Chap.  VI.  —  Death  of  Jovian;   the  life  of  Valentinian  and  his  confidence  in  God;   how  he  was  advanced  to 

the  throne,  and  selected  his  brother  Valens  to  reign  with  him;   the  differences  of  both 349 

Chap.  VII. — Troubles  again  arise  in  the  churches,  and  the  Synod  of  Lampsacus  is  held.  The  Arians  who 
supported  Eudoxius  prevail  and  eject  the  orthodox  from  the  churches;  among  the  ejected  is  Meletius  of 
Antioch 350 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Revolt  and   extraordinary  death  of  Procopius.     Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  and   Eunomius, 

the  heretic.     Eunomius  succeeds  Eleusius 351 

Chap.  IX.  —  Sufferings  of  those  who  maintained  the  Nicene  faith.     Agelius,  the  ruler  of  the  Novatians 351 

Chap.  X.  —  Concerning  Valentinian  the  Younger,  and  Gratian.     Persecution  under  Valens.     The  Homoou- 

sians,  being  oppressed  by  the  Arians  and  Macedonians,  send  an  embassy  to  Rome 352 

Chap.  XI.  —  The  confession  of  Eustathius,   Silvanus,  and  Theophilus,  the  deputies  of  the  Macedonians,  to 

Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome 352 

Chap.  XII.  —  Councils  of  Sicily  and  of  Tyana.     The  Synod  which  was  expected  to  be  held  in  Cilicia  is  dis- 
solved by  Valens.     The  persecution  at  that  time.     Athanasius  the  Great  flees  again  and  is  in  conceal- 
ment;  by  the  letter  of  Valens  he  reappears  and  governs  the  churches  in  Egypt 353 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Demophilus,  an  Arian,  became  bishop  of  Constantinople  after  Eudoxius.     The  pious  elect 

Evagrius.     Account  of  the  persecution  which  ensued 354 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Account  of  the  eighty  pious  delegates  in  Nicomedia,  whom  Valens  burned  with  the  vessel  in 

mid-sea 355 

Chap.  XV.  —  Disputes  between  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Csesarea,  and  Basil  the  Great;   hence  the  Arians  took 

courage  and  came  to  C?esarea  and  were  repulsed 355 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Basil  becomes  bishop  of  Cresarea,  after  Eusebius;   his  boldness  towards  the  emperor  and  the 

prefect 355 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Friendship  of  Basil  and  of  Gregory  the  theologian;  being  pe'ers  in  wisdom  they  defend  the 

Nicene  doctrines 356 

Chap.  XVIII. —  The  persecution  which  occurred   at  Antioch,  on   the   Orontes.     The   place    of  prayer    in 

Edessa,  called  after  the  Apostle  Thomas;   the  assembly  there,  and  confession  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edessa.     356 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Death  of  the  great  Athanasius;  the  elevation  of  Lucius,  who  was  Arian-minded,  to  the  see; 
the  numerous  calamities  he  brought  upon  the  churches  in  Egypt;  Peter,  who  served  after  Athanasius, 
passed  over  to  Rome 357 

Chap.  XX.  —  Persecution  of  the  Egyptian  monks,  and  of  the  disciples  of  St.  Antony.     They  were  enclosed  in 

a  certain  island  on  account  of  their  orthodoxy;   the  miracles  which  they  wrought 357 

Chap.  XXI. —  List  of  the  places  in  which  the  Nicene  doctrines  were  represented.     Faith   manifested  by  the 

Scythians;   Vetranio  the  leader  of  this  race 358 


I 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  187 

PAGE 

Chap.  XXII. —  At  that  time  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  agitated,  and  it  was  decided  that  He  is  to  be 

considered  consubstantial  with  tlie  Father  and  the  Son 359 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Death  of  Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome.  He  is  succeeded  by  Damasus  and  Syricius.  Orthodox 
doctrines  prevail  everywhere  throughout  the  West,  except  where  Auxentius  is  the  high  priest;  Synod 
held  at  Rome  by  which  Auxentius  is  deposed;    the  defmition  which  it  sent  by  letter 359 

Ch.\p.  XXIV. — Concerning  St.  Ambrose  and  his  elevation  to  the  high-priesthood;   how  he  persuaded  the 

people  to  practice  piety.     The  Novatians  of  Phrygia  and  the  Passover 361 

Ch.\p.  XXV.  —  Concerning  Apolinarius  :  father  and  son  of  that  name.     Vitalianus,  the  presbyter.     On  being 

dislodged  from  one  kind  of  heresy,  they  incline  to  others 361 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  Eunomius  and  his  teacher  Aetius,  their    affairs    and   doctrines.     They  were  the  first  who 

broached  one  immersion  for  the  baptism 362 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  Account  given  by  Gregory  the  theologian,  of  Apolinarius  and  Eunomius,  in  a  letter  to 
Nectarius.  Their  heresy  was  extinguished  by  the  philosophy  of  the  monks  who  were  then  living;  for 
the  heresy  of  these  two  held  nearly  the  entire  East 364 

Chap.  XXVIII.  —  Of  the  holy  men  who  flourished  at  this  period  in  Egypt:  John,  Or,  Amon,  Benus, Theonas, 

Copres,  Helles,  Elias,  Apelles,  Isidore,  Serapion,  Dioscorus,  and  Eulogius 365 

Chap.    XXIX.  —  Concerning  the  monks  of  Thebais:  Apollos,  Dorotheus;   concerning  Piammon,  John,  Mark, 

Macarius,  Apollodorus,  Moses,  Paul  who  was  in  Ferma,  Pacho,  Stephen,  and  Pior 365 

Chap.  XXX.  —  Monks  of  Scetis :  Origen,  Didymus,  Cronion,  Orsisius,  Putubatus,  Arsion,  Serapion,  Ammon, 

Eusebius  and  Dioscorus,  the  brethren  who  are  called  long,  and  Evagrius  the  philosopher 368 

Chap.  XXXI.  —  Concerning  the  monks  of  Nitria,  and  the  Monasteries  called  cells;  about  the  one  in  Rhinocorura ; 

about  Melas,  Dionysius,  and  Solon 369 

Chap.  XXXII.  —  Monks   of  Palestine:    Hesycas,    Epiphanius   who  was   afterwards  in  Cyprus,  Ammonius, 

and  Silvanus • 369 

Chap.  XXXIII.  —  Monks  of  Syria  and  Persia :  Battheus,  Eusebius,  Barges,  Halas,  Abbo,  Lazarus,  Abdaleus, 

Zeno,  Heliodorus,  Eusebius  of  Carrse,  Protogenes,  and  Aones 370 

Chap.  XXXIV.  —  Monks  of  Edessa :  Julianus,  Ephraim  Syrus,  Barus,  and  Eulogius;  further,  the  monks  of 
Ccele-Syria:  Valentinus,  Theodore,  Merosas,  Bassus,  Bassonius;  the  holy  men  of  Galatia  and  Cappadocia 
and  elsewhere;   why  those  saints  until  recently  were  long-lived 370 

Chap.  XXXV.  —  The  wooden  tripod,  and  the  succession  of  the  emperor  through  a  knowledge  of  its  letters. 

Destruction  of  the  philosophers;   astronomy 371 

Chap.  XXXVI.  — Expedition  against  the  Sarmatians;  death  of  Valentinian  in  Rome;  Valentinian  the  Younger 
proclaimed.  Persecution  of  the  priests;  oration  of  the  philosopher  Themistius  on  account  of  which 
Valens  was  disposed  to  treat  those  who  differed  from  him  more  humanely 372 

Chap.  XXXVII.  —  Concerning  the  barbarians  beyond  the  Danube  who  were  driven  out  by  the  Huns,  and 
advanced  to  the  Romans,  and  their  conversion  to  Christianity;  Ulphilas  and  Athanarichus;  occurrences 
between  them;  whence  the  Goths  received  Arianism 373 

Ch.ap.  XXXVIII.  —  Concerning  Mania,  the  phylarch  of  the  Saracens.  When  the  treaty  with  the  Romans  was 
dissolved,  Moses,  their  bishop,  who  had  been  ordained  by  the  Christians,  renewed  it.  Narrative  concern- 
ing the  Ishmaelites  and  the  Saracens,  and  their  gods;  and  how  they  began  to  be  Christianized  through 
Zocomus,  their  phylarch 374 

Chap.  XXXIX.  —  Peter,  having  returned  from  Rome,  regains  the  churches  of  Egypt  after  Lucius  had  given 

way.     Expedition  of  Valens  into  the  West  against  the  Scythians 375 

Chap.  XL.  —  St.  Isaac,  the  monk,  predicts  the  death  of  Valens.     Valens  in  his  flight  enters  a  chaff-house, 

is  consumed,  and  so  yields  up  his  life 375 

BOOK  VII. 

Chap.  I.  —  When  the  Romans  are  pressed  by  the  barbarians,  Mavia  sends  assistance  and  some  of  the  popu- 
lace eftect  a  victory.     Gratian  commands  each  to  believe  as  he  wishes 377 

Chap.  II.  —  Gratian  elects  Theodosius  of  Spain  to  reign  with  him.  Arianism  prevails  throughout  the  Eastern 
churches,  except  that  of  Jerusalem.  Council  of  Antioch.  The  settlement  of  the  presidency  of  the 
churches 377 

Chap.  III.  —  Concerning  St.  Meletius  and  Paulinus,  bishops  of  Antioch.     Their  oath  respecting  the  episcopal 

see 378 

Chap.  IV.  —  Reign  of  Theodosius  the  Great;  he  was  initiated  into  divine  baptism  by  Ascholius,  bishop  of 
Thessalonica.  The  letters  he  addressed  to  those  who  did  not  hold  the  definition  of  the  council  of 
Nice 378 


l88  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

PAGE 

Chap.  V.  —  Gregory  the  theologian  receives  from  Theodosius  the  government  of  the  churches.      Expulsion  of 

Demophilus  and  of  all  who  deny  that  the  Son  is  '  consubstantial '  with  the  Father 378 

Chap.  VI. — Concerning  the  Arians;   and  further  the  success  of  Eunomius.     Boldness  of  St.  Amphilochius 

toward  the  emperor 379 

Chap.  VII.  —  Concerning  the  second  holy  general   council,  and  the  place  and  the  cause  of  its  convention. 

Abdication  of  Gregory,  the  theologian 380 

Chap.  VIII. —  Election  of  Nectarius  to  the  see  of  Constantinople;   his  birthplace  and  education 380 

Chap.  IX.  —  Decrees  of  the  second  general  council.     Maximus,  the  cynical  philosopher 381 

Chap.  X.  —  Concerning  Martyrius  of  Cilicia.     Translation  of  the  remains  of  St.  Paul,  the  confessor,  and  of 

Meletius,  bishop  of  Antioch 382 

Chap.  XI.  —  Ordination  of  Flavian  as  bishop  of  Antioch,  and  subsequent  occurrences  on  account  of  the  oath     382 
Chap.  XII.  —  Project  of  Theodosius  to  unify  all  the  heresies.     The  propositions  made  by  Agelius  and  Sisinius, 
the  Novatians.    At  another  Synod  the  emperor  received  those  only  who  represent  consubstantiality;    those 

who  held  a  different  view  he  ejected  from  the  churches 382 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Maximus  the  tyrant.  Concerning  the  occurrences  between  the  Empress  Justina  and  St.  Ambrose. 
The  Emperor  Gratian  was  killed  by  guile.     Valentinian   and  his  mother  fled  to  Theodosius  in  Thessa- 

lonica 383 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Birth  of  Honorius.  Theodosius  leaves  Arcadius  at  Constantinople,  and  proceeds  to  Italy.  Suc- 
cession of  the  Novatian  and  other  patriarchs.     Audacity  of  the  Arians.     Theodosius,  after  destroying  the 

tyrant,  celebrates  a  magnificent  triumph  in  Rome 384 

Chap.  XV.  —  Flavian  and  Evagrius,  bishops  of  Antioch.     The  events  at  Alexandria  upon  the  destruction  of 

the  temple  of  Dionysus.     The  Serapeum  and  the  other  idolatrous  temples  which  were  destroyed 385 

Chap.  XVI. — In  what  manner,  and  from  what  cause,  the  functions  of  the  presbyter  appointed  to  preside 

over  the  imposition  of  penance  were  abolished.     Dissertation  on  the  mode  of  imposing  penance 386 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Banishment  of  Eunomius  by  Theodosius  the  Great.  Theophronius,  his  successor;  of  Euty- 
chus  and  of  Dorotheus,  and  their  heresies;  of  those  called  Psathyrians.  Division  of  the  Arians  into  differ- 
ent parties.     Those  in  Constantinople  were  more  united 387 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  Another  heresy,  that  of  the  Sabbatians,  is  originated  by  the  Novatians.     Their  Synod  in 

Sangarus.     Account  in  greater  detail  of  the  Easter  P^estival 388 

Chap.  XIX.  —  A  list  worthy  of  study  given  by  the  historian  of  customs  among  different  nations  and  churches     389 
Chap.  XX.  —  Extension  of  our  doctrines  and  complete  demolition  of  idolatrous  temples.     Inundation  of  the 

Nile 390 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Discovery  of  the  honored  head  of  the  forerunner  of  our  Lord,  and  the  events  about  it 391 

Chap.   XXII.  —  Death  of  Valentinian  the  Younger,  emperor    in    Rome,   through    strangling.      The    tyrant 

Eugenius.     Prophecy  of  John,  the  monk  of  Thebais 392 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Exaction  of  tribute  in  Antioch,  and  demolition  of  the  statues  of  the  emperor.     Embassy 

headed  by  Flavian,  the  chief  priest 392 

Chap.  XXIV.  — Victory  of  Theodosius  the  emperor  over  Eugenius 393 

Chap.  XXV.  —  Intrepid  bearing  of  St.  Ambrose  in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius.     Massacre  at 

Thessalonica.     Narrative  of  the  other  righteous  deeds  of  this  saint 393 

Chap.  XXVI.  —  St.  Donatus,  bishop  of  Euroea,  and  Theotimus,  high  priest  of  Scythia 394 

Chap.  XXVII.  —  St.  Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Cyprus,  and  a  particular  account  of  his  acts 395 

Chap.  XXVIII.  —  Acacius,  bishop  of  Beroea;   Zeno  and  Ajax,  men  distinguished  and  renowned  for  virtue. . .      396 
Chap.  XXIX.  —  Discovery  of  the  remains  of  the  prophets  Habakkuk  and  Micah.     Death  of  Emperor  Theo- 
dosius tfic  Great 397 


BOOK   VIII. 

Chap.  I.  —  Successors  of  Theodosius  the  Great.     Rufmus,  the  praetorian  prefect,  is  slain.     The  chief  priests 

of  the  principal  cities.     Differences  among  the  heretics.     Account  of  Sisinius,  bishop  of  the  Novatians.      398 

Chap.  II.  —  Education,  training,  conduct,  and  wisdom  of  the  great  John  Chrysostom;   his  promotion  to  the 

see;    Theophilus,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  becomes  his  confirmed  opponent 395 

Chap.  III.  —  Rapid  promotion  of  John  to  the  bishopric,  and  more  vehement  grappling  with  its  affairs.  He 
re-establishes  discipline  in  the  churches  everywhere.  By  sending  an  embassy  to  Rome,  he  abolished  the 
hostility  to  Flavian 40O 

Chap.  IV.  —  Enterprise  of  Galnas,  the  Gothic  barbarian.     Evils  which  he  perpetrated ,  401 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  189 

PAGE 

Chap.  V.  — John  swayed  the  people  by  his  teachings.     Concerning  the  woman,  a  follower  of  Macedonius,  on 

account  of  whom  the  bread  was  turneil  into  a  stone 402 

Chap.  VI.  —  Proceedings  of  John  in    Asia   and  Phrygia.     Heraclides,  bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  Gerontius, 

bishop  of  Nicomedia 403 

Chap.  VII.  —  Concerning  Eutropius,  chief  of  the  eunuchs,  and  the  law  enacted  by  him.     On  l^eing  turned 

from  the  church,  he  was  put  to  death.      Murmurs  against  John 403 

Chai'.  VIII.  — Antiphonal  hymns  against  the  Arians  introduced  by  John.     The  interests  of  the  orthodox  are 

much  augmented  by  the  teachings  of  John,  while  the  wealthy  are  more  and  more  enraged 404 

Chap.  IX.  —  Serapion,  the  archdeacon,  and  St.  Olympias.     Some  of  the  celebrated  men  insolently  bear  down 

upon  John,  traducing  him  as  impracticable  and  passionate 404 

Ch.-vp.  X.  —  Severian,  bishop  of  Gabales,  and  Antiochus,  bishop  of  Ptolemais.     Dispute  between  Serapion  and 

Severian.     Reconciliation  between  them  effected  by  the  empress 405 

Chap.  XI.  —  Question  agitated  in  Egypt,  as  to  whether  God  has  a  corporeal  form.     Theophilus,  bishop  of 

Alexandria,  and  the  books  of  Origen 405 

Ch.\p.  XII.  — About  the  four  brothers,  called  '  the  long,'  who  were  ascetics,  and  of  whom  Theophilus  was  an 

enemy;    about  Isidore  and  the  events  which  came  about  through  these  four 406 

Chap.  XIII.  — These  four  repair  to  John  on  account  of  his  interest;   for  this  reason  Theophilus  was  enraged, 

and  prepares  himself  to  fight  against  John 407 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Perversity  of  Theophilus.     St.  Epiphanius :  his  residence  at  Constantinople,  and  preparation  to 

excite  the  people  against  John 407 

Ch.ap.  XV. — The  son  of  the  empress,  and  St.  Epiphanius.     Conference  between  the  'long  brothers'  and 

Epiphanius,  and  his  re-embarkation  for  Cyprus.     Epiphanius  and  John 408 

Chap.  XVI. — The  dispute  between  the  empress  and  John.     Arrival  of  Theophilus  from  Egypt.     Cyrinus, 

bishop  of  Chalcedon 409 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Council  held  by  Theophilus  and  the  accusers  of  John  in  Rufinianse.     John  is  summoned  to 

attend,  and  not  being  present  was  deposed  by  them 409 

Chap.  XVIII.  —  Sedition  of  the   people   against   Theophilus;   and    they   traduced   their  rulers.     John  was 

recalled  and  again  came  to  the  see 410 

Chap.  XIX.  —  Obstinacy  of  Theophilus.     Enmity  between  the  Egyptians  and  the  citizens  of  Constantinople. 

Flight  of  Theophilus.     Nilammon  the  ascetic.      The  Synod  concerning  John 411 

Chap.  XX.  —  The  statue  of  the  empress;   what  happened   there;    the   teaching   of  John;    convocation  of 

another  Synod  against  John;    his  deposition 412 

Chap.  XXI.  —  Calamities  suffered  by  the  people  after  the  expulsion  of  John.  The  plots  against  him  of  assas- 
sination      412 

Chap.  XXII.  —  Unlawful  expulsion  of  John  from  his  bishopric.     The  trouble  which  followed.     Conflagration 

of  the  church  by  fire  from  heaven.     Exile  of  John  to  Cucusus 413 

Chap.  XXIII.  —  Arsacius  elected  to  succeed  John.     The  evils  wrought  against  the  followers  of  John.     St. 

Nicarete 413 

Chap.  XXIV.  —  Eutropius  the  reader,  and  the   blessed  Olympias,  and  the  presbyter  Tigrius,  are  persecuted 

on  account  of  their  attachment  to  John.    The  Patriarchs 414 

Chap.  XXV. — Since  these  ills  existed  in  the  church,  secular  affairs  also  fell  into  disorder.     The  affairs  of 

Stilicho,  the  general  of  Honorius 415 

Ch.\p.  XXVI.  — Two  epistles  from  Innocent,  the  pope  of  Rome,  of  which  one  was  addressed  to  John  Chrysos- 

tom,  and  the  other  to  the  clergy  of  Constantinople  concerning  John 415 

Chap.  XXVII. — The  terrible  events  which    resulted    from  the  treatment  of  John.     Death  of  the  Empress 

Eudoxia.  Death  of  Arsacius.  And  further,  concerning  Atticus,  the  Patriarch,  his  birthplace  and  character  417 
Chap.  XXVIII.  —  Effort  of  Innocent,  bishop  of  Rome,  to  recall  John  through  a  council;    concerning   those 

who  were  sent  by  him  to  make  trial  of  the  matter.     The  death  of  John  Chrysostom 417 


BOOK   IX. 

Chap.  I.  —  Death  of  Arcadius,  and  government  of  Theodosius  the  Younger.     His  sisters.     Piety,  virtue,  and 

virginity  of  the  Princess  Pulcheria;    her  divinely  loved  works;    she  educated  the  emperor  befittingly  . .  419 

Chap.  II.  —  Discovery  of  the  relics  of  forty  holy  martyrs 420 

Chap.  III.  ■ —  The  virtues  of  Pulcheria;    her  sisters 421 

Chap.  IV.  —  Truce  with  Persia.     Honorius  and  Stilicho.     Transactions  in  Rome  and  Dalmatia 421 


I90  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 

PAGE 

Chap.  V. — The  different  nations  took  up  arms  against  the  Romans,  of  whom  some  were,  through  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  defeated,  and  others  brought  to  terms  of  amity 422 

Chap.  VI.  —  Alaric,  the  Goth.     He  assaulted  Rome  and  straitened  it  by  war 422 

Chap.  VII.  —  Innocent,  the  bishop  of  the  presbytery  of  Rome;   he  sent  an  embassy  to  Alaric.    Jovius,  prefect 

of  Italy.     Emljassy  dispatched  to  the  emperor.     Events  concerning  Alaric 423 

Chap.  VIII.  —  Rebellion  of  Attalus  and  his  general,  Heraclean;   and  how  he  eventually  craved  forgiveness  at 

the  feet  of  Honorius  423 

Chap.  IX.  —  The  disturbance  which  the  Greeks  and  Christians  had  about  Attalus.   The  courageous  Saros. 

Alaric,  by  a  stratagem,  obtains  possession  of  Rome,  and  protected  the  sacred  asylum  of  the  Apostle  Peter     424 

Chap.  X.  —  A  Roman  lady  who  manifested  a  deed  of  modesty 424 

Chap.  XI.  —  The  tyrants  who,  in  the  West,  at  that  time  rebelled  against  Honorius.   They  are  wholly  destroyed 

on  account  of  the  emperor's  love  of  God 425 

Chap.  XII. — Theodosiolus  and  Lagodius.    The  races  of  the  Vandals  and  Suevi.     Death  of  Alaric.     Flight  of 

the  tyrants  Constantine  and  Constans 425 

Chap.  XIII.  —  Concerning  Gerontius,  Maximus,  and  the  troops  of  Honorius.     Capture  of  Gerontius  and  his 

wife ;    their  death 426 

Chap.  XIV.  —  Constantine.    The  army  of  Honorius  and  Edovicus,  his  general.    Defeat  of  Edovicus  by  Ulphi- 

las,  the  general  of  Constantine.     Death  of  Edovicus 426 

Chap.  XV.  —  Constantine  throws  aside  the  emblems  of  imperial  power,  and  is  ordained  as  presbyter;    his 

subsequent  death.     Death  of  the  other  tyrants  who  had  conspired  against  Honorius 426 

Chap.  XVI.  —  Honorius,  the  ruler,  a  lover  of  God.     Death  of  Honorius.     His  successors,  Valentinian  and 

Honoria,  his  daughter;    the  peace  which  was  then  world-wide 427 

Chap.  XVII.  —  Discovery  of  the  relics  of  Zechariah  the  prophet,  and  of  Stephen  the  proto-martyr 427 


INTRODUCTION. 


SALAMINIUS  HERMIAS  SOZOMEN. 


PART   I. —The  Life. 

The  name  is  an  unusual  and  difficult  one.  It  seems  desirable  to  give  preference  to  the  order 
which  Photius  adopts,  but  to  preserve  the  spelling  in  Nicephorus  Callistus,  and  in  the  captions 
of  the  chief  manuscripts,  and  therefore  to  call  him  Salaminius  Hermias  Sozomen.  What  the 
term  Salaminius  indicates,  cannot  yet  be  accurately  determined.  There  are  no  data  to  show  any 
official  connection  of  Sozomen  with  Salamis  opposite  Athens,  or  Salamis  (Constantia)  in  Cyprus ; 
certainly  there  is  no  record  of  any  naval  service.  In  vi.  32,  where  he  speaks  of  the  greater  lights  of 
monasticism  in  Palestine,  Hilarion,  Hesychas,  and  Epiphanius,  he  remarks,  "  At  the  same  period 
in  the  monasteries,  Salamines,  Phuscon,  Malachion,  Crispion,  four  brethren,  were  highly  distin- 
guished." In  the  tart  controversy  between  Epiphanius  and  the  empress,  the  latter  had  said,  "  You 
have  not  power  to  revive  the  dead  ;  otherwise  your  archdeacon  would  not  have  died."  Sozomen 
explains,  "  She  alluded  to  Crispion,  the  archdeacon,  who  had  died  a  short  time  previously ;  he 
was  brother  to  Phuscon  and  Salamanus,  monks  whom  I  had  occasion  to  mention  when  detailing 
the  history  of  events  under  the  reign  of  Valens  "  (viii.  15).  The  readings  in  the  first  citation 
fluctuate  between  the  forms  Salamines  and  Salamanes.  Since  these  monks  were  of  the  family  of 
Alaphion,  intimate  friends  and  neighbors  of  the  grandfather  of  Sozomen  (v.  15),  it  might  be  con- 
jectured that  Salamines  stood  in  some  relationship  with  Sozomen,  such  as  sponsor  or  teacher,  and 
that  the  cognomen  might  have  its  origin  from  such  a  connection.  It  seems  strange  in  such  a 
case  that  he  would  not  have  dwelt  upon  the  bond,  or  at  least  have  emphasized  the  life  of  this 
particular  brother  by  a  special  note  ;  but  he  simply  avers,  "  Some  good  men  belonging  to  this 
family  have  flourished  even  in  our  own  days  ;  and  in  my  youth  I  saw  some  of  them,  but  they  were 
then  very  aged."  Nor  in  the  other  passages  (vi.  32,  viii.  15)  is  there  any  hint  of  intimacy.  At 
the  same  time,  this  seems  as  yet  the  most  warranted  explanation  of  the  epithet.  Hermias  was  quite 
a  common  name  even  among  Christians.  It  was  originally  connected  with  the  household  or  local 
worship  of  Hermes,  as  the  giver  of  an  unexpected  gift,  or  it  may  be  as  the  utterance  of  a  parental 
wish  for  the  future  success  of  the  newcomer.  Although  it  contained  a  heathen  reminiscence,  it 
was  probably  conferred  in  this  case  because  it  was  ancestral.  The  name  Sozomen  itself  is  docu- 
mentarily  a  very  unusual  one  ;  and  was  probably  bestowed  upon  the  child  by  the  father  as  a 
devout  recognition  of  deliverance  for  himself  and  his  boy,  and  in  contrast  with  the  family  surname. 
A  certain  praefectus  domestico,  to  whom  Isidore  of  Pelusium  addresses  a  letter  (i.  300),  was  also 
so  called ;  he  must  have  been  a  cotemporary.  It  would  be  a  pleasant  surprise  could  he  be 
identified  with  the  historian  ;  and  it  would  not  be  at  all  impossible,  for  Evagrius,  the  advocate  and 
historian,  was  so  promoted  (//.  E.  vi.  24).  The  biographical  hints  in  Sozomen's  surviving 
work  are  of  the  smallest ;  and  outside  tradition  has  preserved  absolutely  nothing.  His  ancestors 
were  apparently  from  early  times  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Bethelia,  in  the  territory  of  Gaza, 


192  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

and  near  to  that  important  city.  By  race,  they  were  probably  of  Philistine  rather  than  Jewish 
descent ;  for  they  were  pagans  (Hellenists)  up  to  the  time  of  Hilarion,  in  the  second  quarter  of 
the  fourth  century,  and  our  historian  contrasts  them  with  the  Hebrews.  The  family  was  one  of 
distinction,  belonging  to  a  sort  of  village  patricianate.  That  of  Alaphion  was  of  still  greater  dignity. 
The  village  of  Bethelia  was  populous  with  a  mixture  of  Gentiles  and  Jews ;  the  former,  however, 
largely  predominating.  Its  name  appears  to  have  been  derived  from  the  Pantheon,  erected  on  an 
artificial  acropolis,  and  so  overlooking  the  whole  community,  whose  universalistic  religious  zeal  was 
thus  symbolized.  The  term  Bethel  was  first  given  to  the  temple,  and  then  was  transferred  to  the 
town  as  Bethelia ;  and  the  use  of  such  a  form  indicates  that  the  prevailing  dialect  was  a  variation  of 
Syriac  or  Aramaic.  It  is  also  spelled  Bethelea  (vi.  32).  Hilarion  was  born  in  Thabatha,  another 
village  near  Gaza,  to  the  south,  on  a  wady  of  the  same  name.  He  became  a  student  in  Alexan- 
dria, but  adopted  the  monastic  discipline,  through  the  example  of  Antony ;  on  returning  to  his 
home,  he  found  his  parents  dead.  He  distributed  his  share  of  the  patrimony  to  his  family  and  the 
poor,  and  then  withdrew  to  a  desert  by  the  sea,  twenty  stadia  from  his  native  village,  and  began 
his  career  of  monastic  activity  as  the  founder  of  that  ethical  system  in  Palestine.  Before  his 
flight  to  other  and  distant  seclusions,  he  came  in  contact  with  Alaphion,  the  head  of  a  noble 
family  in  Bethelia,  seemingly  on  very  friendly  footing  with  Sozomen's  grandfather.  Alaphion  was 
possessed  of  a  demon  ;  neither  pagan  formularies  nor  Jewish  exorcists  could  relieve  him  ;  Hilarion 
had  but  to  invoke  the  name  of  Christ,  and  the  malignant  agent  was  expelled.'  The  healed  man 
became  at  once  a  Christian ;  the  grandfather  of  Sozomen  was  won  to  the  same  profession  by  the 
care  of  his  friend.  The  father,  too,  adopted  the  new  faith  ;  many  other  relatives  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  believers,  in  this  intensely  pagan  community  and  region ;  for  Gaza,  as  the  chief 
city,  displayed  a  decided  hostility  to  the  Gospel.  The  grandfather  was  a  man  of  native  intelli- 
gence, and  had  moderate  cultivation  in  general  studies,  and  was  not  without  some  knowledge  of 
arithmetic.  His  earlier  social  and  intellectual  position  made  him  at  once  prominent  among  the 
converts,  especially  as  an  interpreter  of  the  Scriptures.  He  won  the  affections  of  the  Christians  in 
Ascalon  and  Gaza  and  their  outlying  regions.  In  the  estimation  of  his  grandson,  he  was  a  neces- 
sary figure  in  the  religious  life  of  the  Christian  communities,  and  people  carried  doubtful  points 
of  holy  writ  to  him  for  solution ;  yet  it  does  not  appear  that  he  held  any  clerical  function. 
While  the  ancestor  of  Sozomen  was  conspicuous  as  the  religious  teacher  of  Southwestern 
Palestine,  the  old  Philistine  region,  Alaphion  and  his  family  were  distinguished  for  works  of  a 
practical  quality  :  they  founded  churches  and  monasteries ;  they  were  active  in  the  relief  of 
strangers  and  the  poor ;  some  adopted  the  new  philosophy ;  and  out  of  their  ranks  came  martyrs 
and  bishops.  Sozomen  says  nothing  of  his  father,  excepting  that  he  was  originally  a  pagan,  and 
therefore  born  before  Hilarion's  mission.  The  edicts  of  Julian  caused  a  sudden  revival  of  the 
old  state  religion,  and  led  to  many  local  persecutions,  where  the  pagans  were  the  stronger  party : 
Gaza  and  its  dependencies  were  of  this  number,  and  some  of  the  tragedies  of  that  unhappy  time 
are  recorded  by  our  historian.  The  families  of  Alaphion  and  of  Sozomen  were  compelled  to  flee, 
to  what  place  is  not  told  us  ;  probably  the  southernmost  monastic  retreats  :  the  exiles  certainly 
returned  (v.  15),  not  unlikely  after  the  accession  of  Jovian.  We  can  only  guess  at  the  date  of 
Sozomen's  birth,  and  somewhat  in  this  wise.  Hilarion's  activity  in  Palestine  was  after  the  council 
of  Nice,  and  before  the  accession  of  Julian ;  we  may  say  about  a.d.  345.  The  grandfather  at  his 
conversion  may  have  been  about  forty,  since  he  had  become  a  conspicuous  local  figure ;  the 
father,  in  all  likelihood,  was  but  a  lad  when  this  change  came  over  the  domestic  worship.  The 
exile  under  Julian  took  place  very  nearly  in  362,  and  the  return  in  364,  when  the  patrician  of 
Bethelia  was  verging  on  sixty,  and  the  lad  had  become  a  young  man.  ^^■e  may  place  the  date  of 
Sozomen's  birth  somewhere  between  370  and  3S0.  Hilarion  passed  away  about  371  :  Ephraim 
Syrus,  in  378  ;  Gratian  was  emperor  of  the  West ;  Theodosius  the  Great  was  just  about  to  succeed 

^  V.  IS,  and  Hieron.  de  vita  Hilarionis. 


INTRODUCTION.  193 


Valens  in  the  East.  Ambrose  was  the  most  imposing  ecclesiastic  of  the  Occident ;  Grt^ory 
Nazianzen  and  Epiphanius  were  the  leaders  of  orthodoxy  in  the  Orient. 

There  are  but  few  details  concerning  his  education.  That  it  was  directed  by  the  monks  is 
sure  ;  in  fact,  the  only  form  of  Christian  life  known  in  that  region  was  of  the  ascetic  type  ;  the 
very  bishops  and  clerical  functionaries  were  selected  from  the  ranks  of  the  practical  philosophers. 
There  was  a  succession  of  pious  men  in  the  line  of  Alaphion,  and  with  the  elders  of  the  second 
generation,  Sozomen,  as  a  youth,  was  more  or  less  acquainted.  The  names  of  some  of  them  have 
already  been  mentioned  : '  all  had  been  pupils  of  Hilarion.  The  fourth  of  the  brothers,  Melachion 
by  name,  must  have  already  passed  away,  and  legends  had  speedily  transfigured  his  memory. 
The  influence  of  Epiphanius  throughout  Palestine,  and  particularly  in  its  southern  slopes  and 
shepheloth,  was  dominant  in  shaping  the  quality  of  devotional  thought  and  feeling  :  its  force  was 
scarcely  spent  when  Sozomen  was  a  boy. 

This  accounts  for  the  exaggerated  value  he  puts  upon  the  monastic  discipline  as  the  true 
philosophy,  and  why  he  desires  not  to  appear  ungrateful  to  its  cultivators,  in  the  writing  of  his 
history ;  for  he  purposes  to  keep  in  mind  that  tremendous  movement,  and  to  commemorate  its 
eminent  leaders  under  different  reigns  ;  in  fact,  he  decides  to  make  it  a  feature  of  his  treatment 
of  church  life  and  history.  There  is  no  warrant,  however,  for  stating  that  he  himself  became  a 
monk.  With  all  his  admiration  for  their  spiritual  superiority,  he  does  not  lay  claim  to  any  direct 
fellowship,  but  rather  denies  his  right  or  competency  to  invade  their  domain.  We  may  be  sure 
that  he  received  the  ordinary  education  imparted  in  the  monastic  schools  of  the  time,  approxi- 
mating that  of  similar  institutions  near  Alexandria.  In  a  degree  it  was  narrow,  and  growingly 
hostile  to  pagan  literature  ;  moreover,  it  was  apt  to  be  provincial,  if  patriotic  in  its  tone.  This 
will  account  for  his  desire  to  elevate  the  importance  of  Palestine  over  against  the  supercilious 
tendency  which  centralized  all  culture  in  Constantinople.  The  main  body  of  his  studies  was  con- 
ducted in  the  Greek  language,  of  which  he  is  no  slight  master ;  indeed,  he  became  one  of  the  best 
imitative  stylists  of  his  time,  according  to  so  good  a  judge  as  Photius.  His  famiharity  with  the 
Syriac  and  Aramaic  names,  the  exactness  of  their  transliteration,  and  his  larger  acquaintance  with 
the  history  of  the  Syrian  church,  point  to  a  likely  knowledge  of  at  least  a  dialect  of  that  widely 
diffused  speech ;  indeed,  he  could  hardly  have  escaped  the  patois,  which  seems  to  have  pre- 
dominated over  the  Greek  in  Bethelia.  In  iii.  16,  he  allows  for  the  loss  of  force  and  original 
grace  in  every  translation,  but  states  that  in  Ephraim's  works,  the  Greek  rendition  made 
in  Ephraim's  own  day,  suffered  nothing  by  the  change,  and  he  institutes  such  a  comparison 
between  the  original  and  its  version,  that  one  is  inchned  to  think  he  could  read  both.  So  his 
effort  to  keep  a  balance  in  writing  between  the  central  and  border  lands  of  the  empire,  and 
indeed  outside  of  it,  would  indicate  a  broader  linguistic  sympathy.  In  vi.  34,  he  speaks  famil- 
iarly of  Syrian  monks,  who  had  survived  to  his  own  period  ;  the  wider  range  of  his  knowledge  may 
have  been  due  also  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  or  to  Syrian  cases  brought  to  Constantinople, 
each  of  which  would  involve  a  comprehension  of  the  language  ;  nor  less  his  use  of  the  records 
written  by  the  Christians  of  Persia,  Syria,  and  particularly  Edessa,  to  preserve  the  story  of  the 
Persian  church  and  its  many  martyrs,  whose  material  he  used  so  copiously  (ii.  9-14).  It  is 
difficult  to  be  sure  of  his  proficiency  in  Latin ;  on  the  one  hand,  as  an  advocate  it  would  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  understand  that  language  of  jurisprudence ;  for  all  edicts,  laws, 
rescripts,  were  written  therein  :  the  Theodosian  code  itself  was  so  compiled  in  his  own  day.  On 
the  other  hand,  where  he  quotes  Latin  documents,  he  invariably  does  it  from  translations  into 
Greek  made  by  other  hands  ;  thus  in  iii.  2,  of  Constantine's  letter  to  the  Alexandrians,  he  says, 
"  I  have  met  with  a  copy  translated  from  the  Latin  into  the  Greek ;  I  shall  insert  it  precisely  as 
I  find  it."  So  in  iv.  18,  the  letter  of  the  Synod  of  Ariminum  to  Constantius  ;  and  in  viii.  26, 
the  two  epistles  of  Innocent.     Probably  his  second-hand  report  about  Hilary  of  Pictavium,  v.  13, 

'  V.  15;   vi.  32;  viii.  15. 


194  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

leai^s  the  same  way.     But  on  the  whole  we  must  allow  his  profession,  which  necessitated  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  language,  to  outweigh  the  lack  of  original  versions  in  his  book. 

It  is  difficult  to  judge  from  a  solitary  work  what  the  degree  of  an  author's  general  culture  is. 
Clemens  Alexandrinus  has  multitudinous  quotations ;  it  would  be  easy  to  conclude  that  he  was  a 
scholar  of  universal  reading,  and  a  genuine  polyhistor  ;  but  their  inaccuracy  and  frequent  infelicity 
make  them  rather  appear  as  the  excerpts  from  some  florilegium  or  some  rhetorical  hand-book. 
The  classical  allusions  in  Sozomen  are  not  very  many ;  and  he  might  well  have  considered  it 
out  of  place  to  indulge  in  overmuch  reference  in  such  a  record  as  he  presents ;  the  quality  of 
what  appears. would  not  compel  a  wide  range  of  reading ;  the  dedication  is  most  fertile  in  familiar 
illustrations,  poetical,  historical,  and  mythological.  In  i.  6,  because  of  his  mentioning  Aquilis, 
he  drags  the  Argonauts  in  by  the  ears,  hardly  from  Pisander,  but  rather  from  Zosimus,  who  does 
the  same  in  mentioning  the  progress  of  Alaric.^  When  he  describes  Constantine's  tentative 
search  for  a  favorable  site  on  which  to  rear  his  new  capital,  the  mention  of  the  plain  of  IHum 
moves  the  historian  to  relate  a  little  tradition  about  the  Trojan  town  (ii.  3).  He  mentions 
Aristotle,  in  whose  philosophy  Aetius  was  versed  (iii.  15);  and  to  whose  dialectic  work 
Theophronius  composed  an  introduction  (vii.  17).  When  he  dwells  on  the  imitative  literature 
produced  by  Apolinarius,  he  alludes  indirectly  to  the  Homeric  poems,  and  mentions  outright  his 
writing  "  comedies  in  imitation  of  Menander,  tragedies  resembling  those  of  Euripides,  and  .odes 
on  the  model  of  Pindar"  (v.  18).  In  narrating  the  history  of  Daphne  under  Julian  (v.  19),  he 
gives  the  myth  of  Apollo  and  Daphne.  Such  hints  and  others  are  no  proof  or  disproof  of  any 
extensive  reading,  and  yet  the  way  in  which  he  alludes  to  some  is  more  after  a  cyclopedic 
fashion  than  any  profound  study  of  the  authors  themselves.  In  fact,  his  confession  in  the  instance 
of  the  Apollo  and  Daphne  myth  is  naive,  "  I  leave  this  subject  to  those  who  are  more  accurately 
acquainted  with  mythology."  This  acknowledgment  is  not  born  of  any  puritanic  hesitancy,  —  for 
he  had  ventured  into  the  sensual  bog  a  little  way  already,  —  but  is  rather  a  genuine  declaration  of 
his  ignorance,  and  that  in  the  capital  where  Anthemius  and  Synesius  were  authorities.  Probably 
we  have  a  little  light  in  the  limitations  and  illiberality  of  his  early  training,  by  recalling  his  attitude 
toward  the  imitative  writings  of  Apolinarius,  which  sprang  up  to  countervail  the  Julian  edict, 
which  the  Christians  interpreted  as  a  prohibition  to  their  enjoyment  of  the  Hellenic  culture. 
While  Socrates  whole-souledly  and  forcibly  advocates  the  humanizing  effect  of  the  ancient  litera- 
ture (iii.  16),  Sozomen  says,  "Were  it  not  for  the  extreme  partiality  with  which  the  productions 
of  antiquity  are  regarded,  I  doubt  not  but  that  the  writings  of  Apolinarius  would  be  held  in  as 
much  estimation  as  those  of  the  ancients,"  and  he  rather  sides  with  the  monks  in  their  contempt 
for  classic  studies  (i.  12).  He  does  not  wholly  commit  himself;  he  is  a  bit  hesitant, —  a 
characteristic  of  his  make-up.  This  was  an  absorbing  question  in  that  and  previous  days,  as  it 
has  continued  to  agitate  the  church,  more  or  less,  until  our  own  time.  In  his  time  the  influence 
of  the  monks  and  the  clergy,  who  were  pervaded  with  the  ascetic  spirit,  was  more  and  more 
against  the  humanities  ;  the  court  fluctuated,  while  the  training  of  the  Valentinian  and  Theodosian 
succession  had  been  decidedly  monastic,  and  its  sympathies  were  mainly  with  the  intolerant 
tendency,  the  necessities  of  their  position,  and  the  splendid  and  overshadowing  political  abilities 
of  men  like  Libanius,  Themistius,  Anthemius,  Troilus,  could  not  be  set  aside.  Some  of  them, 
too,  had  proved  themselves  to  be  the  saviours  and  uplifters  of  the  state.  The  learning  and 
grace  of  Eudoci^,  the  empress,  the  spirit  of  her  early  training  as  the  daughter  of  an  Athenian 
philosopher,  and  her  own  i)oetic  gifts,  were  persuasive  agents  in  sustaining  a  classical  survival 
among  the  Christians  at  the  court,  before  she  fell  under  the  blight  of  her  husband's  jealousy. 
Cyrus,  the  restorer  of  Constantinople,  filled  his  verses  with  the  same  antique  flavor.  The  clergy, 
whose  preliminary  training  had  been  in  the  schools  of  the  sophists,  or  at  the  Universities,  could 
not  wholly  bury  their  sympathy,  although  they  went  through  casuistic  struggles  such  as  that  of 

^  Zos.  V.  29. 


INTRODUCTION.  195 


Jerome.  The  Arians,  too,  were  frequently  of  a  larger  culture,  and  on  the  Germanic  side,  of  signal 
military  skill  and  political  sagacity,  whose  services  the  state  could  not  dispense  with.  The  Uni- 
versity which  even  the  monastically  drilled  Theodosius  the  Younger  organized  in  Constantinople, . 
while  seeking  to  give  a  Christian  tone  to  the  higher  education,  previously  controlled  by  Athens,, 
made  very  liberal  provision  for  the  languages,  if  not  so  much  for  philosophy.  Sozomen,  as  wc 
see,  inclined  to  a  less  generous  view,  and  thought  Apolinarius  had  such  a  universal  genius,  that 
his  numerous  originals  might  be  dispensed  with  ;  Homer,  Menander,  Euripides,  Pindar,  but  for 
an  affectation,  need  not  have  been  missed.  This  shows  the  thin  quality  of  his  reading,  if  not  the 
restricted  quantity  of  it,  and  lays  bare  the  impotence  of  his  critical  faculty.  These  limitations 
were  doubtless  due  in  large  measure  to  the  shrunken  ideals  of  his  Palestinian  education  :  it 
savored  of  Epiphanius'  temper  and  impress. 

His  education  on  the  religious  side  was  in  the  Nicene  faith  as  professed  by  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  East,  to  which  the  monks  remained,  not  always  thoughtfully  faithful,  in  all  that 
stormy  period.  As  Sozomen  says,  the  people  were  unable  to  follow  the  refinements  of  theo- 
logical discussion,  and  took  their  cue  from  those  whose  lives  seemed  better  than  that  of  the 
ordinary  clergy.  He  had,  however,  no  close  drill  in  the  arguments /r^  and  ri?/-!,  judging  from 
his  own  declarations  of  inability  to  follow  the  various  aspects  of  Arian  discussion.  After 
citing  the  letter  of  Gregory  Nazianzen  to  Nectarius,  in  which  the  distinctive  features  of  the 
heresy  of  Apolinarius  are  given,  he  supplements:  "What  I  have  said,  may,  I  think,  suffice  to 
show  the  nature  of  the  sentiments  maintained  by  Apolinarius  and  Eunomius.  If  any  one  desire 
more  detailed  information,  I  can  only  refer  him  to  the  works  on  the  subject,  written  either  by 
them  or  by  others,  concerning  these  men.  I  do  not  profess  easily  to  understand  or  to  expound 
these  matters"  (cTret  e'/Aot  ovre.  awuvai  ra  TOiavra,  ovre  fxeraf^pa^uv  euTrere's,  vi.  27).  And  when 
he  enumerates  the  causes  of  rupture  among  the  Eunomians,  "  I  should  be  prohx  were  I  to  enter 
into  further  particulars ;  and  indeed  the  subject  would  be  by  no  means  an  easy  one  to  me,  since 
I  have  no  such  dialectic  skill"  (cTret  /xt^Sc  e/ATretpcos  tx'^  '''^^  tolovtwv  StaAe'^ewv,  vii.  17).  It  would 
seem,  then,  that  his  logical  training  had  not  been  of  a  very  deep  quality,  and  yet  it  must  be 
said  that  such  definitions  and  arguments  as  he  does  state  in  the  history  of  controversy  are 
orderly  and  lucid.  Metaphysics  also  seems  to  have  had  no  large  place  in  his  earlier  studies ;  but 
he  certainly  did  become  familiar  with  its  later  theological  terms  and  distinctions,  and  he  draws  a 
clear  line  between  the  various  contestants  who  warred  for  and  against  consubstantiality.  His  read- 
ing also  covered  some  philosophical  speculations,  as  one  gathers  from  a  sentence  in  v.  6,  "  For  it 
is  not  true,  as  some  assert,  that  as  is  the  body,  so  is  the  soul."  He  probably  also  early  learned  to 
distinguish  between  ontology  and  ethics,  by  the  practical  lines  drawn  between  the  clerical  disputant 
and  the  monastic  philosopher.  A  sentence  in  his  history  of  Meletius,  bishop  of  Antioch  (iv.  28), 
emphasizes  this  difference  as  we  seldom  find  it  in  early  Christian  literature  :  "  In  his  first 
discourse  he  confines  himself  to  instructing  the  people  in  what  we  call  ethics  {rov'i  KaXovfx.ivov<i 
■^OiKovq  Aoyous),  and  then  openly  declared  the  Son  to  be  of  the  same  substance  as  the  Father." 

His  spirit  was  taught  to  enslave  itself  with  legalistic  fetters,  and  where  he  does  rise  above' 
them,  it  is  with  trembling  misgivings ;  he  had  a  side  for  larger  things,  like  Socrates,  due  probably 
to  his  profession,  but  he  was  afraid  to  venture  quite  so  far,  and  yet  he  is  magnanimous  as  compared 
with  the  better  educated  and  clerical  Theodoret. 

To  those  early  school  years  we  must  also  attribute  his  statement,  that  he  was  a  witness  to  the 
fidelity  of  Zeno,  bishop  of  Majuma,  the  seaport  of  Gaza.  "  It  is  said,  and  I  myself  am  witness 
.  of  the  truth  of  the  assertion,  that  when  he  was  bishop  of  the  church  in  Majuma,  he  was  never 
absent  at  morning  or  evening  hymns,  or  any  other  worship  of  God,  unless  attacked  by  some 
malady ;  and  yet  he  was  at  this  period  an  old  man,  being  nearly  a  hundred  years  of  age "' 
(vii.  28).  The  patriarch's  self-support  and  industry  were  in  like  manner  the  object  of  his  youth- 
ful admiration.  The  struggle  of  the  bishop  of  Gaza  to  assert  his  jurisdiction  over  Majuma,  the 
seaport  which  had  its  own  episcopate,  and  desired  to  retain  its  ecclesiastical  autonomy,  after  it 


196  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


had  lost  its  civil  independence,  Sozomen  speaks  of  as.  happening  in  his  day,  and  was  one  of  the 
news  of  his  youth ;  and  one  catches  in  his  statement  an  inner  satisfaction  with  the  decision  of 
the  council  which  recognized  the  freedom  of  the  Christian  community  by  the  sea  (v.  3).  In 
connection  with  public  worship,  he  had  very  likely  heard  in  those  earlier  days  the  reading  of 
the  Apocalypse  of  Peter.  He  says  in  vii.  19,  "Thus  the  book  entitled  the  Apocalypse  of 
Peter,  which  was  considered  altogether  spurious  by  the  ancients,  is  still  read  in  some  of  the 
■churches  of  Palestine,  on  the  day  of  preparation,  when  the  people  obsen'e  a  fast  in  memory 
of  the  passion  of  the  Saviour."  And  a  favorite  book  he  saw  in  the  hands  of  the  monks  of  his 
native  land,  was  the  Apocalypse  of  Paul,  "although  unrecognized  by  the  ancients"  (vii.  19). 
A  familiarity  with  such  books  gives  a  key  to  his  later  attitude  toward  prophecy. 

There  is  no  evidence  as  to  what  persuaded  him  to  study  law,  nor  do  we  know  when  he  was 
enrolled  as  a  student.  The  fact  that  he  mentions  the  school  of  Berytus  as  the  place  where  Bishop 
Triphyllius  had  prosecuted  jurisprudence  for  so  long  a  while  (i.  11)  can  hardly  be  taken  as  a  sug- 
gestion of  Sozomen's  own  residence  there.  It  would  have  been  more  likely  for  him  to  have  attended 
lectures  at  the  University  of  Alexandria  or  Antioch,  with  which  cities  he  shows  a  considerable 
acquaintance.  His  studies  were  probably  based  on  the  Codex  Gregorianus,  with  its  supplement, 
the  Codex  Hermogenianus ;  for  it  was  in  his  own  day,  and  during  the  writing  of  his  history, 
that  the  Codex  Theodosianus  was  begun,  and  one  is  sorry  to  miss  his  name  from  the  list  of  its 
compilers  ;  and  it  was  not  until  a.d.  439,  that  it  was  proclaimed  as  the  text-book  of  imperial  law. 
That  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  that  profession,  we  have  direct  evidence,  as  in  the  case 
of  Evagrius,  {^H.  E.  vi.  7)  while  as  to  Socrates,  it  is  simply  an  uncertified  tradition.  Sozomen 
speaks  of  his  afflicted  friend  Aquilinus  (ii.  3),  "who  is  even  at  the  present  time  residing  with  us, 
and  is  an  advocate  in  the  same  courts  of  justice  as  that  to  which  we  belong."  From  the  tenor 
of  the  legal  notices  in  his  history  it  is  likely  that  he  practiced  in  the  episcopal  courts  as  well ;  for 
these  had  assumed  form,  and  the  function  of  an  advocate  is  regulated  in  several  synodical  canons. 
He  is  more  careful  and  systematic  in  stating  the  course  of  important  legislation  with  regard  to 
religion  and  the  Church,  than  any  other  historian.  Thus  under  Constantine,  i.  3,  5,  8,  9,  21,  23, 
ii.  32;  under  Constantius,  iii.  17,  iv.  15;  under  Julian,  v.  5,  15,  17;  under  Jovian,  vi.  3; 
Valens,  vi.  12,  19;  Gratian,  vii.  i;  Gratian  and  Theodosius,  vii.  4;  under  Theodosius,  vii.  9, 
12,  16,  20,  25,  viii.  4  ;  Valentinian,  ii.  (Justina),  vii.  13;  Arcadius,  viii.  7,  24.  There  is  no 
instance  of  his  own  practice  such  as  Evagrius  gives  {H.  E.  vi.  7). 

We  can  only  guess  at  the  time  of  his  settlement  in  Constantinople.  One  would  judge  from 
his  narrative,  that  he  was  not  there  during  the  riots  excited  by  the  deposition  of  Chrysostom, 
A.D.  404.  He  may  have  arrived  a  little  after  the  elevation  of  Atticiis  to  the  see,  as  successor  to 
Arsacius,  who  had  followed  John,  somewhere  about  406,  a  year  before  the  death  of  the  orator, 
and  two  years  before  the  decease  of  the  Emperor  Arcadius.  Under  the  sage  Anthemius,  he  was 
finding  his  way  in  his  profession.  Under  Pulcheria,  one  is  inclined  to  suppose  that  he  obtained 
some  recognition.  The  capital  thereafter  remained  the  center  of  his  practice,  and  he  appears 
to  be  still  in  connection  with  the  dikasteries  while  he  is  writing  the  second  book  of  his  history 
(ii.  3).  There  are  a  few  personal  points  in  his  life  at  the  imperial  city  which  he  hints  at.  Thirty- 
five  stadia  overland  from  the  city,  toward  the  Pontus,  was  Hestiae  ;  owing  to  an  appearance  of 
the  Archangel  Michael,  a  temple  was  built  there,  and,  as  a  consequence,  called  Michaelium.  It 
became  noted  for  its  curative  properties,  both  for  physical  and  mental  disorders.  Sozomen  him- 
self had  been  afflicted,  how,  he  does  not  tell  us,  —  whether  by  reverses,  or  dangers,  or  disease, 
or  other  suffering,  —  but  he  resorted  thither  and  testifies  to  the  benefit  he  received  (ii.  3).  There 
is  another  personal  incident  which  he  records  in  ix.  2.  He  was  a  spectator  of  the  splendid 
ceremonials  connected  with  the  discovery  and  transfer  of  the  remains  of  the  Forty  Martyrs  :  he 
saw  the  costly  caskets,  the  festival,  and  the  procession  ;  he  heard  the  music  of  the  commemorative 
odes,  and  beheld  the  deposit  of  the  relics  by  the  body  of  St.  Thyrsus.  A  number  of  other  spec- 
tators whom  he  knew  were  there,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  living  at  the  writing  of  his  record. 


INTRODUCTION.  197 


This  celebration  took  place  much  later,  under  the  episcopate  of  Proclus ;  therefore  after  the  year 
434.  A  final  personal  hint  is  given  in  his  statements  of  the  overthrow  of  Uldis.  Concerning  the 
remnant  of  the  Sciri,  who  as  a  result  of  that  campaign  were  scattered  as  slaves  over  Asia  Minor, 
he  remarks,  "  I  have  seen  many  in  Bithynia,  near  Mt.  Olympus,  living  apart  from  one  another, 
and  cultivating  the  hills  and  valleys  of  that  region  "  (ix.  15).  As  to  the  nature  of  this  tour,  we 
know  nothing.  He  must  have  been  active  in  many  of  the  later  ecclesiastical  and  secular  matters 
which  he  narrates,  for  the  first  endeavor  of  his  history  is  to  mention  the  affairs  in  which  he  was 
concerned  (/jLefxr-qao/xaL  8e  TrpayixaTdJv  ots  7rapeTV)(ov,  i.  i).  We  can  only  deplore  that  he  makes 
no  sign,  in  the  unfolding  story,  possibly  some  might  have  been  indicated  had  he  completed  his 
ninth  book. 

The  influential  circles  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  capital  were  divided  into  parties  on  a 
variety  of  themes.  One  such,  on  the  hnes  of  culture,  we  have  already  considered.  A  second 
and  very  decisive  one,  was  the  question  whether  the  foreigners,  especially  the  Goths  and  the 
Persians,  should  be  admitted  into  the  service  of  the  state.  The  stronger  body  believed  in  the  use 
and  incorporation  of  these  new  elements.  What  before  was  a  variable  matter,  became  a  fixed 
policy  under  Theodosius  the  Great,  and  in  all  directions.  His  weak  sons  were  controlled  by  both 
factions  alternately.  Anthemius,  Pulcheria,  and  Theodosius  H.  adhered  in  the  main  to  the 
liberal  view.  Yet  the  presence  of  a  cry,  Rome  for  the  Romans,  could  overthrow  such  a  man  as 
Stilicho,  and  elevate  such  a  weakling  as  Olympius.  Sozomen,  from  his  handling  of  the  events, 
allied  himself  with  the  illiberal  cabal ;  and  while  he  sought  room  for  a  representation  of  foreign 
Christianity  in  his  book,  nevertheless  opposed  the  intrusion  of  at  least  the  northern  element  into 
the  offices  of  the  empire. 

There  was  a  third  line  of  cleavage  among  the  people  and  the  court.  A  very  strong  and 
persistent  faction  set  itself  against  the  admission  of  pagans  and  iVrians  into  political  position. 
These  two  dying  elements  often  combined  to  save  themselves  from  extinction.  The  court  itself 
fluctuated,  because  the  Germanic  politicians  were  mostly  Arian,  and  the  best  scholars  of  political 
science  were  pagans.  Exigencies  compelled  the  recognition  of  masters  like  Anthemius  and 
Troilus.  Sozomen  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  narrower  clique.  He  does  not  condescend  to  men- 
tion the  best  statesman  of  his  time,  or  the  wisest  political  thinker.  Socrates  does,  and  with 
admiration.  The  portrayal  of  Alaric  is  from  the  estimate  of  him  as  a  leader  in  whom  the  hopes 
of  pagans  and  Arians  revived.  Gainas  is  traduced,  because  he  was  the  rallying-point  of  expiring 
Arianism  in  the  East. 

Sozomen,  as  we  have  seen,  sided  also  with  the  majority  in  honoring  the  monastic  life,  which 
was  bitterly  opposed  by  many  politicians  and  ecclesiastics.  Naturally,  therefore,  he  regarded  life 
from  a  more  pietistic  standpoint,  than  did  the  court  under  the  leadership  either  of  Eudoxia  or 
Eudocia.     He  responded  to  the  puritanism  of  Chrysostom  and  Pulcheria. 

He  is  a  defender  of  Chrysostom,  and  answers  such  criticisms  as  Socrates  has  made.  We  can 
scarcely  doubt  that  his  heart  was  with  the  Johnites,  although  he  may  not  have  entered  their 
separatist  communion. 

We  can  gather  from  intimations  in  his  history  that  Sozomen  had  traveled  somewhat.  He 
shows  a  better  knowledge  of  Palestine,  than  even  Epiphanius ;  he  must  have  kept  up  his  con- 
nection with  his  native  land  to  have  been  so  well  informed  as  to  its  traditions,  places,  and 
customs.  Naturally  the  greater  part  of  this  interest  centers  in  Gaza  and  its  neighborhood,  as  his 
old  home.  In  ii.  i,  2,  his  story  of  the  invention  of  the  Cross  and  the  holy  buildings  erected  by 
Helena,  improves  on  the  original,  by  local  detail  and  color.  In  ii.  4,  he  enlarges  upon  the 
Eusebian  account  of  Constantine's  purgation  of  Mamre  or  Terebinthus,  as  one  familiar  with  the 
spot  and  with  its  fair.  In  ii.  5,  he  gives  a  bit  of  history  of  Gaza  and  Majuma  under  Constan- 
tine.  In  ii.  20,  he  narrates  the  election  of  Maximus  as  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  from  a  source  which 
no  one  else  has  used.  In  iii.  14,  his  biographical  notices  of  Hilarion,  Hesychas,  and  others, 
indicate   an    exact   topographical   knowledge.     The   Julian    edict   gives   occasion    to   state    the 


198  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

dissensions  between  Gaza  and  its  seaport  (vii.  3).  Quite  graphic  is  the  martyrology  of  Caza  and 
its  vicinity,  given  in  v.  9.  In  discussing  Juhan's  outrage  on  the  image  of  Christ  at  Paneas  (v.  27), 
and  the  miraculous  well  at  Nicopolis,  formerly  Eramaus,  we  see  signs  of  local  acquaintanceship. 
In  V.  22,  Julian  is  said  to  write  to  the  patriarchs,  and  rulers,  and  people,  asking  for  their  prayers 
for  himself  and  his  empire  ;  here  is  a  distinct  reference  to  the  then  existing  patriarchate  ;  so  all 
the  details  of  the  attempted  restoration  betray  a  well-informed  hand,  as  well  as  state  the  fact 
of  direct  communication  with  the  witnesses  of  the  phenomena.  The  biographies  in  vi.  32  are 
bound  up  with  Southern  Palestine,  and  particularly  with  Bethelia  and  Gerar.  Similar  lives  in 
vii.  28,  of  those  more  closely  related  to  him,  easily  prove  that  he  was  near  home.  In  viii.  13, 
Scythopolis  is  selected  by  the  fugitive  Egyptian  monks,  because  its  many  palms  afforded  them 
their  customary  means  of  support,  —  a  circumstance  narrated  by  no  one  else.  Nor  are  local  hints 
wanting  in  the  story  of  the  finding  of  Zachariah's  body  (ix.  17),  with  its  legends.  There  is  in 
one  sense  a  disproportionate  mention  of  Palestine,  and  designedly,  not  only  from  patriotic 
motives,  but  from  a  desire  to  vindicate  its  historic  position  in  the  development  of  Church  history, 
and  to  rebuke  the  prevailing  tendency  of  churchmen  and  historians  to  press  it  into  the  back- 
ground. It  is  a  curious  juxtaposition,  that  the  councils  of  Chalcedon  should  so  soon  after  have 
vindicated  the  primacy  of  Jerusalem.  There  is  also  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  facts  and 
purposes  of  Jewish  history,  the  relation  of  Judaism  to  Christianity  (i.  i)  ;  the  genesis  of  the 
Saracens,  and  their  association  with  the  covenant  people  (vi.  38)  ;  the  regulations  of  the  paschal 
season,  especially  in  vii.  18;  as  well  as  a  greater  accuracy  in  the  transliteration  of  names  of 
places. 

It  was  no  inconsiderable  journey  from  Gaza  to  his  school,  and  from  his  school  to  Constantino- 
ple. The  hints  concerning  Palestine,  already  mentioned,  indicate  personal  observation.  Beyond 
these  we  have  suggestions  that  may  look  to  his  having  been  in  Arabia  and  Cyprus,  as,  when  he- 
speaks  (vii.  19)  of  knowing  the  custom  in  both  places,  to  have  a  chorepiscopus  at  the  head  of 
a  local  church.  So,  too,  in  Alexandria,  he  was  struck  with  the  strange  position  of  the  bishop 
in  not  rising  when  the  Gospels  were  read,  something  he  had  never  known  or  heard  of  in  other 
communities,  —  words  which  point  to  familiarity  with  that  city.  One  would  be  glad  to  think  of  his 
having  visited  Tarsus,  since  he  was  acquainted  with  Cilix,  a  presbyter  of  that  city,  whom  he  con- 
sulted about  the  origin  of  the  Apocalypse  of  Paul  (vii.  19).  That  he  knew  Bithynia  from  the  sight 
of  it,  we  have  already  seen  (ix.  5).  He  describes  or  alludes  to  architectural  or  topographic 
features  of  Alexandria,  Antioch,  and  possibly  Edessa,  in  a  way  that  scarcely  leaves  a  doubt  of  his 
having  seen  those  cities ;  we  may  suppose  that  his  clientelage  would  compel  journeys  to  and  fro. 

His  work  abounds  with  allusions  to  structures  and  regions  of  Constantinople,  to  say  nothing  of 
its  vicinity.  The  general  description  of  the  building  of  the  city  by  Constantine  (ii.  3)  already 
gives  some  of  its  principal  features.  Of  the  churches,  he  mentions  the  first  of  those  dedicated  to 
the  Archangel  St.  Michael  (ii.  3),  at  some  remove  from  the  city  (Hestiee,  Michaelium),  and 
to  be  distinguished  from  a  later  structure  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  one  in  the  city,  erected 
to  the  same  patron  angel ; '  —  the  church  of  the  Apostles,  which  became  the  place  of  sepul- 
ture for  emperors  and  even  bishops  (ii.  34,  iv.  21,  viii.  10);  —  the  church  of  Acacius  the 
martyr  (iv.  21),  to  which  Macedonius  endeavored  to  remove  the  coffin  of  Constantine;  —  the 
church  of  Sophia  (iv.  26),begim  by  Constantine,  and  dedicated  under  Constantius,  with  whidi 
Avas  connected  a  baptistery  (viii.  21);  this  great  edifice  was  burned  in  the  tumult  which  arose 
after  the  second  exile  of  Chrysostom  was  announced  (viii.  22)  ;  —  the  house  of  prayer  begun  by 
Chrysostom  and  completed  by  Sisinnius,  containing  the  tomb  of  the  martyred  Notaries ;  this 
was  outside  the  walls,  in  a  spot  previously  devoted  to  the  execution  of  criminals,  and  an  object 
of  dread,  because  of  frequenting  ghosts  (iv.  3)  ;  —  the  church  of  the  Novatians,  situated  in 
a  part  of  the  city  called  Pelargum ;  this  was  taken  down  by  them  and  transferred  to  a  suburb 

1  Procopius  de  Mdi/icis,  i.  3,  8. 


INTRODUCTION.  199 


named  Sycae,  hence  the  edifice  was  entitled  Anastasia ;  it  was  restored  to  its  original  spot  under 
JuUan  (iv.  20)  ;  —  the  Httle  dwelhng  which  was  converted  into  a  house  of  prayer  for  Gregory 
Nazianzen,  and  so  became  a  church,  also  called  Anastasia  (vii.  5)  ;  —  the  church  reared  by 
Macedonius,  which  received  the  name  of  Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  when  Theodosius 
removed  the  confessor's  body  to  that  building ;  it  is  described  as  a  spacious  and  distinguished 
temple  (vii.  10)  ;  when  Theodosius  the  Great  conveyed  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist  to 
Hebdomas,  in  the  suburbs,  where  was  the  seventh  milestone,  he  erected  on  that  site  a  spacious 
and  magnificent  temple,  which  became  a  center  of  imperial  devotion  and  miraculous  cures  (vii. 
21,  24,  viii.  4,  14)  ;  —  the  church  reared  in  honor  of  St.  Stephen,  the  proto-martyr  (viii.  24)  ; 
—  the  church  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  St.  Mocus  the  Martyr,  where  Dioscorus  was  buried 
(viii.  17)  ;  —  the  place  where  the  body  of  Thyrsus  the  Martyr  reposed,  and  whither  the  relics  of 
the  forty  soldiers  were  transferred  (ix.  2)  ;  this  was  a  temple,  according  to  Procopius.^  In 
Chalcedon,  he  mentions  the  church  of  St.  Euphemia,  so  glowingly  described  by  Evagrius,  and 
that  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  in  the  Oak  (Ruftinum). 

\Miile  he  speaks  of  the  number  of  monks  and  nuns,  in  and  about  Constantinople  (iv.  2,  viii. 
9),  and  alludes  in  a  general  way  to  their  dwellings  (iv.  20),  he  mentions  no  particular  establish- 
ment except  that  founded  by  Marathonius,  which  stood  in  Sozomen's  time.  He  also  refers  to 
the  Xenodochia,  the  Nosocomia,  the  Cherotrophia,  and  the  Ptochotrophia  (iv.  20,  27,  viii.  9), 
but  he  does  not  specialize,  not  even  concerning  the  group  of  institutions  founded  and  endowed 
by  Pulcheria  (ix.  8).  There  were  residences  for  the  bishops  and  clergy,  but  these  are  only 
hinted  at  (\'ii.  14,  viii.  14).  The  palaces  and  the  forums  are  mentioned  only  in  a  general 
way,  but  the  splendid  council  chamber  daeyto-ros  ot/cos  t^s  crvyKXriTov  fiovXTJq),  which  was  burned 
with  the  Sophia,  is  described  as  south  of  that  edifice.  He  refers  to  the  Hippodrome  in  the  third 
region,  with  a  little  description  of  its  early  form  and  place  (vi.  39,  viii.  21).  Certain  of  the 
eight  public  baths  are  mentioned,  the  commodious  thermse  called  after  Zeuxippus  (iii.  9)  is  set 
forth  as  a  conspicuous  and  large  structure,  and  the  palace  as  adjoining  it  near  the  sea-side. 
This  was  in  the  second  region.  He  speaks  correctly  of  baths  bearing  the  names  of  Anastasia  and 
Carosa,  daughters  of  Valens,  standing  in  his  own  time  (vi.  9).  The  baths  of  Constantius  are 
characterized  as  very  spacious  when  he  tells  us  how  the  followers  of  John  resorted  thither  for  the 
paschal  feast  (viii.  21). 

We  have  some  brief  notices  of  a  few  friends  outside  the  earlier  circles  in  Bethelia  and  Gaza, 
By  the  advice  of  some  pious  acquaintances,  who  were  versed  in  the  mysteries,  he  decided  not  to 
pubhsh  the  Nicene  symbol  (i.  20).  Among  those  who  experienced  relief  at  the  Michaelium, 
Avas  a  fellow-advocate,  Aquilinus  ;  the  story  of  his  cure  is  told  us  from  Sozomen's  own  observation, 
and  from  the  statements  made  by  his  colleague  (ii.  3).  He  was  on  good  terms  with  Cilix,  the 
venerable  presbyter  of  Tarsus  (vii.  19).  He  had  a  friend  or  friends,  who  were  cognizant  of 
affairs  under  Theophilus  (viii.  12)  ;  and  similarly  with  some  who  had  been  intimate  with 
Chrysostom  (viii.  9).  It  is  not  unlikely  that  he  knew  Nicarete  in  her  old  age,  a  lady  of 
Bithynia  remarkable  for  her  sacrificial  life,  whose  memory  is  preserved  by  him  alone  (viii.  23). 
The  facts  which  he  brings  to  light  concerning  Pulcheria,  and  the  submission  of  his  work  to  the 
younger  Theodosius,  shows  that  he  was  received  graciously  by  both. 

PART   II.  —  SozoMEN  AS  Author. 

When  seized  with  a  desire  to  write  history,  Sozomen  says  :  "  I  at  first  felt  strongly  inclined  to 
trace  the  course  of  events  from  the  very  commencement,  but  on  reflecting  that  similar  records  of 
the  past,  up  to  their  own  time,  had  been  compiled  by  those  wisest  of  men,  Clemens  and  Hege- 
sippus,  successors  of  the  Apostles,  by  Africanus,  the  historian,  and  by  Eusebius,  surnamed 
Pamphilus,  a  man  intimately  acquainted  with  Sacred  Scriptures  and  the  writings  of  the  Greek 

*  lie  yEdificis,  i.  4. 


200 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


poets  and  historians,  I  merely  drew  up  an  epitome  in  two  books,  of  all  that  is  recorded  to  have 
happened  to  the  churches,  from  the  ascension  of  Christ  to  the  deposition  of  Licinius."  This 
work  is  unfortunately  lost.  It  was  not  a  simple  chronicle,  but  an  abbreviated  account  of  these 
events  ;  the  abridgment  was  probably  from  the  authors  mentioned  above.  The  habit  of  succinct 
narration  is  quite  in  his  later  vein.  He  doubtless  commingled  secular  with  the  sacred  detail. 
It  may  be  suggestingly  asked,  whether  his  words  in  ix.  i  do  not  give  a  hint  of  another  work : 
"  But  I  willingly  for  awhile  pass  over  the  many  separate  manifestations  of  divine  favor,  that  were 
granted  to  the  sister  of  the  emperor,  as  proofs  that  she  was  loved  of  God,  lest  anybody  should 
blame  me,  for  having  set  out  to  do  other  things,  and  yet  had  turned  to  the  use  of  encomiums." 
This  sudden  arrest  could  not  be  owing  to  an  intended  resumption  of  such  matters  at  a  later 
portion  of  the  history ;  for  the  method  was  already  regarded  as  irrelevant,  and  the  very  reason  for 
citing  no  more  in  that  vein  ;  is  it  not  likely  that  he  at  least  purposed  an  encomium  of  Pulcheria? 

The  attempt  of  Hieronymus,  Wolf,  Lambec,  and  Fenzel  to  ascribe  Hermias'  Atao-vp/xos  rwv  eim 
cf)iXocr6<fio}v  {Irrisio  geniiliiim  philosophoi'uiii)  to  Sozomen,  because  of  identity  of  name,  is  now 
held  by  none.^  The  work  by  which  we  know  him,  is  the  Ecclesiastical  History  in  nine  Books. 
When  did  he  write  it  ?  In  trying  to  determine  the  time  of  its  production,  let  us  look  at  the  data 
suggested  in  his  work. 

(i)  In  the  dedication,  the  delineation  of  the  emperor's  culture  and  character  discloses  a  man 
of  fixity  and  repose  ;  these  qualities  could  not  be  ascribed  to  the  time  of  his  imperial  majority,  in 
his  fifteenth  year,  nor  to  the  time  of  his  marriage  (421)  ;  they  are  rather  the  features  of  settled 
experience ;  hence  we  would  expect  in  general  a  period  nearer  the  end  of  his  reign,  than  one  in 
the  beginning  or  middle ;  certainly  somewhere  beyond  his  thirtieth  year,  and  therefore  beyond 
A.D.  438. 

(2)  Sozomen  says  that  poets  and  authors,  even  those  of  prefectural  dignity,  as  well  as  other 
subjects,  celebrated  the  emperor.  The  usual  literary  incense  was  burned.  Olympiodorus  dedicated 
his  history  to  him.  Socrates  was  magniloquent ;  and  more  particularly  did  Cyrus,  the  friend 
of  Eudocia,  who  attained  the  highest  offices  of  the  state  from  439-441,  write  epigrams  in  praise 
of  his  monarch.'^     This  would  make  a  date  after  441.^ 

(3)  In  illustration  of  the  practiced  self-control  of  his  sovereign,  he  narrates  an  incident  of  the 
royal  journey  in  the  summer  heat,  through  Bithynia,  to  the  fallen  city  of  Heraclea,  in  Pontus,* 
with  the  view  of  restoring  it.  This  journey  took  place  in  June  of  a.d.  443.^  This  incident  is 
introduced  with  irpMrjv,  which  would  place  the  writing  quite  definitely  as  not  very  soon  after 
June  443. 

(4)  The  reign  of  Theodosius  is  described  as  above  all  others  bloodless  and  pure  from  slaughter. 
This  could  only  be  moderately  just,  before  the  judicial  murders  connected  with  the  jealous  fits 
of  Theodosius,  from  442  on,  and  the  united  movement  of  outlying  nations  upon  the  East  and 
West,  as  projected  by  the  political  sagacity  of  Attila. 

(5)  The  professed  terminus  of  his  history  is  the  seventeenth  consulate  of  Theodosius  :  this 
was  the  year  439  ;  hence  the  whole  work  was  written  after  that  time. 

(6)  The  prayer  at  the  conclusion  of  the  proemium  may  have  in  it  a  point  of  light ;  he  hopes 
that  through  the  favor  of  Christ,  the  imperium  may  be  transmitted  to  Theodosius'  sons  and 
grandsons.  The  only  child  born  to  Eudocia  was  a  daughter,  Eudoxia,  who  was  married  to 
Valentinian  III.  It  was  because  of  the  lack  of  succession,  that  Pulcheria  married  General 
Marcianus.  Eudocia  withdrew  from  the  court  somewhere  between  441-443,  but  that  would  not 
have  had  to  impede  the  succession,  had  'J'heodosius  chosen  to  be  divorced ;  and  this  prayer 
rather  intimates  the  desirability  of  another  marriage.     This,  therefore,  must  have  been  written 


1  Otto,  Corji.  App.  Vol.  ix.  (Migne,  P.  G.  vi.). 
^  See  his  epigrams  in  A  nth.  Gr. 

3  Giildenpinning  thinks  there  may  be  a  suggestion  of  the  fatal 
apple   in   Sozomen's   praise  of  his  sovereign's    abstemiousness.     I 


would  like  to  agree,  but  cannot.  Die  Kirchengesch.  des  Theodoret 
■von  Kyrrhos,  pp.  12,  13. 

■•  Heraclea  Pontica  of  the  maps. 

"  Marcell.  Am.  Chron.  s.  d.;  Chro7i.  Pasch.  s.  d.;  Novell. 
Theod.  x.xiii.   5,  21. 


INTRODUCTION.  201 


before    the    hope  of  sons  was   removed ;  certainly,  therefore,  before   the   closing   years  of  the 
emperor's  reign. 

(7)  In  Book  ix,  Pulcheria's  inclination  to  virginity  is  spoken  of  as  expressed  in  the  most 
solemn  way,  and  with  the  consecrated  gift  of  a  table  to  signalize  it.  There  is  no  hint  in  the  work 
of  the  marriage  with  Marcian,  suggested  by  Theodosius  on  his  death-bed,  and  carried  out  after 
his  demise.     This  would  indicate  that  the  work  was  completed  before  450. 

(8)  In  ix.  I,  he  affirms  :  "That  new  heresies  have  not  prevailed  in  our  times,  we  shall  find  to 
be  due  especially  to  her,  as  we  shall  subsequently  see."  The  heresies  are  those  connected  with 
Nestorianism,  428-444,  and  possibly  the  return  of  the  Johannists  to  full  communion  by  the 
triumphal  restoration  of  Chrysostom's  remains  in  438 ;  these  were  to  fall  within  the  limits  of  his 
work.  The  Eutychean  heresy  in  its  first  stage  was  hostile  to  Pulcheria's  views,  while  its  overthrow 
was  not  effected  until  a  year  after  the  death  of  Theodosius.  The  close  of  the  Nestorian  contro- 
versy through  the  compromise  was  in  444,  and  that  date  would  suit  well  with  the  fact  of  master- 
ing the  heresy  at  the  very  time  he  was  writing  this  account  of  Pulcheria. 

(g)  In  ix.  2,  he  recounts  the  transfer  of  the  forty  martyrs,  after  a  public  festival  had  been 
appropriately  celebrated  with  fitting  honor  and  pomp,  with  psalms,  "  at  which  I  myself  was 
present ;  and  others  who  were  present  can  also  bear  testimony  that  these  things  were  done  in 
the  way  described,  for  almost  all  of  them  still  survive.  And  the  event  occurred  much  later,  when 
Proclus  governed  the  church  of  Constantinople."  Proclus  was  elected  434,  and  continued  in 
office  until  his  death  in  447.  This  transfer  must  have  taken  place  before  439,  the  proposed 
terminus  of  the  history,  and  very  likely  a  little  while  after  the  accession  of  this  long-tried  candi- 
date. The  time  of  the  writing  was  at  some  considerable  remove  from  the  event  itself,  because 
of  his  appeal  to  the  survivors  as  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  his  portrayal,  and  yet  not  so  far,  but  that 
the  most  of  the  participants  and  spectators  could  still  be  appealed  to.  This  would  correspond  very 
well  with  the  date  connected  with  443,  suggested  by  the  incident  in  Bithynia,  if  we  allow  some 
interval  between  the  writing  of  the  dedication  and  Book  ix. 

(10)  In  ix.  6,  the  overthrow  of  Uldis,  406,  is  narrated.  The  settlement  of  the  conquered 
Sciri  as  slaves  and  colonists  is  enlarged  upon.  Sozomen  himself  saw  these  imperial  farmers  at 
their  tilling  in  Bithynia.  This  may  connect  itself,  possibly,  as  to  the  time  of  the  year,  and  place, 
wi'th  the  emperor's  progress  to  Heraclea  Pontica.  There  is  evidently  an  interval  between  the 
capture  of  the  Sciri,  and  their  settled  work  as  colonists,  when '  Sozomen  visited  that  region,  and 
between  that  visit  and  the  writing  of  the  fact.  If  it  corresponded  with  the  imperial  progress, 
it  would  of  course  be  443.  Taking  all  these  points  together,  it  would  seem  that  the  work  was 
begun  about  the  latter  part  of  443  ;  and  that  the  dedication  was  written  first,  because  that  states 
the  plan  of  the  whole  work,  including  the  ninth  book,  whose  record  does  not  meet  the  intention, 
there  expressed ;  moreover,  some  of  the  events  in  Book  ix.  indicate  a  considerable  interval 
between  the  fact  and  the  account  of  it.  When  he  finished  what  he  wrote,  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
tell ;  it  would  certainly  take  him  a  few  years,  and  the  end  was  reached  before  any  considerable 
outbreak  of  the  Eutychean  heresy;  therefore  probably  in  447,  or  448,  for  the  reason  that 
Pulcheria  did  not  conquer  that  heresy  until  after  her  marriage  with  Marcian  ;  this  date  is  supported 
by  the  fact  that  the  breaking  of  her  vow  was  unknown  to  the  writer  of  ix.  i,  3  ;  also  because  the 
Emperor  Theodosius  was  still  alive.  The  work  was  the  fruit  and  employment  of  old  age ;  the 
style  is  certainly  that  of  an  elderly  man,  and  not  that  of  youth  or  early  maturity. 

What  were  the  main  objects  he  had  in  view  in  his  history? 

I.  He  desired  to  present  the  truth  with  regard  to  the  facts  and  their  results.  In  i.  i,  he 
affirms  :  "  I  will  readily  transcribe  fully  from  any  work  that  may  tend  to  the  elucidation  of 
truth."  "  Still,  as  it  is  requisite,  in  order  to  maintain  historical  accuracy,  to  pay  the  strictest 
attention  to  the  means  of  eliciting  truth,  I  felt  myself  bound  to  examine  all  writings  of  this 
class,  according  to  my  ability."  This  is  his  professed  purpose  ;  however  subjective  or  churchly 
his  view  of  truth  may  be,  we  must  give  him  the  credit  for  the  intention.     In  i.  i,  he  appeals 


202  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

to  his  readers  in  this  wise  :  "  Let  not  an  impertinent  or  malignant  spirit  be  imputed  to  me,  for 
having  dwelt  upon  the  disputes  of  ecclesiastics  among  themselves,  concerning  the  primacy 
and  pre-eminence  of  their  own  heresy.  In  the  first  place,  as  I  have  already  said,  a  historian 
ought  to  regard  everything  as  secondary  in  importance  to  truth."  And  we  shall  see  evidences 
of  his  fairness. 

2.  His  history  is  designed  to  be  a  demonstiation  of  Christianity  as  from  God.  The  vastness 
of  the  change  wrought  by  God  in  the  introduction  and  success  of  Christianity  and  the  insignificant 
and  mythical  themes  upon  which  literature  had  been  wont  to  exercise  itself,  prompted  him,  with 
his  confessed  inefficiency,  to  undertake  this  line  of  evidence,  in  the  conviction  that  God  would 
help  his  believing  incapacity.  Hence  his  work  is  a  record  of  immediate  divine  interventions,  and 
extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  it  abounds  in  visions,  miracles,  and  prophecy.  The  celestial 
agents  visibly  direct  affairs ;  the  flow  of  vaticination  does  not  cease  ;  the  power  to  reverse  the 
expected  order  of  events  is  not  suspended.  Thus,  as  to  epiphanies  of  divine,  angelic,  or  sainted 
beings  :  In  i.  3,  is  recounted  the  appearance  of  the  cross  unto  Constantine ;  and  in  the  night 
during  sleep,  the  manifestation  of  Christ  with  a  cross,  and  the  instructions  given  to  the  emperor. 
In  ii.  I,  we  have  a  series  of  divine  interpositions  to  discover  the  true  cross,  and  Sozomen  remarks 
in  refutation  of  one  explanation,  "  I  do  not  think  that  human  information  is  requisite,  when  God 
thinks  it  best  to  make  manifest  the  same."  In  ii.  3,  the  old  name,  Hestiae,  is  changed  to 
Michaelium,  because  of  the  reported  appearance  of  the  archangel  there.  The  monks  are  favored 
with  such  direct  counselors ;  Pachomius  obeys  an  angel,  who  directs  him  to  assemble  young  men 
for  instruction ;  "  he  was  frequently  admitted  to  intercourse  with  the  holy  angels."  ApoUonius 
yielded  to  direct  divine  advice,  and  withdrew  from  the  desert  to  a  populous  region.  The  cross 
reappeared  in  the  days  of  Constantius  (iv.  5)  ;  Julian's  life  is  filled  with  portents  (v.  i,  20,  22  ; 
vi.  2).  A  curious  bit  of  speculation  occurs  in  vi.  2;  in  interpreting  Julian's  alleged  use  of 
his  blood,  he  says  :  "  I  know  not  whether  the  approach  of  death,  as  is  wont  to  be  the  case,  when 
the  soul  is  in  the  act  of  being  separa;ted  from  the  body,  and  when  it  is  enabled  to  behold  diviner 
spectacles  than  is  allotted  to  men,  that  Julian  might  then  have  beheld  Christ.  Few  allusions  have 
been  made  to  this  subject;  and  yet  I  dare  not  reject  this  hypothesis  as  absolutely  false,  for  God 
often  suffers  still  more  improbable  and  astonishing  events  to  take  place,  in  order  to  prove  that 
the  religion  named  after  Christ  is  not  sustained  by  human  energy."  Of  Theodore's  confession 
(v.  20)  he  remarks:  "It  is  said 'that  he  was  afterwards  asked  whether  he  had  been  sensible 
of  any  pain  on  the  rack  ;  and  that  he  replied  he  had  not  been  entirely  free  from  suffering, 
but  had  his  pain  assuaged  by  the  attentions  of  a  young  man  who  had  stood  by  him,  and  had 
wiped  off  the  perspiration  with  the  finest  linen  cloth,  and  supplied  him  with  coolest  water,  by 
■which  he  eased  the  inflammation  and  refreshed  his  labors.  I  am  convinced  that  no  man,  what- 
ever magnanimity  he  may  possess,  is  capable  without  the  special  assistance  of  divine  Power, 
of  manifesting  such  entire  indifference  about  the  body."  In  vi.  29,  Piammon  sees  an  angel 
standing  near  the  holy  table,  and  writing  down  in  a  book  the  names  of  the  monks  who  were 
present,  while  he  erased  the  names  of  those  who  were  absent.  Mark  had  the  elements  of  the 
holy  table  administered  to  him  by  an  angel  (vii.  29).  Malachion,  while  journeying  with  his 
brothers,  was  made  invisible,  and  then  reappeared,  and  pursued  his  way  with  them  (vi.  32).  So 
the  portent  at  Hebdomas  was  a  sign  of  divine  favor  to  Theodosius  the  Great  (vii.  24)  ;  the  heavenly 
hosts  were  the  real  overthrowers  of  Gainas  (viii.  4)  ;  Basiliscus  the  martyr  appears  to  Chrysostom 
•(viii.  28).  Pulcheria's  celestial  directors  helps  her  to  find  the  forty  martyrs  (ix.  2).  The  appear- 
ance of  Zechariah  to  the  serf  pointed  out  the  way  to  the  discovery  of  the  prophet's  remains  (ix.  17). 
The  demoniacal  agencies  are  equally  operant,  some  of  which  are  alluded  to  in  the  above  passages, 
but  readily  yield  to  prayer  and  exorcism,  if  not  immediately  overthrown  by  God. 

For  a  demonstration  of  the  same  truth,  miracles  are  wrought  to  effect  physical  cures,  mental 
troubles,  threatened  dangers,  casting  out  of  demons,  silencing  philosophers  and  wordy  ecclesias-     j 
tics,  vindicating  orthodoxy,  reading  the  thoughts  of  hypocrites    defeating   enemies,  sanctifying 


INTRODUCTION.  203 


the  sacraments,  raising  the  dead  ;  and  they  are  the  mighty  agents  for  converting  philosophers, 
Jews,  pagans,  and  heretics.  They  are  wrought  by  the  hands  of  the  eminently  excellent  only  ;  the 
gift  is  associated  with  a  high  measure  of  grace  ;  for  example  the  bishops  Paphnutius  (i.  10) 
and  Spyridion  (i.  11)  are  so  endowed;  Alexander  of  Constantinople  (i.  14),  Eusebius  of  Emesa 
(iii.  6),  Martin  of  Tours  (iii.  14),  Arsacius  of  Nicomedia  (iv.  16),  Donatus  (vii.  26),  Gregory  of 
Neocccsarea  (vii.  26),  Theotimus  of  Scythia  (vii.  26),  Epiphanius  of  Salamis  (vii.  27).  In  like 
manner,  the  monks  Antony  (i.  13),  Amun  (i.  14),  Eutychianus  (i.  14),  Macarius  the  Egyptian, 
ApoUonius,  Hilarion,  Julian  (iii.  14),  John,  Copres,  Helles,  Apelles,  Eulogius  (vi.  28)  ;  ApoUos, 
John  of  Diolchus,  Benjamin  and  Pior  (vi.  29).  The  united  prayer  of  a  congregation  could  effect 
them  (vii.  5).  The  statue  of  Christ  at  Paneas,  the  fountain  at  Emmaus,  the  tree  at  Hermopolis 
(v.  2 1 ),  were  all  miraculous  centers.  The  spot  where  the  Archangel  Michael  appeared  (ii.  3), 
the  places  where  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist  reposed  (vii.  21),  the  tombs  of  monks,  martyrs 
and  bishops,  —  as  of  Hilarion  (iii.  14),  Martyrius  and  Marcianus  (iv.  3),  Epiphanius  (vii.  27), — 
were  replete  with  restorative  virtues.  Sozomen  had  such  a  miracle  WTOught  upon  himself;  he 
believed  thoroughly  in  an  uninterrupted  stream  of  charismata  ;  he  deemed  it  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  faith.  He  was  no  more  credulous  than  Socrates,  or  Theodoret,  or  Evagrius, 
or  Theodore.  To  criticise  him  for  his  belief  in  this  respect  is  to  forget  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness of  the  age.  And  the  historic  school  which  seeks  to  eliminate  the  volume  of  testimony,  in 
the  assumption  that  miracles  do  not  fall  within  the  province  of  history,  ignores  the  first  law  of 
that  science,  which  requires  the  reproduction  of  all  facts,  in  time  and  place,  whatever  they  may 
be,  that  are  affiliated  with  the  evolution  of  the  human  w'ill ;  that  other  older  school  which  dis- 
misses all  ecclesiastical  miracles  on  the  a  priori  assumption  that  these  energies  ceased  at  a  time 
co-ordinate  with  the  death  of  the  Apostles,  or  at  a  point  not  far  removed  from  their  age,  violates 
the  spirit  of  induction.  These  miracles  must  be  tested  by  evidence,  and  the  laws  of  super- 
natural energy,  and  in  no  other  way.  To  Sozomen  and  all  his  contemporaries  the  miracle 
appeared  essential  both  to  the  proof  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  and  to  offset  and  with- 
stand the  influence  of  the  theurgic  arts  of  the  philosophers,  such  as  Julianus  and  many  of  the 
Neoplatonists.  As  he  remarks  concerning  the  reply  made  by  Alexander,  bishop  of  Constan- 
tinople, when  he  silenced  the  philosopher  by  the  simple  authority  of  Christ,  "  It  is  then  right  to 
consider  whether  it  is  a  greater  miracle,  that  a  man,  and  he  a  philosopher,  should  so  easily  be 
silenced  by  a  word,  or  that  a  stone  wall  should  be  cleft  by  the  power  of  a  word,  which  miracle 
I  have  heard  some  attribute  with  pride  to  Julian,  surnamed  the  Chaldean  "  (i.  18).  The  gift 
of  prophecy  is  also  represented  as  sustained  throughout  this  period,  and  with  the  same  logical 
aims  in  view.  The  monks  are  especially  thus  endowed  :  Antony  (i.  13,  vi.  5,  6),  the  two  Macarii, 
Pachomius  (iii.  14),  Arsacius  (iv.  16),  John  (vi.  28,  vii.  22,  vii.  28),  Theon  (vi.  28),  Isaac 
(vi.  40)  ;  so  the  bishops  Athanasius  (iv.  10),  Chrysostom  and  Epiphanius,  rather  abusively 
(viii.  15)  ;  so  royal  persons,  such  as  the  wife  of  Valens,  passively  (vi.  16),  Pulcheria,  directly  and 
passively  (ix.  3).  The  perpetuation  of  this  charism  was  deemed  inherently  necessary  for  the 
sake  of  historical  continuity,  and  to  prove  as  well  that  the  faith  he  loved  had  been  established 
by  God ;  equally  was  it  requisite  as  a  holy  parallel  whereby  to  gainsay  the  mantic  spirit  of 
Paganism;  as  is  best  illustrated  in  the  silencing  of  the  oracle  at  Daphne  (v.  19),  and  by  his 
reflections  upon  the  philosopher's  tripod  devised  for  finding  the  successor  of  Valens  (vi.  35).  Nor 
are  Socrates,  Theodoret,  Evagrius,  and  others  any  more  moderate  than  Sozomen  in  this  respect. 

3.  Another  aim  of  his  history  is  to  prove  that  Providence  or  the  divine  government  is  pro- 
moting the  Christian  faith  directly.  The  universal  order  must  be  interpreting  itself  distinctly 
through  the  Church.  The  Father  must  be  vindicating  the  good  and  punishing  the  wicked, 
according  to  the  orthodox  category.  Sozomen's  history  is  as  insistent  in  this  regard  as  Eliphaz 
and  his  philosophic  confreres.  One  must  be  able  to  decide  infallibly  in  each  case  as  to  cause 
and  effect ;  it  is  a  very  realistic  pragmatism,  and  is  not  the  exclusive  property  of  Sozomen ;  it 
is  a  characteristic  of  all  these  Church  historians. 


204  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

There  is  properly  enough  a  recognition  of  God  in  history ;  the  sovereign  will  and  the  human 
will  are  jointly  working  out  the  world's  order,  but  it  is  the  attempt  to  trace  the  cause  and  effect 
immediately  and  in  each  case,  which  is  so  repulsive  and  absurd.  Some  illustrations  will  show  how 
he  brings  out  this  view.  In  i.  7  the  comment  made  on  Constantine's  overthrow  of  Licinius : 
"  From  many  facts  it  has  often  appeared  to  me  that  the  teaching  of  the  Christians  is  supported, 
and  its  advancement  secured,  by  the  Providence  of  God,  and  not  the  least  from  what  then 
occurred ;  for  at  the  very  moment  that  Licinius  was  about  to  persecute  all  the  churches  under 
him,  the  war  in  Bithynia  broke  out,  which  ended  in  a  war  between  him  and  Constantine,  and  in 
which  Constantine  was  so  strengthened  by  Divine  assistance,  that  he  was  victorious  over  his 
enemies  by  land  and  by  sea."  More  of  detail  comes  out  in  the  life  of  Athanasius.  Thus  in  ii. 
I  7,  of  his  election  he  says  :  "  Alexander,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  when  about  to  depart  this  life,  left 
Athanasius  as  his  succcessor,  in  accordance,  I  am  convinced,  with  the  Divine  will,  directing  the 
vote  upon  him."  And  again  :  ''  He  fled  to  escape  the  honor,  but  he  was  discovered  in  his  place 
of  concealment  by  the  help  of  God,  who  had  forecast  by  Divine  manifestations  to  his  blessed 
predecessors,  that  the  succession  was  to  devolve  upon  him."  His  whole  career  is  so  viewed  in 
v.  6.  There  is  a  large  discussion  of  this  subject  in  vi.  35,  where  he  argues  against  the  plan  of 
pagan  philosophers  to  foretell  the  future  of  the  empire  :  "  The  philosophers,  on  the  other  hand, 
acted  as  if  the  deposition  and  restoration  of  emperors  had  depended  solely  on  them ;  for  if 
the  imperial  succession  was  to  be  considered  dependent  on  the  arrangement  of  the  stars,  what 
was  requisite  but  to  await  the  accession  of  the  future  emperor,  whoever  he  might  be  ?  Or,  if  the 
succession  was  regarded  as  dependent  on  the  will  of  God,  what  right  had  man  to  meddle?  For 
it  is  not  the  function  of  human  foreknowledge  or  zeal  to  understand  God's  thought ;  nor  if  it  were 
right,  would  it  be  well  for  men,  even  if  they  be  the  wisest  of  all,  to  think  that  they  can  plan  better 
than  God."  He  persists  in  tracing  a  connection  between  God  and  every  event  in  favor  of 
mechanical  goodness  or  orthodoxy.  He  follows  many  opponents,  whether  heretical  or  pagan, 
with  the  Divine  wrath  ;  all  these  historians  do  this,  —  Philostorgius,  as  well  as  Evagrius.  Sozomen 
is  not  nearly  so  bitter  or  uncharitable  as  either  of  these.  He  is  most  atrabilious  in  the  case  of 
Julian,  under  whom  his  own  family  had  suffered.  As  a  consequence  of  this  arbitrary  pious  prag- 
matism, the  most  deplorable  incompetents  are  treated  as  the  express  favorites  of  heaven,  while 
the  larger-minded  pagan  or  Arian  is  loaded  with  contempt.  Under  this  law,  too,  the  evil  sides  of 
the  orthodox,  and  the  excellences  of  the  pagan,  or  Arians,  are  suppressed.  The  defeats  of  the 
Nicene  emperors  are  not  mentioned ;  the  victories  of  the  Anti-Nicene  are  passed  by  or  belittled, 
while  their  humiliations  are  evidence  of  the  impending  anger  of  heaven.  In  the  survey  of 
Helena's  life  (ii.  2)  he  says:  "It  seems  to  me  that  so  many  holy  actions  demanded  a  recom- 
pense, and  indeed  even  in  this  life  she  was  raised  to  the  summit  of  magnificence."  As  to  Con- 
stantine, in  ii.  34  he  dares  say :  "  He  was  more  successful  than  any  other  sovereign  in  all  his 
undertakings;  for  he  formed  no  design,  I  am  convinced,  without  God."  When  Bishop  Felix  of 
Rome  died,  and  Liberius  became  sole  occupant  of  the  see,  he  construes  the  fact  thus  :  "  This 
event  was  no  doubt  ordained  by  God,  that  the  seat  of  Peter  might  not  be  dishonored  by  the 
occupancy  of  two  bishops ;  for  such  an  arrangement  is  a  sign  of  discord,  and  is  foreign  to 
ecclesiastical  law"  (iv.  15).  In  all  the  features  of  Julian's  life,  God  is  visiting  him  with  his  unap- 
peasable anger  (vi.  35,  v.  21,  22,  vi.  i,  2).  The  election  of  Nectarius,  though  it  was  in  \-iola- 
tion  of  ecclesiastical  order  and  an  accumulation  of  ignorant  blunders,  did  not  take  place  without 
the  interposition  of  Divine  strength  ,  (vii.  8).  Theodosius  is  portrayed  as  the  prime  delight  of 
heaven;  thus  his  simple  reliance  upon  God  wins  him  a  hopeless  battle  with  I'^ugenius  (vii.  24). 
It  is  so  with  the  whole  Theodosian  line  (viii.  i,  ix.  i).  Pulcheria  has  Divine  love  manifested 
to  her  in  manifold  ways,  as  does  her  brother,  Theodosius  the  Younger  (ix.  i,  3,  16).  Even 
Alaric  is  driven  by  an  inexplicable  impulse  to  rebuke  the  luxury,  debauchery,  and  injustice  of  the 
Romans  (ix.  6).  In  ix.  i,  he  says  of  his  own  sovereign:  "It  appears  to  me  that  it  was  the 
design  of  God  to  show  by  the  events  of  this  period,  that  piety  alone  suffices  for  the  salvation  of 


INTRODUCTION.  205 


princes ;  and  that  without  piety,  armies,  a  powerful  empire,  and  every  other  resource,  are  of  no 
avail.  The  Divine  power,  which  is  the  guardian  of  the  universe,  foresaw  that  the  emperor  would 
be  distinguished  by  his  piety,  and  determined  that  Pulcheria,  his  sister,  should  be  the  protector 
of  him  and  of  the  government."  In  ix..  16,  he  explains  his  secular  details  in  the  paragraph  : 
"  This  is  not  the  proper  place  to  enter  into  details  concerning  the  deaths  of  the  tyrants  ;  but  I 
considered  it  necessary  to  allude  to  the  circumstance  in  order  to  show,  that  to  insure  the  stability 
of  imperial  power,  it  is  sufficient  for  an  emperor  to  serve  God  with  reverence,  which  was  the 
course  pursued  by  Honorius."  While  of  his  patron  he  says  :  "  It  seems  as  if  God  openly 
manifested  His  favor  towards  the  present  emperor,  not  only  by  disposing  of  warlike  affairs  in  an 
unexpected  way,  but  also  by  revealing  the  sacred  bodies  of  many  persons  who  were  of  old  most 
distinguished  for  piety."  The  whole  history  is  full  of  this  sort  of  philosophy  of  its  personages. 
Similarly  all  natural  calamities  and  the  irruption  of  barbarians  are  ethically  explained,  which  is  cor- 
rect enough  as  a  general  principle ;  but  these  phenomena  are  punitive  or  vindicatory  of  particular 
deeds.  Constantius'  course  toward  Athanasius  was  heralded  by  an  invasion  of  the  Franks,  and  by 
an  earthquake  in  the  East  (iii.  6).  Of  Julian  he  says:  "It  is,  however,  very  obvious  that 
throughout  the  reign  of  this  emperor,  God  gave  manifest  tokens  of  His  displeasure  and  permitted 
many  calamities  to  befall  several  of  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire.  He  visited  the  earth 
with  such  fearful  earthquakes,  that  the  buildings  were  shaken,  and  no  more  safety  could  be  found 
within  houses  than  in  the  open  air."  Then  follow  the  inundations  of  the  Nile  ;  the  drought  and 
the  famine  in  the  empire,  and  on  their  heels  the  pestilences  (vi.  2).  Under  Valens  we  read: 
"  In  the  meantime  although  hail-storms  of  extraordinary  magnitude  fell  in  various  places,  and 
although  many  cities,  particularly  Nicaea  in  Bithynia,  were  shaken  by  earthquakes,  yet  Valens  the 
emperor  and  Eudoxius  the  bishop  paused  not  in  their  career,  but  continued  to  persecute  all 
Christians  who  differed  from  them  in  opinion"  (vi.  10).  He  does  not  make  the  same  reflection 
upon  Constantius,  when  the  earthquake  at  Nicomedia  intercepted  the  meeting  of  a  council 
(iv.  16)  j  Gainas'  attempted  revolution  is  "  pre-announced  by  the  appearance  of  a  comet  directly 
over  the  city ;  this  comet  was  of  extraordinary  magnitude,  larger,  it  is  said,  than  any  that  had 
previously  been  seen"  (viii.  3).  After  Chrysostom's  exile,  "  hailstones  of  extraordinary  magni- 
tude fell  at  Constantinople  and  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  Four  days  afterwards,  the  wife  of  the 
emperor  died.  These  occurrences  were  regarded  by  many  as  indications  of  Divine  wrath,  on 
account  of  the  persecutions  that  had  been  carried  on  against  John  "  (viii.  27). 

But  the  earthquakes  and  famines  and  invasions  that  happened  under  Theodosius  the  Great  and 
Theodosius  Junior  are  not  mentioned  directly.  By  such  unfair  pragmatism  Sozomen,  as  all  his 
fellow-historians,  sought  to  answer  the  allegations,  now  more  directly  affirmed,  in  the  period  of 
barbarian  irruption,  that  the  calamities  were  due  to  the  desertion  of  the  gods.  Sulpicius  Severus, 
Augustine,  and  Orosius  built  up  a  somewhat  better  apology. 

4.  Another  object  he  kept  before  him,  we  will  let  him  state  in  his  own  words  :  "  The  doctrine 
of  the  Catholic  Church  is  shown  to  be  especially  the  most  genuine,  since  it  has  been  tested  fre- 
quently by  the  plots  of  opposing  thinkers ;  yet,  the  disposal  of  the  lot  being  of  God,  the  Catholic 
Church  has  maintained  its  own  ascendancy,  has  re-assumed  its  own  power,  and  has  led  all  the 
churches  and  the  people  to  the  reception  of  its  own  truth"  (i.  i).  Catholicity  and  Orthodoxy, 
as  defined  at  Nicsea,  are  synonymous.  The  creed  of  the  fathers  is  final.  The  Church  which  spoke 
in  325  and  3S1  is  the  historic  and  Catholic  Church,  and  the  Theodosian  line  is  the  Divinely  ap- 
pointed instrument  for  laying  its  foundations  immovably,  the  others  having  failed.  Church  and 
State  are  to  be  indissolubly  wedded.  This  faith  is  made  mechanically  the  test  of  goodness  and 
badness,  and  this  expresses  his  personal  belief. 

He  speaks  of  the  Scriptures  with  uniform  reverence,  and  holds  to  the  ^ewpta  as  the  method 
of  interpretation,  as  we  see  in  v.  22,  where  he  says  of  the  Jews:  "They  were  only  acquainted 
with  the  mere  letter  of  Scripture,  and  could  not,  like  the  Christians  and  a  few  of  the  wisest  among 
the  Hebrews,  discover  the  hidden  meaning  (tt/dos  dtuiplav)  "  ;  yet  he  speaks  with  respect  (viii.  2) 


2o6  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

of  Chrysostom's  way  of  expounding  the  sacred  records  and  of  his  "  teacher  Diodorus'  method, 
employed  in  the  many  books  of  that  bishop,"  in  which  he  explained  the  signiiicance  of  the  sacred 
words  and  avoided  allegory  (Oeaypia).  But  when  bishops  and  monks  are  declared  to  be  skilled 
in  the  Scriptures,  it  is  in  this  mystical  sense.  His  own  grandfather  was  a  solver  of  the  amphibolies 
of  the  Word,  doubtless  by  this  convenient  key  (v.  5 ) . 

The  dogmatic  standpoint,  as  we  have  seen,  was  traditionalism,  toward  which  the  Church  gravi- 
tated under  the  dictation  of  the  councils,  the  influence  of  bishops  like  Athanasius,  the  almost  uni- 
form ictus  of  the  Roman  see,  Ambrose,  the  Gregories,  Basil  the  Great,  Ephraim,  Eusebius,  and 
Epiphanius,  the  majority  of  monks,  and  finally  the  whole  force  of  the  State.  He  opposes  all 
shades  of  Arianism,  as  also  Apolinarianism ;  had  he  completed  his  work,  from  what  he  says  of 
Pulcheria's  conquest  over  heresies,  he  would  have  opposed  the  Nestorian  views  of  the  Theotokos. 
But  of  Donatism  and  Cyprianism  he  has  not  a  word.  Of  the  anthropological  struggles  of  the  West 
there  is  not  a  syllable.  Here  is  the  place,  also,  to  consider  his  attitude  toward  heresies.  Sozo- 
men  does  not  assail  any  phase  of  Arianism  with  the  intemperate  epithets  which  Eusebius  employed 
to  condemn  the  earlier  innovators,  or  such  as  abound  in  Theodoret  and  Evagrius  and  later  histo- 
rians. Indeed,  he  sometimes  calls  them  Christians  and  members  of  the  Catholic  Church.  His 
treatment  of  the  Novatians,  while  a  little  offish,  is  yet  generous  as  compared  with  other  writers,^ 
except  Socrates,  from  whom  he  obtains  almost  all  their  history ;  he  devotes  much  space  ;  he  is 
generally  courteous  in  tone  ;  and  when  he  speaks  of  the  proposed  union  (iv.  2)  between  the 
CathoHc  Church  and  that  body  of  believers,  he  omits  the  cause  of  the  failure ;  viz.,  the  reluctance 
of  some  legalistic  Novatians  to  acquiesce,  —  a  point  which  Socrates  does  not  fail  to  expose.  He 
mentions  Montanism  (Phrygianism)  several  times,  but  with  no  new  facts,  save  that  they  were 
numerous  in  Phrygia  in  his  day,  and  had  peculiar  Paschal  usages  (i.  6,  ii.  18,  32,  vii.  18,  19). 
Of  the  Gnostic  sects,  he  alludes  to  the  Valentinians  only,  whose  conventicles  were  repressed  by 
an  edict  of  Constantius  (ii.  32).  The  Manichaeans  are  mentioned  only  as  they  are  one  of  the 
three  sects  excepted  from  Gratian's  law  of  toleration  (vii.  i).  Of  the  Pricilhanists,  whose 
attempt  at  a  world  religion  falls  so  wholly  within  his  time,  he  says  nothing.  The  Quartodecima- 
nians  are  still  numerous  and  tenacious  (vii,  18).  He  has  a  bare  allusion  to  the  Encratites  (v. 
11).  Of  the  Origenistic  controversy,  he  has  no  more  to  say  than  he  is  compelled  to,- in  order  to 
state  correctly  the  conflict  between  Theophilus  and  Chrysostom.  Over  against  the  Origenists 
he  places  the  .\nthropomorphists  (viii.  12).  Of  Lucifer's  separatism,  he  gives  only  the  rise 
(iii.  15).  With  all  his  emphatic  adherence  to  the  current  orthodoxy,  he  must  be  regarded  as 
the  most  charitable  of  historians  next  to  Socrates.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  his  kindly 
disposition  toward  the  Novatians.  When  writing  fully  and  favorably,  as  was  his  duty,  about  Aetius 
(iii.  15),  he  is  constrained  to  make  an  apology:  "Let  it  not  be  accounted  strange  if  I  have 
bestowed  commendations  upon  the  leaders  or  enthusiasts  of  the  above-mentioned  heresies.  I 
admire  their  eloquence  and  their  impressiveness  in  discourse  :  I  leave  their  doctrines  to  be  judged 
by  those  whose  prerogative  it  is." 

On  the  one  hand,  we  find  him  insisting  on  the  right  of  private  judgment,  as  when  he  discusses 
the  overruling  Providence  in  Julian's  life,  and  especially  on  the  infatuation  which  led  the  emperor 
to  Persia  in  spite  of  Sallust  (vi.  i )  :  "  This  observation,  however,  is  only  inserted  lest  I  should  be 
blamed  for  omitting  it.  I  leave  every  one  to  form  his  own  opinion."  So,  after  discussing  the  use 
of  penance,  he  remarks  in  the  following  chapter  (vii.  17)  :  "Such  subjects  as  the  above,  how- 
ever, are  best  left  to  the  decision  of  individual  judgment."  He  would  also  allow  latitude  in  cere- 
monials (vii.  19),  as  we  shall  see.  On  the  other  hand,  he  dreads  the  progressive  and  unsettling 
outcome  of  the  private  judgment  in  exercise.  He  expresses  this  fear  in  iv.  27  :  "The  spirit  of 
innovation  is  self-laudatory  ;  hence  it  advanced  farther  and  farther,  and  crept  along  to  greater 
novelties.  With  increasing  self-conceit,  and  in  scorn  of  the  fathers,  it  enacted  laws  of  its  own. 
Nor  does  it  honor  the  doctrine  of  the  ancients  concerning  God,  but  is  always  excogitating  strange 
dogmas  and  resdessly  adds  novelty  to  novelty,  as  the  events  now  show." 


INTRODUCTION.  207 


Of  the  threatening  strategies  of  free  thought  in  his  own  day,  he  devoutly  exclaimed  :  "  That  new 
heresies  have  not  prevailed  in  our  times,  we  shall  find  to  be  due  especially  to  her"  (Pulcheria) 
(ix.  i).  Consequently  he  deprecates  the  deleterious  influence  of  polemics.  On  the  accession  of 
Jovian,  he  says  :  "  The  presidents  of  the  churches  now  resumed  the  agitation  of  doctrinal  ques- 
tions and  discussions.  They  had  remained  quiet  during  the  reign  of  Julian,  when  Christianity 
itself  was  endangered,  and  had  unanimously  offered  up  their  supplications  for  the  mercy  of  God. 
It  is  thus  that  men,  when  attacked  by  foreign  enemies,  remain  in  accord  among  themselves ;  but 
when  external  troubles  are  removed,  then  internal  dissensions  creep  in  "  (vi.  4  and  in  vi.  25). 

"  Thus  do  the  private  animosities  of  the  clergy  from  time  to  time  greatly  injure  the  Church  and 
divide  religion  into  many  heresies  !  And  this  is  a  proof;  for  had  George,  like  Theodotus,  received 
Apolinarius,  on  his  repentance,  into  communion,  I  believe  that  we  should  never  have  heard  of  the 
heresy  that  bears  his  name.  Men  are  prone,  when  loaded  with  opprobrium  and  contempt,  to 
resort  to  rivalries  and  innovations  ;  whereas,  when  treated  with  justice,  they  become  moderate 
and  remain  in  the  same  position."  More  emphatic  still  is  his  protest  in  vi.  26  :  "Those  varying 
dogmas  are  the  source  of  innumerable  troubles  to  religion,  and  many  are  deterred  from  embracing 
Christianity  by  the  diversity  of  opinion  which  prevails  in  matters  of  doctrine."  In  the  beginning 
of  this  same  chapter,  in  speaking  of  the  Eunomians,  he  delineates  them  thus  :  "  They  do  not 
applaud  a  good  course  of  life  or  manner  of  conduct,  or  mercy  towards  the  needy,  unless 
exhibited  by  persons  of  their  own  sect,  so  much  as  skill  in  disputation  and  the  power  of 
triumphing  in  debates."  This  is  a  great  blow  at  the  secto7-es  cymini,  and  at  pride  in  polemics ; 
the  whole  tone  is  much  more  liberal  than  that  of  the  ecclesiastic  Theodoret,  or  even  the  lawyer 
Evagrius.  Sozomen,  like  Socrates,  represents  a  generous  feeling  current  among  the  laymen 
of  Constantinople  in  court  and  among  the  trades  and  professions.  The  attitude  of  the 
Catholic  Church  with  regard  to  baptism,  he  sets  forth  adequately  as  trivial,  and  argues  against 
the  Eunomian  innovation  of  one  baptism  and  a  change  in  the  formula  (vi.  21)  :  "But  whether 
it  was  Eunomius  or  any  other  person  who  first  made  these  innovations  upon  the  tradition  of 
baptism,  it  seems  to  me  that  such  innovators,  whoever  they  may  have  been,  were  alone  in 
danger,  according  to  their  own  representation,  of  quitting  this  life  without  having  received 
Divine  baptism."  The  argument  here  is  an  unusually  long  one  ;  with  his  generation  he  held 
to  the  magical  efficacy  of  the  rite.  The  theory  of  the  sacraments  as  mysteries  or  arcana,  was- 
one  which  controlled  him  throughout,  and  even  limited  his  fidelity  as  a  historian.  Thus  in 
i.  20  :  "I  thought  it  necessary  to  reproduce  the  very  document  (the  Nicene  Creed)  concerning 
these  matters,  as  an  example  of  the  truth,  in  order  that  posterity  might  possess  in  a  fixed  and 
clear  form,  the  symbol  of  that  faith  which  proved  pacifying  at  the  time  ;  but  since  some  pious 
friends  who  understood  such  matters,  recommended  that  these  truths  ought  to  be  spoken  of  and 
heard  by  the  initiated  and  their  initiators  only,  I  agreed  with  their  counsel :  for  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  some  of  the  uninitiated  may  read  this  book  :  while  I  have  concealed  such  of  the  prohibited 
material  as  I  ought  to  keep  silent  about,  I  have  not  altogether  left  the  reader  ignorant  of  the 
opinions  held  by  the  Synod."  Nor  will  he  repeat  the  symbol  as  subjoined  to  the  letter  of  the 
council  of  Antioch  (vi.  4)  ;  and  when  the  Macedonian  commission  to  Liberius  make  their  state- 
ment, and  the  text  is  given  to  show  their  entire  acceptance  of  the  Nicene  view,  Sozomen  will 
not  reproduce  it.  Again  in  vi.  29,  Mark  was  a  monk  of  "  such  eminent  piety,  that  Macarius 
himself,  the  presbyter  of  CeUiae,  declared  that  he  had  never  given  to  him  what  priests  present 
to  the  initiated  at  the  holy  table ;  but  that  an  angel,  administering  it  to  him,  whose  hand  up  to 
the  forearm,  he  declared  himself  to  have  seen."  In  viii.  5,  in  giving  the  account  of  a  marvelous 
judgment  wrought  on  a  Macedonian  wife,  who  pretended  to  be  a  convert  to  the  Nicene  views, 
and  thus  frequented  the  orthodox  ceremony  of  the  Supper,  he  remarks,  "At  the  time  of  the 
celebration  of  the  mysteries  (the  initiated  will  understand  what  I  mean),  this  woman  kept  what 
was  given  her,  and  held  down  her  head  as  if  engaged  in  prayer."  In  reciting  the  disturbances 
at  the  Easter  celebration  over  the  decree  of  exile  against  Chrysostom  (viii.  21),  he  says  :   "  They 


2o8  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OE    SOZOMEN. 

were  charged  with  the  commission  of  such  disorderly  acts  as  can  be  readily  conceived  by  those 
who  have  been  admitted  to  the  mysteries,  but  which  I  consider  it  requisite  to  pass  over  in  silence, 
lest  my  work  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  uninitiated."  Here  we  have  a  glimpse  of  the  scope 
of  the  arcana  as  well  as  the  weakness  of  the  historian  in  submitting  to  the  advice  of  narrow 
friends ;  no  other  historian  felt  bound  to  restrict  himself  in  such  matters.  Sozomen  here  joined 
the  most  extreme  sacramentarians  of  his  day.  On  the  weighty  matter  of  discipline,  he  believes 
with  the  Catholic  Churgh  in  receiving  back  the  penitent  into  the  Church,  against  Novatian  and 
Donatistic  practices.  He  expresses  his  opinion  at  some  length,  though  not  so  fully  as  Socrates, 
in  the  chapter  which  relates  to  the  abohtion  of  the  penitential  presbyter  (vii.  i6)  :  "Impecca- 
bility is  a  Divine  attribute,  and  belongs  not  to  human  nature  ;  therefore  God  has  decreed  that 
pardon  should  be  extended  to  the  penitent  even  after  many  transgressions.  As  in  supplicating 
for  pardon,  it  is  requisite  to  confess  the  sin,  it  seems  probable  that  the  priests,  from  the  begin- 
ning, considered  it  irksome  to  make  this  confession  in  public,  before  the  whole  assembly  of  the 
people.  They  appointed  a  presbyter  of  the  utmost  sanctity  and  the  most  undoubted  prudence, 
to  act  on  those  occasions  :  the  penitents  went  to  him  and  confessed  their  transgressions  ;  and  it 
was  his  office  to  indicate  the  kind  of  penance  adapted  to  each  sin,  and  then  when  satisfaction 
had  been  made,  to  pronounce  absolution."  He  deplores  the  abolition  of  the  office  as  the 
occasion  of  laxity.  The  deterrent  force  of  public  confession  was  now  lost,  and  that  to  the  danger 
of  Christian  conduct.  He  sympathizes  also  with  that  form  of  martyrdom  which  wantonly  and 
ruthlessly  assails  paganism  and  is  slain  in  the  attempt.  The  system  of  relic-worship,  so  character- 
istic of  any  decline  of  opportunity  for  heroic  action,  had  set  in  overwhelmingly,  and  he  believed 
in  it  vigorously.  Our  own  age  reproduces  the  same  tendency  not  only  in  religious,  but  in  secular 
forms,  and  among  Protestants  as  well.  Thus  he  commemorates  :  of  Old  Testament  prophets, 
Micah  and  Habakkuk  (vii.  29),  Zechariah  (ix.  17)  ;  of  the  preparatory  period,  the  head  of 
John  the  Baptist  (vii.  21)  ;  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  St.  Stephen  (vii.  29,  ix.  16)  ;  of  the 
martyrs,  Babylas  (v.  19),  Forty  Soldiers  (ix.  2)  ;  of  the  monks,  Hilarion  (iii.  14),  the  four 
brothers  (vii.  9).  The  most  prominent  of  secondary  relics  is  the  cross  with  its  inscriptions  and 
nails  (ii.  i).  The  discovery  of  these  is  mainly  through  prayer  and  heavenly  signs;  their  pos- 
session is  an  object  of  imperial  ambition ;  the  removal  and  transportation  of  them  are  effected 
with  most  gorgeous  and  reverent  pomp  ;  and  the  sacred  treasures  become  the  agents  of  endless 
miracles. 

Sozomen,  like  Socrates  and  Chrysostom,  believes  in  freedom  as  to  old-time  ceremonials.  He 
has  a  chapter  on  the  varieties  of  religious  usage  (vii.  19)  ;  and  the  record  is  largely  the  result 
of  his  own  inquiry.  He  remarks  in  conclusion  :  "  Many  other  customs  are  still  to  be  observed 
in  cities  and  villages ;  and  those  who  have  been  brought  up  in  their  observance  would,  from 
respect  to  the  great  men  who  instituted  and  perpetuated  these  customs,  consider  it  wrong  to 
abolish  them.  Similar  motives  must  be  attributed  to  those  who  observe  different  practices  in  the 
celebration  of  the  fast,  which  has  led  us  into  this  long  digression."  From  his  point  of  view, 
uniformity  may  not  encroach  upon  individualism  beyond  a  certain  point.  He  is  certainly  quietly 
and  with  dignity  attacking  a  party  of  narrow  uniformitarians,  who  are  already  pressing  for  a 
harmony  of  all  ceremonials  in  Christendom. 

Another  feature  of  the  Catholic  system  that  he  traces  carefully,  is  the  relation  between  Church 
and  Empire.  He  devotes  more  attention  to  this  aspect  of  polity  than  to  its  internal  develop- 
ment ;  this  latter  he  touches  upon  incidentally,  and  not  at  all  carefully.  We  have  seen  how 
painstakingly  he  cites  the  imperial  edicts  with  regard  to  the  Church.  The  state  laws,  which 
at  first  expressed  conciliar  decisions,  were  followed  by  independent  imperial  enactments. 
These,  indeed,  are  at  first  sporadic,  but  become  more  and  more  the  rule.  The  personal  views 
of  Sozomen  appear  in  the  narrative,  but  they  are  fluctuating.  He  acquiesces  in  the  imperial 
convocation  of  councils,  as  do  all  his  cotemporaries.  On  the  death  of  Constantine,  in  comment- 
ing upon  the  hereafter  fixed  Christian  character  of  the  state,  he  says  :  "  The  sacerdotal  dignity 


INTRODUCTION.  209 


is  not  only  equal  in  honor  to  imperial  power,  but  in  sacred  places  even  takes  the  ascendancy  " 
(ii.  34).  With  the  plan  of  producing  uniformity  of  religion  in  the  empire,  he  seems  to 
sympathize  (iv.  11).  He  is  indignant  at  Julian's  indifference  to  the  murder  of  Zeno  by  the 
inhabitants  of  (laza,  and  at  the  deprivations  of  the  Christians,  when  all  their  political  and 
personal  rights  were  taken  from  them  (v.  9).  To  the  charge  of  Libanius,  that  the  man  who 
aimed  the  dart  at  Julian  was  a  Christian,  and  belonged  to  the  race  of  habitual  transgressors  of 
the  law,  Sozomen  replies  by  defending  the  regicide  :  "  In  the  documents  above  quoted,  Liba- 
nius clearly  states  that  the  emperor  fell  by  the  hand  of  a  Christian ;  and  this  probably  was  the 
truth.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the  soldiers  who  then  served  in  the  Roman  army  might 
have  conceived  the  idea,  since  Greeks  and  all  men  until  this  day  have  praised  tyrannicides,  for 
exposing  themselves  to  death  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  spiritedly  standing  by  their  country,  their 
families,  and  their  friends.  Still  less  is  he  deserving  of  blame,  who  for  the  sake  of  God  and  of  reli- 
gion, performed  so  bold  a  deed  "  (vi.  2).  This  is  the  highest  stand  that  a  lawyer  could  take  in 
support  of  individualism.  In  his  view  of  the  exalted  prerogatives  of  the  Church,  the  reply  of  Val- 
entinian  to  the  bishops,  who  desired  to  hold  a  council,  would  seem  happy.  "  I  am  but  one  of  the 
laity,  and  have,  therefore,  no  right  to  interfere  in  these  transactions ;  let  the  priests,  to  whom 
such  matters  appertain,  assemble  where  they  please  "  (vi.  7).  Theodosius'  compulsory  course 
with  regard  to  paganism  and  orthodoxy,  and  the  choice  of  Nectarius,  are  approved.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  selected  two  instances  out  of  many  from  the  life  of  Ambrose,  for  the  purpose  of  illustrat- 
ing how,  in  God's  behalf,  that  bishop  conducted  himself  towards  those  in  power  (vii.  25). 

Throughout  we  find  him  recognizing  the  practical  headship  of  Rome  ;  he  expresses  himself 
unconsciously  in  vi.  22,  "The  question  having  been  thus  decided  by  the  Roman  Church,  peace 
was  restored  and  the  inquiry  ended."  This  ignores  the  action  of  the  Synod  of  Alexandria  and 
that  of  Constantinople  itself,  for  both  had  decreed  the  consubstantiality  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
opposed  the  christology  of  Apolinarius,  prior  to  the  action  of  the  Roman  Synod.  The  power 
delegated  to  Julius  by  the  council  of  Sardica  (iii.  8),  the  conflict  between  thf'  East  and  the 
West  conducted  in  mutually  arrogant  epistles  (iii.  10),  the  subordination  of  new  to  old  Rome 
(vii.  9),  show  the  drift  toward  concentration.  Sozomen  does  not  seem  to  understand  the 
rival  movements  of  Alexandria  under  Athanasius  and  Theophilus ;  nor  the  Eastern  imperial 
attempts  to  elevate  Constantinople  to  the  supremacy,  nor  the  mutterings  of  Antiochan  jealousy. 

The  Church's  servility  toward  the  orthodox  rulers  is  fairly  expressed,  and  yet  with  comparative 
moderation,  by  Sozomen.  He  is  an  apologist  for  Constantine,  and  reflects,  as  do  all  the  his- 
torians, and  especially  Evagrius  in  his  criticism  of  Zosimus,  the  adulations  and  subterfuges  of 
Eusebius.  The  religious  fluctuation  of  that  emperor  is  masked  ;  his  crimes  are  suppressed  ;  he  is 
made  to  appear  orthodox,  even  when  at  his  worst  Eusebian  stage.  No  wonder  that  Philostorgius 
charged  the  Homoousians  with  worshiping  Constantine  as  a  god  in  the  ceremonies  connected 
with  his  image  !  Constantius,  a  vacillating,  cruel,  incompetent,  is  also  apologized  for,  but  to  the 
damage  of  his  intelligence.  Julian,  for  his  years  in  some  respects,  one  of  the  most  promising  and 
earnest  rulers  of  ancient  times,  is  loaded  with  obloquy,  his  highest  motives  and  ideals  ridiculed, 
his  victories  belittled,  his  death  savagely  exulted  in.  Jovian's  and  Valentinian's  toleration  are  not 
understood,  but  their  personal  orthodoxy  is  in  so  far  praised.  Valens  is  looked  at  through  the  eyes 
of  his  two  fierce  Cappadocian  assailants.  His  excellences  are  entirely  ignored ;  the  most  incon- 
sequent views  are  imputed  to  him  while  attempting  to  glorify  Basil ;  in  the  sad  story  of  the  emperor's 
dying  son,  that  bishop  appears  as  a  brute  in  his  treatment  of  the  agonized  father.  The  stories  of 
heroism  attributed  to  the  orthodox  are  only  examples  of  insufferable  insolence  ;  one  must  marvel 
at  the  patience  of  Valens,  if  there  be  any  truth  in  them.  Gratian,  that  beau-ideal  of  Western 
orthodoxy,  was  really  a  nose  of  wax  in  the  hands  of  Ambrose  ;  he  was  esteemed  more  moderately 
by  the  East,  and  that  rather  for  having  called  Theodosius  to  a  share  in  the  throne,  than  for  any 
■quality  in  himself;  but  his  utter  moral  collapse,  after  the  magnificent  promise  of  his  youth,  is 
wholly  veiled  from  sight.     Theodosius  the  Great  is  glorified,  not  for  his  superior  statecraft  and 


2IO  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 

generalship,  but  for  his  efforts  to  suppress  paganism  and  heres}'.  The  charges  against  his  private 
life  such  as  Eunapius  and  Zosimus  suggest,  are  not  hinted  at.  He  is  a  man  of  prayer  and  visions, 
a  relic- worshiper,  and  a  persecutor  of  pagans  and  Arians.  Great  as  he  certainly  was,  his  dis- 
tinguishing and  conspicuous  qualities  are  passed  by.  His  pitiful  children,  Arcadius  and  xionorius, 
the  sorriest  quidnuncs  of  those  stormy  times,  are  heroes  of  piety.  Pulcheria,  excellent  as  she  was, 
was  not  worthy  of  the  excessive  flattery  poured  out  upon  her  ;  while  Anthemius,  Troilus,  Valerianus, 
and  other  noble  figures  of  the  day  are  passed  by.  The  younger  Theodosius,  with  his  good  training 
and  generally  fair  endeavor,  is  delineated  in  the  dedication  as  the  consummate  man  of  all  time, 
while  he  is  a  very  third-rate  soul  at  best.  The  eulogies  by  Socrates  (vii.  22  and  42)  are  just 
as  fulsome.  This  was  the  grave  sin  0/  the  State  Church ;  the  Arian  State  Church  did  the  same 
for  Constantius  and  Valens  ;  more  and  more  as  history  reveals  the  truth  concerning  many  of  those 
idols,  does  the  revulsion  increase  against  a  union  of  two  functions  which  could  so  degrade  both. 

The  relation  of  Church  and  State  involves  the  question  of  persecution.  It  is  not  the  history 
of  the  endeavor  to  enforce  uniformity,  with  which  we  shall  concern  ourselves,  but  rather  the  views 
Sozomen  sets  forth,  as  to  the  policy  of  repression.  The  laws  of  Constantine  suppressing  heretics 
did  not  affect  the  Novatians  (ii.  32),  concerning  which  justice,  he  remarks:  "The  emperor,  I 
believe,  willingly  relaxed  the  rigor  of  the  enactment  in  their  favor,  for  he  only  desired  to  strike 
terror  into  the  minds  of  his  subjects,  and  had  no  intention  of  persecuting  them."  The  punish- 
ments inflicted  in  Constantius'  time  on  the  orthodox  in  Constantinople,  both  by  Macedonius 
(iv.  23)  and  Eudoxius  (iv.  26),  call  forth  this  reflection  :  "For,  if  the  persecution  did  not  occa- 
sion such  tortures  to  the  body  as  preceding  ones,  it  appeared  more  grievous  to  all  who  reflected 
aright,  on  account  of  its  disgraceful  nature,  for  both  the  persecutors  and  the  persecuted  belonged 
to  the  Church ;  and  the  one  was  all  the  more  disgraceful  in  that  men  of  the  same  religion  treated 
their  fellows  with  a  degree  of  cruelty  which  the  ecclesiastical  laws  prohibit  to  be  manifested 
towards  enemies  and  strangers."  He  spares  himself  the  pain  of  registering  all  who  were  ejected 
from  their  sees  (iv.  27),  for  no  province  was  without  its  list  of  sufferers.  The  cruelties  inflicted 
by  George  on  pagan  and  orthodox,  furnish  a  mournful  narrative  (iv.  30).  On  the  elevation  of 
Julian,  a  great  dread  fell  upon  the  Christian  world,  intensified  by  the  portents  which  befell  him. 
The  series  of  edicts  soon  wrought  mutual  dissension  in  the  Christian  ranks,  as  well  as  suffering 
from  without.  But  while  Sozomen  attributes  the  refinements  of  cruelty  to  Julian,  and  lays  the 
miseries  of  the  saints  at  his  door  as  parts  of  a  subtle  plan,  he  nevertheless  cannot  conceal  from 
himself  the  absence  of  direct  interference  on  the  part  of  the  State  ;  these  calamities  were  the 
results  of  a  restoration  of  the  old  religion  to  its  ancient  union  with  the  State ;  it  was  an  imperial 
act ;  and  he  is  compelled  to  confess  the  seeming  magnanimity  of  Julian  in  certain  cases,  but  even 
then  maligns  his  motives.  The  imperial  clemency  did  not  arise  from  any  feeling  of  compassion, 
but  because  persecution  would  only  increase  the  number  of  Galilean  adherents  ;  because  he  was 
envious  of  their  glory,  did  he  resort  to  argument  instead  of  cruelty,  and  manifest  an  unexpected 
benevolence  instead  of  proceeding  to  rigorous  measures  (v.  4,  5).  "It  may  be  concluded  from 
what  has  been  said,  that  if  Julian  shed  less  blood  than  preceding  persecutors  of  the  Church,  and 
that  if  he  devised  fewer  punishments  for  the  torture  of  the  body,  yet  that  he  was  severer  in  other 
respects."  Nevertheless,  this  statement  is  followed  by  a  record  of  suffering  in  all  quarters  of  the 
empire  and  the  impression  of  purposed  directness  is  given,  as  if  the  State  had  inflicted  them, 
especially  when  we  read  that  the  emperor  would  not  listen  to  the  cautions  of  Sallust  (v.  20). 
He  does  not  comment  on  Jovian's  toleration,  but  only  rejoices  in  the  return  of  the  Church  to 
ascendency.  Unsparing  is  his  picture  of  the  dastardly  measures  of  Valens  against  the  professors 
of  the  faith  ;  he  regards  that  persecutor  as  the  special  victim  of  Divine  wrath  ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  call  the  Arian  Goths,  who  fell  under  the  anger  of  Athanaric,  martyrs 
(vi.  37).  He  does  not  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  partial  toleration  of  Gratian's  edict  (vii.  i)  ; 
but  in  explanation  of  Theodosius'  law  forbidding  heretics,  i.e.  all  anti-Nicenists,  from  holding 
churches  and  from  exercising  any  clerical  function,  he  says  :  "  Great  as  were  the  punishments 


I 


INTRODUCTION.  211 


adjudged  by  the  laws  against  heretics,  they  were  not  always  carried  into  execution  ;  for  the 
emperor  had  no  desire  to  persecute  his  subjects  ;  he  only  desired  to  enforce  uniformity  of  view 
about  God,  through  the  medium  of  intimidation.  Those  who  voluntarily  renounced  heretical 
opinions,  received  commendation  from  him."  And  it  is  true  that  the  court  practice  of  perse- 
cuting emperors,  orthodox  or  Arian,  was  utterly  in  the  teeth  of  their  own  edicts,  and  their  most 
intimate  counselors  were  elected  without  regard  to  religion.  When  Justina  sought  to  revive  the 
Arian  standard  in  the  West,  her  treatment  of  Ambrose  is  called  persecution  (vii.  13)  ;  but 
Ambrose's  intolerant  procedures  against  the  Arians  are  not  even  noticed.  No  quizzical  wrinkle 
disturbs  the  flow  of  his  narrative  in  vii.  15,  when  Theodosius  I.  gives  a  heathen  temple  to 
the  Christians,  and  the  pagans  resolve  to  defend  their  rights,  and  do  so  effectually ;  but  the 
Christians  who  perish  in  that  hateful  conflict  are  crowned  as  martyrs  by  an  imperial  edict ! 
For  the  religious  tyranny  of  Theodosius  the  Great  he  is  a  warm  apologist,  and  disguises  the 
per\'ersion  of  that  principle  of  freedom  for  which  he  pleads  most  earnestly,  when  the  Arians  hold 
the  reins  of  power,  and  abuse  their  opportunity.  The  contradictions  are  perfectly  apparent  and 
irreconcilable,  because  uniformity  by  force  has  always  been  impossible.  Yet  logical  men  will  state 
the  most  contradictory  reasons,  which  no  quidnunc  can  refrain  from  laughing  at.  Themistius' 
plea  for  toleration  (vi.  36)  in  matters  of  intellectual  belief,  on  the  ground  of  secular  diversities 
in  philosophy  and  from  the  incomprehensible  nature  of  God,  shows  the  existence  of  a  party 
who  believed  in  this  principle.  While  Sozomen  gives  it  place,  and  hailed  the  Gothic  Arians  who 
compelled  Valens  to  •cease  his  oppressions,  he  has  no  word  of  approbation  for  the  proposition 
or  the  argument. 

5.  Another  design  of  his  history  is  stated  in  i.  i  :  "I  have  had  to  deliberate  whether  I  ought 
to  confine  myself  to  the  recital  of  events  connected  with  the  Church  under  the  Roman  govern- 
ment ;  but  it  seemed  more  advisable  to  include,  as  far  as  possible,  the  record  of  transactions 
relative  to  religion  among  the  Persians  and  barbarians."  He  regards  Christianity  as  the  universal 
and  sole  religion,  and  would  trace  its  extension  in  all  directions.  Hence  he  is  the  first  historian 
to  give  us  a  larger  account  of  religion  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  introducing  us  especially  to  some 
aspects  of  Christian  life  and  suffering  in  Edessa ;  we  are  all  the  more  surprised  to  have  no  mention 
of  the  Church  in  Africa,  and  so  very  little  of  the  Church  in  the  West,  except  when  it  comes  into 
close  relations  with  the  East,  as  in  the  larger  controversies,  and  especially  after  Arianism  threatened 
to  keep  its  hold  upon  the  Byzantine  section  of  the  empire  ;  and  the  Orient  had  to  cry  to  the 
cold  and  unsympathetic  Occident  for  help,  and  often  in  vain.  He  is  also  careful  to  give  us  some, 
if  not  a  very  original,  account  of  the  work  of  missions.  He  repeats  the  story  of  the  Iberians, 
Armenians,  Indians,  Saracens,  and  Goths.  He  gives  us  a  larger  insight  into  Persia ;  the  errors 
with  which  he  is  charged  as  swarming,  are  no  more  numerous  than  those  of  his  cotemporaries. 
Of  the  large  work  of  Theophilus  of  Dhu,  or  the  extension  of  Arianism  among  the  Germanic  tribes, 
he  says  nothing.  Chrysostom's  real  missionary  enterprises  are  passed  by,  excepting  his  expendi- 
ture of  the  funds  furnished  by  Olympias  for  the  redemption  and  restoration  of  Isaurian  captives 
(viii.  27).  His  reflections  on  the  methods  of  Church  extension  are  more  interesting  and 
numerous.  Thus,  in  ii.  5,  of  the  attempt  of  Constantine  to  abohsh  idolatry  and  introduce 
the  faith,  Sozomen  says,  "  Soldiers  were  not  necessary ;  the  courtiers  effected  it "  ;  he  does  not 
consider  it  advisable  to  give  all  the  details  as  to  all  the  lands  then  won  to  the  state  religion. 
The  barbarians  he  notices  as  converted  through  the  instrumentality  of  Christian  captives  (ii.  6,  7). 
Armenian  influence  carried  Christianity  into  Persia  (ii.  8).  Prodigies,  too,  are  helpful  agents 
(vi.  5,  V.  22).  The  hieroglyphs  and  crux-symbols  discovered  in  the  Egyptian  temples  led  to 
the  repentance  of  pagans  (vii.  15).  Sometimes  a  kingdom  will  solicit  the  instruction  of  an 
orthodox  monk,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Saracens  (vi.  38).  The  legal  suppressions  of  paganism 
facilitate  a  change  of  sentiment  on  the  part  of  many  (vii.  15).  The  very  ambitions  of  their  clergy 
led  numbers  of  the  Arians  to  embrace  Nicene  views  (vii.  17);  and  the  doctrinal  discussions 
among  heretics  constrain  others  to  embrace  a  more  uniform  system  of  beUef  (viii.   i).     The 


212  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

efficiency  of  the  monks  as  evangelists  is  found  in  nearly  all  the  biographies  of  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  makes  confession  to  the  baleful  effects  of  incessant  indulgence  in  polemics.  "  These 
varying  dogmas  are  the  sources  of  innumerable  troubles  to  religion  ;  and  many  are  deterred  from 
embracing  Christianity  by  the  diversity  of  opinion  which  prevails  in  matters  of  doctrine  "  (vi.  26). 
This  thought  of  universality,  then,  is  a  feature  of  his  history. 

6.  Another  design  is  to  dignify  monasticism  as  the  true  ethical  ideal  and  goal  of  Christianity, 
—  as  the  philosophy  which  is  to  supplant  all  the  ancient  intellectual  strivings  of  reason,  —  and  he 
announces  this  purpose  as  follows  :  "  Nor  is  it  foreign  to  ecclesiastical  history  to  introduce  in  this 
work  an  account  of  those  who  were  the  fathers  and  originators  of  what  is  denominated  monach- 
ism,  and  of  their  immediate  successors,  whose  celebrity  is  well  known  to  us  either  by  observation 
or  report.  For  I  would  neither  be  considered  ungracious  towards  them,  nor  willing  to  consign 
their  virtue  to  oblivion,  nor  yet  be  thought  ignorant  of  their  history ;  but  I  would  wish  to  leave 
behind  me  such  a  record  of  their  manner  of  life  that  others,  led  by  their  example,  might  attain 
to  a  blessed  and  happy  end"  (i.  i).  He  is  here  quietly  resisting  a  school  of  Christians  and 
politicians  who  were  opposed  to  the  absorbing  and  destructive  qualities  of  this  manner  of  life ; 
Athanasius,  Basil  the  Great,  Jerome,  Chrysostom,  had  to  write  in  its  defense  for  the  same 
reason,  and  he  sided  with  these  supporters  of  its  virtues,  very  naturally.  He  is  a  full  believer  in 
the  Divine  philosophy  which  nurtured  him ;  monasticism  with  its  practical  strivings  after  con- 
formity to  the  Divine-human  Pattern,  and  its  attempt  to  enthrone  the  spiritual  over  the  material 
has  a  zealous  defender  in  him,  of  all  its  rapt  and  grotesque  forms.  He  determined  therefore  to 
make  it  a  unique  portion  of  his  history.  The  discussion  of  its  aims  in  i.  12  will  give  us  a  clue 
to  his  own  desire  to  represent  it  as  almost  the  resultant  force  in  the  progress  of  the  Divine  king- 
dom;  one  reads  the.  historian's  responsive  feeling  between  the  lines.  This  philosophy  was  the 
most  useful  thing  received  by  man  from  God  ;  it  was  superior  to  all  other  knowledge,  and  war- 
ranted the  neglect  of  all  worldly  science  ;  it  strove  to  eliminate  the  adiaphora  from  ethics,  and 
to  make  everything  have  a  moral  complexion ;  one  must  be  doing  good,  or  else  he  is  doing  evil. 
Its  great  duties  are  the  discipline  of  self,  the  worship  of  the  Creator,  and  the  cultivation  of  a  spirit 
of  other- worldness.  These  canons  and  goals  are  the  life  of  the  system.  It  is  the  philosophy 
which  is  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  theoretical  schemes ;  and  it  is  the  great  school  to  fill  up 
the  gap  made  by  the  decay  of  the  Hellenic  universities.  The  Christian  university  founded  by 
Theodosius  in  Sozomen's  day,  was  indeed  a  blow  to  this  educational  ideal.  While  we  may  have 
no  accord  with  his  view  of  this  ethical  phenomenon,  we  must  concede  him  the  merit  of  dis- 
cerning its  significance  and  intent,  and  allow  that  he  was  wise  to  give  us  so  full  an  account  of 
its  elaboration,  and  so  much  detail  and  scrap  of  biography ;  for  it  was  a  dominant  element  in  the 
history  of  this  time.  It  formed  men  and  measures.  The  reproach  of  Sozomen  on  this  score  is 
wholly  a  mistake ;  he  has  done  us  capital  service  in  not  neglecting  this  element,  otherwise  we 
could  have  but  little  conception  of  its  historical  setting,  of  its  patience,  its  tireless  devotion,  and 
we  would  have  to  resort  to  Palladius  or  Rufinus  and  the  individual  biographies.  Moreover,  it 
is  an  uncritical  spirit  which  recoils  from  dissecting  the  awful  and  often  repulsive  details  of  legal- 
istic self-denial.  After  discoursing  on  the  local  origin  of  monasticism  and  the  forms  it  assumed, 
we  have  chapters  containing  brief  sketches  of  hermits,  laurists,  and  coenobites  (i.  12,  13,  14,  iii. 
14).  The  people  looked  to  the  monks  for  the  color  of  their  theology  (iv.  10).  Arianism  felt  its 
weakness  without  them  and  ineffectually  sought  their  suppression  (vi.  20) .  The  Nicene  faith  uni- 
formly received  the  support  of  these  communities  (vi.  27),  to  which  they  remained  devoted  under 
all  persecutions.  Another  series  of  biographies  follows  in  vi.  28-34:  Theophilus  (viii.  12)  has 
a  preliminary  struggle  with  them  to  carry  forward  his  plots  against  John.  The  royal  court  itself 
under  Pulcheria's  leadership  reflected  its  severe  discipline  (ix.  13).  Sozomen  seems  also  to 
have  studied  the  rules  of  various  bodies,  some  of  whose  details  he  gives,  and  indulges  in  a  sort  of 
comparative  study  of  their  regulations  (vi.  30).  Yet  with  all  his  implied  admiration  of  the 
heroes  of  this  system,  who  went  to  the  almost  extreme  of  abstinence,  he  remarks  in  reviewing  the 


INTRODUCTION.  213 


discipline  of  Theotimus  (vii.  26)  :  "  I  consider  it  to  he  the  part  of  the  philosopher  to  yield  to 
the  demand  of  these  appetites  from  necessity,  and  not  from  the  love  of  sensual  gratification." 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  he  omits  for  the  most  part  the  immoral  forms  of  monasticism,  such  as 
Evagrius  gives  us  a  highly  rhetorical  account  of 

7.  A  more  subordinate  aim  is  to  present  selected  secular  matters  so-called ;  he  docs  not  con- 
sider these  to  be  wholly  foreign  to  the  scope  of  his  work.  He  handles  such  with  considerable 
largeness  in  Constantine's  life,  and  keeps  up  a  thread  under  Constantius  and  Julian.  He  is  more 
sparing  until  he  reaches  Arcadius  and  Honorius,  and  the  chapters  3-15  of  Book  ix.  are  largely 
devoted  to  the  ^^'estern  struggles  with  usurpers. 

8.  A  final  and  subordinate  aim  is  the  development  of  imperial  law  with  regard  to  the  Church  ; 
he  gives  little  of  purely  synodical  canons,  but  remarks,  ''  I  consider  it  necessary,  however,  to 
mention  the  laws  enacted  for  the  honor  and  consolidation  of  religion,  as  they  constitute  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  ecclesiastical  history."  And  in  the  next  chapter,  "  Having  arrived  at  this 
point  of  my  history,  it  would  not  be  right  to  omit  all  mention  of  the  laws  passed  in  favor  of  those 
individuals  in  the  churches,  who  had  received  their  freedom"  (i.  9).  We  have  already  seen  how 
continuously  this  plan  is  sustained. 

His  Method,  i.  He  is  conscious  of  certain  limitations,  and  expresses  them  frankly,  (^a)  A 
modest  estimate  of  his  own  powers  (Proemium,  i.  i).  (/^)  The  excess  of  material  compels  him 
to  a  constant  process  of  selection  (ii.  3,  5,  14,  iii.  14,  15,  16,  iv.  4,  27,  vii.  17.  28,  ix.  i.  (<:)  A 
sense  of  incapacity  to  handle  some  aspects  of  doctrine  Cvii.  17).  {d)  An  occasional  insufficiency 
of  data  to  state  a  positive  conclusion  (iv.  2,  viii.  16). 

2.  He  acknowledges  the  need  of  research,  and  presents  his  ideal  purpose  in  i.  7  :  "I  shall 
record  the  transactions  with  which  I  have  been  connected,  and  also  those  concerning  which  I 
have  heard  from  persons  who  knew  or  saw  the  affairs  in  our  own  day,  or  before  our  own 
generation.  But  I  have  sought  for  records  of  events  of  earlier  date  amongst  the  established  laws 
appertaining  to  religion,  amongst  the  proceedings  of  the  Synods  of  the  period,  amongst  the 
innovations  that  arose,  and  in  the  epistles  of  kings  and  priests."  His  recurring  intention  was  to 
reproduce  the  documents  just  as  they  were,  but  he  finally  decided  to  epitomize  their  contents 
and  to  present  the  entire  instrument,  only  when  the  state  of  controversy  compelled  it  in  order 
to  fairness.  The  difficulty  in  the  way  of  consulting  these  sources  lay  in  the  fact  of  their  dispersion 
in  palaces,  churches,  and  the  private  libraries  of  the  erudite.  He  anticipates  criticism  by 
acknowledging  that  contradictions  are  likely  to  appear  in  his  work,  not  from  any  fault  of  his  own, 
but  because  of  the  partisan  and  arbitrary  nature  of  the  documents  ;  he  ingenuously  confesses 
that  men's  passions  and  conceptions  have  shaped  many  of  these  writings,  and  that  the  factious 
spirit  has  often  been  guilty  of  the  willful  omission  of  material,  which  was  not  of  its  side.  He 
distinctly  avers  that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  examine  all  writings  of  this  class  according  to  his  ability. 
Such  was  his  intention.  If  now  we  turn  to  his  actual  methods,  we  can  group  his  ways  of  accumu- 
lating material,  somewhat  as  follows  :  — 

(rt)    His  own  observation  by  hearing  or  sight,  and  hence  knowing,  as  in  ii.  3  ;  vii.  19,  28. 

{b)  By  obtaining  a  personally  clear  knowledge,  the  medium  being  undefined,  as  in  the  elec- 
tion of  Maximus  to  be  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  Macarius'  sympathy  therewith ;  here  his  better 
information  was  probably  due  to  his  Palestinian  origin.  'lo-Teov  jxIvtoi  ok  01  raSe  ■tJKpL^wKore'i, 
Kara   yvioixrjv   WaKapcov  yeveaOai   re   kol  cnrovSaaOrjvac  rw   irXr'jOti   TavTa,  la-)(yp!,t,ovTai  (ii.  20).      As    to 

Serapion  and  Severianus  to.  fxlv  w8e  eyvojv  (viii.  10).  As  to  Zechariah,  where  the  same  phrase 
occurs  (ix.  17).  At  the  close  of  a  universal  review  of  monasticism  ra'Se  eyvwi/  ok  awiypaxpa 
(iii.  14).  As  to  the  Syrian  and  Persian  monks  et?  yvcucriv  e/u,^v  rjXdov  (vi.  34).  'AAAo.  to.  jAv 
a<f)r)yrj(Tdp.7]V  icji    ocrov  p-oi  p.a6uv  l^eyivtro,  trepl  twv  Tore  CKKXrjcnacrTLKwv  cf)iXoaocjnov  (vi.  35)- 

(r)  By  hearing  from  those  who  knew  the  facts  a/rep  Trupa  d/<pt/3a)s  eVto-ru/AcVwv  aKi^Koa  (ii.  21). 
As  to  Arsacius  :  dl  Trapa  twi'  'ApcraKiov  avrov  0eaaap.evwv  aKrjKoevaL  ecfiaarav  (iv.  l6).  As  to  the 
mutual  prophecies  of  Epiphanius  and  John  kolkclvov  8e  clafTL  vvv  ttoXXw  ovra  tov  Xoyov  €7rv06fxr]v 
(viii.   15).      As  to  Atticus  :    kol  tov  p.ev  rotovSe  yeviaOai  <^acrtv,  or  ye  tov  avSpa  eyvwaav  (viii.  27). 


2  14  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. ' 

{d)  The  correction  of  a  false  story  by  inquiring  of  trustworthy  persons.  Thus  as  to  the 
origin  of  the  Apocalypse  of  Paul.     'Epo/AeVw  Se  fxoL  -n-epl  tovtov,  i/^eSSo?  ecfirjacv  chai  Kt'Att  (vii.  19). 

As  to  an  accusation  against  John  :    tovtov  Si  7rp6(f>aatv  eTepav  Xe'yetv   ovk   iX'^'  ■7rXr)v   OTL   dt/'euSr/s   Tis 

olfjiaL  Tvvdavojxivta  Trcpl  tovtov  t<l>r],  k.t.X.  (viii.  9).  The  true  and  twofold  causes  of  difficulty 
between  Theophilus  and  Isadore  :  rwv  ye  p.i]v  avyyevofjiivcov  rovVots  totc  toTs  fj.ova)(o'i<;  avSpos  oiov 
7n(TTeveaOj.L   €7rv06jxr]v,  k.t.X.   (viii.  12). 

(<?)  To  these  may  be  added  the  very  frequent  usage  of  TrwOdvofxat  as  a  means  of  expressing 
his  knowledge  acquired  in  any  form  whatsoever,  by  hearing,  by  inquiry,  by  tradition  (i.  21,  ii.  8, 
iii.  14,  iv.  25,  V.  2,  9,  vi.  2  bis,  17,  34  bis,  37,  vii.  8,  15,  17,  20,  21,  25,  viii.  2,  7,  9,  19. 

(/)  Also  his  use  of  aKpi/Sou),  showing  his  effort  to  attain  accurate  information,  and  iaxvpt(op.aL 
less  frequently,  to  indicate  the  strongest  confirmation.  Both  these  are  used  with  reserve,  and  not 
lightly.  Several  times  he  acknowledges  his  resort  to  tradition,  when  he  uses  the  word  TrapetAi^^a/xev, 
but  we  cannot  always  be  sure  of  the  form  of  transmission  (iii.  15,  30,  vi.  ;^8). 

(g)  Also  his  reference  to  those  who  had  more  accurate  information,  or  to  works  whose  detail 
he  could  not  reproduce,  or  which  lay  without  the  province  of  history  (iv.  3). 

We  see  then  an  ideal  and  actual  plan  of  research,  and  a  real  effort  at  personal  investigation ; 
to  deny  his  frequently  iterated  language,  is  to  accuse  him  of  deliberate  falsehood  ;  and  this  is 
palpably  unfair ;  this  his  honest  purpose  and  work  must  be  borne  in  mind,  in  the  discussion  of  his 
relation  to  Socrates. 

3.  As  to  method  in  textual  criticism,  there  is  none  ;  we  find  variations  in  the  texts  quoted 
from  those  of  Socrates,  Athanasius,  and  Theodoret,  but  no  more  in  him  than  in  the  rest  from 
one  another.  When  he  reports  Constantine's  speech,  he  treats  it  as  Thucydides  did  the  orations 
of  his  worthies,  and  as  tlie  high-flying  Eusebius  and  the  indiscriminating  Theodoret  do.  When 
he  copies  a  translation  from  the  Greek,  he  simply  says  that  he  gives  it  just  as  he  found  it.  On 
the  whole,  one  is  surprised  at  so  fair  an  agreement  in  the  readings  of  the  documents. 

4.  There  is  an  entire  lack  of  genuine  analytical  criticism;  the  love  of  allegory  (i.  i,  ii.  i), 
the  credence  given  to  the  Christie  sections  of  Josephus  (i.  i),  the  unquestioning  acceptance  of 
Eusebius'  turgid  statements  about  Constantine's  life,  are  proofs  enough  of  its  absence  ;  and  yet 
Sozomen  was  careful  to  present  the  variety  of  accounts,  so  that  one  might  have  all  points  of  view, 
if  he  did  not  carefully  sift  the  evidence.  This  is  indeed  quite  a  marked  feature  of  his  method. 
Thus  concerning  the  death  of  Arius,  he  gives  five  different  views  (ii.  29,  30).  He  states  care- 
fully the  varying  shades  of  opinion  concerning  Marcellus  (ii.  33).  The  two  classes  of  views  of 
the  election  of  Macedonius  are  recorded  and  skillfully  weighed  (iii.  3).  The  divisions  of  senti- 
ment after  the  Synods  of  Sardica  and  Philippopolis  are  accurately  grouped  (iii.  13).  Other 
instances  occur  in  iii.  14,  18,  23,  v.  2,  22,  vi.  2,  12,  26,  vii.  5,  22.  These  are  but  a  selec- 
tion of  what  is  habitual  with  him,  and  show  a  desire  to  present  all  sides  of  a  question,  and  to 
reflect  the  divergent  convictions  of  his  time  about  men  and  measures ;  but  he  does  not  always 
try  to  find  the  just  opinion  and  weigh  the  testimony ;  he  never  tests  the  validity  of  his  docu- 
ments, and  only  a  few  times  tries  to  decide  between  clashing  judgments,  as  to  which  of  them 
rests  on  a  solid  foundation  of  testimony.  It  is,  however,  to  his  credit,  when  he  confesses  that  his 
research  is  bafiied,  as  in  iv.  2,  with  respect  to  the  manner  of  Paul's  death,  or  suspends  his  judg- 
ment, because  the  data  are  insufficient,  as  in  the  application  to  the  empress,  of  Chrysostom's 
homily  on  female  peccadilloes  (viii.  6).  Such  language  shows  that  he  not  only  sought  to  ascer- 
tain tlic  truth,  but  to  elicit  the  facts  out  of  conflicting  testimony.  We  may  not  always  think  the 
game  worth  the  powder,  but  the  temper  and  intent  are  commendable. 

5.  Sozomen  has  a  marked  zeal  for  interpreting  the  events  of  history ;  and  we  can  gather  these 
hints  of  histories,  although  they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  defined  as  principles  in  his  own  mind. 

(a)  He  criticises  by  the  rules  of  traditionalism  and  monasticism  ;  we  find  small  men  given 
undue  prominence,  and  large  ones  put  far  below  their  proper  place  (iv.  6,  9,  28,  v.  7,  12,  vi.  17, 
26,  vii.  12). 


INTRODUCTION.  215 


{/>)  He  seems  to  have  regarded  it  his  occasional  duty  to  explain  the  moral  intent  of  a  period, 
of  the  lives  of  men,  of  a  special  incident ;  in  other  words,  he  used  history  reflectively  and 
ethically  (viii.  4,  12,  17). 

(c)  He  is  fertile  in  suggesting  motives  for  which  he  has  no  documentary  warrant.  The  entire 
history  of  Julian  is  replete  with  the  insinuation  of  mean  motives  (cSs  o-u/A/Sa'AXo)) .  The  solitary 
commendation  of  him  for  lowering  the  price  of  provisions  in  Antioch  (v.  19)  is  only  a  ground 
for  holding  him  up  to  ridicule  for  want  of  judgment  (iii  5,  15,  v.  2,  4,  5,  11,  19,  15,  22, 
vi.  12). 

(ii)  He  deems  it  necessary  to  apologize  for  his  favorites  if  they  are  in  a  questionable  position' 
(iii.  18,  V.  6,  viii.  i). 

(<f)  He  thinks  it  right  to  give  recognition  to  men  or  measures  who  have  enlisted  his  admiration 
{vii.  10). 

(/)    He  traces  cause  and  effect  in  a  pragmatic  way  (vi.  16,  38). 

{g)  He  delights  in  taking  prominent  figures  of  a  period  as  the  remarkable  men  who  have 
created  a  remarkable  time,  and  are  Divine  instruments,  or  as  objects  of  Divine  protection  on 
account  of  their  piety  (iii.  13,  19,  iv.  16,  v.  13,  vi.  17,  26,  27,  viii.  3,  4,  6). 

(^)   He  dwells  at  times  on  characteristics  of  human  nature  at  play  (vi.  4,  26). 

(/)   He  gives  a  favorable  explanation  of  the  bad  actions  of  the  orthodox  (iv.  16). 

(y)   He  sometimes  introduces  speculative  explanations  or  reflections  (vi.  2,  4,  37,  viii.  5). 

6.  Chronological  method,  (i)  The  imperial  reigns  are  taken  as  the  great  periods  for  the 
books,  and  the  material  is  distributed  under  them  ;  no  dates  are  given,  only  the  names  of  the 
emperors.  This  is  stated  in  the  proemium,  and  is  carried  out  in  the  history.  (2)  He  uses 
the  consulates  — 

(a)  To  mark  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  entire  history. 

(^)  Also  occasionally  to  indicate  the  synchronous  occupants  of  the  apostolic  sees  (i.  2)  ; 
the  convocation  of  a  council  (iii.  12,  19,  iv.  6,  I'j,  vii.  12)  ;  the  enthronement  of  a  bishop 
(iv.  26)  ;  the  death  of  an  emperor  (vii.  29,  ix.  i)  ;  some  general  but  important  event  (vii.  5, 
viii.  4). 

(c)  With  this  the  corresponding  year  of  the  emperor  is  sometimes  but  rarely  given. 

(d)  Another  conspicuous  chronological  system  with  Sozomen,  as  in  Eusebius,  Socrates,  and 
the  church  historians  in  general,  is  to  keep  up  the  roll  of  succession  in  the  greater  sees.  This 
had  become  an  essential  note  of  the  visible  and  Catholic  Church. 

(«?)  Occasionally  intervals  are  indicated  as  so  many  years  after  such  and  such  an  event 
(iii.  5,  II,  12,  iv.  I,  ix.  i). 

(/)  The  length  of  a  reign  or  of  an  episcopate,  the  duration  of  the  life  of  an  emperor  or 
bishop,  and  of  a  tendential  period  are  stated,  but  not  often,  and  without  uniformity  (iv.  11,  v.  i, 
vii.  5). 

{g)  An  unusual  number  of  particles  for  indefinite  time  occur  as  substitutes  for  an  exact 
method.  Nevertheless,  one  of  his  main  purposes  was  to  narrate  his  history  in  strict  chronological 
order,  so  as  to  contain  the  virtue  of  a  chronicle  together  with  a  more  developed  presentation  of 
events.  This  is  almost  entirely  forgotten,  except  that  the  sequence  of  occurrences  is  fairly  kept 
up.  Yet  he  does  not  hesitate  to  break  through  even  this  sequence,  when  he  thinks  the  collocation 
of  later  facts,  under  the  head  that  he  is  writing  of,  may  contribute  to  clearness  and  completeness, 
as  he  directly  avers  in  iii.  3,  14,  iv.  10,  11,  12,  v.  11,  ix.  2.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  make  a 
Regesta  of  Sozomen's  history ;  moreover,  he  often  blunders  in  the  very  few  dates  he  gives,  as 
well  as  in  the  arrangement  of  the  events  themselves ;  these  errors  are  due  to  the  lack  of  a  fixed 
system. 

7.  The  contributions  to  geography  are  mainly  confined  to  Palestine.  Passing  more  familiar 
ones,  we  have  a  Ust  as  follows:  Helenopolis  (ii.  2),  Majuma  (ii.  5,  v.  3,  vii.  28),  Anthedon, 
Bethagathon,  Asalea,  Thabatha  (iii.   14),  Diocaesarea  (iv.   17),  Betheha  (v.  15,  vi.  32),  Besan- 


2i6  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


duca,  Capharchobia,  Gerara  (vi.  32),  Botolium  (vii.  28),  Ceila,  Berathsabia  with  its  tomb, 
Nephsameena  (vii.  29),  Chaphar  Zacharia  (ix.  17).  Most  of  these  terms  are  Hebraic  or  Syrian. 
ScythopoHs  is  mentioned  as  abundant  in  pahns  (viii.  13).  There  is  no  direct,  and  very  Uttle 
indirect  light  on  the  political  or  ecclesiastical  geography  of  the  time  ;  of  course  the  seats  of 
the  bishops  and  of  the  monks  that  are  enumerated  yield  a  few  new  names  of  places.  There  are 
equally  few  hints  in  the  physical  features  of  the  empire ;  the  great  rains,  or  hail-storms,  or  earth- 
quakes are  recorded  chiefly  with  regard  to  their  special  ethical  bearing.  The  topography  of 
Constantinople  has  been  indicated  previously ;  outside  of  these,  details  of  Alexandria,  Antioch, 
Csesarea,  Cappadocia  are  given,  but  none  of  them  new. 

8.  Statistics.  There  is  of  course  no  method  in  the  presentation  of  statistics  ;  there  are  gen- 
eral proportions,  as  in  ii.  6,  iv.  27,  v.  15,  vi.  20;  and  special  detail,  as  in  the  enumeration  of 
monks,  iii.  14,  vi.  29-34.  The  best  illustration  one  finds  in  the  account  of  the  Persian  martyrs, 
where  there  was  a  distinct  effort  at  registration  by  Persian,  Syrian,  and  Edessan  authorities 
(ii.  13,  14). 

9.  Biography  is  one  of  the  chief  constituents  of  his  history.  He  gives  us  an  account  of  most 
of  the  distinguished  Christian  masters  in  theology,  in  monasticism,  martyrdom,  oratory,  scholar- 
ship, administration ;  and  he  is  refreshingly  fair  in  giving  a  place  to  those  who  were  not  friendly 
to  his  view  of  the  faith.  Athanasius  may  be  a  chief  hero,  but  Arius  is  not  neglected.  Here  we 
may  observe  that  Sozomen  makes  Aetius  the  second  head  of  rationalism,  and  the  man  who  gave 
it  breadth  of  culture  by  building  the  system  on  the  basis  of  Aristotle  (iii.  15,  iv.  12)  ;  he 
regards  Eunomius  as  but  a  reflection  of  Aetius  (vi.  29).  This  position  accorded  to  Aetius  is 
one  deserving  special  note  and  study.  Philostorgius  exalted  Eunomius  both  in  his  special  enco- 
mium and  in  the  history.  Of  course  the  two  Cappadocians,  as  well  as  Epiphanius  and  Chrysos- 
tom,  are  liberally  sketched.  The  imperial  biography  is  fairly  full,  and  a  large  space  is  accorded 
Julian.  In  every  book  parts  are  devoted  to  the  vitce  sanctoruf7t,  as  the  best  way  to  set  before  us 
the  inner  life  of  the  Church  and  the  fairest  exhibition  of  Christian  character ;  these  monastic 
sketches  are,  for  the  most  part,  mere  ghmpses  of  individuals  (a  line  or  two  suffices)  ;  whereas  the 
more  conspicuous  founders  and  organizers,  such  as  Antony,  Hilarion,  Pachomius,  the  INIacarii, 
Evagrius,  receive  a  larger  recognition.  He  feels  the  need  of  selection  in  the  multiplicity  of  illus- 
trious characters,  and  after  a  sketch  of  Acacius,  Zeno,  and  Ajax,  he  says  :  "  I  have  mentioned 
these  as  examples  of  those  who  served  as  priests  at  this  period.  It  would  be  a  task  to  enumerate 
all,  when  the  major  part  of  them  were  good,  and  God  bore  testimony  to  their  lives  by  readily 
hearing  their  prayers  and  by  working  many  miracles"  (vii.  28).  Prominent  as  is  the  biograph- 
ical element,  and  earnestly  as  he  endeavors  to  substantiate  its  claims,  he  confesses,  as  to  Ephraim 
(iii.  16),  "  it  would  require  a  more  experienced  hand  than  mine  to  furnish  a  full  description  of  his 
character  and  that  of  the  other  illustrious  men,  who,  about  the  same  period,  had  devoted  them- 
selves to  a  life  of  philosophy ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Ephraim  did  not  enter  upon  this 
undertaking.  The  attempt  is  beyond  my  powers,  for  I  possess  but  little  knowledge  of  those  great 
men,  or  of  their  exploits." 

10.  In  ecclesiastical  culture  we  have  many  and  important  incidental  hints,  but  no  direct 
general  chapter  except  vii.  19;  and  on  special  topics,  those  on  the  Easter  controversy  (i.  16, 
21,  vi.  24,  vii.  18,  viii.  17)  on  the  penitential  presbyter  (vii.  16),  and  on  relic  worship,  are  the 
most  significant. 

11.  Nor  is  there  any  methodical  statement  of  growth  in  the  acquisition  and  exposition  of 
truth  ;  his  traditionalism  in  a  measure  precluded  that,  and  his  acknowledged  incapacity  to  go 
deeply  into  the  differentiation  of  these  discussions  prevented  any  system  ;  there  is  no  real  history 
of  dogma  and  ethics,  except  on  the  external  side.  He  is  frank  to  say  :  "  I  leave  their  doctrines 
to  be  judged  by  those  whose  right  it  is.  For  I  have  not  set  forth  to  record  such  matters,  nor  is 
it  befitting  in  history  "  (iii.  15);  that  he  does  "not  profess  easily  to  understand  or  to  expound 
these  matters"  (vi.  27)  ;  and  again,  "  I  should  be  prolix  were  I  to  enter  into  further  particulars, 


INTRODUCTION.  217 


and  under  the  subject  would  be  by  no  means  an  easy  one  to  me,  since  I  have  no  such  dialectic 
skill  "  (vii.  17).  He  furnishes  us  only  with  such  a  statement  of  doctrine,  as  sprang  out  of  polem- 
ics and  councils  and  the  variety  of  creeds, 

12.  And  so  with  the  history  of  literature  there  is  no  such  sustained  account  of  Christian  writ- 
ers and  works  as  in  Eusebius ;  the  second  stage  of  historians  did  not  see  fit  to  be  as  complete 
and  accurate  as  their  exemplar  in  this  particular,  and  Photius  was  left  to  gather  up  the  fragments  for 
us.  What  strikes  us  as  peculiar  is  his  confessed  ignorance  of  the  works  of  the  greatest  theologians. 
He  passes  by  all  the  technical  writings  of  Athanasius ;  he  has  no  direct  knowledge  of  the  works 
of  Hilary,  though  that  might  be  excused.  Of  the  purely  theological  works  of  Basil  and  Gregory 
Nazianzen.  whom  he  regards  as  the  pillars  of  the  Nicene  faith,  he  makes  no  mention ;  and  indeed 
makes  but  the  shghtest  use  of  their  letters  and  special  orations.  Of  the  Arian  theologians  of  all 
shades,  he  has  no  closer  knov/ledge  ;  he  confesses  at  the  outset  that  he  had  not  read  the  Thalia 
(i.  21),  but  condemns  it  on  Socrates'  authority;  and  he  speaks  of  Diodorus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  in 
language  that  displays  unfamiliarity  with  his  treatises  (viii.  2). 

13.  There  are  no  conceptions  of  the  philosophy  of  history  or  of  histories  in  general,  other 
than  those  which  have  been  discussed  before. 

14.  If  we  pass  to  the  stylistics  of  Sozomen,  we  find  the  quahty  of  the  Greek  to  be  excellent ; 
the  dedication  is  especially  studied  and  rhetorical ;  the  first  chapter  of  the  first  book  is  scarcely 
inferior  in  these  traits,  after  which  the  form  becomes  more  abrupt,  after  the  fashion  of  an  epito- 
mizer,  and  it  is  obviously  affected  by  his  authorities.  The  likeness  to  Xenophon  is  not  continu- 
ous, any  more  than  Socrates  sustainedly  imitates  Thucydides,  although  in  elevated  conception, 
Socrates  is  more  in  the  vein  of  that  philosophic  master  of  history,  than  Sozomen  is  a  reflec- 
tion of  the  writer  of  the  Hellenics.  The  vocabulary,  too,  is  quite  meager ;  the  same  forms  of 
expression  occur  again  and  again,  yet  Photius  considers  him  superior  in  diction  to  Socrates,^ 
which  only  one  who  admires  mere  form  above  spirit,  can  afifirm.  Certainly  it  would  not  be  the 
view  of  this  more  subjective  age.  Of  course  he  reflects  the  decline  of  meaning  in  particles  and 
prepositional  prefixes  and  participial  constructions.  He  does  not  begin  his  books  with  formal 
prefaces,  such  as  Socrates  indulges  in ;  chapter  i  of  Book  i.  may,  however,  be  regarded  as  intro- 
ductory ;  and  it  serves  to  link  Christianity  with  Judaism.  In  the  distribution  of  his  material  there 
is  no  system  agreeing  with  his  own  outline  of  aims  or  any  other  order  that  is  discoverable.  The 
main  topics  are  :  Secular  affairs,  relations  of  the  emperor  to  Christianity,  laws  and  privileges, 
missions  and  persecutions,  polemics  and  irenics,  biographies ;  but  there  is  no  regular  discussion  of 
these,  either  under  the  reigns  or  in  the  books.     None  of  the  historians  are  any  better  in  this  regard. 

A  characteristic  of  our  historian  is  the  admirable  generalization  and  the  summaries  he  pauses 
to  make  here  and  there.  The  most  notable  are  in  iii.  1 7,  a  generalized  description  of  the  period 
of  the  Constantines.  iii.  18,  a  doctrinal  summary,  iv.  17-19,  conciliar  movement  in  the  West, 
iv.  20-22,  conciliar  movement  in  the  East.  iv.  23-25,  united  results,  vi.  6,  a  succinct 
comparison  of  Valens  with  Valentinian.  vi.  10,  geographical  centers  of  Nicenism.  vi.  21, 
geographical  centers  of  Arianism  and  Orthodoxy,  vi.  22,  geographical  distribution  of  Mace- 
donianism.  vi.  26,  genesis  of  Aetianism  (Eunomianism).  vi.  27,  geographical  distribution 
of  beliefs,  vi.  28-34,  geographical  grouping  of  the  monks,  vii.  2,  geographical  supremacy  of 
Arianism  in  the  East.  vii.  4,  geographical  survey  of  religion,  vii.  17,  divisions  of  Arianism. 
viii.  I,  summary  of  x\postolic  succession.  The  selective  process  is  often  alluded  to  (ii.  3,  iii. 
14,  15,  iv.  3,  23,  27,  vii.  25,  28,  ix.  i)  ;  and  we  must  confess  that  he  has  kept  a  very  just 
proportion  in  this  way  among  the  subjects  he  has  elected  for  his  narrative. 

The  Period  described. 

The  work  was  to  have  covered  the  time  from  323  to  439,  a  period  of  116  years;  whereas,  in 
fact,   he  writes  continuously  only  to  the  death  of  Honorius  as  the  latest  event,  423,  and  the 

'  Myrobib.  cod.  XXX. 


2i8  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

accession  of  Valentinian  III.  in  425  ;  beyond  that  in  time,  but  mentioned  anticipatively  in  the 
narrative  (ix.  2),  is  the  transfer  of  the  forty  martyrs,  which  happened  certainly  after  434,  the  year 
of  the  election  of  Proclus,  therefore  probably  not  far  from  the  proposed  limit  of  his  work,  say 
437  or  438  ;  this  would  give  a  period  of  about  114  or  115  years.  He  divides  the  record  of  this 
time  into  nine  books,  distributed  among  the  emperors. 

i.  and  ii.   To  Constantine,  323-337  =  14. 

iii.  and  iv.    His  sons,  337-361  =  24. 

V.  and  vi.    Julian,  Jovian,  Valentinian  I.,  Valens,  361-375  =  17. 

vii.  and  viii.  Gratian  and  Valentinian  II.,  Theodosius  I.,  Arcadius  (and  Honorius),  375- 
408  =  33. 

ix.    (Honorius)  and  Theodosius  II.,  408-437  =  25. 

A  noticeable  feature,  save  in  the  case  of  Book  ix.,  is  the  grouping  of  books  by  twos,  in  which 
the  intervals  discussed  vary  from  fourteen  to  thirty-three  years.  This  grouping  seems  entirely 
arbitrary. 

For  whom  he  wrote. 

The  question  for  whom  he  wrote  has  been  somewhat  obscured  by  those  who  regard  him  simply 
as  a  plagiarist.  He  evidently  turned  himself  to  this  task  under  the  conviction  that  there  was 
need  of  some  such  work  as  his.  He  addressed  himself  chiefly  to  Christians  and  not  only  to 
monks,  because  he  defers  to  the  narrow  views  of  some  friends  about  the  mysteries,  —  and 
represses  creeds  and  sacraments,  for  fear  the  book  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  uninitiated. 
He  moreover  designed  his  record,  not  for  the  more  learned  classes,  but  for  the  instruction  of 
ordinary  believers,  since  he  professes  uniformly  a  great  modesty  in  treating  the  profounder  themes 
of  theology  and  the  characters  of  the  more  eminent  men.  Yet  he  did  not  hesitate  to  submit  it  to 
the  criticism  of  his  emperor  and  invited  the  most  erasive  and  final  judgment.  This  is  probably 
as  far  as  we  may  go  in  the  absence  of  any  direct  address  to  specific  readers. 

The  Sources. 

I.    Those  enumerated  in  his  ideal  plan  (i.  i). 

1.  The  transactions  in  which  he  was  engaged. 

2.  The  transactions  in  which  others  were  engaged,  who  either  knew  or  saw  the  events  in  his  day,  or  in  prior 
generations. 

3.  Laws  established  concerning  reUgion. 

4.  Acts  of  Synods. 

5.  Record  of  innovations. 

6.  Imperial  letters. 

7.  Clerical  letters. 

II.   The  sources  actually  mentioned,     (i)   Documents. 

(a)    Documents  actually  quoted  with  text. 

The  retractation,  by  Eusebius  and  Theognis  (ii.  16). 

The  confession  of  Arius  and  Euzoius  to  Constantine  (ii.  27). 

The  Epistle  of  Constantine  to  the  Synod  of  Tyre  (ii.  28). 

Constantine  Caesar  to  the  people  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  the  city  of  Alexandria  (iii.  2). 

Epistle  of  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem  in  behalf  of  Athanasius  (iii.  22). 

Ursacius  and  Valens  to  Julius  (iii.  23). 

Ursacius  aud  Valens  to  Athanasius  (iii.  24). 

George  of  Laodicea  to  Macedonius,  Basilius,  Cecropius,  and  Eugenius  (iv.  13) ;   new. 

Epistle  of  Constantius  to  the  church  at  Anlioch  (iv.  14) ;   new. 

Epistle  of  the  Synod  of  Ariminum  to  the  Emperor  Constantius  (iv.  18). 

Epistle  of  Julian  to  Arsacius,  the  high-priest  of  Galatia  (v.  16). 

Epistle  of  Julian  to  the  bishops,  only  a  phrase  quoted  (v.  18);    new. 

Synod  at  Antioch,  to  Jovian  (vi.  4). 


INTRODUCTION. 


219 


Eustathius,  Silvanus,  and  Theophilus  to  Liberius  (vi.  11). 

Synod  of  Rome  to  bishops  of  Illyricum  (vi.  23) ;    first  with  Sozomen;  repeated  by  Theodoret  (^H.  E.  ii.  22). 
Innocent  to  John  (viii.  26) ;    also  in  Palladius'  Dial. 

Innocent  to  the  presbyters,   deacons,  all  the  clergy,  and  the  people  of  the  church   of  Constantinople 
(viii.  26) ;   also  in  Palladius'  Dial. 

There  arc  live  imperial  letters,  four  synodical  letters,  seven  episcopal  letters,  one  presbyterial  letter,  making 
seventeen  in  all.  This  is  not  nearly  so  large  a  number  as  is  given  by  Socrates,  but  we  must  remember  the  expressed 
purpose  of  Sozomen,  that,  as  a  rule,  he  would  give  abstracts  only,  and  text  when  in  his  judgment  fairness  made 
it  necessary.  Of  these  documents,  there  are  at  least  three  found  in  no  earlier  author.  In  them  all,  there  is  only 
one  symbol  transcribed,  and  that  is  from  Arius  and  Euzoius ! 


(3)  Documentary  acts  of  Synods  which  are  mentioned  by  name. 

Acts  of  the  Synod  of  Tyre  (ii.  25). 

Acts  of  the  Synod  of  Seleucia,  taken  down  by  tachygraphists  (iv.  22). 

(f)  Acts  of  those  Synods  only,  of  which  an  abstract  is  recorded. 


Alexandria i-  I5- 

Bithynia i.  15. 

Palestine   i-  I5- 

Egyptian i.  16. 

Nicaea i.  1 7-23. 

Antioch ii.  19. 

Tyre ii.  25. 

Jerusalem ii.  27. 

Constantinople ii.  29,  33. 

Constantinople iii.  3. 

Antioch iii.  2. 

Antioch iii.  8. 

Philippopolis iii.  1 1 . 

Sardipa iii.  II,  12. 

Jerusalem iii.  21,  22. 

Alexandria iv.  i . 

Sirmium iv.  6. 

Antioch iv.  8. 

Milan iv.  9. 

Antioch iv.  12. 

Ancyra iv.  1 3. 

Ariminum  iv.  16-19,  23. 


Seleucia iv. 

Constantinople iv. 

Alexandria v. 

Macedonian  Council,  s.  1 v. 

Antioch vi. 

Lampsacus vi. 

Nicsea vi. 

Macedonian,  s.  1 vi. 

Sicily vi. 

Tyana vi. 

In  Caria vi. 

Rome vi. 

Pazucomen   vi. 

Rome vi. 

Antioch  (Caria) vii. 

Constantinople vii. 

Sangurum vii. 

Constantinople viii. 

Cyprus viii. 

Of  the  Oak  at  Chalcedon viii. 

Constantinople viii. 

Constantinople viii. 


22,  23. 
24,  25. 
12. 
14. 
4- 

7- 

8. 

10,  II. 

12. 

12. 

12. 

23- 

24. 

25. 
2. 

7-9- 
18. 
2. 
14. 

•17. 
19. 
20. 


(d)   Letters  of  which  an  abstract  is  given,  or  the 

Constantine's  Letter  to  Alexander  and  Arius i. 

Imperial  Letters  about  the  Nicene  Council i.  21, 

Constantine  to  Sapor ii. 

Constantine  to  the  people  of  Alexandria ii. 

Constantine  to  Athanasius ii. 

Synod  of  Tyre  to  the  bishops ii. 

Antony's  letters  to  the  Emperor ii. 

Constantine's  letter  to  the  Alexandrians ii. 

Eusebius  to  Julius iii. 

Julius,  bishop    of   Rome,  to   the    bishops    of  the 

East iii.  8. 

Synod  of  Antioch  to  Julius iii.  8. 

Constantius  to  Philip,  prefect  of  Constantinople  .  .  iii.  9. 

Bishops  of  Eg}'pt  in  favor  of  Athanasius iii.  10. 

Julius  to  the  bishops  of  Antioch iii.  lO. 

Constans  to  Constantius iii.  10. 

Constans  to  Constantius iii.  il. 

Athanasius  to  Constans iii.  1 1 . 


general  object  is  stated. 


16. 

25- 

15- 

22. 

23- 
25- 
31- 
31- 

7- 


Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople iii.  Ii. 

The   bishops  of   Philippopolis  to   the   bishops  of 

the  West 

Constans  to  Constantius 

Constantius  to  Athanasius , 

Constantius  to  the  Alexandrians , 

Julius  to  clergy  and  people  of  Alexandria 

Constantius  to  the  bishops,  presbyters,  and  to  the 

people  of  the  church  of  Alexandria 

Cyril  of  Jerusalem  to  Constantius 

Constantius  to  Athanasius iv.  9, 

Constantius  to  Basil  of  Ancyra iv.  16, 

Basil  of  Ancyra  to  Constantius iv.  16 

Constantius  to  Basil iv.  16 

Basil  to  all  the  bishops iv.  16 

Athanasius  to  a  friend iv.  17 

Constantius  to  the  Synod  of  Ariminum iv.  19 

Reply  of  the  bishops iv.  19 


in. 

II. 

iii. 

20 

iii. 

20 

iii. 

20 

iii. 

20 

iii. 

21. 

iv. 

5- 

220 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


Julian  to  the  Alexandrians v.  7. 

Titus  of  Bostra  to  Julian v.  15. 

Julian  to  Jewish  patriarchs,  leaders,  and  people. .  .v.  22. 

Reply  of  the  Jews v.  2i. 

Julius  to  Arsacius,  king  of  Armenia vi.  i. 

Jovian  to  the  governors  of  the  provinces vi.  3. 

Basil  of  Ancyra,   Silvanus  of  Tarsus,  Sophronius 

of  Pompeiopolis  et  al.,  to  Jovian vi.  4. 

Liberius  and  the  Western  bishop  to  the  East vi.  12. 

Memorial  of  grievances  presented  by  eighty  eccle- 
siastics to  Valens vi.  13. 


II. 


II. 


Damasus  in  behalf  of  Peter  of  Alexandria vi.  39 

Synodical  epistles  of   Rome  to   Paulinus,  bishop 
of  Antioch vii 

The   Western  bishops  and   Gratian  to  the  East- 
ern bishops vii 

Irenic  letters  to   the  adherents   of  Flavian   from 

I  the  priests  of  Egypt  and  the  West viii.  3. 

1  Theophilus  of  Alexandria,  paschal  letter viii.  1 1 

'  Theophilus  of  Alexandria  to  Epiphanius viii.  14 

Epiphanius  to  the  bishops  and  the  bishop  of  Con- 
I  stantinople  against  Origenism viii.  14 


(2)   Authors 

(a)  Authors  from  whose  works  a  textual  quotation  appears. 
Apolinarius,  the  Syrian,  on  the  succession  of 

Athanasius ii.  17,  new, 

Extract  from  Athanasius'  Epistola  ad  Episco- 

pos  ^gypti  et  Libya ii-  30. 


Extract  from  Libanius,  the  Sophist;   ?'«  oraiione 

ftatebri  dc  laudibus  Juliani vi.  I. 

Gregory  Nazianzen  to  Nectarius,  on  Apolinarius; 

Ep.  ccii vi.  27, 

The  first  extract  alone  is  known  through  no  other  source. 


(3)  Authors  and  works  directly  referred  to  as  used. 

The  Sibyl i.  i,  ii.  i. 

Josephus i.  I . 

Clemens  (Romanus) i.  i. 

Hegesippus i.  i . 

Julius  Africanus i.  i. 

Eusebius  Pamphili,  Historia  Ecdesiastica .  .  .i.  I. 

Vita  Conslantini i.  3,  extract. 

Philo  (Pythagorean)   i.  12. 

Biographies  of  Monks i.  14. 


Eusebius'  Oration i.  19. 

Address  of  Constantine i.  19. 

Collection  of  Nicene  Canons ...    i.  22. 

Syrians'  Account  of  the  actions  and  life  of  Bishop 

Milles   ii.  14. 

Persian,  Syrian,  Edessan,  martyrology  of  Persians,  .ii.  14. 

Discourse  of  Eudoxius,  extract  from iv.  26. 

Meletius'  first  discourses  at  Antioch iv.  28. 

Athanasius,  on  his  flight v.  12. 


(c)  Authors  and  their  works  mentioned,  but  not  used. 

Arius,  the  Thalia,  not  read i.  21. 

Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch ii.  19. 

Marcellus  {de  Subjectione  Filii  Dei) ii.  33. 

Asterius,  a  treatise  on  the  defense  of  the   Arian 

doctrine "•  33- 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Csesarea,  works iii.  2. 

Eustathius,  bishop  of  Sebaste,  an  ascetic  treatise, 

also  attributed  to  Basil  the  Great iii.  14. 

Eusebius,  bishop  of  Emesa,  works iii.  14. 

Titus,  bishop  of  Bostra,  works iii.  14. 

Serapion,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  works iii.  14. 

Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Germanicia,  works iii.  14. 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Ctesarea,  works iii.  14. 

Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  works iii.  14. 

Didymus,  works iii.  15. 

Lucifer,  bishop  of  Calaris,  works iii.  15. 

Hilary,  bishop  of  Pictavium,  works iii.  15,  v.  13. 

Aetius,  works iii.  1 5. 

Ephraim  Syrus,  works  and  translations iii.  16. 

Bardasanes,  poems iii.  16. 

Harmonius,   poems iii.  16. 


Photinus,  a  work  before  Constantius,  and  many 

works iv.  6. 

Acacius,  literary  works iv.  23 

Apolinarius,  works,  with  those  against  him.,  .v.  18,  vi.  27 

Julian,  Misopogon v.  19 

Eunomius,  works,  especially  Exercises  for  the  Mind, 

with  those  against  him vi.  27,  vii.  17, 

Evagrius,  works vi.  30 

Themistius,  oration,  outline vi.  36, 

Ulfilas,  translation  of  Bible  into  Gothic vi.  37, 

Sisinnius,  bishop  of  the  Novatians  in  Constantino- 
ple, works viii.  I 

Diodorus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  works viii.  2 

Theodore,  bishop  of  Mopsuestia,  works viii.  2 

Chrysostom,  Ep.  to  Theodore viii.  2, 

on  Eutropius •• viii.  7 

Vices  of  females viii.  16 

Extempore  discourse  after  his  return .  .viii.  18 

About  the  Silver  Statue viii.  20. 

Origen,  works;    especially  the    one    from  which 

Bishop  Theotimus  read viii.  14 

An  unecclesiastic  but  ancient  Hebrew  document... ix.  17. 


(a^)   Hymns  of  which  a  line  or  thought  is  given. 

Refrain  of  the  odes  at  Antioch iii.  20.    To  Dionysos,  by  Epiphanius  the  Sophist vi.  25. 

At  procession  of  Babylas,  Antioch v.  19.    Arian  hymns   viii.  8. 


INTRODUCTION.  221 


Unnientioned  Authorities. 

Sozomen  has  refrained  in  large  measure  from  indicating  directly  his  chief  authorities  for 
political  or  ecclesiastical  affairs  ;  he  has  indicated,  indeed,  some  minor  springs,  as  we  have  seen 
but  the  major  ones  are  passed  by.  He  imitated  neither  Eusebius,  nor  Socrates,  nor  Evagrius  in 
this  omission.  He  does  abound  in  phrases  indicative  of  authorities ;  thus  of  the  forms  of  Ae'yw, 
AeyoL'o-i,  Aeyovrat,  lAeyoi/,  iXeyero  are  used  somewhat  sparingly,  while  Aeyerai  occurs  over  eighty 
times,  and  Aoyos  about  twenty ;  of  ^>?jU.i,  ecfyrjaev  and  <^r//Ay;  occasionally,  while  (ftrjaL  or  (jtaai  intro- 
duces about  thirty  statements  ;  elprjaOio  and  elpyraL  also  appear  in  a  few  cases.  One  has  no 
assurance  of  either  the  method  or  the  validity  of  the  sources  from  such  vague  terms,  and  it  is  this 
uncertain  and  incautious  manner  that  has  so  often  led  critics  to  impeach  his  general  worth,  and 
it  must  be  conceded  with  some  degree  of  justice  ;  the  endless  iteration  of  such  words  savors  of 
gossip  rather  than  history  ;  this  obscurity  is  not  diminished  by  his  persistent  o?/xat  and  less  frequent 

I.  In  the  discussion  of  his  unmentioned  authorities,  the  first  to  be  considered  is  Socrates. 
He  is  nowhere  hinted  at,  unless  under  an  indefinite  "  some  say,"  when  Sozomen  presents  a  group 
of  opinions. 

Socrates  preceded  Sozomen  by  a  few  years,  writing  his  history  not  long  after  439.^  Sozomen 
undoubtedly  produced  his  record  later,  as  we  have  already  seen,  and  it  would  be  just  as  likely 
that  Socrates  should  be  in  the  hands  of  Sozomen  as  that  Phihp  of  Side's  contemporary  Christian 
History  should  have  been  open  to  the  criticism  of  Socrates  ;  indeed,  the  predecessor's  work  was 
quite  probably  an  incentive  to  the  task  proposed  by  Sozomen  to  himself.  The  internal  evidence 
makes  the  use  sure.  We  have  only  to  note  how  Socrates  derived  his  statements  about  the  Nova- 
tians  from  members  connected  with  that  body  of  beUevers  ;  these  very  facts  are  reproduced  by 
Sozomen  as  Socrates  gives  them,  with  the  slightest  of  differences ;  there  is  no  refutadon  of  this 
possible.  Socrates,  therefore,  manifestly  preceded,  and  Sozomen  employed  the  material  thus 
amassed. 

There  are  three  views  of  the  connection:  (i)  that  Sozomen,  excepting  a  few  and  not  very 
valuable  additions  of  his  own,  plagiarized  Socrates;  (2)  that  he  used  the  same  authorities  as 
Socrates  independently,  and  the  points  of  identity  arose  from  the  language  of  the  original  in  the 
hands  of  both ;  (3)  that  Socrates  was  his  guide  to  the  chief  writers  from  whom  he  drew  directly 
with  more  or  less  freedom  ;  and  when  no  other  light  presented  itself  or  was  to  be  found,  he  would 
use  his  path-finder.  There  is  scarcely  a  more  fascinating  and  genuine  field  for  analytical  criticism 
than  this.  It  should  be  remarked  ,at  the  outset  that  we  cannot  justly  apply  this  term  plagiarism, 
in  its  modern  sense,  to  the  use  of  material  current  in  these  earlier  days  of  history.  There  was 
no  more  intention  to  appropriate  the  work  of  another  in  Sozomen,  than  there  was  in  Socrates, 
when  he  fails  to  note  his  authority,  and  yet  very  evidently  has  followed  him  closely ;  or  when 
Theodoret  has  taken  his  stuff  from  Sozomen,  and  says  nothing  about  the  original.  To  assail 
Sozomen  as  if  he  were  a  dehberate  thief,  and  stigmatize  him  as  a  feeble  reviser  of  Socrates,  is 
wholly  unfair  and  unwarranted  by  the  general  usage  of  his  day  and  by  the  facts  of  the  case. 
In  no  way  can  it  be  proved  that  Sozomen  was  a  general  plagiarist  in  the  opprobrium  and  iniquity 
conveyed  by  the  modern  use  of  that  term.  That  Socrates  was  the  finer  mind,  that  he  had  larger 
sympathies,  that  he  was  concerned  to  reproduce  documents  in  an  ampler  degree,  that  he  follows 
the  development  of  the  Church  with  a  sharper  and  brighter  criticism,  no  one  can  doubt ;  he  is 
conspicuously  superior  in  almost  every  quality  of  a  historian,  and  confined  himself  more  nearly  to 
the  modern  idea  of  which  the  science  should  aim  to  do ;  but  that  does  not  set  aside  the  distinct 
and  supplemental  value  of  Sozomen  and  his  fullness  in  fines,  however  zigzag,  which  had  been 
neglected  by  others.  The  acknowledged  precedence  of  Socrates  does  not  warrant  us  in  assailing 
the  fidelity  of  the  lesser  light.     Since  the  notes  are  designed  to  indicate  the  relationship  between 

1  H.  E.  vii.  48. 


222  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 

the  two,  the  passages  need  not  be  anticipated  here.  (2)  The  second  view,  that  Sozomen  made 
an  independent  use  of  the  same  source  which  Holzhausen  revived,  Stiiudhn  supported,  Hefele  and 
Nolte  have  espoused,  seems  less  tenable  than  the  first.  The  Novatian  material  cannot,  under  any 
possible  conditions,  be  so  explained ;  the  arrangement  of  the  details  in  eight  of  the  books  will  not 
permit  any  such  view.  The  very  corrections  of  that  arrangement  require  us  to  be  convinced  that 
Socrates  was  in  the  corrector's  eye ;  the  close  resemblance  of  language  in  many  places  where  he 
might  easily  have  expanded  from  the  originals,  but  preferred  to  confine  himself  to  the  equally 
meagre  tracings  of  his  predecessor,  leave  no  basis  for  this  solution.  (3)  The  third  explanation  of 
the  interrelation  seems  thus  far  the  most  accurate.^  Sozomen  took  Socrates  for  a  guide  in  the  main, 
(a)  as  to  consecution  of  events,  {d)  as  to  sources,  much  as  students  would  use  a  Church  history 
to  base  their  own  studies  upon.  Socrates  was  a  director  to  the  authorities ;  these  Sozomen  would 
use  freely  ;  when  they  failed  him,  he  would  take  the  facts  given  by  Socrates,  precisely  as  he  did 
those  which  Eusebius  or  Sabinus  furnished,  because  he  had  nothing  better,  and  in  spite  probably 
of  his  own  inquiries  ;  for  let  us  remember  how  he  insists  that  he  has  investigated  the  originals,  and 
that  he  had  been  conscientious  in  his  researches.  Now  it  must  be  said  in  further  modification  of 
this  statement : 

(a)  That  some  of  the  sources  obviously  consulted  by  both  were  doubtless  known  to  Sozomen 
without  Socrates  to  point  them  out.  Rufinus  and  Eusebius  and  Sabinus  were  known  to  everybody. 
In  all  such  cases  we  may  concede  an  independent  reading  of  those  authors,  and  yet  the  order  in 
which  the  subject-matter  is  arranged  is  at  times  more  that  of  his  guide-book  than  of  his  original. 

(^)  Moreover,  he  introduces  many  new  outlines  and  abstracts,  particularly  in  the  transactions 
of  the  synods. 

(r)    He  also  has  independent  sources  of  biography. 

{d)  His  ninth  book  is  wholly  unique  and  entirely  out  of  the  leading-strings  of  the  master,  for 
unexplained  reasons. 

The  notes  also  try  to  indicate  in  a  measure  these  more  independent  traits. 

2.  The  next  unmentioned  source  is  Rufinus,  in  his  continuation  of  Eusebius  in  two  books  ;  this 
Sozomen  certainly  read  independently  of  Socrates,  very  likely  in  a  Greek  translation.  That 
author's  Historia  Monachoruni  also  was  sifted  for  a  few  of  the  monastic  biographies ;  in  these 
cases  there  is  a  closer  resemblance  to  Rufinus  than  to  the  parallel  sketches  of  Palladius. 

3.  Eusebius'  Life  of  Constantine  is  a  primary  source  for  Books  i.  and  ii.  In  all  the  events 
pertaining  to  that  emperor,  it  is  drawn  upon  freely,  just  as  freely  as  Socrates  employs  it,  or  as 
Sozomen  handles  Socrates. 

4.  Athanasius  is  also  used  independently,  although  in  collocating  the  events,  Socrates  is 
followed.  There  is  direct  reference  to  one  work  only  (v.  12),  as  we  have  seen.  The  unmentioned 
are  as  follows  :  — 

The  Life  of  St.  Antony  :  Antonii  Vita. 

Epistola  de  Synodis  Arimini  in  Italia  et  Seleucia.  in  Isauria  celebratis. 

Epistola  ad  Serapionem,  de  morte  Arii. 

Synodicon  ;  lost. 

To7nus  ad  Antiochenses. 

Epistola  ad  Episcopos  yEgypti  et  Libyce  ;  ep.  encyclica  cojitra  Arianos. 

Epistola  Encyclica  ad  Episcopos. 

Historia  Arianorum  ad  Monachos. 

Apologia  contra  Arianos. 

Apologia  ad  Constantium  imperatoi-etn. 

Epistola.  heortasticcc. 

5.  Philostorgius :  Historia  Ecclesiastica,  also  furnished  occasional  material,  as  even  the 
excerpts  remaining  to  us  indicate. 

^  Jeep:   Quellenuntersuchungen  zu  den  griechischen  Kiychenhistorikern,  pp.  137-147. 


INTRODUCTION.  223 


6.  Sabinus  :  Collection  of  Synods  (Suvaywyv;  twv  crwoSuyv),  which  is  lost;  this  book  was 
written  in  the  Macedonian  and  Arian  interest ;  the  author  is  mentioned  by  Socrates  and  criticised 
for  his  partiality.  We  can  observe  how  Sozomen  used  it,  where  he  adds  to  the  statements  of  Soc- 
rates, which  the  latter  had  borrowed  from  that  work.  These  additions  are  quite  frequent  in  the 
transactions  of  the  synods ;  and  again  a  few  records  of  councils,  otherwise  unknown,  are  thus  pre- 
served for  us.     We  have  here  a  proof  of  how  Sozomen  improved  on  his  guide  in  the  details. 

7.  Philippus  of  Side  ;  the  Christian  History  (x/a'cmavtKr/  la-Topia)  ;  a  few  fragments  are  pre- 
served ;  Socrates  criticises  him  sev^erely.^ 

8.  For  the  laws,  outside  of  the  records  alluded  to,  he  probably  used  the  Codex  Gregoriatius 
and  the   Codex  Hermogenianus,  his  old  text-books,  and  not  unlikely  the   Codex    Theodosianus 

(438). 

9.  Basil  the  Great :  the. limited  use  is  indicated  by  the  notes. 

10.  Gregory  Nazianzen  :  Orationes  contra  Jnlianum.  Other  occasional  citations  are  indicated 
in  the  notes. 

1 1 .  Sulpicius  Severus  :  vita  S.  Ma7'tihi  was  undoubtedly  the  source,  possibly  through  a  Greek 
translation  of  the  same,  for  the  summary  of  that  saint's  life  in  iii.  14. 

Historia  sacra  :  sometimes  there  is  a  hint  as  if  this  work  had  been  before  him. 

12.  Palladius  :  Historia  Lausica  was  not  so  constant  a  companion  as  some  have  suggested; 
Sozomen  has  rather  borrowed  from  the  sources  out  of  which  the  bishop  of  Helenopolis  gathered 
his  sketches  of  the  monks. 

Dialogus  de  vita  S.  Joannis  Chrysostomi  was  used  in  narrating  the  incidents  of  John's  life 
in  Book  viii.  There  is  no  indication  of  any  large  draught  of  Chrysostom's  own  writings  :  they 
may  have  been  used  for  a  few  suggestions,  contained  in  the  orations  before  mentioned. 

One  does  not  feel  sure  that  Hieronymus  or  Orosius  came  under  his  eye. 

He  does  not  seem  to  have  made  any  direct  use  of  Ammianus  Marcellinus  {^Res  gestee),  nor 
of  the  earlier  Latin  chroniclers.  The  points  of  resemblance  with  Eutropius  {Breviarium  Historic^ 
Roma7i(£)  are  very  doubtful  in  my  judgment ;  Eunapius  (^'.r  historia  excerpta  et  fragmenta') 
seems  to  have  been  used  in  his  full  form;  Zosimus  {Historia),  pretty  surely;  and  for  the 
ninth  book,  hardly  with  a  doubt  the  full  Olympiodorus,  of  whom  fragments  only  remain,  and  yet 
in  that  same  ninth  book  there  are  entirely  independent  political  chapters  whose  source  cannot 
yet  be  determined. 

The  Ninth  Book. 

The  most  curious  feature  of  all  is  Book  ix.,  in  the  entire  change  of  its  method ;  even  were 
the  ecclesiastical  affairs  to  have  been  presented,  he  has  given  here  in  remarkable  excess  the 
events  affecting  the  Western  state ;  he  has  done  it  nowhere  else ;  to  be  sure,  he  proposes  it  as  a 
demonstration  of  the  value  of  imperial  piety,  and  of  the  ever-present  Divine  grace,  but  nowhere 
else  has  he  done  this  in  so  cumulative  a  form.  Some  wonderful  change  came  over  his  purpose, 
whether  that  were  a  fuller  view  of  the  relation  between  state  and  church,  or  the  desire  to  deepen 
the  impression  of  his  philosophy  of  history  ;  or  did  some  imperial  domestic  catastrophe  make  him 
reluctant  to  dwell  upon  the  sad  events  which  darkened  the  court  he  had  so  glorified  ? 

The  grave  question  arises.  Is  anything  of  Book  ix.  lost? 

That  it  is  unfinished  cannot  be  doubted  ;  for  (a)  In  the  Proemium  he  announces  his  purpose 
to  carry  it  to  the  year  a.d.  439,  or  the  seventeenth  consulate  of  Theodosius  ;  but  this  is  not  done 
with  any  of  his  ordinary  fullness,  although  his  hints  reach  beyond,  as  we  have  seen,  (b)  In  laud- 
ing Pulcheria  (ix.  i)  he  remarks,  "That  new  heresies  have  not  prevailed  in  our  time,  we  shall 
find  to  be  due  especially  to  her,  as  we  shall  subsequently  see."  Here  is  the  declared  purpose  of 
delineating  the  history  of  Nestorianism  and  its  overthrow,  but  there  is  no  appearance  of  the  struggle 
in  the  record  itself;  he  altogether  passes  by  Nestorius,  as  bishop  of  Constantinople,      (c)  The 


1  H.  E.  vii. 


27. 


224  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 

record  of  the  forty  martyrs  he  purposely  took  out  of  its  normal  order,  to  illustrate  the  excellence 
of  Pulcheria ;  a  late  event  is  anticipated,  but  the  whole  of  what  would  have  been  its  normal  set- 
ting is  not  there,  (d)  One  would  naturally  expect  that  a  book  which  had  thus  far  treated  mainly 
of  state  difficulties  would  have  the  usual  balance,  at  least,  and  that  ecclesiastical  affairs  would 
have  preponderated  in  the  remaining  chapters ;  but  there  is  only  an  initial  chapter.  Seventeen 
chapters  are  not  his  usual  tale  for  a  book ;  there  is  an  evident  break ;  the  discussion  of  Nestori- 
anism  is  not  written.  Most  of  all  would  one  expect  some  allusion  to  the  restoration  of  Chrysos- 
tom  under  Proclus.  (e)  In  ix.  i6,  he  says,  "Among  other  reUcs,  those  of  Zechariah,  the  very 
ancient  prophet,  and  of  Stephen,  who  was  ordained  deacon  by  the  Apostles,  were  discovered ; 
and  it  seems  incumbent  upon  me  to  describe  the  mode,  since  the  discovery  of  each  was  mar- 
velous and  divine  ;  "  but  he  gives  only  the  invention  of  Zechariah  (c.  17).  The  story  of  Stephen 
fails  us,  and  would  doubtless  have  followed  immediately.  It  was  his  purpose  to  narrate  the  story,  — 
this  story  which  Theophanes  and  Marcellinus  mention  and  Lucianus  wrote  a  book  about,  (f)  In 
c.  ix.  17,  this  is  confirmed  ;  for  he  says,  "  I  shall  first  speak  of  the  relics  of  the  prophet "  ;  to  his 
second  he  does  not  come,  (g)  The  close  is  abrupt ;  one  feels  instinctively  that  something  is 
amiss.     Hence  the  work,  as  we  have  it,  is  obviously  not  complete. 

Did  he  finish  it,  and  is  the  conclusion  lost? 

The  mistake  into  which  Gregory  I.  fell  in  ascribing  to  Sozomen  the  commendation  of  Theodore 
■of  Mopsuestia,  with  which  Theodoret  really  closes  his  history,  led  Baronius  to  maintain  that  we 
did  not  have  the  whole  of  Sozomen ;  and  others  have  asserted  the  same  for  reasons  which  are 
indeed  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  history  is  unfinished,  but  not  that  anything  is  lost.  That 
we  have  all  that  Sozomen  wrote  is  more  likely,  because  the  Tripartite  History  at  x.  24  makes 
the  last  use  of  Sozomen  at  viii.  25  ;  it  would  surely  have  gone  further  in  its  dependence  upon 
him  had  the  later  controversy  been  treated  of,  since  he  had  been  already  a  chief  authority. 
Nicephorus  Callistus,  Historia  Ecdesiastica,  xiv.  8,  gives  the  account  of  the  finding  of  Zechariah 
in  c.  9  ;  the  story  of  Stephen  in  c.  10 ;  then  the  story  of  the  forty  martyrs.  His  source  beyond 
is  Socrates,  until  Evagrius  takes  up  the  thread  of  affairs.  If  Sozomen  had  written  the  more 
recent  events  parallel  with  Socrates,  Nicephorus  would  undoubtedly  have  followed  him  as 
before.  Of  Theophanes,  one  cannot  speak  so  confidently.  Moreover,  we  cannot  help  asking, 
since  we  have  Socrates,  Theodoret,  and  Evagrius  complete,  why  should  Sozomen,  who  was 
so  admired  an  author,  have  suffered  any  loss?  Now,  if  we  have  Sozomen  entire  so  far 
as  he  wrote,  why  did  he  stop  where  he  did?  There  are  no  sufficient  subjective  reasons  to  be 
offered.  It  could  scarcely  have  been  in  any  unfavorable  criticism  of  his  prince,  for  the  work 
seems  to  have  been  accepted  by  his  imperial  patron  ;  and  there  was  certainly  nothing  as  objec- 
tionable in  Sozomen,  as  in  Socrates  or  in  Olympiodorus.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  the  unhappiness 
which  invaded  the  court,  the  domestic  jealousies,  which  rent  its  religious  as  well  as  connubial 
peace,  or  the  quarrels  over  Cyrus  or  Paulinus  or  Chrysaphius,  in  any  way  restrained  him  ;  for  he 
was  beyond  some,  if  not  all  of  these  agitations,  at  the  time  of  his  writing,  and  he  had  deliberately 
chosen  to  ignore  such  noble  personages  as  Anthemius,  Troilus,  Synesius,  Aurelianus,  and  Eudocia, 
so  that  we  can  argue  little  from  his  silence,  save  his  manifest  jealousy  for  Pulcheria,  and  his 
hostility  to  certain  more  liberal  tendencies  developed  under  Eudocia.  The  Nestorian  controversy 
would  have  been  a  choice  field  wherein  to  exalt  the  influence  of  Pulcheria,  as  he  himself  sug- 
gested. On  the  whole,  one  is  constrained  to  beUeve  that  Sozomen  died  before  he  had  completed 
the  record  which  he  had  proposed  to  himself.  He  must  have  been  nearing  his  seventieth  year 
when  thus  suddenly  arrested  in  his  chosen  study. 

The  Major  Uses  made  of  his  Work. 

The  major  uses  of  him  subsequently  were  by  {a)  Epiphanius  Scholasticus,  who  made  a  translation 
into  Latin,  which  Cassiodorus  abbreviated,  polished,  and  incorporated  in  the  Historia  Tripartita} 

'  See  preface  of  that  work. 


INTRODUCTION.  225 


(i>)  The  deacon  Liberatus,  in  his  Historia  Nestorianoruvi,  used  the  Ti'ipartita. 

(r)  Theophanes,  in  his  Chronogi-aphia. 

(d)  Theodorus  Lector  in  his  Historia  Tripartita. 

(1?)  Nicephorus  CalUstus,  in  liis  Historia  Ecclesiastica  incorporating  Theodorus'  Tripartita. 

The  Errors. 

The  errors  are  numerous,  as  already  suggested  by  Possevin,  on  dogmatic  grounds  ;  Du  Pin, 
and  more  recently  by  Harnack,  for  historic  reasons.  They  are  due  to  the  lack  of  a  systematic 
chronology,  and  the  blind  copying  of  his  authority,  especially  Socrates,  and  occasionally  to  his 
attempts  to  correct  the  order  given  by  his  authority. 


PART   III.  —  Bibliography. 

A.    Bibliography   of  Bibliography. 

Gesner:    Bibliotheca  universalis,    s.v.     1545. 

Possevin  :    Apparatus  sacer.     s.v.     1608. 

Du  Pin  :    Nouvelle  bibl.  d.  Auteurs  Eccles.     Tom.  iii.  Pt.  ii.  189-90.     1690. 

Sluter:    Propylseum  Historige  Christianse,  ix.  6,  p.  45.    1696. 

Ittig:    De  bibliothecis  patrum  apostol.     s.v.     1699-1700. 

OLE.A.RIUS :    Bibliotheca  scriptorum  eccles.     Tom.  ii.     s.v.     1711. 

P  ABRICIUS  :     Bibliotheca  Grsc.    Vol.  vi.  Lib.  v.  c.  4.  xxxi.  1 726. 

Cave:    Scriptorum  Eccles.  Hist.  Literaria.     p.  427.     1740. 

Walch:     Bibl.  Theol.     Tom.  iii.  p.  1 14.      1762. 

DeBcre:     Bibliographic  instructive.     Nos.  4393-5.      1768. 

Nodier:     Bibliotheque  sacree  gr.-lat.     s.v.      1826. 

Boose  :    Grundriss  der  Christl.  Liter.,  §  230.     1828. 

Clarke:    Concise  view  of  the  succession  of  Sac.  Lit.     Vol.  ii.  p.  225.     1831. 

Hoffmann,  S.  P".  W. :     Lexicon  Bibhog.     s.v.     1833-38. 

Walch,  J.  G.:    Biblioth.  Patristica,  ii.  §  16.  2.  ed.  Danz.     1834. 

VOSSIUS  (ed.  Westermann)  :    De  Historicis  Grcecis,  ii.  20.      1838. 

Ceillier:     Hist.  Gen.  des  Auteurs  Sacres.     Tom.  viii.  c.  39.     1858  sqq. 

Alzog:     Handb.  d.  Patrologie.     3d  ed.      1876. 

NicOLAi:    Griech.  Literaturgesch.  in  neuer  Bearbeitung.     1874-8. 

Chevalier  :     Repertoire  des  sources  hist.  d.  ^L  A.     s.v.     1877  sqq. 

NiRSCHL:     Lehrbuch  der  Patrologie  u.  Patristik.     Vol.  iii.  c.  4,  235.      188 1  sqq. 

Harnack  :    Herzog  R.  E.,  Vol.  xiv.     s.v.     1884. 

:  Encycl.  Br.,  Vol.  xxii.     s.v.     1887. 


Thuille:     Patristisches  Handbuch.     \\ 

B.     Texts. 

I.  Manuscripts.  —  It  would  indeed  Ije  a  desirable  work  to  have  a  uniform  apparatus  of  the  codices,  not  only 
of  Sozomen,  but  of  all  the  Greek  Church  historians.  Admirable  as  is  Heinchen's  survey  of  Eusebian  MSS.,  it  is 
neither  uniform  nor  complete.  No  editor  of  Sozomen  from  .Stephen  down,  has  deemed  it  necessary  to  work  up  the 
detail  even  as  well  as  Heinchen.  Nolte  evidently  had  the  material  in  hand,  but  the  labor  remains  to  be  done. 
The  numbers  and  positions  of  many  codices  have  been  changed  since  the  days  of  Valesius,  Montfaucon,  and  Hsene- 
lius,  and  it  is  impossible  to  bring  harmony  out  of  the  differences  without  direct  inspection.  It  would  seem  as  if  no 
one  had  consulted  some  of  those  mentioned  by  Montfaucon;  e.g.  in  the  Inventarium  MSS.  monasterii  S.  Petri  Carnu- 
tensis,  the  title  is  given  without  number;  Socratis,  Sozomenis  et  Theodoreti  historia  Ecclesiastica,  vol.  in  fol.  notat 
P.  sseculo  ix.  (ii.  1 246) ;  and  the  two  described  by  Hsenelius  (a)  Socratis,  Sozomenis  historia  ecclesiastica  memb. 
fol.  exemp.  vetus,  at  Chartres  (Fasc.  i.  col.  130).  (P)  iv.  2,  Hermige  Sozomeni  Salaminis,  historicas  ecclesiasti- 
cae  lib.  ix.  (Fasc.  iii.  c.  93)  in  the  Escorial. 

II.  Editions  of  Text.  —  i.  The  first  printed  text  without  translation  was  by  Robert  Stephen  :  Eusebii  Pamphili, 
Ecclesiastics  historic,  libri  x.;  ejusdem  de  vita  Constantini,  libriv.;  Socratis,  libri  vii.;  Theodoreti  episc.  Cyrenensis, 
Ubriv. ;  CoUectaneorum  ex  historia  ecclesiastica  Theodori  lectoris,  libri  ii.;  Hermiae  Sozomeni,  libri  ix.;  Evagrii, 
libri  vi.;   Graece  Excud.  Rob.  Steph.  Lutetia;  Parisior.  (pridie  Cal.  Jul.)  1544.     Fol. 


226  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

The  sole  manuscript  at  the  basis  of  this  edition  is  the  Codex  Regius  bibliothecse  Parisiensis,  n.  1437  (^«"olte,  1444) 
Possevin  (App.  crit.)  says:  A  Grseca  vero  editio  proviget  ann.  1545,  but  this  seems  a  mistake. 

2.  The  next  edition  of  the  text  was  accompanied  with  a  Latin  translation;  Graece  et  Latine  ex  interpretations 
J.  Christophorsoni  et  recognitione  Suffredi  Petri  una  cum  varii.s  lectionibus,  J.  Christophorsoni,  Jos.  Scaligeri,  Jac. 
Cuiaci,  Jan.  Gruteri,  Jac.  Bongarsii,  Col.  All.  (Geneva)  1012.  2  vols,  in  fol.  This  was  the  text  of  Stephen  with 
marginal  notes  of  the  above  [see  Hussey,  Nolte].     The  sources  of  the  notes  are  not  sure. 

3.  Reprint  of  Geneva  edition  :  Bibliotheca  magna  veterum  patrum  et  antiq.  Scriptorum  eccles.  primo  a  Margarine 
de  la  Bigne  coUecta.  Tom.  v.  has  Soc.  and  Soz.  with  the  Latin  of  Christophorson  and  SufT.  Petrus.  Colon. 
1618-22. 

4.  The  edition  of  Valesius,  1659-1668,  with  a  new  translation  by  himself.  Socratis  Scholastic!  et  Hermise- 
Sozomeni  historia  ecclesiastica.  Henricus  Valesius  grsecum  textum  collatis  MSS.  Codicibus  emendavit,  Latine 
vertit,  et  annotationibus  illustravit.  Adjecta  est  ad  calcem  disputatio  Archelai  Episcopi  adversus  Manichseum.  Pari- 
siis,  1668.  Fol.  In  this  edition  there  are  the  preface  to  the  reader,  explaining  his  sources;  an  essay  on  the  life  and 
writings  of  the  historians;  and  the  text  is  followed  by  annotations.  This  edition  is  conspicuous  for  the  number  of 
codices,  more  or  less  accurately  collated.  The  Codex  Fuketanus  is  his  chief  reliance;  the  previous  annotations 
were  used;  he  claims  to  have  made  no  alteration  without  warrant. 

5.  Bibliotheca  Maxima  Veterum  Patrum  M.  de  la  Bigne,  Lugd.  1677.  In  vol.  vii.  of  this  series;  this  repro- 
duces the  Genevan  edition. 

6.  A  reprint  of  Valesius.  Eusebii  Pamph.  Ep.  Caesar,  et  Theodoreti,  Evagrii,  .Socratis  et  Sozomeni  Historia 
Ecclesiastica.     Gr.  Lat.  cum  notis  Valesii.     3  Tomi.     Paris,  1678.     Fol. 

7.  A  reprint  of  Valesius.     Socratis  et  Sozomeni  historia  ecclesiastica.     Gr.  et  Lat.     Paris,  1686.     Fol. 

8.  A  reprint  of  Valesius.  Historia;  Ecclesiasticse  Eus.  Pamph.,  Soc,  Soz.,  Theodore  ti,  et  Evag.  cum  excerptis 
ex  historia  Philost.  et  Theod.  Lee.     Grsec.  et  Lat.  c.  Annot.  H.  Valesii.     3  Tomi.     Moguntias,  1677-79.    Fol. 

9.  Another  reprint  of  Valesius,  but  from  the  Mayence  edition:  Historic  Ecclesiasticse  Eus.,  Soc,  etc. 
Gr?ec.-Lat.     3  Tomi.     Amst.  1695.     Fol. 

10.  Historise  ecclesiasticse  Scriptores  Grseci  cum  excerptis  ex  historia  Philostorgi  et  Theodori  Lect.  Gr.  et 
Lat.  c  interpret.  H.  Valesii.     Amst.  1699.     Fol.     (Georgi.) 

11.  A  separate  edition  of  Socrates  and  Sozomen,  with  the  usual  Valesian  apparatus,  and  the  debate  of  Bishop 
Archelaus  against  the  Manichaeans :  Socratis  Scholastic!  et  Hermis  Sozomeni  historia  ecclesiastica  graece  et 
latine.  Henricus  Valesius  Gra^cum  textum  collatis  MSS.  codicibus  emendavit,  Latine  vertit,  et  Annotationibus 
illustravit.  Adjecta  est  ad  calcem  disputatio  Archelai  Episcopi  adversus  Manichaeum.  Ad  novissimam  editionem 
Parisiensem  castigatissime  recusa  prostat  Amstelodami  apud  Henricum  Wetstenium.      1700. 

12.  Valesian  text  as  basis  and  apparatus,  with  new  emendations.     General  title: 

Eusebii  Pamphili,  Socratis  Scholastici,  Hermit  Sozomeni,  Theodoreti  et  Evagrii,  Item  Philostorgii  et  Theo- 
dori Lectoris  quae  extant  historic  ecclesiastics  graece  et  latine,  in  tres  tomos  distributae.  Henricus  Valesius 
graecum  textum  ex  MSS.  codicibus  emendavit,  latine  vertit  et  Annotationibus  illustravit. 

Gulielmus  Reading  novas  Elucidationes,  prKsertim  Chronologicas,  in  hac  Editione  adjecit.     Cantabrigias,  1720. 

Special  title :  Socratis  Scholastici  et  Hermiae  Sozomeni  historia  ecclesiastica  grsce  et  latine.  Henricus 
Valesius  graecum  textum  collatis  MSS.  codicibus  emendavit,  latine  vertit  et  Adnotationibus  illustravit.  Adjecta 
est  ad  calcem  disputatio  .Archelai  Episcopi  adversus  Manichaeum.  Hanc  Editionem  Criticis  plurium  Erudito- 
rum  Observationibus  locupletavit  Gulielmus  Reading.     Cantabrigiae,  1720. 

He  restores  readings  of  Stephen  for  some  changes  made  by  Valesius;  uses  Valesius'  own  manuscript  annota- 
tions, suggestions  of  Lowth,  Casaubon's  variae  lectiones  from  the  codex  Jonesianus,  and  the  codex  Jonesianus  itself- 
But  there  is  no  general  collation. 

13.  Reprint  of  the  Reading  edition.     3  vols.     Augustae  Taurinorum  (Turn). 

14.  Valesian  text  as  basis;    partially  new  apparatus  and  emendations. 

Sozomeni  ecclesiastica  historia  edidit  Robertus  Hussey,  S.  T.  B.  Oxonii :  e  typographeo  academico,  i860. 
Three  volumes,  two  of  text,  and  the  third  of  annotations.     The  Latin  version  is  by  Valesius. 

Hussey  died  before  completing  his  work;  the  apparatus  was  prepared  by  John  Barrow.  Besides  other  not 
far-reaching  collations,  Hussey  used  a  codex  in  the  Bodleian,  called  the  codex  Barrocianus  (B.),  and  a  partial 
collation  of  codex  Severniensis,  which  is  of  inferior  value. 

15.  Reproduction  of  Reading-Valesius : 
Patrologiae  Cursus  Completus. 

Socratis  Scholastici,  Hermiae  Sozomeni  Historia  Ecclesiastica.  Henricus  Valesius  grscum  textum  collatis 
MSS.  codicibus  emendavit,  latine  vertit  notis  illustravit;  cujus  editionem  criticis  observationibus  locupletavit 
Gul.  Reading.     Accurante  et  denuo  recognoscente.     J.  P.  Migne.     Paris.      1864. 

16.  The  English  catalogue  announced  in  .Vugust,  1874:  Sozomeni  Historia  Ecclesiastica,  edited  by  Robert 
Hussey,  vol.  i.,  8°,  Macmillan;   but  it  did  not  appear. 


INTRODUCTION.  227 


C.      Textual   Criticism. 

We  have  here  (i)  the  apparatus  mentioned  in  the  greater  ecHtions;  (2)  the  marginal  notes  and  papers  of 
various  readings  by  Bishop  Christophorson,  ScaHger,  Casaubon,  Curicius,  Gurterius,  etc.  (3)  The  soHtary  work, 
of  Dr.  Nolte,  who,  in  i860,  wrote  a  recension  of  Ilussey's  edition  of  Sozomen.  Theolog.  Q.  Schrift.  1861.  iii. 
417-451;  as  he  had  done  for  Socrates,  and  did  later  for  Evagrius.  He  dwells  especially  on  the  valuable  readings 
which  could  be  derived  from  the  translation  of  Epiphanius  Scholasticus  and  from  Nicephorus  Callistus. 

This  shows  the  urgency  of  collation  de  novo,  and  a  new  edition  of  the  text. 

D.     Analytical  Criticism. 

Besides  the  meagre  apparatus  of  the  editions,  the  following  works  assist  in  the  study,  although  some  are  not 
directly  related. 

Holzhausen,  F.  A.  Commentatio  de  fontibus  quibus  Socrates,  Sozomenus  ac  Theodoretus  in  scribenda  his- 
toria  sacra  usi  sunt,  adiuncta  eorum  epicrisi,  scripta  a  Friderico  Augusto  Holzhausen.     Gottingae,  1825. 

Rosenstein,  J.,  in  Forschung  z.  deutsch.  Gesch.      1862,  i.,  166. 

Matin:    de  fontibus  Zosimi.  Dissert.     Berlin,  1865. 

Sudhans:   de  Ratione  qure  intercedat  inter  Zosim.  et  Amm.  cet.  relationes.  Dissert.     Bonn,  1870. 

Holden-Egger,  Untersuchungen  liber  einige  annalist.  Quellen  z.  Gesch.  des  v.  u.  vi.  Jahrh.  Neu.  Archiv.  d. 
Gesch.  f.  alt.  deutsch.  Gesch.      1876,  i.  i. 

Giildenpenning,  A.,     Die  Quellen  zur  Geschichte  des  Kaisers  Theod.  d.  Gr.  Dissert.     Halle,  1878. 

Giildenpenning,  A.,  and  Ifland,  J. :  Der  Kaiser  Theodosius  der  Grosse.  Halle,  1878.  Cf.  Flarnack  in  T.  L.  Z. 
1879,  18. 

Jeep,  Ludwig.     Qusestiones  Fridericianse,  Dissert.     1881. 

Sarrazin,  J.  V.     De  Theodoro  Lectore  Theophanis  fonte  prsecipuo.     Dissertatio  inauguralis.     Lips.  1881. 

Jeep.  L. :  Quellenuntersuchungen  zu  den  Griechischen  Kirchenhistorikern.  Bes.  .\bdruck  aus  dem  vierzehnten 
.Supplementbande  der  Jahrbiicher  fiir  classische  Philologie.      Leipzig,  1884. 

Giildenpenning,  A. :  Die  Kirchengeschichte  des  Theodoret  von  Kyrrhos,  eine  Untersuchung  ihrer  Quellen. 
Halle,  1889. 

The  above  show  the  sources  and  their  interrelation. 

E .      T7-a  nsla  tions. 

I.  Latin. —  i.  Epiphanius  Scholasticus.  At  the  suggestion  of  Cassiodorus  he  translated  Theodoret,  .Socrates, 
and  Sozomen.  This  version,  Cassiodorus  polished  and  selected  from,  for  his  Historia  Ecclesiastica  Tripartita.  (See 
Preface  to  that  work.)     This  was  frequently  printed.     The  first  edition,  Paris,  s.  a.;   Basle,  1523,  and  after. 

2.  Eusebii.  Pamph.  Historia  Ecclesiastica  c.  Sozomeno  et  .Socrate.      Basle,  1544.    Fol. 
This  was  in  the  Stephen  text.     Possevin  has  severe  criticism  for  Musculus  (App.  crit.). 

3.  The  same :  cum  Eus.,  Soz.,  Theod.  Lect.,  Evag.,  et  Dorothei  Tyri  vitis  Prophetarum  et  Apostolorimi  ex 
ejusdem  Musculi  interpretatione  et  Theodoreti  IL  E.  ex  versione  Joach.  Camerarii.     Basle,  1549.     Pol. 

4.  The  same  in  Basle,  1557.     Fol. 

5.  Ecclesiastics   Scriptores  Graeci   c.   Interpretatione   lat.     Jo.  Christophorsoni,  recogniti   a   Suffrido    Petro. 
Col.  Agr.  1562.     Fol. 

Six  books  of  Soz.  were  by  J.  C. ;   the  remaining  three  by  S.  P. 

6.  A  reprint  of  (5).     Louv.  1569.     8vo. 

7.  The  same  with  all  the  translators.     Jo.  Jacobi  Grynaji  recognitione  atque  cum  ejus  notis.     Basle,  1570. 
Fol. 

8.  The  reprint  of  (5),  according  to  Possevin:   apud  hzereclis  Arnoldi  Birckmanni.     Basle,  1570.     Fol. 

9.  The  reprint  of  (5),  at  Paris,  1571.     Fol. 
10.    A  reprint  of  (7).     Basle,  1572.     Fol. 

II.  The  reprint  of  (5),  Veteres  Scriptores  Historise  Ecclesiastica;  Graeci.     Col.  ,\gr.  15S1.     Fol. 

12.  A  reprint  of  (7).     Basle,  1587.     Fol. 

13.  Reprint  of  (3).     Basle,  1594.     Fol. 

14.  A  new  version  from  new  collations  and  improvements  by  Grynseus: 

Eusebii  Pamphili,  Ruffini,  Socratis,  Theodoriti,  Sozomeni,  Theodori,  Evagrii,  et  Dorothei  Ecclesiastica  Historia, 
sex  prope  secvlorvm  res  gestas  complectens :  Latine  iam  olim  a  doctissimis  viris  partim  scripta,  partim  e  Grseco  a 
clarissimis  viris,  Vuolfgango  Musculo,  Joachimo  Camerario,  et  Johanne  Christophersono  Britanno,  eleganter 
conversa :  et  nunc  ex  fide  Grjecorum  codicum  sit  ut  novum  opus  videri  possit,  per  Joan.  Jacobum  Grynseum  locis 
obscuris  innameris  illustrata,  dubijs  explicata,  mutilis  restituta :    Chronographia  insuper  Abrahami  Bucholceri,  ad 


228  THE    I£CCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

Annum  EpochjE  Christianae  1598,  et  lectionis  sacras  historiiK  luculenta  Methodo  exornata.     Cum  continuatione  in 
prsesentem  annum  1611.     Et  Indicibus  rerum  verborumq' :   lucupletiis.     Basilese,  1 6 1 1 .     Fol. 
The  sources  for  the  new  readings  are  not  given. 

15.  Ecclesiasticae  Historise  Scriptores.     Laline  tantum.     Basle,  1612.     Fol       (Georgi.) 

16.  A  reprint  of  (11).     Coll.  All.  1 61 2.     Fol. 

17.  Ecclesiasticae  historiae  Eusebii.  Soc,  Soz.,  Theodoret,  Evag.,  Latine  tantum  ex  Valesii  versione.  'Paris, 
1677.     Fol. 

II.  German. —  i.  Eusebii  Pamphili,  Sozomeni,  Socratis  und  Theodorets  Kirchen  Historic  durch  Hestionem 
(Caspar  Hedio).     Strassb.  1545.     P"ol. 

This  was  on  the  basis  of  the  H.  E.  Tripartita. 
2.    A  reprint  of  (i).     Basle,  1607.     Fol. 

III.  French. —  i.    General  title  :    Histoire  de  I'Eglise.      1675. 

Special  title  for  Vol.  iii. :  Histoire  de  I'eglise,  ecrite  par  Sozomene.  Traduite  par  Monsieur  Cousin,  President 
en  la  cour  des  Monnoyes.     Tome  iii.     a  Paris,  1676.     4°. 

2.  Reprint  of  (i).     Amst.  1686.     6  vols,  in  12°. 

3.  There  was  a  French  version  of  the  Tripartite  by  Ludovicus  Cyaneus.     Paris,  1568.     Fol. 

4.  Possevin  (App.  Crit.  s.  Soc.)  ascribes  a  translation  of  Socrates  (including  Soz.  ?)  into  French  in  his  day  to 
Jacobus  Billius  Prunssus. 

IV.  English.  —  i.  An  Abridgement  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Eusebius,  Socrates,  Sozomen,  and  Theo- 
doret, translated  into  English  by  Samuel  Parker.     2  vols.     London,  1707.     8°. 

2.  A  reprint  of  (l).     London,  1709.     Fol.(?) 

3.  A  third  edition:  The  Ecclesiastical  Histories  of  Eusebius,  Socrates,  Sozomen,  and  Theodorit  Faithfully 
Translated  and  Abridg'd  from  the  Originals.  Together  with  A  brief  Account  of  the  Lives  of  these  Historians,  and 
several  Useful  Notes  and  Illustrations,  and  a  copious  Index.     By  Mr.  Parker. 

The  Third  edition,  carefully  Review'd  by  the  Author,  and  very  much  Corrected,  Improv'd  and  Enlarg'd.  To 
which  is  now  added,  by  a  Friend,  an  Abridgment  of  the  History  of  Evagrius  Scholasticus.  The  Whole  chiefly 
design'd  for  the  Use  of  Young  Students  in  Divinity,  and  Families  E[eligiously  disposed.     London,  1 729.     4°. 

4.  A  History  of  the  Church  in  nine  l)ooks  from  a.d.  324  to  A.D.  440 :  a  new  translation  from  the  Greek,  with 
a  memoir  of  the  author.     London,  1846.     8°. 

This  is  in  the  Bagster  series  of  the  Greek  Ecclesiastical  Historians  of  the  first  six  centuries.      1843-46. 

5.  A  reprint  of  (4),  Bohn's  Ecclesiastical  Library. 

History  of  the  Church  by  Sozomen  and  Philostorgius.  The  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Sozomen,  comprising 
a  History  of  the  Church,  from  a.d.  324  to  .v.D.  440.     Translated  from  the  Greek,  with  a  memoir  of  the  author. 

Also  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Philostorgius,  as  epitomi/ed  by  Photius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  Trans- 
lated by  Edward  Walford,  Late  Scholar  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford.     London,  1855.     8°. 

6.  A  reprint  of  (4).     London,  1868.     8°. 

F.    Historiography. 

The  usual  Introductions  to  Church  Histories:  on  the  History  of  Church  History;  particularly  Schrockh,  i.  148- 
9,  vii.  188-90. 

Stauulin  C.  F.  (Hemsen).     Geschichte  und  Literatur  der  Kirchengeschichte.     Hannover,  1827. 

Baur,  J.  Ch. :   Die  Epochen  der  kirchlichen  Geschichtschreibung.     Tiib.  1832. 

DOWLING,  J.  G. :   An  introduction  to  the  critical  study  of  Ecclesiastical  History.     London,  1838. 

Ten  Haak,  B.  :   de  Historiographie  der  Kerkgeschiedenis.     Utrecht,  1870. 

NiRSCHL,  Jos. :  Propadeutik  d.  Kirchengeschichte.     Mainz,  1888. 

Ceii.i.iek  and  Hakn.vck  as  before. 

This  is  also  a  field  that  needs  scholars. 

G.    Liierature. 

[This  does  not  pretend  to  be  exhaustive.] 
I.     BlOCkAPHICAI.. 

Photius  :  Myrobiblion :  codex  30,  a  few  lines  of  biography  and  authorship. 

SiGEBERT  OF  Gembloux  :   de  scriptoribus  ecclesiasticis  (ed.  Fabricius),  c.  II. 

Trithemius:   de  Ecclesiasticis  scriptoribus  (ed.  P^abricius),  cx.xxvi. 

Hoffmann,  Jo.  Jac.  :  Lexicon  Universale  historiam  sacram  et  profanam,  etc.     Tom.  iv.  s.v. 

MoRERl :  le  Grand  Dictionnaire  Historique.     Tom.  vi.  s.v. 

Zedler  :  Universal  Lexicon.     Tom.  xxxviii.  s.v. 


INTRODUCTION.  229 


Wetzek  u.  Welte:   Lexicon.     Art.  Kirchengeschichte.     vi.- 
Smith:  Diet.  G.  R.  Biog.  and  Myth.  (Art.  by  J.  C.  Means).     Vol.  iii. 
MiCHAUD  :   Biographic  Universelle.     Tom.  xxxix.  s.v. 
DiDOT  FRfeRES :  Nouvelle  Biographic  General.     Tom.  xliv.  s.v. 
Glaire,  J-B.  :   Diet.  univ.  des  Sciences  Ecclesiasti(|ues,  s.v. 
LiCHTENBEKGER  :   Encyclopedic  des  Sciences  Religicuses.     Tom.  xi.  s.v. 
Smith  :  Art.  Vol.  iv.  Diet.  Christ.  Biog.     Art.  by  William  Milligan. 

2.   Historical. 

(a)  Theodorus  Lector  was  the  first  to  have  used  Sozomen  for  a  Tripartite  history,  and  doubtless  alluded  to 
him  (cf.  Nic.  Call.  H.  E.  i.  i). 

EvAGRics  Scholasticus  :   H.  E.  i.  Preface. 

EpiPHANirs  ScHOLASTicis  and  Cassiodorus  in  the  preface  to  H.  E.  Tripartita. 

Gregory  the  Great  mentions  him  by  mistake  for  Theodoret,  in  Book  vii.  of  his  letters;   Ep.  34. 

NicEPHORUS  Callistus:   H.  E.  i.  i. 

Baronius:  An.  Eccl.     Vols,  iii.-v.,  ed.  1707. 

Bellarmin-Labbe  :   Dissertationes  philologicje  de  Scriptoribus  ecclesiasticis.     Vol.  ii.  371,  372. 

Pagi  :  Critica  hist.  Chronol.  in  An.  Eccles.  Baronii  Ssec.     iv.  76-292. 

Tillemont:   Histoire  des  Emper.  Rom.     vi.  123-7;   613-4. 

DuCange:  Historia  Byzantina.     Paris,  1680. 

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INTRODUCTION.  231 


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PART   IV.  —  Conclusion. 

The  original  translation,  with  its  many  excellences,  seems  to  belong  to  an  earlier  school.  It 
is  free  both  in  enlargement  and  in  compression ;  words  at  times,  and  occasionally  clauses,  are 
inverted.  The  editor  felt  the  difficulty  of  recasting  such  a  flowing  style  ;  yet,  in  spite  of  the 
resulting  infelicity,  he  felt  constrained  to  make  every  possible  correction,  and  these  have  been 
very  numerous  and  extended  in  caption  and  text. 

Sozomen  uniformly  describes  the  ancient  heathen  cult,  of  whatever  form  it  might  be,  as 
Hellenism,  and  its  followers,  Hellenists.  It  seemed  advisable  to  retain  the  rendering  "paganism," 
which  the  first  translator  used  toward  the  middle  and  the  end  of  his  work,  although  he  had  not 
been  uniform  in  the  beginning ;  any  other  translation  would  cause  a  constant  confusion  between 
nationality  and  religion. 

In  order  to  give  a  better  impression  of  the  author  and  text,  the  spelling  of  the  proper  names 
indicated  by  the  text  has  been  adhered  to ;  the  orthography  "  Novatus  "  is  not  a  real  exception. 
Where  the  spelling  of  a  proper  name  in  the  caption  differs  from  that  of  the  text,  the  difference  of 
origin  between  the  two  must  be  borne  in  mind.  To  the  Pseudo-Nicephorus  are  due  the  headings  ; 
these  variations  have  been  preser\'-ed  purposely. 

The  notes  have  been  for  the  greater  part  limited  to  the  sources,  previous  or  contemporary. 
It  has  not  been  deemed  necessary  to  load  the  text  with  references  to  the  literature,  ancient  or 


232  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 

modern,  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  Bibliography.  It  is  just  for  the  editor  to  say,  that  while  the 
literature  is  not  unfamiliar  to  him,  he  does  not  beheve  in  the  modern  German  method  of  annota- 
tion and  allusion  to  every  book  under  the  sun,  to  the  grave  impediment  of  individual  study. 
Similarly,  the  dictionaries  show  the  biography  and  archaeology  in  a  better  form  than  can  be 
compressed  into  a  note.  Nor  did  the  editor  think  it  best  to  introduce  into  the  translation 
any  technical  discussion  as  to  the  errors  of  Sozomen. 


PREFATORY   REMARKS,    BY   VALESIUS, 


CONCERNING   THE 


LIFE   AND   WRITINGS    OF    SOZOMEN. 


»oJ<Ko« 

Hermias  Sozomen  practiced  the  law  at  Constantinople,  at  the  same  time  with  Socrates.  His  ancestors  were 
not  mean;  they  were  originally  natives  of  Palestine,  being  inhabitants  of  a  village  near  Gaza,  called  Bethelia, 
This  village  was  very  populous  in  times  past,  and  had  most  stately  and  ancient  churches.  But  the  most  glorious 
structure  of  them  all  was  the  Pantheon,  situated  on  an  artificial  hill,  which  was  the  tower  as  it  were  of  Bethelia, 
as  Sozomen  relates  in  chap.  xv.  of  his  fifth  book.  The  grandfather  of  Hermias  Sozomen  was  born  in  that  village, 
and  first  converted  to  the  Christian  faith  by  Hilarion  the  monk.  For  when  Alaphion,  an  inhabitant  of  the  same 
village,  was  possessed  with  a  devil,  and  the  Jews  and  physicians,  attempting  to  cure  him,  could  do  him  no  good  by 
their  enchantments,  Hilarion,  by  a  bare  invocation  of  the  name  of  God,  cast  out  the  devil.  Sozomen's  grand- 
father, and  Alaphion  himself,  amazed  at  this  miracle,  with  their  whole  families  embraced  the  Christian  religion. 
The  grandfather  of  Sozomen  was  eminent  for  his  expositions  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  being  a  person  endowed 
with  a  polite  wit,  and  an  acuteness  of  understanding ;  and  besides,  he  was  well  skilled  in  literature.  Therefore  he 
was  highly  esteemed  by  the  Christians  inhabiting  Gaza,  Ascalon,  and  the  places  adjacent,  as  being  useful  and 
necessary  for  the  propagating  of  religion,  and  could  easily  unloose  the  knots  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  But  Ala- 
phion's  descendants  excelled  others  in  their  sanctity  of  life,  in  kindness  to  the  indigent,  and  in  other  virtues;  and 
they  were  the  first  that  built  churches  and  monasteries  there,  as  Sozomen  says  in  the  passage  above  cited,  where  he 
also  adds,  that  some  holy  persons  of  Alaphion's  family  were  surviving  even  in  his  own  days,  with  whom  he  himself 
conversed  when  very  young,  and  concerning  whom  he  promises  to  speak  more  afterwards.  Most  probably  he 
means  Salamanes,  Phusco,  Malchio,  and  Crispio,  brothers,  concerning  whom  he  speaks  in  chap,  xxxii.  of  his  sixth 
book.  For  he  there  says  that  these  brethren,  instructed  in  the  monastic  discipline  by  Hilarion,  were,  during  the 
empire  of  Valens,  eminent  in  the  monasteries  of  Palestine;  that  they  lived  near  Bethelia,  a  village  in  the  country  of 
the  Gazites,  and  were  descendants  of  a  noble  family  in  those  parts.  He  mentions  the  same  persons  in  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  book  viii.,  where  he  says  that  Crispio  was  Epiphanius's  archdeacon.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the 
brothers  were  of  Alaphion's  family.  Alaphion,  too,  was  related  to  Sozomen's  grandfather,  as  we  may  conjecture; 
first,  because  the  grandfather  of  Sozomen  is  said  to  have  been  converted  (together  with  his  whole  family)  to  the 
Christian  religion,  upon  account  of  Alaphion's  wonderful  cure,  whom  Hilarion  had  healed  by  calling  on  the  name  of 
Almighty  God.  Secondly,  this  conjecture  is  cgnfirmed  by  what  Sozomen  relates,  viz.,  that  when  he  was  very  young, 
he  conversed  familiarly  with  the  aged  monks  that  were  of  Alaphion's  family.  And,  lastly,  from  the  fact  that 
Sozomen  took  his  name  from  those  persons  who  were  either  the  sons  or  grandchildren  of  Alaphion.  For  he  was 
called  Salamanes  Hermias  Sozomenus  (as  Photius  declares  in  his  Bibliotheca),  from  the  name  of  that  Salamanes 
who,  as  we  observed  before,  was  the  brother  of  Phusco,  Malchio,  and  Crispio.  Wherefore  Nicephorus,  and  others, 
are  mistaken  in  supposing  that  Sozomen  had  the  surname  of  Salaminius  because  he  was  born  at  Salamis,  a  city  of 
Cyprus.  But  we  have  before  shown  from  .Sozomen's  own  testimony,  that  he  was  not  born  in  Cyprus,  but  in  Pales- 
tine. For  his  grandfather  was  not  only  a  Palestinian,  as  is  above  said,  but  Sozomen  himself  was  also  educated  in 
Palestine,  in  the  bosom  (so  to  say)  of  those  monks  who  were  of  Alaphion's  family.  From  this  education  Sozomen. 
seems  to  have  imbibed  that  most  ardent  love  of  a  monastic  life  and  discipline,  which  he  declares  in  so  many  places 
of  his  history.  Hence  it  is,  that  in  his  books  he  is  not  content  to  relate  who  were  the  fathers  and  founders  of 
monastic  philosophy;  but  he  also  carefully  relates  their  successors  and  disciples,  who  followed  this  way  of  life  both 
in  Egypt,  Syria,  and  Palestine,  and  also  in  Pontus,  Armenia,  and  Osdroena.  Hence  also  it  is,  that  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  the  first  book  of  his  history,  he  has  proposed  to  be  read  (in  the  beginning  as  it  were)  that  gorgeous 
account  of  the  monastic  philosophy.  For  he  supposed  that  he  should  have  been  ungrateful,  had  he  not  after  this 
manner  at  least  made  a  return  of  thanks  to  those  in  whose  familiarity  he  had  lived,  and  from  whom,  when  he  was 
a  youth,  he  had  received  such  eminent  examples  of  a  good  conversation,  as  he  himself  intimates,  in  the  opening  of 

233 


234  THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 

his  first  book.  It  is  inferred  that  SozTomen  was  educated  at  Gaza,  not  only  from  the  passage  above  mentioned,  but 
also  from  chap,  xxviii.  of  his  seventh  book,  vi^here  Sozomen  says  that  he  himself  had  seen  Zeno,  bishop  of  Majuma, 
for  this  Maiuma  is  a  sea-port  belonging  to  the  Gazites.  Although  Zeno  was  nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  he  was 
never  absent  from  the  morning  and  evening  hymns,  unless  sickness  detained  him.  After  this  Sozomen  applied 
himself  to  the  profession  of  the  law.  He  was  a  student  of  the  civil  law  at  Berytus,  a  city  of  Phoenicia,  not  far 
distant  from  his  own  country,  where  there  was  a  famous  school  of  civil  law.  But  he  practiced  the  law  at  Constan- 
tinople, as  himself  asserts,  book  ii.  chap.  iii.  And  yet  he  seems  not  to  have  been  very  much  employed  in  pleading 
of  causes;  for  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  an  advocate  in  Constantinople,  he  wrote  his  Ecclesiastical  History; 
as  may  be  concluded  from  his  own  words  in  the  last-mentioned  passage.  Before  he  wrote  his  nine  books  of 
Ecclesiastical  History,  Sozomen  composed  a  Breviary  of  Ecclesiastical  Affairs,  from  our  Saviour's  ascension  to  the 
deposition  of  Licinius.  This  work  was  comprised  in  two  books,  as  himself  bears  witness  in  the  opening  of  his  first 
book;   but  these  two  books  are  now  lost. 

In  the  composure  of  his  History,  Sozomen  has  made  use  of  a  style  neither  too  low  nor  too  high,  but  one 
between  both,  as  is  most  agreeable  to  a  writer  of  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Photius  prefers  Sozomen's  style  to  that  of 
Socrates,  and  we  agree  with  him  in  his  criticism.  But  though  Sozomen  is  superior  in  the  elegance  of  his  expres- 
sion, yet  Socrates  excels  him  in  judgment.  For  Socrates  judges  incomparably  well,  both  of  men,  and  also  of 
■ecclesiastical  business  and  affairs;  and  there  is  nothing  in  his  works  but  what  is  grave  and  serious,  nothing  that 
■can  be  expunged  as  superfluous.  But  on  the  contrary,  some  passages  occur  in  Sozomen  that  are  trivial  and 
childish.  Of  this  sort  is  his  digression  in  his  first  book  concerning  the  building  of  the  city  Hemona,  and  concern- 
ing the  Argonauts,  who  carried  the  ship  Argo  on  their  shoulders  some  furlongs,  and  also  his  description  of  Daphne 
without  the  walls  of  the  city  Antioch,  in  chap.  xix.  of  his  sixth  book;  to  which  we  must  add  that  observation  of 
his,  concerning  the  beauty  of  the  body,  where  he  treats  of  that  virgin  at  whose  house  the  blessed  Athanasius  was 
concealed  a  long  while.  Lastly,  his  ninth  book  contains  little  else  besides  warlike  events,  which  ought  to  have  no 
place  in  an  Ecclesiastical  History.  Sozomen's  style,  however,  is  not  without  its  faults.  For  the  periods  of  his 
sentences  are  only  joined  together  by  the  particles  Se  and  re,  than  which  there  is  nothing  more  troublesome.  Should 
any  one  attentively  read  the  epistle  in  which  Sozomen  dedicates  his  work  to  Theodosius  junior,  he  will  find  it  true 
that  Sozomen  was  no  great  orator. 

It  remains,  that  we  inquire  which  of  these  two  authors,  Socrates  or  Sozomen,  wrote  first,  and  which  of  them 
borrowed,  or  rather  stole,  from  the  other.  Certainly,  since  both  of  them  wrote  almost  the  same  things  of  the 
same  transactions,  inasmuch  as  they  both  began  at  the  same  beginning,  and  concluded  their  history  at  the  same 
point  (both  beginning  from  the  reign  of  Constantine,  and  ending  at  the  seventeenth  consulate  of  Theodosius 
junior),  it  must  needs  be  true,  that  one  of  them  robbed  the  other's  jJesk.  This  sort  of  theft  was  committed  by 
many  of  the  Grecian  writers,  as  Porphyry  testifies,  Eusebius'  Prseparatio  Evangelica,  bk.  x.  But  which  was  the 
plagiary,  Socrates  or  Sozomen,  it  is  hard  to  say,  in  regard  both  of  them  lived  in  the  same  times,  and  both  wrote 
their  history  in  the  empire  of  Theodosius  junior.  Therefore,  in  the  disquisition  of  this  question,  we  must  make 
use  of  conjecture.  So  Porphyry  in  the  above-mentioned  book,  since  it  was  uncertain  whether  Hyperides  had 
stolen  from  Demosthenes,  or  Demosthenes  from  Hyperides,  because  both  had  lived  in  the  same  time,  decided  to 
use  conjecture.  Let  us  therefore  see  upon  which  of  them  falls  the  suspicion  of  theft.  Indeed,  this  is  my  sentiment, 
I  suppose  that  the  inferior  does  frequently  steal  from  the  superior,  and  the  junior  from  the  senior.  But  Sozomen 
is  in  my  judgment  far  inferior  to  Socrates;  and  he  betook  himself  to  writing  his  history  when  he  was  younger  than 
Socrates.  For  he  wrote  it  whilst  he  was  yet  an  advocate,  as  I  observed  before.  Now,  the  profession  of  the 
advocates  amongst  the  Romans  was  not  perpetual,  but  temporary.  Lastly,  he  that  adds  something  to  the  other, 
and  sometimes  amends  the  other,  seems  to  have  written  last.  But  Sozomen  now  and  then  adds  some  passages  to 
Socrates,  and  in  some  places  dissents  from  him,  as  Photius  has  observed,  and  we  have  hinted  in  our  annotations. 
Sozomen  therefore  seems  to  have  written  last.  And  this  is  the  opinion  of  almost  all  modern  writers,  who  place 
Socrates  before  Sozomen.  So  Bellarmine  in  his  book  "  De  Scriptoribus  Ecclesiasticis  " ;  who  is  followed  by  Mirseus, 
Labbaeus,  and  Vossius.  Amongst  tlie  ancients,  Cassiodorus,  Photius,  and  Nicephorus  name  Socrates  in  the  first 
place.  Although  Cassiodorus  is  found  to  have  varied;  for  in  the  preface  of  the  Tripartite  History,  he  inverts  the 
order,  and  names  Theodoret  first,  ranks  Sozomen  in  the  second  place,  and  refers  to  Socrates  as  the  last.  So  also 
Theodorus  Lector  recounts  them  in  his  epistle  which  he  prefixed  to  his  Tripartite  History.  Thus  far  concerning 
Sozomen. 


MEMOIR    OF    SOZOMEN. 

LlTfLE  more  than  cursory  allusions  to  SozoMEN  occur  in  the  works  of  contemporary  writers;  and  the  materi- 
als for  a  memoir  of  his  life  are  therefore  at  best  but  few  and  scanty.  We  should,  in  fact,  be  destitute  of  almost  all 
knowledge  as  to  his  birth,  education,  mode  of  life,  and  private  history,  had  not  some  information  on  these  points 
been  furnished  by  himself.  In  the  work  before  us,  the  only  one  which  has  caused  his  name  to  be  handed  down  to 
posterity,  he  draws  aside  the  curtain  which  would  otherwise  have  concealed  his  origin  and  parentage,  and  makes 
known  to  us  a  portion  of  his  family  history.  He  tells  us  (book  v.  chap,  xv.)  that  his  grandfather  was  a  native  of 
Palestine,  and  of  Pagan  parentage;  that  he,  with  all  his  family,  was  converted  to  Christianity  on  witnessing  a  mir- 
acle wrought  by  St.  Hilarion;  and  that,  being  possessed  of  great  mental  endowments,  he  afterwards  became  emi- 
nently useful  to  the  men  of  Gaza  and  Ascalon,  by  his  extraordinary  power  in  expounding  the  most  obscure  passages 
of  Holy  Writ. 

Our  author  himself  seems  to  have  been  born  about  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  He  tells  us  that  in  his 
youth  some  of 'the  founders  of  monasticism  in  Palestine  were  still  living,  although  they  had  reached  a  very  advanced 
period  of  life,  and  that  he  had  enjoyed  opportunities  of  intercourse  with  them.  To  this  circumstance  may  probably 
be  attributed  the  tone  of  reverential  admiration  in  which  Sozomen  invariably  speaks  of  the  ascetic  inhabitants  of  the 
desert. 

The  education  of  Sozomen  was  conducted  with  a  view  to  the  legal  profession;  and  he  studied  for  some  years 
at  Berytus,  then  noted  for  its  school  of  law.  He  afterwards  established  himself  at  Constantinople,  and,  it  has  been 
conjectured,  held  some  office  at  the  court  of  Theodosius  the  Younger.  He  is  reputed  to  have  possessed  some  skill 
in  the  law,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  never  attained  any  eminence  in  his  profession.  It  is  only  in  the  character  of  an 
historian  that  he  has  rendered  himself  conspicuous.  His  first  work  was  an  abridgment  of  Ecclesiastical  History, 
from  the  ascension  of  our  Lord  to  the  deposition  of  Licinius  (a.d.  324  j,  but  this  is  not  extant.  The  work  before  us 
seems  to  have  been  commenced  about  the  year  443.  It  embraces  a  period  of  117  years;  namely,  from  A.D.  323  to 
A.D.  439.  It  is  generally  admitted  to  have  suffered  many  alterations  and  mutilations;  and  this  may,  in  some  meas- 
ure, serve  to  account  for  the  frequent  inaccuracies  in  point  both  of  narrative  and  of  chronology  which  pervade  the 
nine  books  of  which  it  is  composed.  It  is  evident,  from  the  very  abrupt  termination  of  this  history,  that  it  is  but  a 
fragmentary  portion  of  a  larger  work.  The  precise  object  of  Sozomen  in  undertaking  to  write  this  history  is  not 
apparent,  as  exactly  the  same  ground  had  previously  been  gone  over  by  Socrates,  if  we  except  the  ninth  book  of  the 
former,  which  is  almost  entirely  devoted  to  the  political  history  of  the  times.  The  learned  Photius  prefers  the  style 
of  Sozomen  to  that  of  Socrates;  yet  Sozomen  frequently  evinces  great  deficiency  in  point  of  judgment,  and  on  many 
occasions  enlarges  upon  details  which  are  altogether  omitted  by  Socrates,  as  unworthy  of  the  dignity  of  Ecclesiasti- 
cal History.  To  us,  there  is  manifest  advantage  in  possessing  these  separate  chronicles  of  the  same  events.  Facts 
which  might  perhaps  have  been  doubted,  if  not  rejected,  had  they  rested  upon  the  sole  authority  of  a  single  writer; 
are  admitted  as  unquestionable  when  authenticated  by  the  combined  testimony  of  Socrates,  of  Sozomen,  and  of 
Theodoret.  And,  indeed,  the  very  discrepancies  which,  on  several  minor  points,  are  discernible  in  the  histories  of 
these  writers,  are  not  without  their  use,  inasmuch  as  they  tend  to  the  removal  of  all  suspicion  of  connivance  or 
collusion. 


23s 


ADDRESS    TO    THE    EMPEROR    THEODOSIUS     BY    SALA- 

MINIUS   HERMIAS   SOZOMEN,  AND   PROPOSAL 

FOR  AN  ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


-aoi^oo- 


The  popular  saying  is,  that  the  former  emperors  were  zealous  about  some  useful  matter  or 
other ;  such  as  were  fond  of  ornaments,  cared  for  the  royal  purple,  the  crown,  and  the  like  ; 
those  who  were  studious  of  letters,  composed  some  mythical  work  or  treatise  capable  of  fascinat- 
ing its  readers ;  those  who  were  practiced  in  war,  sought  to  send  the  weapon  straight  to  the  mark, 
to  hit  wild  beasts,  to  hurl  the  spear,  or  to  leap  upon  the  horse.  Every  one  who  was  devoted  to 
a  craft  which  was  pleasing  to  the  rulers  announced  himself  at  the  palace.  One  brings  a  precious 
stone  not  easily  susceptible  of  polish ;  another  undertakes  to  prepare  a  more  briUiant  color  than 
the  purple  robe  ;  one  dedicates  a  poem  or  treatise ;  another  introduces  an  expert  and  strange 
fashion  of  armor. 

It  is  considered  the  greatest  and  a  regal  thing  for  the  ruler  of  the  whole  people  to  possess, 
at  least,  one  of  the  homely  virtues ;  but  no  such  great  estimate  has  been  made  of  piety,  which 
is,  after  all,  the  true  ornament  of  the  empire.  Thou,  however,  O  most  powerful  Emperor 
Theodosius,  hast  in  a  word,  by  God  s  help,  cultivated  every  virtue.  Girt  with  the  purple  robe 
and  crown,  a  symbol  of  thy  dignity  to  onlookers,  thou  wearest  within  always  that  true  ornament 
of  sovereignty,  piety  and  philanthropy.  Whence  it  happens  that  poets  and  writers,  and  the 
greater  part  of  thy  officers  as  well  as  the  rest  of  thy  subjects,  concern  themselves  on  every 
occasion  with  thee  and  thy  deeds.  And  when  thou  presidest  as  ruler  of  contests  and  judge 
of  discourses,  thou  art  not  robbed  of  thy  accuracy  by  any  artificial  sound  and  form,  but  thou 
awardest  the  prize  sincerely,  observing  whether  the  diction  is  suitable  to  the  design  of  the 
composition ;  so  also  with  respect  to  the  form  of  words,  divisions,  order,  unity,  phraseology, 
construction,  arguments,  thought,  and  narrative.  Thou  recompensest  the  speakers  with  thy 
favorable  judgment  and  apj:)lause,  as  well  as  with  golden  images,  erection  of  statues,  gifts,  and 
every  kind  of  honor.  Thou  showest  greater  personal  favor  toward  the  speakers  than  the  ancient 
Cretans  did  toward  the  much-sung  Homer ;  or  the  Alevadse  did  to  Simonides ;  or  Dionysius, 
the  tyrant  of  Sicily  to  Plato,  the  companion  of  Socrates  ;  or  Philip  the  Macedonian,  to  Theopom- 
pus  the  historian  ;  or  the  Emperor  Severus  to  Oppianus,  who  related  in  verse  the  kinds,  nature,  and 
catching  of  fish.  For  after  the  Cretans  had  rewarded  Homer  with  a  thousand  nummi,  they 
inscribed  the  amount  of  the  gift  on  a  public  column  as  if  to  boast  of  their  excessive  munificence. 
The  Alevadae,  Dionysius,  and  Philip  were  not  more  reserved  than  the  Cretans,  who  boasted  of 
their  modest  and  philosophical  government,  but  quickly  imitated  their  column,  so  that  they  might 
not  be  inferior  in  their  donative.  But  when  Severus  bestowed  upon  Oppianus  a  golden  gift  for 
each  line  of  his  moderate  verse,  he  so  astonished  everybody  with  his  liberality,  that  the  poems  of 
Oppianus  are  popularly  called  golden  words  to  this  day.  Such  were  the  donations  of  former 
lovers  of  learning  and  discourses.  But  thou,  O  Emperor,  surpassest  any  of  the  ancients  in  thy 
liberality  to  letters,  and  thou  seemest  to  me  to  do  this  not  unreasonably.  For  while  thou  strivest 
to  conquer  all  by  thy  virtues,  thou  dost  also  conduct  thine  own  aff;iirs  successfully,  according  to 

236 


ADDRESS    TO    THE    EMPEROR    THF:0D0SIUS.  237 

thy  thorough  knowledge  of  the  story  of  those  ancient  affairs,  so  prosperously  directed  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Rumor  says  that  during  the  day,  thou  takest  military  and  bodily  exercise, 
and  arrangest  affairs  of  state  by  giving  judicial  decisions,  and  by  making  note  of  what  is  necessary, 
and  by  observation,  both  in  public  and  private,  of  the  things  which  ought  to  be  done  ;  and  at 
night  that  thou  busiest  thyself  with  books.  It  is  a  saying,  that  there  serves  thee  for  the  study  of 
these  works,  a  lamp  which  causes  the  oil  to  flow  automatically  into  the  wick,  by  means  of  some 
mechanism,  so  that  not  one  of  the  servants  in  the  palace  should  be  compelled  to  be  taxed  with 
thy  labors,  and  to  do  violence  to  nature  by  fighting  against  sleep.  Thus  thou  art  humane  and 
gentle,  both  to  those  near,  and  to  all,  since  thou  dost  imitate  the  Heavenly  King  who  is  thy 
pattern ;  in  that  He  loves  to  send  rain,  and  causes  the  sun  to  rise  on  the  just  and  unjust,  as  well 
as  to  furnish  other  blessings  ungrudgingly.  As  is  natural,  I  hear  also  that  by  thy  various  learn- 
ing, thou  art  no  less  familiar  with  the  nature  of  stones,  and  the  virtues  of  roots,  and  forces  of 
remedies,  than  Solomon,  the  wisest  son  of  David  ;  while  thou  excellest  him  in  virtue  ;  for  Solomon 
became  the  slave  of  his  pleasures,  and  did  not  preserve  to  the  end,  that  piety  which  had  been  for 
him  the  source  of  prosperity  and  wisdom.  But  thou,  most  powerful  Emperor,  because  thou 
settest  thy  restraining  reason  in  array  against  levity,  art  not  only  an  autocrat  of  men,  but  also  of 
the  passions  _of  soul  and  body,  as  one  would  naturally  suppose.  And  this,  too,  ought  to  be 
remarked  :  I  understand  that  thou  dost  conquer  the  desire  for  all  food  and  drink ;  neither  the 
sweeter  figs,  to  speak  poetically,  nor  any  other  kind  of  fruit  in  its  season,  can  take  thee  prisoner, 
except  the  little  that  thou  dost  touch  and  taste,  after  thou  hast  returned  thanks  to  the  Maker  of  all 
things.  Thou  art  wont  to  vanquish  thirst,  stifling  heat,  and  cold  by  thy  daily  exercise,  so  that  thou 
seemest  to  have  self-control  as  a  second  nature.  Lately,  as  is  well  known,  thou  wast  anxious  to 
visit  the  city  of  Heraclea  in  Pontus,  and  to  restore  it,  prostrated  by  time,  and  thou  tookest  the 
way  in  the  summer  season  through  Bithynia.  When  the  sun  about  midday  was  very  fiery,  one  of 
the  body-guard  saw  thee,  heated  with  much  sweat  and  clouds  of  dust,  and,  as  if  to  do  thee  a  favor, 
he  anticipatingly  offered  to  thee  a  bowl  which  reflected  briUiantly  the  rays  of  the  sun ;  he  poured 
in  some  sweet  drink,  and  added  cold  water  thereto.  But  thou,  most  powerful  Emperor,  didst 
receive  it,  and  didst  praise  the  man  for  his  good  will,  and  thou  didst  make  it  obvious  that  thou 
wouldst  soon  reward  him  for  his  well-wrought  deed  with  royal  munificence.  But  when  all  the 
soldiers  were  wondering  with  open  mouth  at  the  dish,  and  were  counting  him  blessed  who  should 
drink,  thou,  O  noble  Emperor,  didst  return  the  drink  to  him  and  didst  command  him  to  use  it  in 
whatever  way  he  pleased.  So  that  it  seems  to  me  that  Alexander,  the  son  of  Philip,  was  surpassed 
by  thy  virtue  ;  of  whom  it  is  reputed  by  his  admirers,  that  while  he,  with  the  Macedonians,  was 
passing  through  a  waterless  place,  an  anxious  soldier  found  water,  drew  it,  and  offered  it  to  Alex- 
ander ;  he  would  not  drink  it,  but  poured  out  the  draught.  Therefore,  in  a  word,  it  is  appropriate 
to  call  thee,  according  to  Homer,  more  regal  than  the  kings  who  preceded  thee  ;  for  we  have 
heard  of  some  who  acquired  nothing  worthy  of  admiration,  and  others  who  adorned  their  reign 
with  scarcely  one  or  two  deeds.  But  thou,  O  most  powerful  Emperor,  hast  gathered  together  all 
the  virtues,  and  hast  excelled  every  one  in  piety,  philanthropy,  courage,  prudence,  justice,  munifi- 
cence, and  a  magnanimity  befitting  royal  dignity.  And  every  age  will  boast  of  thy  rule  as  alone 
unstained  and  pure  from  murder,  beyond  all  governments  that  ever  existed.  Thou  teachest  thy 
subjects  to  pursue  serious  things  with  pleasure,  so  that  they  show  zeal  for  thee  and  public  affairs, 
with  good  will  and  respect.  So  that  for  all  these  reasons,  it  has  appeared  to  me,  as  a  writer  of 
Ecclesiastical  History,  necessary  to  address  myself  to  thee.  For  to  whom  can  I  do  this  more 
appropriately,  since  I  am  about  to  relate  the  virtue  of  many  devoted  men.  and  the  events  of  the 
Catholic  Church  ;  and  since  her  conflicts  with  so  many  enemies  lead  me  to  thy  threshhold  and 
that  of  thy  fathers  ?  Come  thou,  who  knowest  all  things  and  possessest  every  virtue,  especially 
that  piety,  which  the  Divine  Word  says  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  receive  from  me  this  writing, 
and  marshal  its  facts  and  purify  it  by  thy  labors,  out  of  thy  accurate  knowledge,  whether  by 
addition  or  elimination.     For  whatever  course  may  seem  pleasing  to  thee,  that  will  be  wholly 


238  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 

advantageous  and  brilliant  for  the  readers,  nor  shall  any  one  put  a  hand  to  it  after  thine  approval. 
My  history  begins  with  the  third  consulate  of  the  Caesars,  Crispus  and  Constantine,  and  stretches 
to  thy  seventeenth  consulship.^  I  deemed  it  proper  to  divide  the  whole  work  into  nine  parts  : 
the  first  and  second  books  will  embrace  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  under  Constantine ;  the  third 
and  fourth,  those  under  his  sons ;  the  fifth  and  sixth,  those  under  Julian,  the  cousin  of-  the  sons 
of  the  great  Constantine,  and  Jovian,  and,  further,  of  Valentinian  and  Valens ;  the  seventh  and 
eighth  books,  O  most  powerful  Emperor,  will  open  up  the  affairs  under  the  brothers  Gratian 
and  Valentinian,  until  the  proclamation  of  Theodosius,  thy  divine  grandfather,  as  far  as  thy 
celebrated  father  Arcadius,  together  with  thy  uncle,  the  most  pious  and  godly  Honorius,  received 
the  paternal  government  and  shared  in  the  regulation  of  the  Roman  world ;  the  ninth  book  I 
have  devoted  to  thy  Christ-loving  and  most  innocent  majesty,  which  may  God  always  preserve 
in  unbroken  good  will,  triumphing  greatly  over  enemies,  and  having  all  things  under  thy  feet  and 
transmitting  the  holy  empire  to  thy  sons'  sons  with  the  approbation  of  Christ,  through  whom  and 
with  whom,  be  glory  to  God,  and  the  Father,  with  the  Holy  Spirit  forever.     Amen. 

^  This  marks  the  proposed  limits,  a.d.  323  to  a.d.  439,  but  he  did  not  carry  the  narrative  further  than  a.d.  425, 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


OF 


SALAMINIUS   HERMIAS    SOZOMENUS. 


-»oJ«»io«- 


BOOK    L 


CHAP.  I. THE   PREFACE   OF   THE    BOOK,  IN    WHICH 

HE  INVESTIGATES  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWISH 
NATION  ;  MENTION  OF  THOSE  WHO  BEGAN  SUCH 
A  WORK  ;  HOW  AND  FROM  WHAT  SOURCES  HE 
COLLECTED  HIS  HISTORY  ;  HOW  HE  WAS  INTENT 
UPON  THE  TRUTH,  AND  WHAT  OTHER  DETAILS 
THE    HISTORY    WTLL  CONTAIN. 

My  mind  has  been  often  exercised  in  in- 
quiring how  it  is  that  other  men  are  very  ready 
to  beUeve  in  God  the  Word,  while  the  Jews  are 
so  incredulous,  although  it  was  to  them  that 
instruction  concerning  the  things  of  God  was, 
from  the  beginning,  imparted  by  the  prophets, 
who  likewise  made  them  acquainted  with  the 
events  attendant  upon  the  coming  of  Christ,  be- 
fore they  came  to  pass.^  Besides,  Abraham,  the 
founder  of  their  nation  and  of  the  circumcision, 
was  accounted  worthy  to  be  an  eye-witness,  and 
the  host  of  the  Son  of  God.-  And  Isaac,  his 
son,  was  honored  as  the  type  of  the  sacrifice  on 
the  cross,  for  he  was  led  bound  to  the  altar  by 
his  father  and,  as  accurate  students  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures  affirm,  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
came  to  pass  in  like  manner.  Jacob  predicted 
that  the  expectation  of  the  nations  would  be  for 
Christ,  as  it  now  is ;  and  he  likewise  foretold 
the  time  in  which  he  came,  when  he  said  "  the 
rulers  of  the  Hebrews  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the 
tribal  leader,  shall  fail."^ 

This  clearly  referred  to  the  reign  of  Herod, 
who  was  an  Idumean,  on  his  father's  side,  and 
on  his  mother's,  an  Arabian,  and  the  Jewish 
nation  was  delivered  to  him  by  the  Roman  sen- 
ate and  Augustus  Caesar.  And  of  the  rest  of  the 
prophets  some  declared  beforehand  the  birth 
of  Christ,  His  ineffable  conception,  the  mother 


1  Cf.  Eus.  H.  E.  i.  4. 
3  Cf.  Gen.  xlix.  10. 


*  Cf.  Gen.  xviii. 


remaining  a  virgin  after  His  birth.  His  people^ 
and  country.*  Some  predicted  His  divine  and 
marvelous  deeds,  while  others  foretold  His  suf- 
ferings, His  resurrection  from  the  dead,  His  as- 
cension into  the  heavens,  and  the  event  accom- 
panying each.  But  if  any  be  ignorant  of  these 
facts  it  is  not  difficult  to  know  them  by  reading 
the  sacred  books.  Josephus,  the  son  of  Matthias,, 
also  who  was  a  priest,  and  was  most  distinguished 
among  Jews  and  Romans,  may  be  regarded  as 
a  noteworthy  witness  to  the  truth  concerning 
Christ^ ;  for  he  hesitates  to  call  Him  a  man  since 
He  wrought  marvelous  works,  and  was  a  teacher 
of  truthful  doctrines,  but  openly  calls  him  Christ ; 
that  He  was  condemned  to  the  death  of  the  cross, 
and  appeared  alive  again  the  third  day.  Nor 
was  Josephus  ignorant  of  numberless  other 
wonderful  predictions  uttered  beforehand  by 
the  holy  prophets  concerning  Christ.  He  fur- 
ther testifies  that  Christ  brought  over  many  to 
Himself  both  Greeks  and  Jews,  who  continued 
to  love  Him,  and  that  the  people  named  after  Him 
had  not  become  extinct.  It  appears  to  me  that 
in  narrating  these  things,  he  all  but  proclaims 
that  Christ,  by  comparison  of  works,  is  God.  As 
if  struck  by  the  miracle,  he  ran,  somehow,  a 
middle  course,  assailing  in  no  way  those  who 
believed  in  Jesus,  but  rather  agreeing  with  them. 
When  I  consider  this  matter  it  seems  reasonably 
remarkable  to  me,  that  the  Hebrews  did  not  an- 
ticipate, and,  before  the  rest  of  men,  immediately 
turn  to  Christianity ;  for  though  the  Sibyl  and 
some  oracles  announced  beforehand  the  future 
of  events  concerning  Christ  we  are  not  on  this 


*  Isa.  vii.  14,  foretells  that  "  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a 
son";  but  he  does  not  declare,  in  words,  the  perpetual  virginity  of 
the  mother  of  God.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  however,  infers 
the  doctrine  from  certain  types  in  the  Old  Testament:  such  as 
that  of  "  the  bush  which  burnt  with  fire,  and  was  not  consumed' 
(Ex.  iii.  2).  5  See  Joseph.  Antiq.  xviii.  33;  xx.  9,  i. 


240 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I.I. 


account  to  attribute  unbelief  to  all  the  Greeks. 
For  they  were  few,  who,  appearing  superior  in 
education,  could  understand  such  prophecies, 
which  were,  for  the  most  part,  in  verse,  and  were 
declared  with  more  recondite  words  to  the  peo- 
ple. Therefore  in  my  judgment,  it  was  the  re- 
sult of  the  heavenly  preknowledge,  for  the  sake 
of  the  agreement  in  future  events,  that  the  com- 
ing facts  were  to  be  made  known,  not  only  by 
his  own  prophets,  but  in  part  also  by  strangers. 
Just  as  a  musician,  under  pressure  of  a  strange 
melody,  may  treat  the  superfluous  tones  of  the 
chords  lightly  with  his  plectrum,  or  add  others 
to  those  already  existing. 

Having  now  shown  that  the  Hebrews,  al- 
though in  the  possession  of  numerous  and  more 
distinct  prophecies  concerning  the  coming  of 
Christ,  were  less  willing  than  the  Greeks  to  em- 
brace the  faith  that  is  in  Him,  let  what  has  been 
said  on  the  subject  suffice.  Yet  let  it  by  no 
means  be  hence  accounted  contrary  to  reason 
that  the  church  should  have  been  mainly  built 
up  by  the  conversion  of  other  nations  ;  for  in 
the  first  place,  it  is  evident  that,  in  divine  and 
great  affairs,  God  delights  to  bring  to  pass 
changes  in  a  marvelous  manner ;  and  then,  be 
it  remembered,  it  was  by  the  exercise  of  no 
common  virtues  that  those  who,  at  the  very  be- 
ginning, were  at  the  head  of  religious  affairs, 
maintained  their  influence.  If  they  did  not,  in- 
deed, possess  a  language  sharpened  for  expres- 
sion or  for  beauty  of  diction,  nor  the  power  of 
convincing  their  hearers  by  means  of  phrases 
or  mathematical  demonstrations,  yet  they  did 
not  the  less  accomplish  the  work  they  had  un- 
dertaken. They  gave  up  their  property,  neg- 
lected their  kindred,  were  stretched  upon  a 
cross,  and  as  if  endowed  with  bodies  not  their 
own,  suffered  many  and  excruciating  tortures ; 
neither  seduced  by  the  adulation  of  the  people 
and  rulers  of  any  city,  nor  terrified  by  their 
menaces,  they  clearly  evidenced  by  their  con- 
duct, that  they  were  sui)p()rted  in  the  struggle 
by  the  hope  of  a  high  reward.  So  that  they,  in 
fact  needed  not  to  resort  to  verbal  arguments; 
for  without  any  effort  on  their  part,  their  very 
deeds  constrained  the  inhabitants  of  every  house 
and  of  every  city  to  give  cretlit  to  their  testi- 
mony, even  before  they  knew  wherein  it  con- 
sisted. 

Since  then  so  divine  and  marvelous  a  change 
has  taken  place  in  the  circumstances  of  men, 
that  ancient  cults  and  national  laws  have  fallen 
into  contempt ;  since  many  of  the  most  cele- 
brated writers  among  the  Greeks  have  tasked 
their  powers  of  eloquence  in  describing  the 
Calydonian  boar,  the  bull  of  Marathon  and 
other  similar  prodigies,  which  have  really  oc- 
curred in  countries  or  cities,  or  have  a  mystic 
origin,  why  should  not  I  rise  above  myself,  and 


write  a  history  of  the  Church?  For  I  am  per- 
suaded that,  as  the  topic  is  not  the  achievements 
of  men,  it  may  appear  almost  incredible  that 
such  a  history  should  be  written  by  me ;  but, 
with  God,  nothing  is  impossible. 

I  at  first  felt  strongly  inclined  to  trace  the 
course  of  events  from  the  very  commencement ; 
but  on  reflecting  that  similar  records  of  the  past 
up  to  their  own-  time  had  been  compiled  by 
those  wisest  of  men,  Clemens^  and  Hegesippus, 
successors  of  the  apostles,  by  Africanus  the  his- 
torian, and  by  Eusebius,  surnamed  Pamphilus," 
a  man  intimately  acquainted  with  the  sacred 
Scriptures  and  the  writings  of  the  Greek  poets 
and  historians,  I  merely  draw  up  an  epitome  in 
two  books  of  all  that  is  recorded  to  have  hap- 
pened to  the  churches,  from  the  ascension  of 
Christ  to  the  deposition  of  Licinius.'^  Now, 
however,  by  the  help  of  God,  I  will  endeavor  to 
relate  the  subsequent  events  as  well. 

1  shall  record  the  transactions  with  which  I 
have  been  connected,  and  also  those  concerning 
which  I  have  heard  from  persons  who  knew  or 
saw  the  affairs  in  our  own  day  or  before  our 
own  generation.  But  I  have  sought  for  records 
of  events  of  earlier  date,  amongst  the  estab- 
lished laws  appertaining  to  religion,  amongst  the 
proceedings  of  the  synods  of  the  period,  amongst 
the  innovations  that  arose,  and  in  the  epistles  of 
kings  and  priests.  Some  of  these  documents  are 
preserved  in  palaces  and  churches,  and  others 
are  dispersed  and  in  the  possession  of  the 
learned.  I  thought  frequently  of  transcribing 
the  whole,  but  on  further  reflection  I  deemed  it 
better,  on  account  of  the  mass  of  the  documents, 
to  give  merely  a  brief  synopsis  of  their  contents  ; 
yet  whenever  controverted  topics  are  introduced, 
I  will  readily  transcribe  freely  from  any  work 
that  may  tend  to  the  elucidation  of  truth.  If 
any  one  who  is  ignorant  of  past  events  should 
conclude  my  history  to  be  false,  because  he 
meets  with  conflicting  statements  in  other 
writings,  let  him  know  that  since  the  dogmas  of 
Arius  and  other  more  recent  hypotheses  have 
been  broached,  the  rulers  of  the  churches,  differ- 
ing in  opinion  among  themselves,  have  trans- 
mitted in  writing  their  own  peculiar  views,  for 
the  benefit  of  their  respective  followers ;  and 
further,  be  it  remembered,  these  rulers  convened 
councils  and  issued  what  decrees  they  pleased, 
often  condemning  unheard  those  whose  creed 
was  dissimilar  to  their  own,  and  striving  to  their 
utmost  to  induce  the  reigning  prince  and  nobles 
of  the  time  to  side  with  them.  Intent  upon 
maintaining  the  orthodoxy  of  their  own  dogmas, 
the  partisans  of  each  sect  respectively  formed  a 

'  More  probably  Clemens  Alexandrinus  than,  as  Valesius  sug- 
gests, Clemens  Romanus. 

2  Sec  the  Life  of  Eusebius,  prefixed  to  his  Eccles.  Hist,  in  this 
series. 

3  These  books  are  not  now  e.xtant. 


I.  3-] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


241 


collection  of  such  epistles  as  favored  their  own 
heresy,  omitting  all  documents  of  a  contrary 
tendency.  Such  are  the  obstacles  by  which  we 
are  beset  in  our  endeavors  to  arrive  at  a  conclu- 
sion on  this  subject  !  Still,  as  it  is  requisite,  in 
order  to  maintain  historical  accuracy,  to  pay  the 
strictest  attention  to  the  means  of  eliciting  truth, 
I  felt  myself  bound  to  examine  all  writings  of 
this  class  according  to  my  ability. 

Let  not  an  impertinent  or  malignant  spirit  be 
imputed  to  me,  for  having  dwelt  upon  the  dis- 
putes of  ecclesiastics  among  themselves,  con- 
cerning the  primacy  and  the  pre-eminence  of 
their  own  heresy.  In  the  first  place,  as  I  have 
already  said,  an  historian  ought  to  regard  every- 
thing as  secondary  in  importance  to  truth ; 
moreover,  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church 
is  shown  to  be  especially  the  most  genuine,  since 
it  has  been  tested  freciuently  by  the  plots  of 
opposing  thinkers  ;  yet,  the  disposal  of  the  lot 
being  of  God,  the  Catholic  Church  has  main- 
tained its  own  ascendancy,  has  reassumed  its 
own  power,  and  has  led  all  the  churches  and  the 
people  to  the  reception  of  its  own  truth. 

I  have  had  to  deliberate  whether  I  ought  to 
confine  myself  to  the  recital  of  events  connected 
with  the  Church  under  the  Roman  government ; 
but  it  seemed  more  advisable  to  include,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  record  of  transactions  relative 
to  religion  among  the  Persians  and  barbarians. 
.Nor  is  it  foreign  to  ecclesiastical  history  to  intro- 
duce in  this  work  an  account  of  those  who  were 
the  fathers  and  originators  of  what  is  denomi- 
nated monachism,  and  of  their  immediate  suc- 
cessors, whose  celebrity  is  well  known  to  us 
either  by  observation  or  report.  For  I  would 
neither  be  considered  ungracious  ^  towards  them, 
nor  willing  to  consign  their  virtue  to  oblivion, 
nor  yet  be  thought  ignorant  of  their  history  ; 
but  i  would  wish  to  leave  behind  me  such  a 
record  of  their  manner  of  life  that  others,  led  by 
their  example,  might  attain  to  a  blessed  and 
happy  end.  As  the  work  proceeds,  these  sub- 
jects shall  be  noted  as  far  as  possible. 

Invoking  the  help  and  propitiousness  of  God, 
I  now  proceed  to  the  narration  of  events ;  the 
present  history  shall  have  its  beginning  from 
this  point. 

CHAP.    ir. OF   THE  BISHOPS    OF  THE  LARGE  TOWNS 

IN  THE  REIGN  OF  CONSTANTINE  ;  AND  HOW,  FROM 
FEAR  OF  LICINIUS,  CHRISTIANITV'  WAS  PROFESSED 
CAUTIOUSLY  IN  THE  EAST  AS  FAR  AS  LIBYA, 
WHILE  IN  THE  WEST,  THROUGH  THE  FAVOR  OF 
CONSTANTINE,  IT-WAS  PROFESSED  WITH  FREEDOM. 

During  the  consulate  of  Constantine  Caesar 
and    Crispus    Caesar,    Silvester    governed    the 

1  It  is  scarcely  fair  with  Valesius  to  infer  from  this  passage  that 
Sozomen  was  a  monk  himself. 


Church  of  Rome  ;  Alexander,  that  of  Alexandria  ; 
and  Macarius,  that  of  Jerusalem.  Not  one, 
since  Romanus,-  had  been  appointed  over  the 
Church  of  Antioch  on  the  Orontes ;  for  the 
persecution  it  appears,  had  prevented  the  cere- 
mony of  ordination  from  taking  place.  The 
bishops  assembled  at  Nicsea  not  long  after  were, 
however,  so  sensible  of  the  purity  of  the  life 
and  doctrines  of  Eustathius,  that  they  adjudged 
him  worthy  to  fill  the  apostolic  see  ;  although 
he  was  then  bishop  of  the  neighboring  Beroea, 
they  translated  him  to  Antioch." 

The  Christians  of  the  East,  as  far  as  Libya  on 
the  borders  of  Egypt,  did  not  dare  to  meet 
openly  as  a  church  ;  for  Licinius  had  withdrawn 
his  favor  from  them ;  but  the  Christians  of  the 
West,  the  Greeks,  the  Macedonians,  and  the  lUy- 
rians,  met  for  worship  in  safety  through  the  pro- 
tection of  Constantine,  who  was  then  at  the 
head  of  the  Roman  Empire.'' 

CHAP.      III. BY      THE       VISION      OF      THE      CROSS, 

AND   BY  THE    APPEARANCE    OF   CHRIST,  CONSTAN- 
TINE   IS    LED    TO    EMBRACE    CHRISTLANITY. HE 

RECEIVES     RELIGIOUS     INSTRUCTION     FROM     OUR 
BRETHREN. 

We  have  been  informed  that  Constantine  was 
led  to  honor  the  Christian  religion  by  the  con- 
currence of  several  different  events,  particularly 
by  the  appearance  of  a  sign  from  heaven. 

When  he  first  formed  the  resolution  of  enter- 
ing into  a  war  against  Maxentius,  he  was  beset 
with  doubts  as  to  the  means  of  carrying  on  his 
military  operations,  and  as  to  the  quarter  whence 
he  could  look  for  assistance.  In  the  midst  of 
his  perplexity,  he  saw,  in  a  vision,  the  sight  of 
the  cross  ^  shining  in  heaven.  He  was  amazed  at 
the  spectacle,  but  some  holy  angels  who  were 
standing  by,  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  Constantine  !  by 
this  symbol,  conquer  ! "  And  it  is  said  that 
Christ  himself  appeared  to  him,  and  showed 
him  the  symbol  of  the  cross,  and  commanded 
him  to  construct  one  like  unto  it,  and  to  retain 
it  as  his  help  in  battle,  as  it  would  insure  the 
victory. 

Eusebius,  surnamed  Pamphilus,*'  affirms  that 
he  heard  the  emperor  declare  with  an  oath,  as 
the  sun  was  on  the  point  of  inclining  about  the 
middle  of  the  day,  he  and  the  soldiers  who  were 
with  him  saw  in  heaven  the  trophy  of  the  cross 

-  Who  this  Romanus  was  is  uncertain,  as  his  name  does  not 
occur  in  the  catalogue  of  bishops  of  Antioch,  according  to  Hierony- 
mus'  edition  of  the  Chronicon,  nor  in  Nicephorus.  In  one  mdex 
at  the  end  of  a  codex  of  Eusebius'  History,  in  Florence,  his  name 
occurs  as  the  twenty-second,  in  order,  and  between  Philagonius  and 
Eustathius.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  i.  3,  gives  the  succession  Vitalis, 
Philagonius.  '  Cf.  Soc.  i.  23,  24. 

■1  For  a  narrative  of  the  treatment  of  the  Christians  by  Licinius, 
and  the  war  between  Constantine  and  Licinius  on  their  account,  see 
Soc.  i.  3,  4. 

5  With  this  chapter,  cf.  the  parallel  account  in  Soc.  i.  2. 

6  Cf.  Eus.  V.  a  i.  28. 


242 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I- 


composed  of  light,  and  encircled  by  the  follow- 
ing words  :   "  By  this  sign,  conquer." 

This  vision  met  him  by  the  way,  when  he  was 
perplexed  as  to  whither  he  should  lead  his  army. 
While  he  was  reflecting  on  what  this  could  mean, 
night  came ;  and  when  he  fell  asleep,  Christ 
appeared^  with  the  sign  which  he  had  seen  in 
heaven,  and  commanded  him  to  construct  a 
representation  of  the  symbol,  and  to  use  it  as 
his  help  in  hostile  encounters.  There  was  noth- 
ing further  to  be  elucidated ;  for  the  emperor 
clearly  apprehended  the  necessity  of  serving  God. 

At  daybreak,-  he  called  together  the  priests 
of  Christ,  and  questioned  them  concerning  their 
doctrines.  They  opened  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
and  expounded  the  truths  relative  to  Christ,  and 
showed  him  from  the  prophets,  how  the  signs 
which  had  been  predicted,  had  been  fulfilled. 
The  sign  which  had  appeared  to  him  was  the 
symbol,  they  said,  of  the  victory  over  hell ;  for 
Christ  came  among  men,  was  stretched  upon  the 
cross,  died,  and  returned  to  hfe  the  third  day. 
On  this  account,  they  said,  there  was  hope  that 
at  the  close  of  the  present  dispensation,  there 
would  be  a  general  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
entrance  upon  immortality,  when  those  who  had 
led  a  good  life  would  receive  accordingly,  and 
those  who  had  done  evil  would  be  punished. 
Yet,  continued  they,  the  means  of  salvation  and 
of  purification  from  sin  are  provided  ;  nameh',  for 
the  uninitiated,'^  initiation  according  to  the  canons 
of  the  church  ;  and  for  the  initiated,  abstinence 
from  renewed  sin.  But  as  few,  even  among  holy 
men,  are  capable  of  complying  with  this  latter 
condition,  another  method  of  purification  is  set 
forth,  namely,  repentance ;  for  God,  in  his  love 
towards  man,  bestows  forgiveness  on  those  who 
have  fallen  into  sin,  on  their  repentance,  and  the 
confirmation  of  their  repentance  by  good  works. 

CHAP.    IV. CONSTANTINE     COMAL4NDS     THE     SIGN 

OF  THE  CROSS  TO  BE  CARRIED  BEFORE  HIM  IN 
BATTLE  ;  AN  EXTRAORDINARY  NARRATIVE  ABOUT 
THE   BEARERS    OF    THE    SIGN    OF   THE  CROSS. 

The  emperor,  amazed  at  the  prophecies  con- 
cerning Christ  which  were  expounded  to  him  by 
the  priests,  sent  for  some  skillful  artisans,  and 
commanded  them  to  remodel  the  standard 
called  by  the  Romans  Labarum,^  to  convert  it 
into  a  representation  of  the  cross,  and  to  adorn 
it  with  gold  and  precious  stones.  This  warlike 
trophy  was  valued  beyond  all  others  ;  for  it  was 
always  wont  to  be  carried  before  the  emperor, 
and  was  worshiped  by  the  soldiery.  I  think 
that   Constantine  changed  the    most  honorable 

1  Cf.  Ens.  V.  C.  i.  29. 
^  id.  i.  32. 

*  That  is,  for  the  unbaptized  and  catechumens;  the  baptized 
■were  called  the  "  initiated  "  (oi  /u.e/u.v7)fxei<ot). 

*  Eus.  I'.  C.  i.  30,  31. 


symbol  of  the  Roman  power  into  the  sign  of 
Christ,  chiefly  that  by  the  habit  of  having  it 
always  in  view,  and  of  worshiping  it,  the 
soldiers  might  be  induced  to  abandon  their 
ancient  forms  of  superstition,  and  to  recognize 
the  true  God,  whom  the  emperor  worshiped, 
as  their  leader  and  their  help  in  battle  ;  for  this 
symbol  was  always  borne  in  front  of  his  own 
troops,  and  was,  at  the  command  of  the  em- 
peror, carried  among  the  phalanxes  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight  by  an  illustrious  band  of 
spearmen,  of  whom  each  one  in  turn  took  the 
standard  upon  his  shoulders,  and  paraded  it 
through  the  ranks.  It  is  said  that  on  one 
occasion,  on  an  unexpected  movement  of  the 
hostile  forces,  the  man  who  held  the  standard  in 
terror,  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  another,  and 
secretly  fled  from  the  battle.  When  he  got 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  weapons,  he 
suddenly  received  a  wound  and  fell,  while  the 
man  who  had  stood  by  the  divine  symbol 
remained  unhurt,  although  many  weapons  w^ere 
aimed  at  him  ;  for  the  missiles  of  the  enemy, 
marvelously  directed  by  divine  agency,  lighted 
upon  the  standard,  and  the  bearer  thereof, 
although  in  the  midst  of  danger,_  was  preserved. 
It  is  also  asserted  that  no  soldier  who  bore 
this  standard  in  battle  ever  fell,  through  any 
dark  calamity,  such  as  is  wont  to  happen  to 
the  soldiery  in  war,  or  was  wounded,  or  taken 
prisoner.  ' 

CHAP.    V. REFUTATION    OF   THE   ASSERTION    THAT 

CONSTANTINE     BECAME    A    CHRISTIAN     IN    CONSE- 
QUENCE   OF   THE    MURDER    OF    HIS    SON    CRISPUS. 

I  AM  aware  that  it  is  reported  by  the  pagans 
that  Constantine,  after  slaying  some  of  his  near- 
est relations,  and  particularly  after  assenting  to 
the  murder  of  his  own  son  Crispus,  repented 
of  his  e\dl  deeds,  and  inquired  of  Sopater,"^  the 
philosopher,  who  was  then  master  of  the  school 
of  Flotinus,  concerning  the  means  of  purifica- 
tion from  guilt.  The  philoso])her  —  so  the  story 
goes  —  replied  that  such  moral  defilement  could 
admit  of  no  purification.  The  emperor  was 
grieved  at  this  repulse,  but  happening  to  meet 
with  some  bishops  who  told  him  that  he  would 
be  cleansed  from  sin,  on  repentance  and  on 
submitting  to  baptism,  he  was  delighted  with 
their  representations,  and  admired  their  doc- 
trines, and  became  a  Christian,  and  led  his 
subjects  to  the  same  faith.  It  appears  to  me 
that  this  storv  was  the  invention  of  persons  who 
desired  to  vilify  the  Christian  religion.  Crispus,*' 
on  whose    account,   it  is    said,    Constantine  re- 

5  Or  Sosipater  of  Apamea.     Cf.  Eiinap.  V.  S.  (yEdesius). 

"  The  earlier  church  historians,  except  Philost.  H.  E.  ii.  4,  are 
silent  as  to  the  cause  of  his  death,  while  the  pagan  authorities  speak 
freely,  but  variously:  later  Christian  writers  take  their  statements 
from  the  pagans.     Cf  Eutrop.  Brev.  hist.  Rom.  x.  6. 


I.  7.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


243 


quired  purification,  did  not  die  till  the  twentieth 
year  of  his  father's  reign  ;  he  held  the  second 
place  in  the  empire  and  bore  the  name  of  Cffisar, 
and  many  laws,  framed  with  his  sanction  in  favor 
of  Christianity,  are  still  extant.  That  this  was 
the  case  can  be  proved  by  referring  to  the 
dates  affixed  to  these  laws,  and  to  the  lists  of 
the  legislators.  It  does  not  appear  likely  that 
Sopater  had  any  intercourse  with  Constantine, 
whose  government  was  then  centered  in  the 
regions  near  the  ocean  and  the  Rhine  ;  for  his 
dispute  with  Maxentius,  the  governor  of  Italy, 
had  created  so  much  dissension  in  the  Roman 
dominions,  that  it  was  then  no  easy  matter  to 
dwell  in  Gaul,  in  Britain,  or  in  the  neighboring 
countries,  in  which  it  is  universally  admitted 
Constantine  embraced  the  religion  of  the  Chris- 
tians, previous  to  his  war  with  Maxentius,  and 
prior  to  his  return  to  Rome  and  Italy  :  and  this 
is  evidenced  by  the  dates  of  the  laws  which  he 
enacted  in  favor  of  religion.  But  even  granting 
that  Sopater  chanced  to  meet  the  emperor,  or 
that  he  had  epistolary  correspondence  with  him, 
it  cannot  be  imagined  the  philosopher  was 
ignorant  that  Hercules,  the  son  of  Alcmena, 
obtained  purification  at  Athens  by  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  mysteries  of  Ceres  after  the  murder 
of  his  children,  and  of  Iphitus,  his  guest  and 
friend.  That  the  Greeks  held  that  purification 
from  guilt  of  this  nature  could  be  obtained,  is 
obvious  from  the  instance  I  have  just  alleged, 
and  he  is  a  false  calumniator  who  represents 
that  Sopater  taught  the  contrary. 

I  cannot  admit  the  possibility  of  the  philos- 
opher's having  been  ignorant  of  these  facts ; 
for  he  was  at  that  period  esteemed  the  most 
learned  man  in  Greece. 

CHAP.  VI. THE  FATHER  OF  CONSTANTINE  AL- 
LOWS THE  N.AME  OF  CHRIST  TO  BE  EXTENDED  ; 
CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT  PREPARED  IT  TO 
PENETRATE  EVERYWHERE. 

Untder  the  government  of  Constantine  the 
churches  flourished  and  increased  in  numbers 
daily,  since  they  were  honored  by  the  good 
deeds  of  a  benevolent  and  well-disposed  em- 
peror, and  otherwise  God  preserved  them  from 
the  persecutions  and  harassments  which  they  had 
previously  encountered.  When  the  churches 
were  suffering  from  persecution  in  other  parts  of 
the  world,  Constantius  alone,  the  father  of  Con- 
stantine, accorded  the  Christians  the  right  of 
worshiping  God  without  fear.  I  know^  of  an 
extraordinary  thing  done  by  him,  which  is  wor- 
thy of  being  recorded.  He  wished  to  test  the 
fidelity  of  certain  Christians,  excellent  and  good 
men,  who  were  attached  to  his  palaces.  He 
called  them  all  together,  and  told  them  that  if 
they  would   sacrifice   to   idols  as  well  as  serve 


God,  they  should  remain  in  his  service  and  retain 
their  appointments ;  but  that  if  they  refused 
compliance  with  his  wishes,  they  should  be  sent 
from  the  palaces,  and  should  scarcely  escape  his 
vengeance.  When  difference  of  judgment  had 
divided  them  into  two  parties,  separating  those 
who  consented  to  abandon  their  religion  from 
those  who  preferred  the  honor  of  (iod  to  their 
present  welfare,  the  emperor  determined  upon 
retaining  those  who  had  adhered  to  their  faith 
as  his  friends  and  counselors ;  but  he  turned 
away  from  the  others,  whom  he  regarded  as 
unmanly  and  impostors,  and  sent  them  from  his 
presence,  judging  that  they  who  had  so  readily 
betrayed  their  God  could  never  be  true  to  their 
king.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  while  Constan- 
tius was  alive,  it  did  not  seem  contrary  to  the 
laws  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  countries  beyond 
Italy  to  profess  Christianity,  that  is  to  say,  in 
Gaul,  in  Britain,  or  in  the  region  of  the  Pyrenean 
mountains  as  far  as  the  Western  Ocean.  When 
Constantine  succeeded  to  the  same  government, 
the  affairs  of  the  churches  became  still  more 
briUiant ;  for  when  Maxentius,  the  son  of  Her- 
culius,  was  slain,  his  share  also  devolved  upon 
Constantine ;  and  the  nations  who  dwelt  by  the 
river  Tiber  and  the  Eridanus,  which  the  natives 
call  Padus,  those  who  dwelt  by  the  Aquilis, 
whither,  it  is  said,  the  Argo  was  dragged,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  coasts  of  the  Tyrrhenian 
sea  were  permitted  the  exercise  of  their  relig- 
ion without  molestation. 

\\"hen  the  Argonauts  fled  from  ^etes,  they 
returned  homewards  by  a  different  route,  crossed 
the  sea  of  Scythia,  sailed  through  some  of  the 
rivers  there,  and  so  gained  the  shores  of  Italy, 
where  they  passed  the  winter  and  built  a  city, 
which  they  called  Emona.  The  following  sum- 
mer, with  the  assistance  of  the  people  of  the 
country,  they  dragged  the  Argo,  by  means  of 
machinery,  the  distance  of  four  hundred  stadia, 
and  so  reached  the  Aquilis,  a  river  which  falls 
into  the  Eridanus :  the  Eridanus  itself  falls  into 
the  Italian  sea. 

After  the  battle  of  Cibalis^  the  Dardanians 
and  the  Macedonians,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
banks  of  the  Ister,  of  Hellas,  and  the  whole 
nation  of  Illyria,  became  subject  to  Constantine. 

CHAP.    VII. CONCERNING    THE    DISPUTE    BETWEEN 

CONSTANTINE  AND  LICINIUS  HIS  BROTHER-IN- 
LAW  ABOUT  THE  CHRISTIANS,  AND  HOW  LICINIUS 
WAS   CONQUERED  BY   FORCE  AND  PUT  TO  DEATH. 

After  this  reverse,  Licinius,-  who  had  previ- 
ously respected  the  Christians,  changed  his 
opinion,  and  ill-treated  many  of  the  priests  who 


1  One  of  the  battles  in  which  Licinius  was  routed  by  Constan- 
tine, A.D.  314.     Eutrop.  Brev.  hist.  Rom.  x.  5. 

-  Cf.  Soc.  i.  3,  4,  and  especially  various  parts  of  Eus.  y.  C. 


244 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I.  7. 


lived  under  his  government ;  he  also  persecuted 
a  multitude  of  other  persons,  but  especially  the 
soldiers.  He  was  deeply  incensed  against  the 
Christians  on  account  of  his  disagreement  with 
Constantine,  and  thought  to  wound  him  by  their 
sufferings  for  religion,  and  besides,  he  suspected 
that  the  churches  were  praying  and  zealous  that 
Constantine  alone  should  enjoy  the  sovereign 
rule.  In  addition  to  all  this,  when  on  the  eve 
of  another  battle  with  Constantine,  Licinius,  as 
was  wont  to  be  done,  made  a  forecast  of  the 
expected  war,  by  sacrifices  and  oracles,  and, 
deceived  by  promises  of  conquest,  he  returned 
to  the  religion  of  the  pagans. 

The  pagans  themselves,  too,  relate  that  about 
this  period  he  consulted  the  oracle  of  Apollo 
Didymus  at  Miletus,  and  received  an  answer 
concerning  the  result  of  the  war  from  the  demon, 
couched  in  the  following  verses  of  Homer  :  ^ 

"  Much,   old  man,  do  the  youths  distress  thee,  warring 

against  thee  I 
Feeble  thy  strength  has  become,  but  thy  old  age  yet  shall 

be  hardy." 

From  many  facts  it  has  often  appeared  to  me 
that  the  teaching  of  the  Christians  is  supported, 
and  its  advancement  secured,  by  the  providence 
of  God  ;  and  not  least  from  what  then  occurred  ; 
for  at  the  very  moment  that  Licinius  was  about 
to  persecute  all  the  churches  under  him,  the  war 
in  Bithynia  broke  out,  which  ended  in  a  war 
between  him  and  Constantine,  and  in  which 
Constantine  was  so  strengthened  by  Divine  as- 
sistance that  he  was  victorious  over  his  enemies 
by  land  and  by  sea.  On  the  destruction  of  his 
fleet  and  army,  Licinius  threw  himself  into  Nic- 
omedia,  and  resided  for  some  time  at  Thessa- 
lonica  as  a  private  individual,  and  was  eventu- 
ally killed  there.  Such  was  the  end  of  one  who, 
at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  had  disdnguished 
himself  in  war  and  in  peace,  and  who  had .  been 
honored  by  receiving  the  sister  of  Constantine 
in  marriage. 

CHAP.  VIII. LIST  OF  THE  BENEFITS  WHICH  CON- 
STANTINE CONFERRED  IN  THE  FREEDOM  OF  THE 
CHRISTIANS  AND  BUILDING  OF  CHURCHES  ;  AND 
OTHER    DEEDS    FOR    THE    PUBLIC    WELFARE. 

As  soon  as  the  sole  government  of  the  Roman 
empire  was  vested  in  Constantine,  he  issued  a 
l^ublic  decree  -  commanding  all  his  subjects  in 
the  East  to  honor  the  Christian  religion,  carefully 
to  worship  the  Divine  Being,  and  to  recognize 
that  only  as  Divine  which  is  also  essentially  so, 
and  which  has  the  power  that  endures  for  ever 
and   ever :    for   he   delights   to    give    all    good 

'    Iliad,  viii.  102. 

*  ypa.\J.^La.  6»)/iri<rioi-.  The  decree  is  given  at  full  len!;th  in  Ens. 
v.  C.  II.  24-42;  and  the  other  legislative  chapters  of  Bks.  ii.  and 
IV.     Cf.  Ens.  H.  E.  X.  5-7;  Soc.  i.  18. 


things  ungrudgingly  to  those  who  zealously  em- 
brace the  truth ;  he  meets  their  undertakings 
with  the  best  hopes,  while  misfortunes,  whether 
in  peace  or  in  war,  whether  in  public  or  in  pri- 
vate life,  befall  transgressors.  Constantine  then 
added,  but  without  vain  boasting,  that,  God  hav- 
ing accounted  him  as  a  fitting  servant,  worthy 
to  reign,  he  had  been  led  from  the  British  sea  to 
the  Eastern  provinces  in  order  that  the  Christian 
rehgion  might  be  extended,  and  that  those  who, 
on  account  of  the  worship  of  God  had  remained 
steadfast  in  confessions  or  martyrdoms,  might  be 
advanced  to  public  honors.  After  making  these 
statements,  he  entered  upon  a  myriad  other  de- 
tails by  which  he  thought  his  subjects  might  be 
drawn  to  religion.  He  decreed  that  all  acts  and 
judgments  passed  by  the  persecutors  of  the 
church  against  Christianity  should  be  revoked  ; 
and  commanded  that  all  those  who,  on  account  of 
their  confession  of  Christ,  had  been  sent  to  ban- 
ishment—  either  to  the  isles  or  elsewhere,  con- 
trary to  their  own  inchnation  —  and  all  those 
who  had  been  condemned  to  labor  in  the  mines, 
the  public  works,  the  harems,  the  linen  factories, 
or  had  been  enrolled  as  public  functionaries, 
should  be  restored  to  liberty.  He  removed 
the  stigma  of  dishonor  from  those  upon  whom 
it  had  been  cast,  and  permitted  those  who  had 
been  deprived  of  high  appointments  in  the 
army,  either  to  reassume  their  former  place,  or 
with  an  honorable  discharge,  to  enjoy  a  liberal 
ease  according  to  their  own  choice  ;  and  when 
he  had  recalled  all  to  the  enjoyment  of  their 
former  Hberties  and  customary  honors,  he  like- 
wise restored  their  possessions.  In  the  case  of 
those  who  had  been  slain,  and  whose  property 
had  been  confiscated,  he  enacted  that  the  inher- 
itance should  be  transferred  to  the  next  of  kin, 
or,  in  default  of  heirs,  to  the  church  belonging 
to  the  locality  where  the  estate  was  situated ; 
and  when  the  inheritance  had  passed  into  other 
hands,  and  had  become  either  private  or  national 
property,  he  commanded  it  to  be  restored.  He 
likewise  promised  to  resort  to  the  fittest  and 
best  possible  arrangements  when  the  property 
had  been  purchased  by  the  exchequer,  or  had 
been  received  therefrom  by  gift.  These  meas- 
ures, as  it  had  been  said,  having  been  enacted 
by  the  emperor,  and  ratified  by  law,  were  forth- 
with carried  into  execution.  Christians  were 
thus  placed  in  almost  all  the  principal  posts  of 
the  Roman  government ;  the  worship  of  false 
gods  was  universally  j)rohibited ;  and  the  arts 
of  divination,  the  dedication  of  statues,  and  the 
celebration  of  pagan  festivals  were  interdicted. 
Many  of  the  most  ancient  customs  obser^•ed  in 
the  cities  fell  into  disuse  :  and  among  the  Egyp- 
tians the  measure  used  to  indicate  the  increase 
of  the  waters  of  the  Nile  was  no  longer  borne 
into  pagan  temples,    but   into    churches.     The 


I.  9.] 


E    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOAIEN. 


245 


spectacle  of  gladiators  was  then  prohibited 
among  the  Romans  ;  and  the  custom  which  pre- 
vailed among  the  Phoenicians  of  Lebanon  and 
Heliopolis  of  prostituting  virgins  before  mar- 
riage, who  were  accustomed  to  cohabit  in  lawful 
marriage  after  the  first  trial  of  an  illicit  intercourse, 
was  abolished.  Of  the  houses  of  prayer,  the 
emperor  repaired  some  which  were  of  suftuient 
magnitude  ;  others  were  brilliantly  restored  by 
additional  length  and  breadth,  and  he  erected 
new  edifices  in  places  where  no  building  of  the 
kind  had  existed  previously.  He  furnished  the 
requisite  supplies  from  the  imperial  treasury,  and 
wrote  to  the  bishops  of  the  cities  and  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  provinces,  desiring  them  to  con- 
tribute whatever  might  be  wished,  and  enjoining 
submission  and  zealous  obedience  to  the  priests. 
The  prosperity  of  religion  kept  pace  with  the 
increased  prosperity  of  the  empire.  After  the 
war  with  Licinius,  the  emperor  was  successful  in 
battle  against  foreign  nations;  he  conquered 
the  Sarmatians  and  the  people  called  (ioths,  and 
concluded  an  advantageous  treaty  with  them. 
These  people  dwelt  upon  the  Ister ;  and  as  they 
were  very  warlike,  and  always  ready  in  arms 
both  by  the  multitude  and  magnitude  of  their 
bodies,  tiiey  kept  the  other  tribes  of  barbarians 
in  awe,  and  found  antagonists  in  the  Romans 
alone.  It  is  said  that,  during  this  war,  Constan- 
tine  perceived  clearly,  by  means  of  signs  and 
dreams,  that  the  special  protection  of  Divine 
Providence  had  been  extended  to  him.  Hence 
when  he  had  vanquished  all  those  who  rose  up 
in  bittle  against  him,  he  evinced  his  thankfulness 
to  Christ  by  zealous  attention  to  the  concerns 
of  religion,  and  exhorted  the  governors  to  rec- 
ognize the  one  true  faith  and  way  of  salvation. 
He  enacted  that  part  of  the  funds  levied  from 
tributary  countries  should  be  forwarded  by  the 
various  cities  to  the  bishops  and  clergy,  wherever 
they  might  be  domiciled,  and  commanded  that 
the  law  enjoining  this  gift  should  be  a  statute 
forever.  In  order  to  accustom  the  soldiers  to 
worship  Ood  as  he  did,  he  had  their  weapons 
marked  with  the  symbol  of  the  cross,  and  he 
erected  a  house  of  prayer  in  the  palace.  When 
he  engaged  in  war,  he  caused  a  tent  to  be  borne 
before  him,  constructed  in  the  shape  of  a  church, 
so  that  in  case  he  or  his  army  might  be  led  into 
the  desert,  they  might  have  a  sacred  edifice  in 
which  to  praise  and  worship  God,  and  partici- 
pate in  the  mysteries.'  Priests  and  deacons 
followed  the  tent,  who  fulfilled  the  orders  about 
these  matters,  according  to  the  law  of  the  church. 
From  that  period  the  Roman  legions,  which  now 
were  called  by  their  number,  provided  each  its 
own  tent,  with  attendant  priests  and  deacons. 
He   also    enjoined    the    observance  of  the    day 

'  yivaT-qpiiuv y  that  is  to  say,  the  sacraments  of  the  church. 


termed  the  Lord's  day,-  which  the  Jews  call  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  and  which  the  pagans 
dedicate  to  the  sun,  as  likewise  the  day  before 
the  seventh,  and  commanded  that  no  judicial 
or  other  business  should  be  transacted  on  those 
days,  but  that  Ciod  should  be  served  with  pray- 
ers and  supplications.  He  honored  the  Lord's 
day,  because  on  it  Christ  arose  from  the  dead, 
and  the  day  above  mentioned,  because  on  it  he 
was  crucified.  He  regarded  the  cross  with  pe- 
culiar reverence,  on  account  both  of  the  power 
which  it  conveyed  to  him  in  the  battles  against 
his  enemies,  and  also  of  the  divine  manner  in 
which  the  symbol  had  appeared  to  him.  He 
took  away  by  law  the  crucifixion  customary 
among  the  Romans,  from  the  usage  of  the  courts. 
He  commanded  that  this  divine  symbol  should 
always  be  inscribed  and  stamped  whenever  coins 
and  images  should  be  struck,  and  his  images, 
which  exist  in  this  very  form,  still  testify  to  this 
order.  And  indeed  he  strove  in  everything, 
particularly  in  the  enactment  of  laws,  to  serve 
God.  It  appears,  too,  that  he  prohibited  many 
flagitious  and  licentious  connections,''  which  till 
that  period  had  not  been  forbidden ;  as  one, 
who  cares  about  it,  may  see  at  a  glance  from 
these  few  instances  what  the  laws  were,  which  he 
established  about  these  points ;  it  appears  to  me 
unreasonable  now  to  treat  them  exhaustively.  I 
consider  it  necessary,  however,  to  mention  the 
laws  enacted  for  the  honor  and  consolidation  of 
religion,  as  they  constitute  a  considerable  portion 
of  ecclesiastical  history.  I  shall  therefore  pro- 
ceed to  the  recital. 


CHAP.  IX. CONSTANTINE    ENACTS  A  LAW  IN  FAVOR 

OY  CELIBATES  AND  OF  THE  CLERGY. 

There  was  an  ancient  Roman  law,  by  which 
those  who  were  unmarried  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  were  not  admitted  to  the  same  privileges  as 
the  married ; '  amongst  other  clauses  in  this 
law,  it  was  specified  that  those  who  were  not  the 
very  nearest  kinsmen  could  gain  nothing  from  a 
will;  and  also,  that  those  who  were  childless 
were  to  be  deprived  of  half  of  any  property  that 
might  be  bequeathed  to  them.  The  object  of 
this  ancient  Roman  law  was  to  increase  the 
population  of  Rome  and  the  subject  people, 
which  had  been  much  reduced  in  numbers  by 
the  civil  wars,  not  a  long  while  befc^re  this  law. 
The  emperor,  perceiving  that  this  enactment 
militated  against  the  interests  of  those  who  con- 
tinued in  a  state  of  celibacy  and  remained  child- 
less for  the  sake  of  God,  and  deeming  it  absurd 
to    attempt    the    multiplication    of   the    human 

2  Eus.  V.  C.  iv.  18,  19. 

•■'  He  probably  alludes  to  the  law  of  Constantine,  "  de  raptu 
virginum  vel  viduarum.  "     See  Codex  Theodos.  ix.  24. 

■•  'J"he  Lex  Papia  Poppaea.  For  its  origin  under  .\ugustus,  see 
Tacit.  A/ut.  iii.  25;   Eus.  /'.  C.  iv.  26. 


246 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[1.9. 


species  by  the  care  and  zeal  of  man  (since 
nature  always  receiv'ing  increase  or  decrease  ac- 
cording to  the  fiat  from  on  high),  made  a  law 
enjoining  that  the  unmarried  and  childless  should 
have  the  same  advantages  as  the  married.  He 
even  bestowed  peculiar  privileges  on  those  who 
embraced  a  hfe  of  continence  and  virginity,  and 
permitted  them,  contrary  to  the  usage  which 
prevailed  throughout  the  Roman  empire,  to 
make  a  will  before  they  attained  the  age  of 
puberty ;  for  he  believed  that  those  who  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  service  of  God  and  the 
cultivation  of  philosophy  would,  in  all  cases, 
judge  aright.  For  a  similar  reason  the  ancient 
Romans  permitted  the  vestal  virgins  to  make  a 
will  as  soon  as  they  attained  the  age  of  six  years. 
That  was  the  greatest  proof  of  the  superior  rev- 
erence for  religion.  Constantine  exempted  the 
clergy  everywhere  from  taxation,  and  permitted 
litigants  to  appeal  to  the  decision  of  the  bishops 
if  they  preferred  them  to  the  state  rulers.^  He 
enacted  that  their  decree  should  be  valid,  and 
as  far  superior  to  that  of  other  judges  as  if  pro- 
nounced by  the  emperor  himself;  that  the  gov- 
ernors and  subordinate  military  officers  should 
see  to  the  execution  of  these  decrees  :  and  that 
the  definitions  made  by  synods  should  be  irre- 
versible. 

Having  arrived  at  this  point  of  my  history,  it 
would  not  be  right  to  omit  all  mention  of  the 
laws  passed  in  favor  of  those  individuals  in  the 
churches  who  had  received  their  freedom. 
Owing  to  the  strictness  of  the  laws  and  the 
unwillingness  of  masters,  there  were  many  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  the  acquisition  of  this 
better  freedom ;  that  is  to  say,  of  the  freedom 
of  the  city  of  Rome.  Constantine  therefore 
made  three  laws,  enacting  that  all  those  indi- 
viduals in  the  churches,  v^'hose  freedom  should 
be  attested  by  the  priests,  should  receive  the 
freedom  of  Rome.- 

The  records  of  these  pious  regulations  are 
still  extant,  it  having  been  the  custom  to  engrave 
on  tablets  all  laws  relating  to  manumission. 
Such  were  the  enactments  of  Constantine  ;  in 
everything  he  sought  to  promote  the  honor  of 
religion  ;  and  religion  was  valued,  not  only  for 
its  own  sake,  but  also  on  account  of  the  virtue 
of  those  who  then  participated  in  it. 

CH.AP.    X. CONCERNlNt;    'J'HE    GRE.Vr.    CONFESSORS 

WHO   SURVIVED. 

Since  the  persecution  had  recently  ceased, 
many  excellent  Christians,  and  many  of  the 
confessors    who    had     survived,    adorned     the 

1  Constantine  makes  mention  of  this  law  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
bishops  of  Niimidia,  in  Karonius,  A.  E.  a.d.  316;  n.  Ixiv. :  Eus. 
H.  E.  X.  7;  Cod.  I'heod.  i.  27,  de  episcopali  definitione,  i ',  xvi.  2, 
de  cpiscopes  ecclesiis  et  clencis,  2. 

-  Cod.  Theod.  iv.  7,  de  manumissionibus  inecclesia,  i. 


churches  :  among  these  were  Hosius,"  bishop  of 
Cordova;  Amphion,'*  bishop  of  Epiphania  in 
Cilicia ;  Maximus,  who  succeeded  Macarius  in 
the  church  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  Paphnutius,^  an 
Egyptian.  It  is  said  by  this  latter  God  wrought 
many  miracles,  controlling  demons,  and  giving 
him  grace  to  heal  divers  kinds  of  sickness. 
This  Paphnutius,  and  Maximus,  whom  we  just 
mentioned,  were  among  the  number  of  confes- 
sors whom  Maximinus  condemned  to  work  in  the 
mines,  after  having  deprived  them  of  the  right 
eye,  and  the  use  of  the  left  leg. 

CHAP.  XI. ACCOUNT  OF    ST.  SPYRIDON  :    HIS    ISIOD- 

ESTY    AND    STEADFASTNESS. 

Spyridon,*^  bishop  of  Trimythun  in  Cyprus, 
flourished  at  this  period.  To  show  his  virtues, 
I  think  the  fame  which  still  prevails  about  him 
suffices.  The  wonderful  works  which  he  wrought 
by  Divine  assistance  are,  it  appears,  generally 
known  by  those  who  dwell  in  the  same  region. 
I  shall  not  conceal  the  facts  which  have  come 
to  me. 

He  was  a  peasant,  was  married,  and  had  chil- 
dren ;  yet  was  not,  on  this  account,  deficient  in 
spiritual  attainments.  It  is  related  that  one 
night  some  wicked  men  entered  his  sheepfold, 
and  were  in  the  act  of  stealing  his  sheep,  when 
they  were  suddenly  bound,  and  yet  no  one 
bound  them.  The  next  day,  when  he  went  to 
the  fold,  he  found  them  fettered,  and  released 
them  from  their  invisible  bonds  ;  but  he  cen- 
sured them  for  having  preferred  to  steal  what  it 
was  lawful  for  them  to  win  and  take,  and  also 
for  making  such  a  great  exertion  by  night  :  yet 
he  felt  compassion  towards  them,  and,  desirous 
of  affording  them  instruction,  so  as  to  induce 
them  to  lead  a  better  life,  he  said  to  them,  "  Go, 
and  take  this  ram  with  you  ;  for  you  are  wearied 
with  watching,  and  it  is  not  just  that  your  labor 
should  be  so  blamed,  that  you  should  return 
empty-handed  from  my  sheepfold."  This  action 
is  well  worthy  admiration,  but  not  less  so  is 
that  which  I  shall  now  relate.  An  individual 
confided  a  deposit  to  the  care  of  his  daughter, 
who  was  a  virgin,  and  was  named  Irene.  For 
greater  security,  she  buried  it ;  and  it  so  hap- 
pened that  she  died  soon  after,  without  mention- 
ing the  circumstance  to  any  one.  The  person 
to  whom  the  deposit  belonged  came  to  ask  for 
it.     Spyridon   knew   not   what   answer  to  give 


3  For  a  further  account  of  Hosius,  cf.  Soc.  i.  7,  13;   ii.  20,  29, 

31  ■•  ''••  7-  .  .... 

■*  Amphion  and  Lespiis  are  mentioned  as  bishops  of  Cilicia  in 

Athan.   E/>.  ad  Episc.  .Eg.  et  Lib.;  anotlier  Amphion  occurs  in 

Athan.  Ap.  cent.  Ariatt,  7,  as  bishop  in  Nicomedia. 

f"  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  4;  Soc.  i.  8,  II ;  Tneodoret,  H.  E.  i.  7. 

"  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  s;  Soc.  i.  8,  12.  Ruf.  gives  the  first  two  stories; 
Soc.  copies  and  gives  credit:  Soz.  appends  three  more,  and  gives 
credit  to  him.self  only  throughout.  R.uf.  had  already  said,  "  sed  et 
miilta  alia  ejus  feruntur  gesta  mirabilia,  quae  etiam  nunc  ore  omnium 
celebrantur." 


I.    12.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


!47 


him,  so  he  searched  the  whole  house  for  it ;  but 
not  being  able  to  find  it,  the  man  wept,  tore  his 
hair,  and  seemed  ready  to  expire.  Spyridon, 
moved  with  pity,  went  to  the  grave,  and  called 
the  girl  by  name  ;  and  when  she  answered,  he 
inquired  about  the  deposit.  After  obtaining  the 
information  desired,  he  returned,  found  the 
treasure  in  the  place  that  had  been  signified  to 
him,  and  gave  it  to  the  owner.  As  I  have  en- 
tered upon  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
add  this  incident  also. 

It  was  a  custom  with  this  Spyridon  to  give  a 
certain  portion  of  his  fruits  to  the  poor,  and  to 
lend  another  portion  to  those  who  wished  it  as 
a  gratuity ;  but  neither  in  giving  nor  taking 
back  did  he  ever  himself  distribute  or  receive  : 
he  merely  pointed  out  the  storehouse,  and  told 
those  who  resorted  to  him  to  take  as  much  as 
they  needed,  or  to  restore  what  they  had  bor- 
rowed. A  certain  man  who  had  borrowed  in 
this  way,  came  as  though  he  were  about  to  re- 
turn it,  and  when  as  usual  he  was  directed  to 
replace  his  loan  in  the  storehouse,  he  saw  an 
opportunity  for  an  injustice  ;  imagining  that  the 
matter  would  be  concealed,  he  did  not  liquidate 
the  debt,  but  fraudulently  pretending  to  have 
discharged  his  obligation,  he  went  away  as 
though  he  had  made  the  return.  This,  how- 
ever, could  not  be  long  concealed.  After  some 
time  the  man  came  back  again  to  borrow,  and 
was  sent  to  the  storehouse,  with  permission  to 
measure  out  for  himself  as  much  as  he  required. 
Finding  the  storehouse  empty,  he  went  to  ac- 
quaint Spyridon,  and  this  latter  said  to  him, 
"  I  wonder,  O  man,  how  it  is  that  you  alone 
have  found  the  storehouse  empty  and  unsup- 
pUed  with  the  articles  you  require :  reflect 
whether  you  have  restored  the  first  loan,  since 
you  are  in  need  a  second  time  :  were  it  other- 
wise, what  you  seek  would  not  be  lacking.  Go, 
trast,  and  you  will  find."  The  man  felt  the 
reproof  and  acknowledged  his  error.  The 
firmness  and  the  accuracy  in  the  administration 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs  on  the  part  of  this  divine 
man  are  worthy  of  admiration.  It  is  said  that 
on  one  occasion  thereafter,  the  bishops  of 
Cyprus  met  to  consult  on  some  particular 
emergency.  Spyridon  was  present,  as  likewise 
Triphyllius,^  bishop  of  the  Ledri,  a  man  other- 
wise eloquent,  who  on  account  of  practicing  the 
law,  had  lived  alone  while  at  Berytus." 

When  an  assembly  had  convened,  having  been 
requested  to  address  the  people,  Triphyllius  had 
occasion,   in    the    middle   of  his    discourse,   to 

^  This  Triphyllius  is  mentioned  by  Hieron.  de  vir.  illust.  i.  92, 
as  the  author  of  a  commentary  on  the  Song  of  Solomon,  which  his 
biographer  had  read;  and  of  many  other  works  which  had  not  come 
into  his  hands. 

-  Berytus  in  Phoenicia  was  celebrated  for  its  school  of  law,  in 
which,  among  others,  Gregory  Thaumaturgus  is  said  to  have  studied. 
Biographers,  imitating  Valesius,  have  imagined  that  Sozomen  studied 
there. 


quote  the  text.  "Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk,"^ 
and  he  substituted  the  word  ''couch"  (o-Kt'/A- 
TTovs),  for  the  word  "  bed  "  (KpdfSf3aTo<;) .  Spyri- 
don was  indignant,  and  exclaimed,  "Art  thou 
greater  than  he  who  uttered  the  word  '  bed,' 
that  thou  art  ashamed  to  use  his  words?" 
When  he  had  said  this,  he  turned  from  the 
throne  of  the  priest,  and  looked  towards  the  peo- 
ple ;  by  this  act  he  taught  them  to  keep  the 
man  who  is  proud  of  eloquence  within  bounds ; 
and  he  was  fit  to  make  such  a  rebuke  ;  for  he 
was  reverenced  and  most  illustrious  for  his 
works  :  at  the  same  time  he  was  the  superior  of 
that  presbyter  in  age  and  in  the  priesthood. 

The  reception  which  Spyridon  gave  to  stran- 
gers will  appear  from  the  following  incident. 
In  the  quadragesima,  it  happened  that  a  traveler 
came  upon  a  journey  to  visit  him  on  one  of 
those  days  in  which  it  was  his  custom  to  keep  a 
continuous  fast  with  his  household,*  and  bn  the 
day  appointed  for  tasting  food,  he  would  remain 
without  nourishment  to  mid-day.  Perceiving 
that  the  stranger  was  much  fatigued,  Spyridon 
said  to  his  daughter,  "  Come,  wash  his  feet  and 
set  meat  before  him."  The  virgin  replying  that 
there  was  neither  bread  nor  barley-food  in  the 
house,  for  it  would  have  been  superfluous  to  pro- 
vide such  things  at  the  time  of  the  fast,  Spyridon 
first  prayed  and  asked  forgiveness,  and  bade  her 
to  cook  some  salt  pork  which  chanced  to  be  in 
the  house.  When  it  was  prepared"  he  sat  dov/n 
to  table  with  the  stranger,  partook  of  the  meat, 
and  told  him  to  follow  his  example.  But  the 
stranger  declining,  under  the  plea  of  being  a 
Christian,  he  said  to  him,  "  It  is  for  that  very 
reason  that  you  ought  not  to  decline  partaking 
of  the  meat ;  for  the  Divine  word  shows  that  to 
the  pure  all  things  are  pure."^  Such  are  the 
details  which  I  had  to  relate  concerning 
Spyridon. 


CHAP.     XII. ON     THE      ORGANIZATION      OF 

MONKS  :    ITS    ORIGIN   AND    FOUNDERS. 


THE 


Those  who  at  this  period  had  embraced  mo- 
nasticism^  were  not  the  least  in  manifesting  the 
church  as  most  illustrious,  and  evidencing  the 
truth  of  their  doctrines  by  th^ir  virtuous  line  of 
conduct.  Indeed,  the  most  useful  thing  that  has 
been  received  by  man  from  God  is  their  philoso- 
phy.^ They  neglect  many  branches  of  mathe- 
matics and  the  technicalities  of  dialectics,  because 

3  Matt.  ix.  6. 

■•  T/)?  TetraapaKoa-TTi^  £f  (Trao-r)?.  While  it  was  Lent  and  probably 
Holy  Week.     .See  TertuU.  ih-  Pat.  13,  and  de  Jejun.  14. 

•'  Tit.  i.  15. 

^>  On  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  monastic  system,  see  Soc.  iv. 
23,  and  cf.  Gibbon,  Dccl.  <S^  Fall,  ch.  37,  and  Bingham's  Christian 
Antiq.  Bk.  vii.;  articles  in  Herz.  R.  E.  Bk.  iv.;  D.  C.  A.  V'ol. 
ii. ;  Ad  Harnaclc:  Das  Monchthum,  seine  Ideale  und  seine  Ge- 
schichte. 

"  The  verb  ^i\o<;o^tlv  is  constantly  used  by  the  early  Christian 
historians  to  signify  the  practice  of  asceticism. 


248 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I.  12. 


they  regard  such  studies  as  superfluous,  and  as 
a  useless   expenditure   of  time,  seeing  that  they 
contribute  nothing  towards  correct  hving.     They 
apply  themselves    exclusively  to  the  cultivation 
of  natural  and  useful  science,  in  order  that  they 
may  mitigate,  if  not  eradicate,  evil.    They  invari- 
ably refrain  from  accounting  any  action  or  prin- 
ciple as  good,  which  occupies  a  middle  place 
between  virtue  and  vice,  for  they  delight  only 
in  what  is  good.     They  regard    every  man  as 
wicked,  who,  though  he  abstain  from  evil,  does 
not   do    good.     For  they  do   not  demonstrate 
virtue  by  argument,  but  practice  it,  and  count  as 
nothing  the    glory  current   among   men.     They 
manfully    subjugate    the    passions   of   the    soul, 
yielding  neither  to  the  necessities  of  nature,  nor 
succumbing  to  the  weakness  of  the  body.     Hav- 
ing possessed  the  power  of  the  Divine  mind,  they 
always  look  away  to  the  Creator  of  the  whole, 
night  and  day  worshiping  him,  and  appeasing 
him  by  prayers  and  supplications.     By  purity  of 
soul  and  by  a  life  of  good  works  they  entered 
without    guilt    upon   religious   observances,   and 
despised    purification,  lustral  vessels,  and    such 
ceremonials  ;  for  they  think  that  sins  alone  are 
blemishes.     They  are  greater  than  the  external 
casualties  to  which  we  are  liable,  and  hold,  as  it 
were,   all  things   under   their  control :    and  are 
not  therefore  diverted  from  the  path  they  have 
selected  by  the  disasters  or  the  necessity  which 
sway  the    life.     They  are  not  distressed  when 
insulted,  nor  do  they  defend  themselves  when 
suffering  from  malice  ;  nor  do  they  lose  heart, 
when  pressed  by  sickness  or  lack  of  necessaries, 
but  rather  rejoice  in  such  trials  and  endure  them 
with  patience  and  meekness.     They  inure  them- 
selves through  the  whole  of  life  to  be  content 
with  little,  and  approximate  as  nearly  to  God  as 
is  possible  to  human  nature.     They  regard  the 
present  life  as  a  journey  only,  and  are  not  there- 
fore solicitous   about  acquiring  wealth,  nor   do 
they    provide    for    the    present    beyond    urgent 
necessities.     They  admire  the  beauty  and  sim- 
plicity  of  nature,   but  their  hope   is  placed  in 
heaven    and    the    blessedness    of    the    future. 
Wholly  absorljed  in  the  worship  of  God,  they 
revolted   from  obscene  language  ;   and  as  they 
had  banished  evil  practices,  so  they  would  not 
allow   such    things    to    be    even    named.     They 
limited,   as   far    as    possible,   the    demands    of 
nature,  and  compelled  the  body  to  be  satisfied 
with  moderate  supplies.     They  overcame  intem- 
perance by  temperance,  injustice  by  justice,  and 
falsehood    by   truth,   and    attained    the    happy 
medium  in  all  things.     They  dwelt  in  harmony 
and  fellowship  with  their  neighbors.     They  pro- 
vided for  their  friends  and  strangers,  imparted 
to  those  who  were  in  want,  according  to  their 
need,  and  comforted  the  afflicted.     .As  they  were 
diligent  in  all  things,  and  zealous  in  seeking  the 


supreme  good,  their  instructions,  though  clothed 
in  modesty  and  prudence,  and  devoid  of  vain 
and  meritricious  eloquence,  possessed  power, 
like  sovereign  medicines,  in  healing  the  moral 
diseases  of  their  audience  1  they  spoke,  too, 
with  fear  and  reverence,  and  eschewed  all  strife, 
raillery,  and  anger.  Indeed,  it  is  but  reasonable 
to  suppress  all  irrational  emotions,  and  to  sub- 
due carnal  and  natural  passions.  Elias  the 
prophet  and  John  the  Baptist  were  the  authors, 
as  some  say,  of  this  sublime  philosophy.  Philo 
the  Pythagorean^  relates,  that  in  his  time  the 
most  virtuous*  of  the  Hebrews  assembled  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  settled  in  a  tract  of 
country  situated  on  a  hill  near  Lake  Mareotis, 
for  the  purpose  of  living  as  philosophers.  He 
describes  their  dwellings,  their  regimen,  and 
their  customs,  as  similar  to  those  which  we  now 
meet  with  among  the  monks  of  Egypt.  He 
says  that  from  the  moment  they  began  to  apply 
themselves  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  they  gave 
up  their  property  to  their  relatives,  relinquished 
business  and  society,  and  dwelt  outside  of  walls,  in 
fields  and  in  gardens.  They  had  also,  he  informs 
us,  sacred  edifices  which  were  called  monasteries, 
in  which  they  dwelt  apart  and  alone,  occupied 
in  celebrating  the  holy  mysteries,  and  in  wor- 
shiping God  sedulously  with  psalms  and  hymns. 
They  never  tasted  food  before  sunset,  and  some 
only  took  food  every  third  day,  or  even  at  longer 
intervals.  Finally,  he  says,  that  on  certain  days 
they  lay  on  the  ground  and  abstained  from  wirre 
and  the  flesh  of  animals ;  that  their  food  was 
bread,  salt,  and  hyssop,  and  their  drink,  water ; 
and  that  there  were  women  among  them  who 
had  lived  as  virgins  to  old  age,  who,  for  the  love 
of  philosophy,  and  from  their  voluntary  judg- 
ment, practiced  ceUbacy.  In  this  narrative, 
Philo  seems  to  describe  -  certain  Jews  who  had 
embraced  Christianity,  and  yet  retained  the  cus- 
toms of  their  nation  ;  for  no  vestiges  of  this  man- 
ner of  life  are  to  be  found  elsewhere  :  and  hence 
I  conclude  that  this  philosophy  flourished  in 
Egypt  from  this  period.  Others,  however,  assert 
that  this  mode  of  life  originated  from  the  perse- 
cutions for  the  sake  of  religion,  which  arose  from 
time  to  time,  and  by  which  many  were  compelled 
to  flee  to  the  mountains  and  deserts  and  forests, 
and  they  became  used  to  this  kind  of  living. 


CHAP.   XIII. ABOUT   ANTON\'    THE    GREAT   AND    ST. 

PAUL   THE    SIMPLE. 

Whether  the  Egyptians  or  others  are  to  be 
regarded  as  the  founders  of  this  philosophy,  it  is 


'  Valcsius  would  prefer  to  read  "  The  Platonist." 

-  Cf.  Eus.  //.  E.  ii.   17,  where  he  attributes  to  the   Christians 

what  is  said  by  Philo  concerning  the  Therapeuta;,  as  these  ascetics 

were  called. 


I- 13] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


249 


universally  admitted  that  Antony,^  the  great  monk, 
developed  this  course  of  life,  by  morals  and  be- 
fitting exercises,  to  the  summit  of  exactness  and 
perfection.  His  fame  was  so  widely  spread 
throughout  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  that  the  em- 
peror Constantine,  for  the  reputation  of  the 
man's  virtue,  sought  his  friendship,  honored 
him  with  correspondence,  and  urged  him  to 
write  about  what  he  might  need.  He  was  an 
Egyptian  by  race,  and  belonged  to  an  illustrious 
family  of  Coma,  which  was  situated  near  the 
Heraclea  which  is  on  the  Egj'ptian  borders." 
He  was  but  a  youth  when  he  lost  his  parents ; 
he  bestowed  his  paternal  inheritance  upon  his 
fellow-villagers,  sold  the  rest  of  his  possessions, 
and  distributed  the  proceeds  among  the  needy; 
for  he  was  aware  that  philosophy  does  not 
merely  consist  in  the  relinquishment  of  prop- 
erty, but  in  the  proper  distribution  of  it.  He 
obtained  the  acquaintance  of  the  devoted  men 
of  his  time,  and  emulated  the  virtues  of  all.  Be- 
lieving that  the  practice  of  goodness  would  be- 
come delightful  by  habit,  though  arduous  at  the 
outset,  he  retiected  on  more  intense  methods  of 
asceticism,  and  day  by  day  he  augmented  it  by 
self-control  just  as  if  he  were  always  re-commenc- 
ing his  undertaking.  He  subdued  the  voluptu- 
ousness of  the  body  by  labor,  and  restrained  the 
passions  of  the  soul  by  the  aid  of  the  Divine 
wisdom.  His  food  was  bread  and  salt,  his  drink 
water,  and  he  never  broke  his  fast  till  after  sun- 
set. He  often  remained  two  or  more  days  with- 
out eating.  He  watched,  so  to  speak,  through- 
out the  night,  and  continued  in  prayer  till 
daybreak.  If  at  any  time  he  indulged  in  sleep, 
it  was  but  for  a  little  while  on  a  short  mat ;  but 
generally  the  bare  earth  was  his  couch.  He  re- 
jected the  practice  of  anointing  with  oil,  and 
the  use  of  baths  and  of  similar  luxuries  likely  to 
relax  the  tension  of  the  body  by  moisture  ;  and 
it  is  said  that  he  never  at  any  time  saw  himself 
naked.  He  neither  possessed  nor  admired  learn- 
ing, but  he  valued  a  good  understanding,  as  be- 
ing prior  to  letters  and  as  being  the  very  di^M 
coverer  of  it.  He  was  exceedingly  meeb>':ftH''d 
philanthropic,  prudent  and  manly ;  che6<^a'F*^ 
conversation  and  friendly  in  disput'ati  "'''  ■  '^'4A 
when  others  used  the  controvef^M^^^pi  -  .w  oc- 
casion for  strife.  By  his  own  h^^  Urifld  kind 
of  intelligence  he  quieted  <  ^ness  when 

on  the  increase,  and  reston-i  1  -fircH-  to  modera- 
tion ;  he  also  tempered  the  aifflSt'M  those  who 
conversed  with  him,  and  rrL^idKia^ftheir  man- 
ners. Although  on  account  i;''Pfii.-i'''ilxtraordinary 
virtues,  he  had  become  fill (•''^"•'(^W  the  Divine 
foreknowledge,  he  did  not  rcjjtiffl'i^j^knowledge 

93 


of  the  future  as  a  virtue,  nor  did  he  counsel 
others  to  seek  this  gift  rashly,  for  he  considered 
that  no  one  would  be  punished  or  rewarded  ac- 
cording to  his  ignorance  or  knowledge  of  futu- 
rity ;  for  true  blessedness  consists  in  the  service 
of  God,  and  in  keeping  his  laws.  "  But,"  said 
he,  "  if  any  man  would  know  the  future,  let  him 
continually  be  purified  in  soul,  for  then  he  will 
have  power  to  walk  in  the  light,  and  to  under- 
stand things  that  are  to  happen,  for  God  will 
reveal  the  future  to  him."  He  never  suffered 
himself  to  be  idle,  but  exhorted  all  those  who 
seemed  disposed  to  lead  a  good  life,  to  diligence 
in  labor,  to  self-examination  and  confession  of 
sin  before  Him  who  created  the  day  and  the 
night ;  and  when  they  erred,  he  urged  them 
to  record  the  transgression  in  writing,  that  so 
they  might  be  ashamed  of  their  sins,  and  be 
fearful  lest  any  one  should  find  the  many  things 
recorded  ;  for  he  would  be  fearful,  lest  if  the 
document  were  traced  to  him  he  should  become 
disclosed  to  other  people  as  a  depraved  charac- 
ter. He  above  all  others  came  forward  spirit- 
edly and  most  zealously  for  the  defense  of  the 
injured,  and  in  their  cause  often  resorted  to  the 
cities ;  for  many  came  out  to  him,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  intercede  for  them  with  the  rulers 
and  men  in  power.  All  the  people  felt  honored 
in  seeing  him,  listened  with  avidity  to  his  dis- 
courses, and  yielded  assent  to  his  arguments  ; 
but  he  preferred  to  remain  unknown  and  con- 
cealed in  the  deserts.  When  compelled  to 
visit  a  city,  he  never  failed  to  return  to  the 
deserts  as  soon  as  he  had  accomplished  the 
work  he  had  undertaken;  for,  he  said,  that  as 
fishes  are  nourished  in  the  water,  so  the  desert 
is  the  world  prepared  for  monks;  ai" "  ■-  ^  '.■ 
die  when  throv^TtrjajjKjRj/ditn-  IdvAll  : 


lose  their  •grav,it}'5Yhe|i1■t^, 


Ij= 


)rlJ. 

'  Cf.  Soc.  i.  21,  and  his  reference  ;  ittributed  to  Atha- 

nasius.  .  JW  7 

2  There  were  two  cities  of  this  name,  MerjCfei'  the  greatey^nd 
Heraclea  the  less.  ' 


carri(.-<l  Ixmp^'^^i^^i&tx^y:  and  graciously  io- 
wnrl-.  :.amHpJljo'^«';cvn?  hiita,'and  he  was  careful  not 
i( '  .h|t»^,  vjar  suem  to  have,  a  supercihous  nature. 
itoh^,'ji(^  giMeiy  this  concise  account  of  the  man- 
Vtcff*;  t<5$r}Antuny,  in  order  that  an  idea  of  his 
{ji^iftosophy  may  be  formed,  by  analogy,  from  the 
i^esrj  iption  of  his  conduct  in  the  desert. 

He  had  many  renowned  disciples,  of  whom 
some  flourished  in  Egypt  and  Libya,  others  in 
Palestine,  Syria,  and  Arabia  ;  not  less  than  their 
master,  did  each  disciple  pass  his  life  with  those 
among  whom  he  dwelt,  and  regulate  his  con- 
duct, and  instruct  many,  and  wed  them  unto 
kindred  virtues  and  philosophy.  But  it  would 
be  difficult  for  any  one  to  find  the  companions 
of  Antony  or  their  successors  by  going  carefully 
th|rough  cities  and  villages  to  discover  them,  for 
^ey  sought  concealment  more  earnestly  than 
many  ambitious  men,  by  means  of  pomp  and 
show,  now  seek  popularity  and  renown. 

We  must  relate,  in  chronological  order,  the 


2=;o 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[  I-  13- 


history  of  the  most  celebrated  disciples  of  An- 
tony, and  particularly  that  of  Paul,  surnamed 
the  Simple.^  It  is  said  that  he  dwelt  in  the 
country,  and  was  married  to  a  beautiful  woman, 
and  that  having  surprised  her  in  the  act  of  adul- 
tery, he  laughed  placidly  and  affirmed  with  an 
oath,  that  he  would  live  with  her  no  longer ; 
that  he  left  her  with  the  adulterer,  and  went  im- 
mediately to  join  Antony  in  the  desert.  It  is 
further  related  that  he  was  exceedingly  meek 
and  patient :  and  that,  being  aged  and  unac- 
customed to  monastic  severity,  Antony  put  his 
strength  to  the  proof  by  various  trials,  for  he 
was  newly  come,  and  detected  nothing  ignoble  ; 
and  that,  having  given  evidence  of  perfect  phil- 
osophy, he  was  sent  to  live  alone,  as  no  longer 
requiring  a  teacher.  And  God  himself  con- 
firmed the  testimony  of  Antony ;  and  demon- 
strated the  man  to  be  most  illustrious  through 
his  deeds,  and  as  greater  than  even  his  teacher 
in  vexing  and  expelling  demons. 

CHAP.    XIV. ACCOUNT    OF    ST.    AMMON    AND    EUTY- 

CHIUS  OF  OLYMPUS. 

It  was  about  this  period  that  Ammon,^  the 
Egyptian,  embraced  philosophy.  It  is  said  that 
he  was  compelled  to  marry  by  his  family,  but 
that  his  wife  never  knew  him  carnally ;  for  on 
the  day  of  their  marriage,  when  they  were  alone, 
and  when  he  as  the  bridegroom  was  leading  her 
as  the  bride  to  his  bed,  he  said  to  her,  "  Oh, 
woman  !  our  marriage  has  indeed  taken  place, 
but  it  is  not  consummated " ;  and  then  he 
showed  her  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  it 
was  her  chief  good  to  remain  a  virgin,  and  en- 
treated that  the5<  tnij^t  live  apart.  She  was 
<<§b#«M*¥>.' p-'  '    '    ;»t;m»l<r.ioncerning  virginity, 

,;ijiBitwr-5' M""  .,w,.iW-.t,-viJUiK5th(h  thought  of  being 
-^^.'11        ,  ,  .>m  him  ;vj£tflQi'tij(^-^ev though  oc- 
cupying a  separate  bed.riiitti  fcv'*do|l»i4:liJ_iJier  for 
eighteen  years,  during  wliirh  tiftJe  "lih?  '.a1»f  nnot 
neglect  the  monastic  exer(  i.-^t-s.     At<li}ig,$iiv-6'"fatf 
this   period,   the  woman  whose   eiiinl4.tiOTi  i^au' 
been  strongly  excited  by  the  virtue  of  h 
band,  became  convinced  that  it  was  nul  jl.^l  ii.u  ; 
such  a  man  should,  on  her  account,  live  in  the 
domestic    sphere ;  and    she   considered    that  it 
was  necessary  that  each  should,  for  the  sake   of 
philosophy,  live  apart  from  the  other  ;  and  she 
entreated  this  of  her  husband.     He  therefore 
took  his  departure,  after   having  thanked   God 
for  the  counsel  of  his  wife,  and  said  to  her,  "Do 
thou  retain  this  house,  and  I  will  make  another 
^.ox  myself."     He  retired  to  a  desert  place,  south 
of  the    Mareotic  lake  between   Scitis   and    the 
nountain  called    Nitria;  and  here,  during  two 


1  Ruf.  //.  Af.  31 ;  Pall.  H.  L.  27. 

2  Ruf.  H.  M.  30;  Pall.  //.  L.  12;  Soc.  iv.  23. 


and  twenty  years,  he  devoted  himself  to  philoso- 
phy and  visited  his  wife  twice  every  year.  This 
divine  man  was  the  founder  of  the  monasteries 
there,  and  gathered  round  him  many  disciples 
of  note,  as  the  registers  Cf  succession  show. 
Many  extraordinary  events  happened  to  him, 
which  have  been  accurately  fixed  by  the  Egyp- 
tian monks,  who  did  very  much  to  commemorate 
carefully  the  virtues  of  the  naore  ancient  .ascetics, 
presen-ed  in  a  succession  of  unwritten  tradition. 
I  will  relate  such  of  them  as  have  come  to  our 
knowledge. 

Ammon  and  his  disciple  Theodore,  had  once 
occasion  to  take  a  journey  somewhere,  and  on 
the  road  found  it  requisite  to  cross  a  canal 
called  Lycus.  Ammon  ordered  Theodore  to 
pass  over  backwards,  lest  they  should  Avitness 
each  other's  nudity,  and  as  he  was  likewise 
ashamed  to  see  himself  naked,  he  was  suddenly, 
and  by  a  Divine  impulse,  seized  and  carried 
over,  and  landed  on  the  opposite  bank,  ^^'hen 
Theodore  had  crossed  the  water,  he  perceived 
that  the  clothes  and  feet  of  the  elder  were  not 
wet,  and  inquired  the  reason ;  not  receiving  a 
reply,  he  expostulated  strongly  on  the  subject, 
and  at  length  Ammon,  after  stipulating  that  it 
should  not  be  mentioned  during  his  lifetime, 
confessed  the  fact. 

Here  follows  another  miracle  of  the  same 
nature.  Some  wicked  fathers,  having  brought  to 
him  a  son,  who  had  been  bitten  by  a  mad  dog, 
and  was  nigh  unto  death,  besought  him  in  their 
lamentations  to  heal  him.  He  said  to  them, 
"Your  son  does  not  require  my  healing,  but  if 
you  are  willing  to  restore  to  your  masters  the  ox 
you  have  stolen,  he  will  be  healed  immediately." 
And  the  result  was  even  as  had  been  predicted ; 
for  the  ox  was  restored  and  the  malady  of  the 
child  removed.  It  is  said  that,  when  Ammon 
died,  Antony  saw  his  spirit  ascending  into 
heaven,  since  the  heavenly  powers  conducted 
him  with  the  singing  of  psalms,  and  on  being 
questioned  by  his  companions  as  to  the  cause  of 
l>i;ii,i.\ident  astonishment,  he  did  not  conceal  the 
■  ""  :r  from  them  ;  for  he  was  seen  to  survey 
^Ify.jintentlv,  because  of  his  amazement  at 
ti^^Qsq'^|^,if)f  \\\c  marv^elous  spectacle.  A  short 
timeij^iB^'ftrWfl^^  ]:)ersons  came  from  Scitis,  and, 
announa%^g:  jl^T''i'"^ir  of  Ammon's  death,  the 
truth  of  ,^)i^)j(^fl3';s  prediction  was  manifested. 
Thus,  as  i^  tfl^^^eil  by  all  good  men,  each  of 
these  holy  n^r^it^p^  was  blessed  in  a  special  man- 
ner ;  the  Qn^,iij,;being  released  from  this  life  ; 
the  otherj/^y,i^ei4ig  accounted  worthy  of  wit- 
nessing SO:  rflij'.^Ti^ous  3.  spectacle  as  that  which 
God  show^ok^ ijt^^j  for  Antony  and  Amnion  lived 
at  a  distance  of  many  days'  journey  from  each 
other,  and  incident  is  corroborated  by 

those  who  wc  Mjnally  acquainted  with  them 

both.  '•'' 


1. 15.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


251 


I  am  convinced  that  it  was  likewise  during 
this  reign  that  Eutychianus '  embraced  philoso- 
phy. He  fixed  his  residence  in  Bithynia,  near 
Olympus.  He  belonged  to  the  sect  of  the 
Novatians,-  and  was  a  partaker  of  Divine  grace  ; 
he  healed  diseases  and  wrought  miracles,  and 
the  fame  of  his  virtuous  life  induced  Constantine 
to  keep  his  intimacy  and  friendship.  It  so  hap- 
pened, that  about  this  period,  one  of  the  royal 
body-guard,  who  was  suspected  of  plotting 
against  the  sovereign,  fled,  and  after  search,  was 
apprehended  near  Olympus.  Eutychianus  was 
besought  by  relatives  of  the  man  to  intercede 
on  his  behalf  with  the  emperor,  and  in  the 
meantime,  to  direct  that  the  prisoner's  chains 
might  be  loosened,  lest  he  should  perish  be- 
neath their  weight.  It  is  related  that  Eutychi- 
anus accordingly  sent  to  the  officers  who  held 
the  man  in  custody,  desiring  them  to  loosen  the 
chains  ;  and  that,  on  their  refusal,  he  went  him- 
self to  the  prison,  when  the  doors,  though  fas- 
tened, opened  of  their  own  accord,  and  the 
bonds  of  the  prisoner  fell  off.  Eutychianus 
afterwards  repaired  to  the  emperor  who  was 
then  residing  at  Byzantium,  and  easily  obtained 
a  pardon,  for  Constantine  was  not  wont  to  re- 
fuse his  requests,  because  he  held  the  man  in 
very  great  honor. 

I  have  now  given  in  few  words  the  history  of 
the  most  illustrious  professors  of  the  monastic 
philosophy.  If  any  one  desires  more  exact  in- 
formation about  these  men  he  will  find  it  in  the 
biographies  which  have  been  written  of  very 
many  of  them. 

CHAP.    XV. THE   ARIAN    HERESY,    ITS    ORIGIN,    ITS 

PROGRESS,     AND     THE      CONTENTION      WHICH      IT 
OCCASIONED    AMONG   THE    BISHOPS. 

Although,  as  we  have  shown,  religion  was  in 
a  flourishing  condition  at  this  period,  yet  the 
churches  were  disturbed  by  sore  contentions ; 
for  under  the  pretext  of  piety  and  of  seeking  the 
more  perfect  discovery  of  God,  certain  questions 
were  agitated,  which  had  not,  till  then,  been  ex- 
amined. Arius  ^  was  the  originator  of  these  dis- 
putations. He  was  a  presbyter  of  the  church  at 
Alexandria  in  Egypt,  and  was  at  first  a  zealous 
thinker  about  doctrine,  and  upheld  the  innova- 
tions of  Melitius.  Eventually,  however,  he 
abandoned  this  latter  opinion,*  and  was  ordained 
deacon  by  Peter,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  who 
afterwards  cast  him  out  of  the  church,  because 
when  Peter  anathematized  the  zealots  of  Meli- 
tius and  rejected  their  baptism,  Arius   assailed 

1  Soc.  i.  13,  who  gives  his  authority  as  Auxanon,  a  Novatian. 

2  Eus.  H.  E.  vii.  8;   Soc.  i.  10;  iv.  28,  &c. 

"  Eus.  V.  C.  parts  of  ii.  &  iii.;  Ruf.  //.  E.  i.  1-6;  Soc.  i. 
S-13;   Philost.  H.  E.  i.  3-9. 

■*  No  one  else  suggests  an  early  connection  of  Arius  with  the 
Melitians. 


him  for  these  acts  and  could  not  be  restrained 
in  quietness.  After  the  martyrdom  of  Peter, 
Arius  asked  forgiveness  of  Achillas,  and  was 
restored  to  his  office  as  deacon,  and  afterwards 
elevated  to  the  presbytery.  Afterwards  Alex- 
ander, also,  held  him  in  high  repute,  since  he 
was  a  most  expert  logician  ;  for  it  was  said  that 
he  was  not  lacking  in  such  knowledge.  He  fell 
into  absurd  discourses,  so  that  he  had  the  au- 
dacity to  preach  in  the  church  what  no  one 
before  him  had  ever  suggested;  namely,  that 
the  Son  of  God  was  made  out  of  that  which  had 
no  prior  existence,  that  there  was  a  period  of 
time  in  which  he  existed  not ;  that,  as  possessing 
free  will,  he  was  capable  of  vice  and  virtue, 
and  that  he  was  created  and  made  :  to  these, 
many  other  similar  assertions  were  added  as  he 
went  forward  into  the  arguments  an;i  the  details 
of  inquiry.  Those  who  heard  these  doctrines 
advanced,  blamed  Alexander  for  not  opposing 
the  innovations  at  variance  with  doctrine.  But 
this  bishop  deemed  it  more  advisable  to  leave 
each  party  to  the  free  discussion  of  doubtful 
topics,  so  that  by  persuasion  rather  than  by 
force,  they  might  cease  from  contention  ;  hence 
he  sat  down  as  a  judge  with  some  of  his  clergy, 
and  led  both  sides  into  a  discussion.  But  it 
happened  on  this  occasion,  as  is  generally  the 
case  in  a  strife  of  wc5rds,  that  each  party  claimed 
the  victory.  Arius  defended  his  assertions,  but 
the  others  contended  that  the  Son  is  consub- 
stantial  and  co-eternal  with  the  Father.  The 
council  was  convened  a  second  time,  and  the 
same  points  contested,  but  they  came  to  no 
agreement  amongst  themselves.  During  the 
debate,  Alexander  seemed  to  incline  first  to  one 
party  and  then  to  the  other  ^;  finally,  however,  he 
declared  himself  in  favor  of  those  who  affirmed 
that  the  Son  was  consubstantial  and  co- eternal 
with  the  Father,  and  he  commanded  Arius  to 
receive  this  doctrine,  and  to  reject  his  former 
opinions.  Arius,  however,  would  not  be  per- 
suaded to  compliance,  and  many  of  the  bishops 
and  clergy  considered  his  statement  of  doctrine 
to  be  correct.  Alexander,  therefore,  ejected 
him  and  the  clergy  who  concurred  with  him 
in  sentiment  from  the  church.  Those  of  the 
parish  of  Alexandria,  who  had  embraced  his 
opinions,  were  the  presbyters  Aithalas,  Achillas, 
Carpones,  Sarmates,  and  Arius,*^  and  the  deacons 
Euzoius,  Macarius,  Julius,  Menas,  and  Helladius. 
Many  of  the  people,  hkewise,  sided  with  them  : 
some,  because  they  imagined  their  doctrines  to 
be  of  God  ;  others,  as  frequently  happens  in  sim- 
ilar cases,  because  they  believed  them  to  have 


^  A  doubtful  and  unsupported  assertion.  Al!  other  testimony 
makes  Alexander  steadfast  and  exact  in  his  definition. 

"  There  are  variations  in  names,  offices,  numbers  in  attendance, 
and  course  of  debate  in  the  early  as  well  as  later  accounts  of  the 
controversy. 


2s2 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I-  15. 


been  ill-treated  and   unjustly   excommunicated. 
Such  being  the  state  of  affairs  at  Alexandria,  the 
partisans  of  Arius,   deeming  it   prudent  to  seek 
the  favor   of  the   bishops  of  other  cities,   sent 
legations  to  them  ;  they  sent  a  written  statement 
of  their  doctrines  to  them,  requesting  them  that, 
if  they  considered  such  sentiments  to  be  of  God, 
they  would  signify  to  Alexander  that  he  ought 
not  to  molest  them  ;  but  that  if  they  disapproved 
of  the  doctrines,  they  should  teach  them  what 
opinions  were  necessary  to  be  held.     This  pre- 
caution was  of  no  little  advantage  to  them ;  for 
their    tenets  became    thus   universally  dissemi- 
nated, and   the  questions  they  had  started  be- 
came matters  of  debate  among  all  the  bishops. 
Some  wrote  to  Alexander,  entreating    him   not 
to  receive  the  partisans  of  Arius  into  communion 
unless    they    repudiated    their    opinions,    while 
others  wrote  to  urge  a  contrary  line  of  conduct. 
When  Alexander  perceived  that  many  who  were 
revered  by  the  appearance  of  good  conduct,  and 
weighty  by  the  persuasiveness  of  eloquence,  held 
with  the  party  of  Arius,  and  particularly  Eusebius, 
president  of  the  church  of  Nicomedia,  a  man  of 
considerable  learning  and    held  in  high  repute 
at  the  palace  ;   he  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  every 
church   desiring  them  not  to  hold  communion 
with   them.     This  measure  kindled  the  zeal  of 
each  party  the  more,  and  as  might  have  been 
expected,  the  contest  was  increasingly  agitated. 
Eusebius  and  his  partisans  had  often  petitioned 
Alexander,  but  could  not  persuade  him  ;  so  that 
considering    themselves   insulted,   they   became 
indignant  and  came  to  a  stronger  determination 
to    support    the    doctrine   of  Arius.      A    synod 
having  been  convened  in  Bithynia,  they  wrote 
to  all  the  bishops,  desiring  them  to  hold  com- 
munion with  the  Arians,  as  with  those  makins:  a 
true   confession,   and    to   retjuire  Alexander   to 
hold  communion  with  them  likewise.     As  com- 
pliance could  not  be  extorted   from  Alexander, 
Arius   sent    messengers  to    Paulinas,   bishop    of 
Tyre,    to    Eusebius    Pamphilus,    who    presided 
over  the  church    of  Cfesarea  in  Palestine,  and 
to  Patrophilus,  bishop  of  Scythopolis,  soliciting 
permission  for  himself  and  for  his  adherents,  as 
they  had  previously  attained  the  rank  of  pres- 
byters, to  form  the  people  who  were  with  them 
into    a    church.       For   it    was    the    custom    in 
Alexandria,  as  it  still  is  in  the  present  day,  tliat 
all  the  churches  should   be  under  one  bishop, 
but   that   each   presbyter  should   have   his  own 
church,    in    which    to    assemble     the     people. 
These  three  bishops,  in  concurrence  with  others 
who  were  assembled  in   Palestine,  granted   the 
petition  of  Arius,  and  permitted  him  to  assemble 
the  people  as  before ;  but  enjoined  submission 
to  Alexander,  and  commanded   Arius  to  strive 
incessantly  to  be  restored   to   peace  and   com- 
munion with  him. 


CHAP.     XVI. CONSTANTIXE,     HAVING      HEARD      OF 

THE  STRIFE  OF  THE  BISHOPS,  AXD  THE  DIFFER- 
ENCE OF  OPINION  CONCERNING  THE  PASSOVER, 
IS  GREATLY  TROUBLED  AND  SENDS  HOSIUS,  A 
SPANIARD,  BISHOP  OF  CORDOVA,  TO  ALEXAN- 
DRIA, TO  ABOLISH  THE  DISSENSION  AMONG  THE 
BISHOPS,  AND  TO  SETTLE  THE  DISPUTE  ABOUT 
THE    PASSOVER. 

After  there  had  been  many  synods  held  in 
EgyjDt,  and  the  contest  had  still  continued  to 
increase  in  violence,  the  report  of  the  dissen- 
sion reached  the  palace,  and  Constantine  was 
thereby  greatly  troubled  ;  for  just  at  this  period, 
when  religion  was  beginning  to  be  more  gen- 
erally propagated,  many  were  deterred  by  the 
difference  in  doctrines  from  embracing  Chris- 
tianity. The  emperor^  openly  charged  Arius 
and  Alexander  wath  having  originated  this  dis- 
turbance, and  Avrote  to  rebuke  them  for  having 
made  a  controversy  public  which  it  was  in  their 
power  to  have  concealed,  and  for  having  con- 
tentiously  agitated  a  question  which  ought  never 
to  have  been  mooted,  or  upon  which,  at  least, 
their  opinion  ought  to  have  been  given  quietly. 
He  told  them  that  they  ought  not  to  have  sepa- 
rated from  others  on  account  of  difference  of 
sentiment  concerning  certain  points  of  doctrine. 

For  concerning  the  Divine  Providence  men 
ought  necessarily  to  hold  one  and  the  same 
belief;  but  the  minute  researches  in  this  prov- 
ince, especially  if  they  do  not  bring  them  to  the 
one  opinion,  must  be  retained  in  secret  accord- 
ing to  all  reason.  He  exhorted  them  to  put 
away  all  loose  talk  about  such  points,  and  to  be 
of  one  mind ;  for  he  had  been  not  a  little 
grieved,  and  on  this  account  he  had  renounced 
his  intention  of  visiting  the  cities  of  the  East. 
It  was  in  this  strain  that  he  wrote  to  Alexander 
and  to  Arius,  reproving  and  exhorting  them 
both. 

Constantine  was  also  deeply  grieved  at  the 
diversity  of  opinion  which  prevailed  concerning 
the  celebration  of  the  Passover ;  -  for  some  of 
the  cities  in  the  East  differed  on  this  point,  al- 
though they  did  not  withhold  from  communion 
with  one  another ;  they  kept  the  festival  more 
according  to  the  manner  of  the  Jews,^  and  as 
was  natural  by  this  divergence,  detracted  from 
the  splendor  of  the  festal  sacrifice.  The  em- 
peror zealously  endeavored  to  remove  both 
these  causes  of  dissension  from  the  church  ;  and 
thinking  to  be  able  to  remove  the  evil  before  it 
advanced  to  greater  proportions,  he  sent  one 
who  was  honored  for  his  faitlv,  his  virtuous  life, 
and  most  approved  in  those  former  times  for  his 


'  Soz.  only  outlines  the  letter,  given  completely  in  Eus.  /'.  C. 
ii.  64-7^:   of  whicli  Soc.  quotes  the  greater  part.     i.  7. 

-  Eus.  /'.  C.  iii.  5;  Soc.  i.  8. 

•*  They  were  called  Quartodecimanians.  Euseb.  H.  E.  v.  24; 
Soc.  V.  22. 


I.  iS.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY'  OE    SOZOMEN. 


253 


confessions  about  this  doctrine,  to  reconcile 
those  who  were  divided  on  account  of  doctrine 
in  Egypt,  and  those  who  in  the  East  differed 
about  the  Passover.  This  man  was  Hosius, 
bishop  of  Cordova. 

CHAr.     X\II.  —  OF     THE      COUNCIL     CONVENED     AT 
NIC.EA    ON    ACCOUNT    OF    ARIUS. 

^^'HEN  it  was  found  that  the  event  did  not 
answer  the  expectations  of  the  emperor,  but  that 
on  the  contrary,  the  contention  was  too  great 
for  reconcihation,  so  that  he  who  had  been  sent 
to  make  peace  returned  without  having  accom- 
pHshed  his  mission,  Constantine  convened  a 
synod  at  Niccea,  in  Bithynia,  and  wrote  ^  to  the 
most  eminent  men  of  the  churches  in  every 
country,  directing  them  to  be  there  on  an 
appeinted  day.-  Of  those  who  occupied  the 
apostoHc  sees,  the  following  participated  in  this 
conference :  Macarius  of  Jerusalem,  Eusta- 
thius,  who  already  presided  over  the  church  of 
Antioch  on  the  Orontes ;  and  Alexander  of 
Alexandria  near  Lake  Mareotis.  Julius,''  bishop 
of  Rome,  was  unable  to  attend  on  account  of 
extreme  old  age  ;  but  his  place  was  supplied  by 
Viio  and  Vicentius,  presbyters  of  his  church. 
Many  other  excellent  and  good  men  from  differ- 
ent nations  were  congregated  together,  of  whom 
some  were  celebrated  for  their  learning,  their 
eloquence,  and  their  knowledge  of  the  sacred 
books,  and  other  discipline ;  some  for  the  vir- 
tuous tenor  of  their  life,  and  others  for  the  com- 
bination of  all  these  qualifications.  About  three 
hundred  and  twenty  bishops  were  present,  ac- 
companied by  a  multitude  of  presbyters  and 
deacons.  There  were,  likewise,  men  present 
who  were  skilled  in  dialectics,  and  ready  to 
assist  in  the  discussions.  And  as  was  usually 
the  case  on  such  occasions,  many  priests  re- 
sorted to  the  council  for  the  purpose  of  transact- 
ing their  own  private  affairs  ;  *  for  they  considered 
this  a  favorable  opportunity  for  rectifying  their 
grievances,  and  in  what  points  each  found  fault 
with  the  rest,  he  presented  a  document  to  the 
emperor,  wherein  he  noted  the  offenses  com- 
mitted against  himself.  As  this  course  was 
pursued  day  after  day,  the  emperor  set  apart 
one  certain  day  on  which  all  complaints  were  to 
be  brought  before  him.  When  the  appointed 
time  arrived,  he  took  the  memorials  which  had 
been  presented  to  him,  and  said,  "  All  these 
accusations  will  be  brought  forward  in  their  own 
season  at  the  great  day  of  judgment,  and  will 
there  be  judged  by  the  Great  Judge  of  all  menj 

1  Eus.   r.  C.  iii.  6. 

-  Eus.   V.  C.  iii.  7-11:    Soc.  i.  8;    Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  2.     The  varia- 
tions and  additions  of  Theodoret  are  verj-  noteworthy.     H.  E.  i.  7. 

*  Mistake  for  Silvester.     Cf.  ii.  20. 

*  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  2;   Soc.  i.  8.     Soz.  here  makes,  as  usual,  a  free 
use  of  the  speech  as  reported  by  Rufinus. 


as  to  me,  I  am  but  a  man,  and  it  would  be  evil 
in  me  to  take  cognizance  of  such  matters,  seeing 
that  the  accuser  and  the  accused  are  priests ; 
and  the  priests  ought  so  to  act  as  never  to 
become  amenable  tf)  the  judgment  of  others. 
Imitate,  therefore,  the  divine  lov^e  and  mercy  of 
God,  and  be  ye  reconciled  to  one  another; 
withdraw  your  accusations  against  each  other ; 
let  us  be  persuaded,  and  let  us  devote  our 
attention  to  those  subjects  connected  with  the 
faith  on  account  of  which  we  are  assembled." 
After  this  address,  in  order  to  make  the  docu- 
ment of  each  man  nugatory,  the  emperor  com- 
manded the  memorials  to  be  burnt,  and  then 
appointed  a  day  for  solving  the  doubtful  points. 
But  before  the  appointed  time  arrived,  the 
bishops  assembled  together,  and  having  sum- 
moned Arius  to  attend,  began  to  examine  the 
disputed  topics,  each  one  amongst  them  ad- 
vancing his  own  opinion.  As  might  have  been 
expected,  however,  many  different  questions 
started  out  of  the  investigation  :  some  of  the 
bishops  spoke  against  the  introduction  of  novel- 
ties contrary  to  the  faith  which  had  been  de- 
Hvered  to  them  from  the  beginning.  And  those 
especially  who  had  adhered  to  simplicity  of 
doctrine  argued  that  the  taith  of  God  ought  to 
be  received  without  curious  inquiries  ;  others,- 
however,  contended  that  ancient  opinions  ought 
not  to  be  followed  without  examination.  Many 
of  the  bishops  who  were  then  assembled,  and  of 
the  clergy  who  accompanied  them,  being  re- 
markable for  their  dialectic  skill,  and  practiced 
in  such  rhetorical  methods,  became  conspicuous, 
and  attracted  the  notice  of  the  emperor  and  the 
court.  Of  that  number  .A.thanasius,  who  was 
then  a  deacon  of  Alexandria,  and  had  accom- 
panied his  bishop  Alexander,  seemed  to  have 
the  largest  share  in  the  counsel  concerning  these 
subjects. 

CHAP.  XVIII. TWO  PHILOSOPHERS  ARE  CONVERTED 

TO  THE  FAITH    BY    THE    SIMPLICITY   OF   TWO    OLD 
MEN    WITH    WHOM    THEY    HOLD    A    DISPUTATION. 

While  these  disputations  were  being  carried 
on,  certain  of  the  pagan  philosophers  became 
desirous  of  taking  part  in  them  ;  some,  because 
they  wished  for  information  as  to  the  doctrine 
that  was  inculcated  ;  and  others,  because,  feeling 
incensed  against  the  Christians  on  account  of 
the  recent  suppression  of  the  pagan  religion,  they 
wished  to  convert  the  inquiry  about  doctrine  into 
a  strife  about  words,  so  as  to  introduce  dissensions 
among  them,  and  to  make  them  appear  as  hold- 
ing contradictory  opinions.  It  is  related  that 
one  of  these  philosophers,  priding  himself  on  his 
acknowledged  superiority  of  eloquence,  began 
to  ridicule  the  priests,  and  thereby  roused  the 
indignation  of  a  simple  old  man,  highly  esteemed 


254 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I.  iS. 


as  a  confessor,  who,  although  unskilled  in  logical 
refinements  and  wordiness,  undertook  to  oppose 
him.  The  less  serious  of  those  who  knew  the 
confessor,  raised  a  laugh '  at  his  expense  for 
engaging  in  such  an  undertaking ;  but  the  more 
thoughtful  felt  anxious  lest,  in  opposing  so 
eloquent  a  man,  he  should  only  render  himself 
ridiculous ;  yet  his  influence  was  so  great,  and 
his  reputation  so  high  among  them,  that  they 
could  not  forbid  his  engaging  in  the  debate  ; 
and  he  accordingly  delivered  himself  in  the 
following  terms  :  "  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
O  philosopher,  hearken  to  me.  There  is  one 
God,  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  all 
things  visible  and  invisible.  He  made  all  things 
by  the  power  of  the  Word,  and  established  them 
by  the  holiness  of  His  Spirit.  The  Word,  whom 
we  call  the  Son  of  God,  seeing  that  man  was 
sunk  in  error  and  living  like  unto  the  beasts, 
pitied  him,  and  vouchsafed  to  be  born  of  woman, 
to  hold  intercourse  with  men,  and  to  die  for 
them.  And  He  will  come  again  to  judge  each 
of  us  as  to  the  deeds  of  this  present  hfe.  We 
believe  these  things  to  be  true  with  all  simphcity. 
;Do  not,  therefore,  expend  your  labor  in  vain  by 
striving  to  disprove  facts  which  can  only  be 
understood  by  faith  or  by  scrutinizing  the  manner 
in  which  these  things  did  or  did  not  come  to 
pass.  Answer  me,  dost  thou  believe?"  The 
philosopher,  astonished  at  what  had  occurred, 
replied,  "  I  believe  "  ;  and  having  thanked  the 
old  man  for  having  overcome  him  in  argument, 
he  began  to  teach  the  same  doctrines  to  others. 
He  exhorted  those  who  still  held  his  former 
sentiments  to  adopt  the  views  he  had  embraced, 
assuring  them  on  oath,  that  he  had  been  impelled 
to  embrace  Christianity  by  a  certain  inexplicable 
impulse. 

It  is  said  that  a  similar  miracle  was  performed 
by  Alexander,  who  governed  the  church  of 
Constantinople.  When  Constantine  returned  to 
Byzantium,  certain  philosophers  came  to  him 
to  complain  of  the  innovations  in  religion,  and 
particularly  of  his  having  introduced  a  new  form 
of  worship  into  the  state,  contrary  to  that  fol- 
lowed by  his  forefathers,  and  by  all  who  were 
formerly  in  power,  whether  among  the  Greeks 
or  the  Romans.  They  likewise  desired  to  hold 
a  disputation  on  the  doctrine  with  Alexander 
the  bishop ;  and  he,  although  unskilled  in  such 
argumentative  contests,  and  perhaps  persuaded 
by  his  life,  seeing  that  he  was  an  excellent 
and  good  man,  accepted  the  struggle  at  the 
command  of  the  emperor.  When  the  philoso- 
phers were  assembled,  since  every  one  wished 
to  engage  in  the  discussion,  he  requested  that 
one  whom  they  esteemed  worthy  might  be 
chosen  as  spokesman,  while  the  others  were  to 


1  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  3;  Soc.  i. 
Ruf. 


8.      Soz.  gives  a  free  rendering  of 


remain  silent.  When  one  of  the  philosophers 
began  to  open  the  debate,  Alexander  said  to  him, 
"  I  command  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 
not  to  speak."  The  man  was  instantaneously 
silenced.  It  is  then  right  to  consider  whether 
it  is  a  greater  miracle  that  a  man,  and  he  a 
philosopher,  should  so  easily  be  silenced  by' a 
word,  or  that  a  stone-wall  should  be  cleft  by 
the  power  of  a  word,  which  miracle  I  have 
heard  some  attribute  to  Juhan,  surnamed  the 
Chaldean.-  I  have  understood  that  these  events 
happened  in  the  way  above  narrated. 

CHAP.  XIX. WHEN   THE  COUNCIL  WAS  ASSEMBLED, 

THE    EMPEROR    DELIVERED   A   PUBLIC   ADDRESS. 

The  bishops  held  long  consultations ;  and 
after  summoning  Arius  before  them,  they  made 
an  accurate  test  of  his  propositions ;  they  were 
intently  on  their  guard,  not  to  come  to  a  vote 
on  either  side.  When  at  length  the  appointed 
day  arrived  on  which  it  had  been  decided  to 
setde  the  doubtful  points,  they  assembled  to- 
gether^ in  the  palace,  because  the  emperor  had 
signified  his  intention  of  taking  part  in  the  de- 
liberations. When  he  was  in  the  same  place  with 
the  priests,  he  passed  through  to  the  head  of 
the  conference,  and  seated  himself  on  the  throne 
which  had  been  prepared  for  him,  and  the  synod 
was  then  commanded  to  be  seated ;  for  seats 
had  been  arranged  on  either  side  along  the  walls 
of  the  palatial  rooms,  for  it  was  the  largest,  and 
excelled  the  other  chambers. 

After  they  were  seated,  Eusebius  Pamphilus 
arose  and  delivered  an  oration*  in  honor  of  the 
emperor,  returning  thanks  to  God  on  his  ac- 
count. When  he  had  ceased  speaking,  and  si- 
lence was  restored,  the  emperor  delivered  him- 
self in  the  foWving  words  :  "  I  give  thanks  to  God 
for  all  things,  but  particularly,  O  friends,  for  be- 
ing permitted  to  see  your  conference.  And  the 
event  has  exceeded  my  prayer,  in  that  so  many 
priests  of  Christ  have  been  conducted  into  the 
same  place  ;  now,  it  is  my  desire  that  you  should 
be  of  one  mind  and  be  partakers  of  a  consentient 
judgment,  for  I  deem  dissension  in  the  Church 
of  God  as  more  dangerous  than  any  other  evil. 
Therefore  when  it  was  announced,  and  I  under- 
stood you  were  in  discord,  an  unwholesome  thing 
to  hear,  I  was  deeply  pained  in  soul ;  and  least 
of  all  does  it  profit  you,  since  you  are  the  con- 
ductors of  divine  worship  and  arbiters  of  peace. 

-  Suidas  sayshe  was  a  philosopher,  and  the  father  of  Julian,  called 
the  Theurgist.  He  was  the  author  of  a  work  concerning  demons, 
in  four  books.  The  son,  who  flourished  under  Marcus  Aurclius, 
was  so  skilled  in  the  magic  art,  that  he  called  down  rain  from 
heaven,  wlien  the  Roman  soldiers  were  perishing  from  thirst.  Arnu- 
phis,  an  Egyptian  philosopher,  was  said  to  have  wrought  a  similar 
miracle.     Suidas,  s.  v.  ^  Eus.  T.  C.  iii.  10-12. 

••  Thcodorct,  //.  /;.  i.  7,  places  this  oration  in  the  mouth  of 
Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch.  The  variations  in  the  speech  as 
recorded  by  Sozomen,  show  his  classic  view  of  reporting.  Theodo- 
ret's  report  of  Constantine's  address  is  equally  divergent. 


•] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


255 


On  this  account  it  is,  that  I  have  called  you  to- 
gether in  a  holy  Synod,  and  being  both  your 
emperor  and  your  fellow-physician,  I  seek  for 
you  a  favor  which  is  acceptable  to  our  common 
Lord,  and  as  honorable  for  me  to  receive,  as  for 
you  to  grant.  The  fovor  which  I  seek  is,  that 
you  examine  the  causes  of  the  strife,  and  put  a 
consentient  and  peaceful  end  thereto  ;  so  that  I 
may  triumph  with  you  over  the  envious  demon, 
who  excited  this  internal  revolt  because  he  was 
provoked  to  see  our  external  enemies  and  ty- 
rants under  our  feet,  and  envied  our  good  estate." 
The  emperor  pronounced  this  discourse  in  Latin, 
and  the  interpretation  was  supplied  by  one  at 
his  side. 


CILA.P.  XX.  —  AFTER  HAVING  GIVEN  AUDIENCE  TO 
BOTH  PARTIES,  THE  EMPEROR  CONDEMNED  THE 
FOLLOWERS    OF   ARIUS   AND    BANISHED    THEM. 

The  next  debate  by  the  priests  turned  upon 
doctrine.^  The  emperor  gave  patient  attention 
to  the  speeches  of  both  parties ;  he  applauded 
those  who  spoke  well,  rebuked  those  who  dis- 
played a  tendency  to  altercation,  and  according 
to  his  apprehension  of  what  he  heard,  for  he  was 
not  wholly  unpracticed  in  the  Greek  tongue,  he 
addressed  •  himself  with  kindness  to  each  one. 
Finally  all  the  priests  agreed  with  one  another 
and  conceded  that  the  Son  is  consubstantial  with 
the  Father.  At  the  commencement  of  the  con- 
ference there  were  but  seventeen  who  praised 
the  opinion  of  Arius,  but  eventually  the  majority 
of  these  yielded  assent  to  the  general  view.  To 
this  judgment  the  emperor  likewise  deferred,  for 
he  regarded  the  unanimitv  of  the  conference  to 
be  a  divine  approbation  ;  and  he  ordained  that 
any  one  who  should  be  rebellious  thereto,  should 
forthwith  be  sent  into  banishment,  as  guilty 
of  endeavoring  to  overthrow  the  Divine  defini- 
tions. I  had  thought  it  necessary  to  reproduce 
the  very  document  concerning  the  matter,  as  an 
example  of  the  truth,  in  order  that  posterity  might 
possess  in  a  fixed  and  clear  form  the  symbol  of 
the  faith  which  proved  pacificatory  at  the  time  ; 
but  since  some  pious  friends,  who  understood, 
such  matters,  recommended  that  these  truths 
ought  to  be  spoken  of  and  heard  by  the  initiated 
and  their  initiators^  only,  I  agreed  with  their 
council ;  for  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the 
uninitiated  may  read  this  book.  While  I  have 
concealed  such  of  the  prohibited  material  as  I 
ought  to  keep  silent  about,  I  have  not  altogether 
left  the  reader  ignorant  of  the  opinions  held  by 
the  svnod. 


^  Eus.  V.  C.  iii.  13,  14;   Soc.  i.  8. 

2  /nvcTTttt  (cal  ixvaTa-yiuyoi,  as  applied  to  the  Christian  mysteries. 
The  principle  here  adduced  is  different  from  that  which  ruled  with 
Ruf.  H.  E.i.6:  Soc.  i.  8. 


CHAP.     XXI. WHAT     THE     COUNCIL     DETERMINED 

ABOUT  ARIUS  ;  THE  CONDEMN.VI'ION  OF  HIS 
FOLLOWERS  ;  HIS  WRITINGS  ARE  TO  BE  BURNT  ; 
CERTAIN  OF  'IHK  HIGH  PRIE:STS  DIFFER  FROM 
THE  council;  the  SKITLEMENT  OF  THE  PASS- 
OVER. 

It  ought  to  be  known,  that  they  'affirmed  the 
Son  to  be  consubstantial  with  the  Father ;  and 
that  those  are  to  be  excommunicated  and  voted 
aliens  to  the  Catholic  Church,  who  assert  that 
there  was  a  time  in  which  the  Son  existed  not, 
and  before  He  was  begotten  He  was  not,  and 
that  He  was  made  from  what  had  no  existence, 
and  that  He  is  of  another  hypostasis  or  substance 
from  the  Father,  and  that  He  is  subject  to  change 
or  mutation.  This  decision  was  sanctioned  by 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia ;  by  Theognis, 
bishop  of  Nicsea ;  by  Maris,  bishop  of  Chalce- 
don  ;  by  Patrophilus,  bishop  of  Scythopolis  ;  and 
by  Secundus,  bishop  of  Ptolemais  in  Libya.^ 
Eusebius  Pamphilus,  however,  withheld  his 
assent  for  a  little  while,  but  on  further  exami- 
nation assented.*  The  council  excommunicated 
Arius  and  his  adherents,  and  prohibited  his 
entering  Alexandria.  The  words  in  which  his 
opinions  were  couched  were  likewise  con- 
demned, as  also  a  work  entitled  "  Thalia," 
which  he  had  written  on  the  subject.  I  have 
not  read  this  book,  but  I  understand  that  it  is 
of  a  loose  character,  resembling  in  Ucense 
Sotadus.^  It  ought  to  be  known  that  although 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis, 
bishop  of  Niccca,  assented  to  the  document  of 
this  faith  set  forth  by  the  council,  they  neither 
agreed  nor  subscribed  to  the  deposition  of 
Arius.  The  emperor  punished  Arius  with  exile, 
and  dispatched  edicts  to  the  bishops  and  peo- 
ple of  every  country,  denouncing  him  and  his 
adherents  as  ungodly,  and  commanding  that 
their  books  should  be  destroyed,  in  order  that 
no  remembrance  of  him  or  of  the  doctrine 
'which  he  had  broached  might  remain.  Who- 
ever should  be  found  secreting  his  writings  and 
who  should  not  burn  them  immediately  on  the 
accusation,  should  undergo  the  penalty  of  death, 
and  suffer  capital  punishment.  The  emperor 
wrote  letters  to  every  city  against  Arius  and 
those  who  had  received  his  doctrines,  and 
commanded  Eusebius  and  Theognis  to  quit  the 
cities  whereof  they  were  bishops  ;  he  addressed 
himself  in  particular  to  the  church  of  Nicome- 
dia, urging  it  to  adhere  to  the  faith  which 
had  been  set  forth  by  the  council,  to  elect 
orthodox  bishops,  to  obey  them,  and  to  let  the 


3  There  are  variations  in  the  earlier  writers  as  to  the  number  and 
names  of  the  e.vcommunicated  and  banished. 

•*  Eusebius'  attempt  at  straddling  amoiints  to  prevarication  here, 
and  later;   Soc.  i.  8  copied  by  the  later  historians. 

"  Cf.  Soc.  i.  9:  both  borrowed  their  criticism  from  Athan.  Or. 
cent.  Arian.  i.  4,  etc. 


256 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[I.  21. 


past  fall  into  oblivion  ;  and  he  threatened  with 
punishment  those  who  should  venture  to  speak 
well  of  the  exiled  bishops,  or  to  adopt  their 
sentiments.  In  these  and  in  other  letters,  he 
manifested  resentment  against  Eusebius,  because 
he  had  previously  adopted  the  opinions  of  the 
tyrant,  and  had  engaged  in  his  plots.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  imperial  edicts,  Eusebius  and 
Theognis  were  ejected  from  the  churches  which 
they  held,  and  Amphion  received  that  of  Nico- 
media,  and  Chrestus  that  of  Niccea.  On  the 
termination  of  this  doctrinal  controversy,  the 
council  decided  that  the  Paschal  feast  should  be 
celebrated  at  the  same  time  in  every  place. ^ 

\  CHAP.     XXII. ACESIUS,     BISHOP      OF     THE     NOVA- 

TIANS,    IS    SUMMONED    BY    THE    EMPEROR    TO    BE 
PRESENT    AT   THE    FIRST    COUNCIL. 

It  is  related,  that  the  emperor,  under  the 
impulse  of  an  ardent  desire  to  see  harmony 
re-established  among  Christians,  summoned  Ace- 
sius,  bishop  of  the  church  of  the  Novatians,'  to 
the  council,  placed  before  him  the  definition  of 
the  faith  and  of  the  feast,  which  had  alreadv 
been  confirmed  by  the  signatures  of  the  bishops, 
and  asked  whether  he  could  agree  thereto. 
Acesius  answered  that  their  exposition  defined 
no  new  doctrine,  and  that  he  accorded  in  opin- 
ion with  the  Synod,  and  that  he  had  from  the 
beginning  held  these  sentiments  with  respect 
both  to  the  faith  and  to  the  feast.  "  Why, 
then,"  said  the  emperor,  "  do  you  keep  aloof 
from  communion  with  others,  if  you  are  of  one 
mind  with  them?"  He  replied  that  the  dissen- 
sion first  broke  out  under  Decius,  between 
Novatius  and  Cornelius,^  and  that  he  considered 
such  persons  vmworthy  of  communion  who,  after 
baptism,  had  fallen  into  those  sins  which  the 
Scriptures  declare  to  be  unto  death  \  *  for  that 
the  remission  of  those  sins,  he  thought,  depended 
on  the  authority  of  God  only,  and  not  on  the 
priests.  The  emperor  replied,  by  saying,  "  O 
Acesius,  take  a  ladder  and  ascend  alone  to 
heaven."  By  this  speech  I  do  not  imagine  the 
emperor  intended  to  praise  Acesius,  but  rather 
to  blame  him,  because,  being  but  a  man,  he 
fancied  himself  exempt  from  sin.'' 

CHAP.  XXIII. CANONS  APPOINTED  BY  THE  COUN- 
CIL ;  PAPHNUTIUS,  A  CEKIAIN  CONFESSOR,  RE- 
STRAINS THE  COUNCIL  FROM  FORMING  A  CANON 
ENJOINING  CELIBACY  TO  ALL  WHO  WERE  ABOUT 
TO    BE    HONORED    WITH    THE    PRIESTHOOD. 

Zealous  of  reforming  the  life  of  those  who 
were    engaged   about   the   churches,  the   Synod 

1  Eus.  V.  C.  iii.  14-24;  Soc.  i.  8,  q. 

2  Soc.  i.  10,  who  derived  il  from  Auxaiioii,  a  presbyter,  who 
accompanied  Acesius  to  Nice.     Cf.  i.  13. 

3  Eus.  //.  £.  vi.  43-46.  •*  I  John  v.  16. 

'•  Socrates'  statement  of  the  source  of  his  information  is  passed 


enacted  laws  which  were  called  canons."  AVhile 
they  were  deliberating  about  this,  some  thought 
that  a  law  ought  to  be  passed  enacting  that 
bishops  and  presbyters,  deacons  and  sub-dea- 
cons, should  hold  no  intercourse  with  the  wife 
they  had  espoused  before  they  entered  the 
priesthood ;  but  Paphnutius,''  the  confessor, 
stood  up  and  testified  against  this  proposition  ; 
he  said  that  marriage  was  honorable  and  chaste, 
and  that  cohabitation  with  their  own  wives  was 
chastity,  and  advised  the  Synod  not  to  frame 
such  a  law,  for  it  would  be  difficult  to  bear, 
and  might  serve  as  an  occasion  of  inconti- 
nence to  them  and  their  wives  ;  and  he  reminded 
them,  that  according  to  the  ancient  tradition  of 
the  church,  those  who  were  unmarried  when 
they  took  part  in  the  communion  of  sacred 
orders,  were  required  to  remain  so,  but  that 
those  who  were  married,  were  not  to  put  away 
their  wives.  Such  was  the  advice  of  Paphnutius, 
although  he  was  himself  unmarried,  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  it,  the  Synod  concurred  in  his 
counsel,  enacted  no  law  about  it,  but  left  the 
matter  to  the  decision  of  individual  judgment, 
and  not  to  compulsion.  The  Synod,  however, 
enacted  other  laws  regulating  the- government 
of  the  Church ;  and  these  laws  may  easily  be 
found,  as  they  are  in  the  possession  of  many 
individuals. 

CHAP.  XXIV. CONCERNING  MELITIUS  ;  THE  EXCEL- 
LENT DIRECTIONS  MADE  BY  THE  HOLY  COUNCIL  IN 
HIS  COMPLICATIONS. 

Afler  an  investigation  had  been  made  into  the 
conduct  of  Melitius  when  in  Egypt,  the  Synod 
sentenced  him  to  reside  in  Lycus,*  and  to  retain 
only  the  name  of  bishop ;  and  prohibited  him 
from  ordaining  any  one  either  in  a  city  or  a 
village.  Those  who  had  previously  been  or- 
dained by  him,  were  permitted  by  this  law,  to 
remain  in  communion  and  in  the  ministry,  but 
were  to  be  accounted  secondary  in  point  of 
dignity  to  the  clergy  in  church  and  parish." 
When  by  death  an  appointment  became  vacant, 
they  were  allowed  to  succeed  to  it,  if  deemed 
worthy,  by  the  vote  of  the  multitude,  but  in  this 
case,  were  to  be  ordained  by  the  bishop  of  the 
Church  of  Alexandria,  for  they  were  interdicted 
from  exercising  any  power  or  influence  in  elec- 
tions. This  regulation  appeared  just  to  the  Synod, 


over,  as  well  as  his  criticism  of  prejudiced  historians.  The  comment 
substituted  by  Soz.  is,  nevertheless,  a  partially  correct  interpretation. 

''  Soc.  i.  II.  Cf.  the  perverted  te.xt  of  the  Caiioiies  Ntcieni,  in 
Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  6. 

"  Soc.  i.  II. 

'  Lycus  (Lycopolis)  is  not  named  in  the  letter  of  the  Synod,  which 
says  simply  that  he  should  reside  in  his  own  city.  Soz.  took  the 
fact  from  Athan.  Apol.  coat.  Arinii.  71,  where  Melitius,  in  the  brief 
to  Ale.xander,  calls  himself  bishop  of  Lycus.  This  is  a  proof  of  our 
historian's  use  of  the  same  documents  to  amplify  the  statements  of 
Socrates. 

"  Soc.  i.  9,  for  te.xt  of  the  letter. 


1. 25.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


257 


for  Melitius  ^  and  his  followers  hail  manifested 
great  rashness  and  temerity  in  administering  ordi- 
nation ;  so  that  it  also  deprived  the  ordinations 
which  differed  from  those  of  I'eter  of  all  consid- 
eration. He,  when  he  conducted  the  Alexan- 
drian Church,  fled  on  account  of  the  persecution 
then  raging,  but  afterwards  suffered  martyrdom. 

CHAP.  XXV. THE    EMPEROR    PREPARED     A    PUBLIC 

lADLE  FOR  THE  SYNOD,  AFTER  INVITING  ITS 
MEMBERS  TO  CONSTANTINOPLE,  AND  HONORING 
THEM  WITH  GIFTS.  HE  EXHORTED  ALL  TO  BE  OF 
ONE  MIND,  AND  FORWARDED  TO  ALEXANDRIA  AND 
EVERY  OTHER  PLACE  THE  DECREES  O^  THE  HOLY 
SYNOD. 

At  the  very  time  that  these  decrees  were 
passed  by  the  council,  the  twentieth  anniversary - 
of  the  reign  of  Constantine  was  celebrated ;  for 
it  was  a  Roman  custom  to  have  a  feast  on  the 
tenth  year  of  every  reign.     The  emperor,  there- 

1  The  best  text  reads  Melitiiis,  not  Meletius,  so  Athanas.  and 
See;  usually  the  books  write  Meletius  and  Meletians.  We  follow 
the  reading. 

2  This  feast,  called  Vicennalia,  is  mentioned  in  Eus.  F.  C.  iii. 
15,  16. 


fore,  thought  it  to  be  opportune,  and  invited  the 
Synod  to  the  festival,  and  presented  suitable 
gifts  to  them  ;  and  when  they  prepared  to  return 
home,  he  called  them  all  together,  and  exhorted 
them  to  be  of  one  mind  about  the  faith  and  at 
peace  among  themselves,  so  that  no  dissensions 
might  henceforth  creep  in  among  them.  After 
many  other  similar  exhortations,  he  concluded 
by  commanding  them  to  be  diligent  in  prayer, 
and  always  to  supplicate  God  for  himself,  his 
children,  and  the  empire,  and  after  he  had  thus 
addressed  those  who  had  come  to  Nicaea,  he 
bade  them  farewell.  He  wrote  to  the  churches 
in  every  city,  in  order  that  he  might  make  plain 
to  those  who  had  not  been  present,  what  had 
been  rectified  by  the  Synod  ;  and  especially  to 
the  Church  of  Alexandria  he  wrote  more  than 
this ;  urging  them  to  lay  aside  all  dissent,  and 
to  be  harmonious  in  the  faith  issued  by  the 
Synod  ;  for  this  could  be  nothing  else  than  the 
judgment  of  God,  since  it  was  established  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  from  the  concurrence  of  so  many 
and  such  illustrious  high  priests,  and  approved 
after  accurate  inquiry  and  test  of  all  the  doubt- 
ful points. 


BOOK    IL 


CHAP.  I. THE    DISCOVERY    OF   THE    LIFE-BRINGING 

CROSS   AND    OF   THE    HOLY    NAILS. 

When  the  business  at  Nicjea  had  been  trans- 
acted  as   above   related,    the    priests   returned 
home.    The  emperor  rejoiced  exceedingly  at  the 
restoration  of  unity  of  opinion  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  desirous  of  expressing  in  behalf  of 
himself,  his  children,  and  the  empire,  the  grati- 
tude towards   God  which  the  unanimity  of  the 
bishops   inspired,  he  directed  that  a    house  of 
prayer  should  be  erected  to  God  at  Jerusalem  ^ 
near  the  place  called  Calvary.     At  the  same  time 
his  mother  Helena  repaired  to  the  city  for  the 
purpose  of  offering  up  prayer,  and  of  visiting  the 
sacred  places.     Her  zeal  for  Christianity  made 
her  anxious  to  find  the  wood  which  had  formed 
the  adorable  cross.     But  it  was  no  easy  matter 
to  discover  either  this  relic  or  the  Lord's  sepul- 
chre ;  for  the   Pagans,  who  in  former  times  had 
persecuted    the  Church,-  and  who,  at  the  first 
promulgation  of  Christianity,  had  had  recourse 
to  every  artifice  to  exterminate  it,  had  concealed 
that  spot  under    much    heaped    up    earth,  and 
elevated  what  before  was  quite  depressed,  as  it 
looks  now,  and  the  more  effectually  to  conceal 
them,  had  enclosed  the  entire  place  of  the  res- 
urrection and  Mount  Calvary  within  a  wall,  and 
had,  moreover,  ornamented  the  whole  locality, 
and  paved  it  with  stone.     They  also  erected  a 
temple  to  Aphrodite,  and  set  up  a  little  image, 
so  that  those  who  repaired    thither  to  worship 
Christ  would  appear  to  bow  the  knee  to  Aphro- 
dite, and  that  thus  the  true  cause  of  offering  wor- 
ship in  that  place  would,  in  course  of  time,  be 
forgotten ;     and    that    as    Christians  Avould    not 
dare  fearlessly  to  frequent  the  i)lace  or  to  point 
it  out  to  others,  the    temi)le  and  statue  would 
come  to  be  regarded  as  exclusively  api)ertaining 
to  the  Pagans.     At  length,  however,  the  place 
was  discovered,  and  the  fraud  about  it  so  zeal- 
ously maintained  was  detected  ;   some  say  that 
the  facts  were  first  disclosed  by  a  Hebrew  who 
dwelt  in  the  East,  and  who  derived  his  informa- 


1  Eus.  r'.  C.  ill.  25-40;  Soc.  i.  9,  Letter  to  Macarius,  bishop  of 
Jerusalem. 

■'  Ruf.  //.  Jt.  i.  7,  8;  Soc.  //.  Jt.  L  17;  Sulp.  Sev.  //.  .9.  11.  33, 
34,  another  storv  of  the  identification.  Soz.  furnishes  an  additional 
story  about  the  discovery,  which  he,  however,  confutes. 


tion  from  some  documents  which  had  come  to 
him  by  paternal  inheritance  ;  but  it  seems  more 
accordant  with   truth  to  suppose  that  God  re- 
vealed the  fact  by  means  of  signs  and  dreams ; 
for  I  do  not  think  that  human  information  is 
requisite  when  God  thinks  it  best  to  make  mani- 
fest the  same.     When  by  command  of  the  em- 
peror the  place  was  excavated  deeply,  the  cave 
whence  our  Lord  arose  from  the  dead  was  dis- 
covered ;     and    at    no    great    distance,    three 
crosses  were  found  and  another  separate  piece 
of  wood,  on  which  were  inscribed  in  white  letters 
in  Hebrew,  in  Greek,  and  in  Latin,  the  follow- 
ing words  :  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  king  of  the 
Jews."       These  words,  as  the   sacred  book  of 
the  gospels  relates,  were  placed  by  command 
of  Pilate,  governor  of  Judaea,  over  the  head  of 
Christ.     There  yet,  however,  remained  a  diffi- 
culty in  distinguishing  the  Divine  cross  from  the 
others  ;   for  the  inscription  had  been  wrenched 
from  it  and  thrown  aside,  and  the  cross  itself 
had  been  cast  aside  with  the  others,  without  any 
distinction,    when    the    bodies   of  the   crucified 
were  taken  dov/n.      For  according   to   history, 
the  soldiers  found  Jesus  dead  upon  the  cross, 
and  they  took  him  down,  and  gave  him  up  to 
be    buried ;    while,  in   order   to   accelerate    the 
death  of  the  two  thieves,  who  were  crucified  on 
either  hand,  they  broke  their  legs,  and  then  took 
down  the  crosses,  and  flung  them  out  of  the  way. 
It   was    no    concern    of    theirs    to    deposit    the 
crosses  in  their  first  order ;   for  it  was  growing 
late,  and  as  the  men  were  dead,  they  did  not 
think  it  worth  while  to  remain  to  attend  to  the 
crosses.  A  more  Divine  information  than  could  be 
furnished  by  man  was  therefore  necessary  in  order 
to  distinguish  the  Divine  cross  from  the  others, 
and  this  revelation  was  given  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  There  was  a  certain  lady  of  rank  in  Jerusa- 
lem who  was  afflicted  with  a  most  grievous  and 
incurable  disease  ;  Macarius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
accompanied  by  the  mother  of  the  emperor  and 
her  attendants,  repaired  to  her  bedside.     After 
engaging  in  prayer,  Macarius  signified  by  signs 
to  the  spectators  that  the  Divine  cross  would  be 
the  one  which,  on  being  brought  in  contact  with 
the  invalid,   should   remove    the   disease.      He 
approached  her  in  turn  with  each  of  the  crosses  ; 


n-.  T 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


259 


but  when  two  of  the  crosses  were  laid  on  her,  it 
seemed  but  folly  and  mockery  to  her  for  she 
was  at  the  gates  of  death.  UHien,  however,  the 
third  cross  was  in  hke  manner  brought  to  her, 
she  suddenly  opened  her  eyes,  regained  her 
strength,  and  immediately  sprang  from  her  bed, 
well.  It  is  said  that  a  dead  person  was,  in  the 
same  way,  restored  to  life.  The  venerated  wood 
having  been  thus  identified,  the  greater  portion 
of  it  was  deposited  in  a  silver  case,  in  which  it 
is  still  preserved  in  Jerusalem  :  but  the  empress 
sent  part  of  it  to  her  son  Constantine,  together 
with  the  nails  by  which  the  body  of  Christ  had 
been  fastened.  Of  these,  it  is  related,  the  em- 
peror had  a  head-piece  and  bit  made  for  his 
horse,  according  to  the  prophecy  of  Zechariah, 
who  referred  to  this  period  when  he  said,  "  that 
which  shall  be  upon  the  bit  of  the  horse  shall  be 
holy  to  the  Lord  Almighty."^  These  things, 
indeed,  were  formerly  known  to  the  sacred 
prophets,  and  predicted  by  them,  and  at  length, 
when  it  seemed  to  God  that  they  should  be 
manifested,  were  confirmed  by  wonderful  works. 
Nor  does  this  appear  so  marvelous  when  it  is 
remembered  that,  even  among  the  Pagans,  it  was 
confessed  that  the  Sibyl  had  predicted  that  thus 
it  should  be,  — 

"  Oh  most  blessed  tree,  on  which  our  Lord  was  hung.'"- 

Our  most  zealous  adversaries  cannot  denv  the 
truth  of  this  fact,  and  it  is  hence  evddent  that  a 
pre-manifestation  was  made  of  the  wood  of  the 
cross,  and  of  the  adoration  (cre'/Ju?)  it  received. 

The  above  incidents  we  have  related  precis, ely 
as  they  were  delivered  to  us  by  men  of  great 
accuracy,  by  whom  the  information  was  derived 
by  succession  from  father  to  son  ;  and  others 
have  recorded  the  same  events  in  writing  for  the 
benefit  of  posterity. 


CHAP.  II.  — ■  CONCERNING  HELENA,  THE  MOTHER 
OF  THE  EMPEROR  ;  SHE  VISITED  JERUSALEM, 
BUILT  TEMPLES  IN  THAT  CITY,  AND  PER- 
FORMED   OTHER    GODLY    WORKS  :    HER   DEATH. 

About  this  period,  the  emperor,  having  deter- 
mined upon  erecting  a  temple  in  honor  of  God, 
charged  the  governors  to  see  that  the  work  was 
executed  in  the  most  magnificent  and  costly 
manner  possible.  His  mother  Helena  also 
erected  two  temples,^  the  one  at  Bethlehem 
near  the  cave  where  Christ  was  born,  the  other 
on  ridges  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  whence  He 
was  taken  up  to  heaven.  Many  other  acts  show 
her  piety  and  religiousness,  among  which  the 
following  is  not  the  least  remarkable  :  During 
her  residence  at  Jerusalem,  it  is  related  that  she 
assembled  the  sacred  virgins  at  a  feast,  minis- 

1  Zech.  xiv.  20.     (LXX.)  =  Sib.  Or.  vi.  26. 

^  Eus.  l\  C.  iii.  41,  47;   Soc.  i.  17. 


tered  to  them  at  supper,  presented  them  with 
food,  poured  water  on  their  hands,  and  per- 
formed other  similar  services  customary  to  those 
who  wait  upon  guests.  When  she  visited  the 
cities  of  the  East,  she  bestowed  befitting  gifts  on 
the  churches  in  every  town,  enriched  those  in- 
dividuals who  had  been  deprived  of  their  posses- 
sions, supplied  ungrudgingly  the  necessities  of 
the  poor,  and  restored  to  liberty  those  who  had 
been  long  imprisoned,  or  condemned  to  exile  or 
the  mines.  It  seems  to  me  that  so  many  holy 
actions  demanded  a  recompense  ;  and  indeed, 
even  in  this  life,  she  was  raised  to  the  summit  of 
magnificence  and  splendor  ;  she  was  proclaimed 
Augusta ;  her  image  was  stamped  on  golden 
coins,  and  she  was  invested  by  her  son  with 
authority  over  the  imperial  treasury  to  give  it 
according  to  her  judgment.  Her  death,  too,  was 
glorious  ;  for  when,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  she 
quitted  this  life,  she  left  her  son  and  her  de- 
scendants (like  her  of  the  race  of  Caesar),  mas- 
ters of  the  Roman  world.  And  if  there  be  any 
advantage  in  such  fame  —  forgetfulness  did  not 
conceal  her  though  she  was  dead  —  the  coming 
age  has  the  pledge  of  her  perpetual  memory  ;  for 
two  cities  are  named  after  her,  the  one  in  Bi- 
thynia,  and  the  other  in  Palestine.'*  Such  is  the 
history  of  Plelena. 

CHAP.   III. TEMPLES    BUILT   BY    CONSTANTINE    THE 

GREAT  ;  THE  CITY  CALLED  BY  HIS  NAME  ;  ITS 
FOUNDING  ;  THE  BUILDINGS  WITHIN  IT  ;  THE 
TEMPLE  OF  MICHAEL  THE  ARCHSOLDIER,  IN  THE 
SOSTHENIUM,  AND  THE  MIRACLES  WHICH  HAVE 
OCCURRED   THERE. 

'The  emperor,^  always  intent  on  the  advance- 
ment of  rehgion,  erected  the  most  beautiful 
temples  to  God  in  every  place,  particularly  in 
metropoUses,  such  as  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia, 
Antioch  on  the  river  Orontes,  and  Byzantium. 
He  greatly  improved  this  latter  city,  and  consti- 
tuted it  the  equal  of  Rome  in  power,  and  par- 
ticipation in  the  government :  for,  when  he  had 
settled  the  affairs  of  the  empire  according  to  his 
own  mind,  and  had  rectified  foreign  aftairs  by 
wars  and  treaties,  he  resolved  upon  founding  a 
city  which  should  be  called  by  his  own  name, 
and  should  be  equal  in  celebrity  to  Rome. 
With  this  intention,  he  repaired  to  a  plain  at 
the  foot  of  Troy,  near  the  Hellespont,  above  the 
tomb  of  Ajax,  where,  it  is  said,  the  .Achaians 
had  their  naval  stations  and  tents  while  be- 
sieging Troy ;  and  here  he  laid  the  plan  of  a 
large  and  beautiful  city,  and  built  the  gates  on 

■•  Helenopolis  in  Palestine  not  mentioned  by  .Soc.  i.  17,  18.  Was 
the  site  of  this  city  at  the  convent  of  Mt.  Carmel  or  at  St.  Helena's 
towers,  near  the  Scala  Tyriorumi'  For  the  Bithynian  city,  cf. 
Procopiiis,  [/(■  .•7;a'//?i//.f  V.  2;  cf.  also  Philost.  ii.  12;  Eus.  Chroii- 
icon  (Hieron.),  under  a.d.  331. 

''  Eus.  P'.  C.  iii.  50-58;  iv.  58;  Soc.  i.  18;  Zos.  ii.  30-32. 


26o 


thp:  ecclesiastical  history  of  sozomen. 


[11-  3- 


an  elevated  spot  of  ground,  whence  they  are 
still  visible  from  the  sea  to  those  sailing  by. 
But  when  he  had  advanced  thus  far,  God  ap- 
peared to  him  by  night,  and  commanded  him 
to  seek  another  spot.  Led  by  the  hand  of  God, 
he  arrived  at  Byzantium  in  Thrace,  beyond 
Chalcedon  in  Bithynia,  and  here  he  was  desired 
to  build  his  city  and  to  render  it  worthy  of  the 
name  of  Constantine.  In  obedience  to  the 
words  of  God,  he  therefore  enlarged  the  city 
formerly  called  Byzantium,  and  surrounded  it 
with  high  walls.  He  also  erected  magnificent 
dwelling  houses  southward  through  the  regions. 
Since  he  was  aware  that  the  former  population 
was  insufficient  for  so  great  a  city,  he  peopled 
it  with  men  of  rank  and  their  households,  whom 
he  summoned  hither  from  the  elder  Rome  and 
from  other  countries.  He  imposed  taxes  to 
cover  the  expenses  of  building  and  adorning 
the  city,  and  of  supplying  its  inhabitants  with 
food,  and  providing  the  city  with  all  the  other 
requisites.  He  adorned  it  sumptuously  with 
a  hippodrome,  fountains,  porticos,  and  other 
structures.  He  named  it  New  Rome  and  Con- 
stantinople, and  constituted  it  the  imperial  cap- 
ital for  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  North,  the 
South,  the  East,  and  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, from  the  cities  on  the  Ister  and  from 
Epidamnus  and  the  Ionian  gulf,  to  Cyrene  and 
that  part  of  Libya  called  Borium. 

He  constructed  another  council  house  which 
they  call  senate  ;  he  ordered  the  same  honors 
and  festal  days  as  those  customary  to  the  other 
Romans,  and  he  did  not  fail  studiously  to  make 
the  city  which  bore  his  name  equal  in  every  re- 
spect to  that  of  Rome  in  Italy ;  nor  were  his 
wishes  thwarted ;  for  by  the  assistance  of  God, 
it  had  to  be  confessed  as  great  in  population 
and  wealth.  I  know  of  no  cause  to  account  for 
this  extraordinary  aggrandizement,  unless  it  be 
the  piety  of  the  builder  and  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  their  compassion  and  liberality  towards  the 
poor.  The  zeal  they  manifested  for  the  Chris- 
tian faith  was  so  great  that  many  of  the  Jewish 
inhabitants  and  most  of  the  Greeks  were  con- 
verted. As  this  city  became  the  capital  of  the 
empire  during  the  period  of  religious  prosperity, 
it  was  not  polluted  by  altars,  Grecian  temples, 
nor  sacrifices;  and  although  Julian  authorized 
the  introduction  of  idolatry  for  a  short  space 
of  time,  it  soon  afterwards  became  extinct. 
Constantine  further  honored  this  newly  com- 
pacted city  of  Christ,  named  after  himself,  by 
adorning  it  with  numerous  and  magnificent 
houses  of  prayer.  And  the  Deity  also  co-ope- 
rated with  the  spirit  of  the  emperor,  and  by 
Divine  manifestations  persuaded  men  that  these 
prayer  houses  in  the  city  were  holy  and  salva- 
tory.  According  to  the  general  opinion  of 
foreigners    and    citizens,    the    most    remarkable 


church  was  that  built  in  a  place  formerly  called 
Hestiae.  This  place,  which  is  now  called  Mi- 
chfelium,  lies  to  the  right  of  those  who  sail  from 
Pontus  to  Constantinople,  and  is  about  thirty- 
five  stadia  distant  from  the  latter  city  by  water, 
but  if  you  make  the  circuit  of  the  bay,  the 
journey  between  them  is  seventy  stadia  and 
upwards.  This  place  obtained  the  name  which 
now  prevails,  because  it  is  believed  that  Michael, 
the  Divine  archangel,  once  appeared  there.  And 
I  also  affirm  that  this  is  true,  because  I  myself 
received  the  greatest  benefits,  and  the  experi- 
ence of  really  helpful  deeds  on  the  part  of  many 
others  proves  this  to  be  so.  For  some  who  had 
fallen  into  fearful  reverses  or  unavoidable  dan- 
gers, others  with  disease  and  unknown  sufferings, 
there  prayed  to  God,  and  met  with  a  change  in 
their  misfortunes.  I  should  be  prolix  were  I  to 
give  details  of  circumstance  and  person.  But  I 
cannot  omit  mentioning  the  case  of  Aquilinus, 
who  is  even  at  the  present  time  residing  with 
us,  and  who  is  an  advocate  in  the  same  court  of 
justice  as  that  to  which  we  belong.^  I  shall 
relate  what  I  heard  from  him  concerning  this 
occurrence  and  what  I  saw.  Being  attacked 
with  a  severe  fever,  arising  from  a  yellowish 
bile,  the  physicians  gave  him  some  foreign  drug 
to  drink.  This  he  vomited,  and,  by  the  effort 
of  vomiting,  diffused  the  bile,  which  tinged  his 
countenance  with  a  yellow  color.  Hence  he 
had  to  vomit  all  his  food  and  drink.  For  a 
long  time  he  remained  in  this  state  ;  and  since 
his  nourishment  would  not  be  quiet  in  him,  the 
skill  of  the  physicians  was  at  a  loss  for  the 
suffering.  Finding  that  he  was  already  half 
dead,  he  commanded  his  servant  to  carry  him 
to  the  house  of  prayer  ;  for  he  affirmed  earnestly 
that  there  he  would  either  die  or  be  freed  from 
his  disease.  While  he  was  lying  there,  a  Divine 
Power  appeared  to  him  by  night,  and  com- 
manded him  to  dip  his  foot  in  a  confection 
made  of  honey,  wine,  and  pepper.  The  man 
did  so,  and  was  freed  from  his  complaint,  al- 
though the  prescription  was  contrary  to  the 
professional  rules  of  the  physicians,  a  confection 
of  so  very  hot  a  nature  being  considered  adverse 
to  a  bilious  disorder.  I  have  also  heard  that 
Probianus,  one  of  the  physicians  of  the  palace, 
\w\\o  was  suffering  greatly  from  a  disease  in  the 
feet,  likewise  met  with  deliverance  from  sickness 
at  this  place,  and  was  accounted  worthy  of  be- 
ing visited  with  a  wonderful  and  Divine  vision. 
He  had  formerly  been  attached  to  the  Pagan 
superstitions,  but  afterwards  became  a  Chris- 
tian ;  yet,  while  he  admitted  in  one  way  or 
another  the  probability  of  the  rest  of  our  doc- 
trines,   he    could    not   understand  how,   by  the 


1  ayopeiioi-Ti.     This  shows  that  Sozomen  was  an  advocate  in  the 
law  courts  at  the  very  time  of  his  writing  this  history. 


n-  S-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


261 


Divine  cross,  the  salvation  of  all  is  effected. 
While  his  mind  was  in  doubt  on  this  subject, 
the  svmbol  of  the  cross,  which  lay  on  the  altar 
of  this  church,  was  pointed  out  to  him  in  the 
Divine  vision,  and  he  heard  a  voice  openly 
declaring  that,  as  Christ  had  been  crucified  on 
the  cross,  the  necessities  of  the  human  race  or 
of  individuals,  whatsoever  they  might  be,  could 
not  be  met  by  the  ministration  of  Divine  angels 
or  of  pious  and  good  men  ;  for  that  there  was 
no  power  to  rectify  apart  from  the  venerated 
cross.  I  have  only  recorded  a  few  of  the  inci- 
dents which  I  know  to  have  taken  place  in  this 
temple,  because  there  is  not  time  to  recount 
them  all. 

CHAP.  IV. WHAT  CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT  EF- 
FECTED ABOUT  THE  OAK  IN  JVIAMRE  ;  HE  ALSO 
BUILT   A   TEMPLE. 

I  CONSIDER  it  necessary  to  detail  the  proceed- 
ings of  Constantine  in  relation  to  what  is  called 
the  oak  of  Mamre.^  This  place  is  now  called 
Terebinthus,  and  is  about  fifteen  stadia  distant 
from  Hebron,  which  lies  to  the  south,  but  is 
two  hundred  and  fifty  stadia  distant  from  Jeru- 
salem. It  is  recorded  that  here  the  Son  of 
God  appeared  to  Abraham,  with  two  angels, 
who  had  been  sent  against  Sodom,  and  foretold 
the  birth  of  his  son.  Here  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country  and  of  the  regions  round  Palestine, 
the  Phcenicians,  and  the  Arabians,  assemble 
annually  during  the  summer  season  to  keep  a 
brilliant  feast ;  and  many  others,  both  buyers 
and  sellers,  resort  thither  on  account  of  the 
fair.  Indeed,  this  feast  is  diligently  frequented 
by  all  nations  :  by  the  Jews,  because  they  boast 
of  their  descent  from  the  patriarch  Abraham  ; 
by  the  Pagans,  because  angels  there  appeared 
to  men ;  and  by  Christians,  because  He  who  for 
the  salvation  of  mankind  was  born  of  a  virgin, 
afterwards  manifested  Himself  there  to  a  godly 
man.  This  place  was  moreover  honored  fit- 
tingly with  religious  exercises.  Here  some 
prayed  to  the  God  of  all ;  some  called  upon  the 
angels,  poured  out  wine,  burnt  incense,  or 
offered  an  ox,  or  he-goat,  a  sheep,  or  a  cock. 
Each  one  made  some  beautiful  product  of  his 
labor,  and  after  carefully  husbanding  it  through 
the  entire  year,  he  offered  it  according  to  prom- 
ise as  provision  for  that  feast,  both  for  himself 
and  his  dependents.  And  either  from  honor  to 
the  place,  or  from  fear  of  Divine  wrath,  they 
all  abstained  from  coming  near  their  wives, 
although  during  the  feast  these  were  more  than 
ordinarily  studious  of  their  beauty  and  adorn- 
ment. Nor,  if  they  chanced  to  appear  and  to 
take  part  in  the  public  processions,  did  they  act 


1  Eus.   V.  C.  iii .  51-53 ;   Soc.  i.  18.     As  a  native  of  Palestine, 
Soz.  here  adds  local  details. 


at  all  licentiously.  Nor  did  they  behave  im- 
prudently in  any  other  respect,  although  the 
tents  were  contiguous  to  each  other,  and  they 
all  lay  promiscuously  together.  The  place  is 
oi)en  country,  and  arable,  and  without  houses, 
with  the  exception  of  the  buildings  around 
Abraham's  old  oak  and  the  well  he  prepared. 
No  one  during  the  time  of  the  feast  drew  water 
from  that  well ;  for  according  to  Pagan  usage, 
some  placed  burning  lamps  near  it ;  some  poured 
out  wine,  or  cast  in  cakes  ;  and  others,  coins, 
myrrh,  or  incense.  Hence,  as  I  suppose,  the 
water  was  rendered  useless  by  com.mixture  with 
the  things  cast  into  it.  Once  whilst  these  cus- 
toms were  being  celebrated  by  the  Pagans, 
after  the  aforesaid  manner,  and  as  was  the 
established  usage  with  hilarity,  the  mother-in- 
law  "  of  Constantine  was  ]:>resent  for  prayer,  and 
apprised  the  emperor  of  what  was  being  done. 
On  receiving  this  information,  he  rebuked  the 
bishops  of  Palestine  in  no  measured  terms, 
because  they  had  neglected  their  duty,  and  had 
permitted  a  holy  place  to  be  defiled  Ijy  impure 
libations  and  sacrifices  ;  and  he  expressed  his 
godly  censure  in  an  epistle  which  he  wrote  on 
the  subject  to  Macarius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  to 
Eusebius  Pamphilus,  and  to  the  bishops  of  Pal- 
estine. He  commanded  these  bishops  to  hold 
a  conference  on  this  subject  with  the  Phoenician 
bishops,  and  issue  directions  for  the  demoUtion, 
from  the  foundations,  of  the  altar  formerly  erected 
there,  the  destruction  of  the  carved  images  by 
fire,  and  the  erection  of  a  church  worthy  of  so 
ancient  and  so  holy  a  place.  The  emperor 
finally  enjoined,  that  no  libations  or  sacrifices 
should  be  offered  on  the  spot,  but  that  it  should 
be  exclusively  devoted  to  the  worship  of  God 
according  to  the  law  of  the  Church ;  and  that  if 
any  attempt  should  be  made  to  restore  the 
former  rites,  the  bishops  were  to  inform  against 
the  dehnquent,  in  order  that  he  might  be  sub- 
jected to  the  greatest  punishment.  The  gov- 
ernors and  priests  of  Christ  strictly  enforced  the 
injunctions  contained  in  the  emperor's  letter. 

CHAP.    V.  CONSTANTINE    DESTROYED   THE    PI^4CES 

DEDICATED  TO  THE    IDOLS,  AND    PERSUADED    THE 
PEOPLE  TO  PREFER  CHRISTIANrn\ 

As  many  nations  and  cities  throughout  the 
whole  realm  of  his  subjects  retained  a  feeling  of 
fear  and  veneration  towards  their  vain  idols, 
which  led  them  to  disregard  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christians,  and  to  have  a  care  for  their  ancient 
customs,  and  the  manners  and  feasts  of  their 
fathers,  it  appeared  necessary  to  the  emperor 
to  teach  the  governors  to  suppress  their  super- 
stitious rites  of  worship.  He  thought  that  this 
would  be  easily  accomplished  if  he  could  get 

2  Eutropia,  the  mother  of  Fausta. 


262 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  5. 


them  to  despise  their  temples  and  the  images 
contained  therein.'  To  carry  this  project  into 
execution  he  did  not  require  mihtary  aid  ;  for 
Christian  men  belonging  to  the  palace  went  from 
city  to  city  bearing  imperial  letters.  The  peo- 
ple were  induced  to  remain  passive  from  the 
fear  that,  if  they  resisted  these  edicts,  they,  their 
children,  and  their  wives,  would  be  exposed  to 
evil.  The  vergers  and  the  priests,  being  unsup- 
ported by  the  multitude,  brought  out  their  most 
precious  treasures,  and  the  idols  called  StoTrcTi},- 
and  through  these  servitors,  the  gifts  were  drawn 
forth  from  the  shrines  and  the  hidden  recesses  in 
the  temples.  The  spots  previously  inaccessible, 
and  known  only  to  the  priests,  were  made  accessi- 
ble to  all  who  desired  to  enter.  Such  of  the  images 
as  were  constructed  of  precious  material,  and 
whatever  else  was  valuable,  were  purified  by  fire, 
and  became  public  property.  The  brazen  images 
which  were  skillfully  wrought  were  carried  to  the 
city,  named  after  the  emperor,  and  placed  there 
as  objects  of  embellishment,  where  they  may 
still  be  seen  in  public  places,  as  in  the  streets, 
the  hippodrome,  and  the  palaces.  Amongst 
them  was  the  statue  of  Apollo  which  was  in  the 
^eat  of  the  oracle  of  the  Pythoness,  and  like- 
wise the  statues  of  the  Muses  from  Helicon,  the 
tripods  from  Delphos,  and  the  much  extolled 
Pan,  which  Pausanias  the  Lacedaemonian  and 
the  Grecian  cities  had  devoted,  —  after  the  war 
against  the  Medes. 

As  to  the  temples,  some  were  stripped 
of  their  doors,  others  of  their  roofs,  and 
others  were  neglected,  allowed  to  fall  into  ruin, 
or  destroyed.  The  temple  of  ^sculapius  in 
^gis,  a  city  of  Cilicia,  and  that  of  Venus  at 
Aphaca,  near  Mount  Lebanon  and  the  River 
Adonis,  were  then  undermined  and  entirely 
destroyed.  Both  of  these  temples  were  most 
highly  honored  and  reverenced  by  the  ancients  ; 
as  the  ^Lgeat?e  were  wont  to  say,  that  those 
among  them  who  were  weakened  in  body  were 
delivered  from  diseases  because  the  demon 
manifested  himself  by  night,  and  healed  them. 
And  at  Aphaca,  it  was  beheved  that  on  a  certain 
prayer  being  uttered  on  a  given  day,  a  fire  like 
a  star  descended  from  the  top  of  Lebanon  and 
sunk  into  the  neighboring  river ;  they  affirmed 
that  this  was  Urania,  for  they  call  Aphrodite  by 
this  name.  The  efforts  of  the  emperor  suc- 
ceeded to  the  utmost  of  his  anticipations ;  for 
on  beholding  the  objects  of  their  former  rev- 
erence and  fear  boldly  cast  down  and  stuffed 
with  straw  and  hay,  the  people  were  led  to  de- 
spise what  they  had  previously  venerated,  and 
to  blame  the  erroneous  opinion  of  their   ances- 


J  Eus.  V.  C.  iii.  54-5S;   iv.  38;  Soc.  i.  18;  Zos.  ii.  31. 

-  i.e.  "sent  down  from  Jupiter."  Such  were  the  Palladium  of 
Troy,  the  Ancile  at  Rome,  and  "the  image  "  of  Diana,  "which 
fell  down  from  Jupiter,"  mentioned  in  Acts  xix.  35. 


tors.  Qthers,  envious  at  the  honor  in  which 
Christians  were  held  by  the  emperor,  deemed 
it  necessary  to  imitate  the  acts  of  the  ruler  ; 
others  devoted  themselves  to  an  examination  of 
Christianity,  and  by  means  of  signs,  of  dreams, 
or  of  conferences  with  bishops  and  monks,  were 
convinced  that  it  was  better  to  become  Christians. 
From  this  period,  nations  and  citizens  sponta- 
neously renounced  their  former  opinion.  At 
that  time  a  port  of  Caza,  called  Majuma,  wherein 
superstition  and  ancient  ceremonies  had  been 
hitherto  admired,  turned  unitedly  with  all  its 
inhabitants  to  Christianity.  The  emperor",  in 
order  to  reward  their  piety,  deemed  them 
worthy  of  the  greatest  honor,  and  distinguished 
the  place  as  a  city,  a  status  it  had  not  pre- 
viously enjoyed,  and  named  it  Constantia  :  thus 
honoring  the  spot  on  account  of  its  piet}^,  by 
bestowing  on  it  the  name  of  the  dearest  of  his 
children.  On  the  same  account,  also,  Constan- 
tine  in  Phoenicia  is  known  to  have  received  its 
name  from  the  emperor.  But  it  would  not  be 
convenient  to  record  every  instance  of  this 
kind,  for  many  other  cities  about  this  time  w-ent 
over  to  religion,  and  spontaneously,  without 
any  command  of  the  emperor,  destroyed  the 
adjacent  temples  and  statues,  and  erected  houses 
of  prayer. 

CHAP.    VI. THE     REASON    WHY    UNDER     CONSTAN- 

TINE,       THE      NAME      OF       CHRIST     WAS      SPREAD 
THROUGHOUT   THE    WHOLE    WORLD. 

The  church  having  been  in  this  manner  spread 
throughout  the  whole  Roman  world,  religion  was 
introduced  even  among  the  barbarians  them- 
selves." The  tribes  on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine 
were  Christianized,  as  likewise  the  Celts  and  the 
Gauls  who  dwelt  upon  the  most  distant  shores 
of  the  ocean  ;  the  Goths,  too,  and  such  tribes  as 
were  contiguous  to  them,  who  formerly  dwelt  on 
either  of  the  high  shores  of  the  Danube,  had 
long  shared  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  had 
changed  into  a  gentler  and  more  rational  obser- 
vance. Almost  all  the  barbarians  had  professed 
to  hold  the  Christian  doctrine  in  honor,  from 
the  time  of  the  wars  between  the  Romans  and 
foreign  tribes,  under  the  government  of  Gal- 
lienus  and  the  emperors  who  succeeded  him. 
For  when  an  unspeakable  multitude  of  mixed 
nations  passed  over  from  Thrace  into  Asia  and 
overran  it,  and  when  other  barbarians  from  the 
various  regions  did  the  same  things  to  the  adja- 
cent Romans,  many  priests  of  Christ  who  had 
been  taken  captive,  dwelt  among  these  tribes ; 
and  during  their  residence  among  them,  healed 
the  sick,  and  cleansed  those  who  were  possessed 
of  demons,  by  the  name  of  Christ  only,  and  by 

='  Irenseus  adv.  Heeres  i.  3  (ed.  Harvey) ;  Philost.  ii.  s,  6. 


II.  7-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


263 


calling  on  the  Son  of  God  ;  moreover  they  led  ^  a 
blameless  life,  and  excited  envy  by  their  virtues. 
The  barbarians,  amazed  at  the  conduct  and 
wonderful  works  of  these  men,  thought  that  it 
would  be  prudent  on  their  part,  and  pleasing  to 
the  Deity,  if  they  should  imitate  those  whom 
they  saw  were  better;  and,  like  them,  would 
render  homage  to  God.  When  teachers  as  to 
what  should  be  done,  had  been  proposed  to 
them,  the  people  were  taught  and  baptized,  and 
subsequently  were  gathered  into  churches. 


CHAP.    Vll.  —  HOW     THE     IBERUNS     RECEIVED     THE 
FAITH    OF    CHRIST. 

It  is  said  that  during  this  reign  the  Iberians,^ 
a  large  and  warlike  barbarian  nation,  confessed 
Christ.''     They  dwelt  to  the  north  beyond  Arme- 
nia.    A  Christian  woman,  who  had  been  taken 
captive,  induced  them  to  renounce  the  rehgion 
of  their    fathers.       She    was    very    faithful   and 
godly,  and   did  not,  amongst  foreigners,  remit 
her  accustomed  routine  of  religious  duty.     To 
fast,  to  pray  night  and  day,  and  to  praise  God, 
constituted    her    delight.       The    barbarians    in- 
quired as  to  the  motives  of  her  endurance  :   she 
simply  answered,  that  it  was  necessary  in  this 
way  to  worship  the  Son  of  God ;  but  the  name 
of  Him  who  was  to  be  worshiped,  and  the  man- 
ner of  worshiping,  appeared   strange   to   them. 
It  happened  that  a  boy  of  the  country  was  taken 
ill,  and  his  mother,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the   Iberians,  took  him   around  from  house  to 
house,  in  hope  that  some  one  might  be  found 
capable  of  curing  the  disease,  and  the  change 
from  the  suffering  might  be  easy  for  the  afflicted. 
As  no  one   capable    of  healing  him  could  be 
found,  the  boy  was  brought  to  the  captive,  and 
she  said,  "as  to  medicines,  I  have  neither  ex- 
perience nor  knowledge,  nor  am  I  acquainted 
with  the  mode  of  applying  ointments  or  plas- 
ters ;  but,  O  woman,  I  believe  that  Christ  whom 
I  worship,   the   true    and   great    God,  will    be- 
come  the    Saviour   of  thy   child."      Then    she 
prayed  for  him  immediately  and  freed  him  from 
the  disease,  although  just  before  it  was  believed 
that  he  was  about  to  die.     A  Httle  while  after, 
the  wife  of  the  governor  of  the  nation  was,  by 
an  incurable  disease,  brought  nigh  unto  death  ; 
yet   she    too  was   saved    in    the   same    manner. 
And  thus  did  this  captive  teach  the  knowledge 
of  Christ,  by  introducing  Him  as  the  dispenser 
of  health,  and   as  the  Lord  of  Ufe,  of  empire, 
and  of  all   things.     The  governor's   wife,  con- 


1  TToXiTciav  afiefxTTTov  6(fiiAotro'|>ovi'.  The  Christian  life,  and 
especially  the  monastic,  was  regarded  as  the  true  philosophy. 

-  By  the  Iberians  we  are  to  understand,  not  the  people  of  Spain 
(for  they  had  a  church  among  them  as  early  as  the  time  of  Irena;us; 
see  adv.  Hceres.  i.  3,  ed.  Harvev),  but  the  people  of  that  n:4me  in 
Asia.     Cf.  Soc.  i.  20,  who  says  these  Iberians  migrated  from  Spam. 

3  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  10;  Soc.  i.  20;   Soz.  takes  directly  from  Ruf. 


vinced  by  her  own  personal  experience,  believed 
the  words  of  the  captive,  embraced  the  Chris- 
tian  religion,    and    held    the    woman    in    much 
honor.     The  king,  astonished  at  the  celerity  of 
the  cure,  and  the  miraculousness  and  healing  of 
faith,  learned  the  cause  from  his  wife,  and  com- 
manded  that   the  captive  should   be  rewarded 
with  gifts.     "  Of  gifts,",  said  the  queen,  "  her  es- 
timate is  very  low,  whatever  may  be  their  value  ; 
she  makes  much  of  the  service  she  renders  to 
her  God  only.     Therefore  if  we  wish  to  gratify 
her,  or  desire  to  do  what  is   safe   and  right,  let 
us    also   worship    God,    who    is    mighty    and   a 
Saviour,  and  who,  at  His  will,  gives  continuance 
unto  kings,  casts  down   the   high,    renders    the 
illustrious  abject,    and    saves    those    in    terrible 
straits."     The  queen  continued  to  argue  in  this 
excellent  manner,  but  the    sovereign  of  Iberia 
remained    in    doubt    and    unconvinced,    as    he 
reflected  on   the  novelty  of  the    matters,    and 
also  respected  the  religion    of   his    fathers.    _A 
little  while  after,  he  went  into  the  woods  with 
his  attendants,  on  a  hunting  excursion ;  all  of  a 
sudden  thick  clouds  arose,  and  a  heavy  air  was 
everywhere  diffused  by  them,  so  as  to  conceal 
the  heavens  and  the  sun  ;  profound  night  and 
great  darkness  pervaded  the  wood.     Since  each 
of  the  hunters  was  alarmed  for  his   own  safety, 
they  scattered  in  different  directions.     The  king, 
while  thus  wandering  alone,  thought  of  Christ, 
as  men  are  wont  to  do  in  times  of  danger.     He 
determined  that  if  he  should  be  delivered  from 
his  present  emergency,  he  would  walk  before 
God  and  worship  Him.     At  the  very  instant  that 
these  thoughts  were  upon  his  mind,  the  dark- 
ness was  dissipated,  the  air  became  serene,  the 
rays  of  the  sun  penetrated  into  the  wood,  and 
the  king  went  out  in  safety.     He  informed  his 
wife  of  the  event  that  had  befallen  him,  sent  for 
the  captive,  and  commanded  her  to  teach  him 
in  what  way  he  ought  to  worship  Christ.     When 
she  had  given  as  much  instruction  as  it  was  right 
for  a  woman  to  say  and  do,  he  called  together 
his    subjects  and  declared  to  them  plainly  the 
Divine  mercies  which  had  been  vouchsafed  to 
himself  and  to  his  wife,  and  although  uninitiated, 
he  declared  to  his  pec?ple  the  doctrines  of  Christ. 
The  whole  nation    was    persuaded    to  embrace 
Christvanity,  the    iTjen  being  convinced   by  the  '. 
representations  of  the  king,  and  the  wQipen  by 
those  of  the  queen  and  the  captive.    And  speed- 
ily with  the  general  consent  of  the  entire  na- 
tion, they  prepared   most  zealously  to  build  a 
church.     When  the   external    walls   were    com- 
pleted, machines  were  brought  to  raise  up  the 
columns,  and  fix  them  upon  their  pedestals.     It 
is  related,  that  when  the  first  and   second  col- 
umns had  been  righted  by  these  means,  great 
difficulty  was  found  in  fixing  the  third   column, 
neither  'art  nor  physical  strength  being  of  any 


264 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  7. 


avail,  although  many  were  present  to  assist  in 
the  pulling.  When  evening  came  on,  the  female 
captive  remained  alone  on  the  spot,  and  she 
continued  there  throughout  the  night,  interced- 
ing with  God  that  the  erection  of  the  columns 
might  be  easily  accomplished,  especially  as  all 
the  rest  had  taken  their  departure  distressed  at 
the  failure  ;  for  the  column  was  only  half  raised, 
and  remained  standing,  and  one  end  of  it  was 
so  embedded  in  its  foundations  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  move  it  downward.  It  was  God's 
will  that  by  this,  as  well  as  by  the  preceding 
miracle,  the  Iberians  should  be  still  further  con- 
firmed about  the  Deity.  Early  in  the  morning, 
when  they  were  present  at  the  church,  they  be- 
held a  wonderful  spectacle,  which  seemed  to 
them  as  a  dream.  The  column,  which  on  the  day 
before  had  been  immovable,  now  appeared  erect, 
and  elevated  a  small  space  above  its  proper 
base.  All  present  were  struck  with  admiration, 
and  confessed,  with  one  consent,  that  Christ 
alone  is  the  true  God.  Whilst  they  were  all 
looking  on,  the  column  slipped  quietly  and 
spontaneously,  and  was  adjusted  as  by  machinery 
on  its  base.  The  other  columns  were  then 
erected  with  ease,  and  the  Iberians  completed 
the  structure  with  greater  alacrity.  The  church 
having  been  thus  speedily  built,  the  Iberians, 
at  the  recommendation  of  the  captive,  sent  am- 
bassadors to  the  Emperor  Constantine,  bearing 
proposals  for  aUiance  and  treaties,  and  request- 
ing that  priests  might  be  sent  to  their  nation. 
On  their  arrival,  the  ambassadors  related  the 
events  that  had  occurred,  and  how  the  whole 
nation  with  much  care  worshiped  Christ.  The 
emperor  of  the  Romans  was  delighted  with  the 
embassy,  and  after  acceding  to  every  request 
that  was  proffered,  dismissed  the  ambassadors. 
Thus  did  the  Iberians  receive  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  and  until  this  day  they  worship  him 
carefully. 

CHAP.     VIII.  —  HOW     THE     ARMENIANS     AND     PER- 
SIANS   EMBRACED    CHRISTIANITY. 

Subsequently  the  Christian  religion  became 
known  to  the  neighboring  tribes  and  was  very 
greatly  disseminated.'  The  Armenians,  I  have 
understood,  were  the  first  to  embrace  Christi- 
anity.- It  is  said  that  Tiridates,  then  the  sover- 
eign of  that  nation,  became  a  Christian  by  means 
of  a  marvelous  Divine  sign  which  was  wrought 
in  his  own  house  ;  and  that  he  issued  commands 
to  all  the  subjects,  by  a  herald,  to  adopt  the 

•  This  paragraph  is  regarded  by  V.alesius  as  spurious. 

2  The  source  of  this  chapter  certainly  is  not  Moses  Chorenensis. 
Tiridates  III.  reigned  A.n.  286-342.  At  first  a  persecutor,  through 
Gregory  the  Illuminator  he  became  a  Christian.  Yet  parts  of 
Armorua  were  Christianized  much  earlier.  Dionysius  bishop  of 
Alexandria  wrote  a  letter  on  Repentance  to  the  Armenians  in  the 
reign  of  Gallus.  Eus.  //.  E.  vi.  46.  Cf.  Agathangelas,  History  of 
Tiridates  the  Great,  and  the  preaching  of  Gregory  the  Illuminator. 


same  religion."'  I  think  that  the  beginning  of 
the  conversion  of  the  Persians^  was  owing  to  their 
intercourse  with  the  Osroenians  and  Armenians  ; 
for  it  is  likely  that  they  would  converse  with 
such  Divine  men  and  make  experience  of  their 
virtue. 

CHAP.     IX.  sapor     king     OF     PERSIA     IS    EXCITED 

AGAINST  THE  CHRISIIANS.  SYMEON,  BISHOP  OF 
PERSIA,  AND  USTHAZANES,  A  EUNUCH,  SUFFER 
THE   AGONY    OF    MARTYRDOM. 

When,  in  course  of  time,  the  Christians  in- 
creased in  number,  and  began  to  form  churches, 
and  appointed  priests  and  deacons,  the  Magi, 
who  as  a  priestly  tribe  had  from  the  beginning 
in  successive  generations  acted  as  the  guardians 
of  the  Persian  religion,  became  deeply  incensed 
against  them.''  The  Jews,  who  through  envy  are 
in  some  way  naturally  opposed  to  the  Christian 
religion,  were  likewise  offended.  They  there- 
fore brought  accusations  before  Sapor,  the  reign- 
ing sovereign,  against  Symeon,  who  was  then 
archbishop  of  Seleucia  and  Ctesiphon,  royal 
cities  of  Persia,  and  charged  him  with  being  a 
friend  of  the  Caesar  of  the  Romans,  and  with 
communicating  the  affairs  of  the  Persians  to 
him.  Sapor  believed  these  accusations,  and  at 
first,  ground  the  Christians  with  excessive  taxes, 
although  he  knew  that  the  generality  of  them 
had  voluntarily  embraced  poverty.  He  entrusted 
the  exaction  to  cruel  men,  hoping  that,  by  the 
want  of  necessaries,  and  the  atrocity  of  the  ex- 
actors, they  might  be  compelled  to  abjure  their 
religion  ;  for  this  was  his  aim.  Afterwards,  how- 
ever, he  commanded  that  the  priests  and  con- 
ductors of  the  worship  of  God  should  be  slain 
with  the  sword.  The  churches  were  demolished, 
their  vessels  were  deposited  in  the  treasury,  and 
Symeon  was  arrested  as  a  traitor  to  the  kingdom 
and  the  religion  of  the  Persians.  Thus  the 
Magi,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Jews,  quickly 
destroyed  the  houses  of  prayer.  Symeon,  on 
his  apprehension,  was  bound  with  chains,  and 
brought  before  the  king.  There  the  man 
evinced  his  excellence  and  courage ;  for  when 
Sapor  commanded  that  he  should  be  led  away 
to  the  torture,  he  did  not  fear,  and  would  not 
prostrate  himself.  The  king,  greatly  exasper- 
ated, demanded  why  he  did  not  prostrate  him- 
self as  he  had  done  formerly.  Symeon  replied, 
"  Formerly  I  was  not  led  away  bound  in  order 
that  I  might  abjure  the  truth  of  God,  and  there- 

■■^  Here  follows  in  the  Greek  te.\t  a  repetition,  word  for  word,  of 
the  first  two  lines  of  this  chapter,  which  seem  to  be  superfluous,  if 
we  do  not  reject  the  paragraph  above. 

■*  Soz.  is  wrong  in  attributing  the  conversion  of  Persia  to 
Armenia. 

''  The  source  for  chaps.  9-14  must  be  some  early  translation  of 
Ada  Pcrsarum,  which  the  Syrians,  especially  those  of  Edessa, 
made;  cf.  chap.  14.  Soz.  is  independent.  The  persecution  began 
under  Shapur  II.  a.d.  343. 


II.    lO.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


265 


fore  I  did  not  then  object  to  pay  the  customary 
respect  to  royalty ;  but  now  it  would  not  be 
proper  for  me  to  do  so  ;  for  I  stand  here  in  de- 
fense of  godliness  and  of  our  opinion."  When 
he  ceased  speaking,  the  king  commanded  him 
to  worship  the  sun,  promising,  as  an  inducement, 
to  bestow  gifts  upon  him,  and  to  hold  him  in 
honor ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  threatening,  in 
case  of  non-compliance,  to  visit  him  and  the 
whole  body  of  Christians  with  destruction. 
When  the  king  found  that  he  neither  frightened 
him  by  menaces,  nor  caused  him  to  relax  by 
promises,  and  that  Symeon  remained  firm  and 
refused  to  worship  the  sun,  or  to  betray  his 
religion,  he  commanded  him  to  be  put  in  bonds 
for  a  while,  probably  imagining  that  he  would 
change  his  mind. 

^Vhen  Symeon  was  being  conducted  to  prison, 
Usthazanes,  an  aged  eunuch,  the  foster-father  of 
Sapor  and  superintendent  of  the.  palace,  who 
happened  to  be  sitting  at  the  gates  of  the  palace, 
arose  to  do  him  reverence.  Symeon  reproach- 
fully forbade  him  in  a  loud  and  haughty  voice, 
averted  his  countenance,  and  passed  by  ;  for  the 
eunuch  had  been  formerly  a  Christian,  but  had 
recently  yielded  to  authority,  and  had  worshiped 
the  sun.  This  conduct  so  affected  the  eunuch  that 
he  wept  aloud,  laid  aside  the  white  garment  with 
which  he  was  robed,  and  clothed  himself,  as  a 
mourner,  in  black.  He  then  seated  himself  in 
front  of  the  palace,  crying  and  groaning,  and 
saying,  "  Woe  is  me  !  What  must  not  await  me 
since  I  have  denied  God ;  and  on  this  account 
Symeon,  formerly  my  familiar  friend,  does  not 
think  me  worthy  of  being  spoken  to,  but  turns 
away  and  hastens  from  me."  When  Sapor  heard 
of  what  had  occurred,  he  called  the  eunuch  to 
him,  and  inquired  into  the  cause  of  his  grief, 
and  asked  him  whether  any  calamity  had  befallen 
his  family.  Usthazanes  replied  and  said,  "  O 
king,  nothing  has  occurred  to  my  family  ;  but  I 
would  rather  have  suffered  any  other  affliction 
whatsoever  than  that  which  has  befallen  me,  and 
it  would  have  been  easy  to  bear.  Now  I  mourn 
because  I  am  alive,  and  ought  to  have  been  dead 
long  ago ;  yet  I  still  see  the  sun  which,  not  vol- 
untarily, but  to  please  thee,  I  professed  to  wor- 
ship. Therefore,  on  both  accounts,  it  is  just 
that  I  should  die,  for  I  have  been  a  betrayer  of 
Christ,  and  a  deceiver  of  thee."  He  then  swore 
by  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  he  would 
never  swerve  from  his  convictions.  Sapor,  aston- 
ished at  the  wonderful  conversion  of  the  eunuch, 
was  still  more  enraged  against  the  Christians,  as 
if  they  had  effected  it  by  enchantments.  Still, 
he  spared  the  old  man,  and  strove  with  all  his 
strength,  by  alternate  gentleness  and  harshness, 
to  bring  him  over  to  his  own  sentiments.  But 
finding  that  his  eiforts  were  useless,  and  that 
Usthazanes  persisted  in  declaring  that  he  would 


never  be  so  foolish  as  to  worship  the  creature  in- 
stead of  the  creator,  he  became  inflamed  with 
passion,  and  commanded  that  the  eunuch's  head 
should  be  struck  off  with  a  sword.  When  the 
executioners  came  forward  to  perform  their  office, 
Usthazanes  requested  them  to  wait  a  little,  that 
he  might  communicate  something  to  the  king. 
He  then  called  one  of  the  most  faithful  eunuchs^ 
and  bade  him  say  to  Sapor,  "  From  my  youth 
until  now  I  have  been  well  affected,  O  king,  to 
your  house,  and  have  ministered  with  fitting  dili- 
gence to  your  father  and  yourself.  I  need  no 
witnesses  to  corroborate  my  statements  ;  these 
facts  are  well  established.  For  all  the  matters 
wherein  at  divers  times  I  have  gladly  served  you^ 
grant  me  this  reward  ;  let  it  not  be  imagined  by 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  circumstances,  that 
I  have  incurred  this  punishment  by  acts  of  un- 
faithfulness against  the  kingdom,  or  by  the  com- 
mission of  any  other  crime  ;  but  let  it  be  pub- 
lished and  proclaimed  abroad  by  a  herald,  that 
Usthazanes  loses  his  head  for  no  knavery  that 
he  has  ever  committed  in  the  palaces,  but  for 
being  a  Christian,  and  for  refusing  to  obey  the 
king  in  denying  his  own  God."  The  eunuch, 
delivered  this  message,  and  Sapor,  according  to 
the  request  of  Usthazanes,  commanded  a  herald 
to  make  the  desired  proclamation ;  for  the  king 
imagined  that  "others  would  be  easily  deterred 
from  embracing  Christianity,  by  reflecting  that 
he  who  sacrificed  his  aged  foster-father  and 
esteemed  household  servant,  would  assuredly 
spare  no  other  Christian.  Usthazanes,  however, 
believed  that  as  by  his  timidity  in  consenting  to 
worship  the  sun,  he  had  caused  many  Christians 
to  fear,  so  now,  by  the  diligent  proclamation  of 
the  cause  of  his  sufferings,  many  might  be  edified 
by  learning  that  he  died  for  the  sake  of  religion, 
and  so  became  imitators  of  his  fortitude. 

CHAP.    X. CHRISTIANS    SLAIN    BY    SAPOR    IN 

PERSL4. 

In  this  manner  the  honorable  life  of  Ustha- 
zanes was  terminated,  and  when  the  intelligence 
was  brought  to  Symeon  in  the  prison,  he  offered 
thanksgiving  to  God  on  his  account.  The  fol- 
lowing day,  which  happened  to  be  the  sixth  day 
of  the  week,  and  likewise  the  day  on  which,  as 
immediately  preceding  the  festival  of  the  resur- 
rection, the  annual  memorial  of  the  passion  of  the 
Saviour  is  celebrated,  the  king  issued  orders  for 
the  decapitation  of  Symeon ;  for  he  had  again 
been  conducted  to  the  palace  from  the  prison, 
had  reasoned  most  nobly  with  Sapor  on  points  of 
doctrine,  and  had  expressed  a  determination  never 
to  worship  either  the  king  or  the  sun.  On  the 
same  day  a  hundred  other  prisoners  were  ordered 
to  be  slain.  Symeon  beheld  their  execution, 
and  last  of  all  he  was  put  to  death.     Amongst 


266 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.   lO. 


these  victims  were  bishops,  presbyters,  and  other 
clergy  of  different  grades.  As  they  were  being 
led  out  to  execution,  the  chief  of  the  Magi  ap- 
proached them,  and  asked  them  whether  they 
would  preser\^e  their  lives  by  conforming  to  the 
religion  of  the  king  and  by  worshiping  the  sun. 
As  none  of  them  would  comply  with  this  condi- 
tion, they  were  conducted  to  the  place  of  execu- 
tion, and  the  executioners  applied  themselves  to 
the  task  of  slaying  these  martyrs.  Symeon, 
standing  by  those  who  were  to  be  slain,  exhorted 
them  to  constancy,  and  reasoned  concerning 
death,  and  the  resurrection,  and  piety,  and 
showed  them  from  the  sacred  Scriptures  that  a 
death  like  theirs  is  true  life  ;  whereas  to  live, 
and  through  fear  to  deny  God,  is  as  truly  death. 
He  told  them,  too,  that  even  if  no  one  were  to 
slay  them,  death  would  inevitably  overtake  them  ; 
for  our  death  is  a  natural  consequence  of  our 
birth.  The  things  after  those  of  this  hfe  are 
perpetual,  and  do  not  happen  alike  to  all  men  ; 
but  as  if  measured  by  some  rule,  they  must  give 
an  accurate  account  of  the  course  of  life  here. 
Each  one  who  did  well,  will  receive  immortal 
rewards  and  will  escape  the  punishments  of  those 
who  did  the  opposite.  He  likewise  told  them 
that  the  greatest  and  happiest  of  all  good  ac- 
tions is  to  die  for  the  cause  of  God.  While 
Symeon  was  pursuing  such  themes,  and  like  a 
household  attendant,  was  exhorting  them  about 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  to  go  into  the 
conflicts,  each  one  listened  and  spiritedly  went 
to  the  slaughter.  After  the  executioner  had 
despatched  a  hundred,  Symeon  himself  was 
slain ;  and  Abedechalaas  and  Anannias,  two 
aged  presbyters  of  his  own  church,  who  had 
been  his  fellow-prisoners,  suffered  with  him.^ 

CHAP.     XI.  PUSICES,     SUPERINTENDENT     OF     THE 

ARTISANS  OF  SAPOR. 

PusiCES,  the  superintendent  of  the  king's  ar- 
tisans, was  present  at  the  execution  •  perceiving 
that  Anannias  trembled  as  the  necessary  prep- 
arations for  his  death  were  being  made,  he  said 
to  him,  "  O  old  man,  close  your  eyes  for  a 
little  while  and  be  of  good  courage,  for  you  will 
soon  behold  the  light  of  Christ."  No  sooner 
had  he  uttered  these  words  than  he  was  arrested 
and  conducted  before  the  king ;  and  as  he 
frankly  avowed  himself  a  Christian,  and  spoke 
with  great  freedom  to  the  king  concerning  his 
opinion  and  the  martyrs,  he  was  condemned  to 
an  extraordinary  and  most  cruel  death,  because 
it  was  not  lawful  to  address  the  king  with  such 
boldness.  The  executioners  pierced  the  muscles 
of  his  neck  in  such  a  manner  as  to  extract  his 
tongue.      On  the  charge  of  some  persons,  his 

'  The  allcmpt  to  fix  the  date  as  Pagi,  Ap.  21,  349,  has  no  histori- 
cal warrant;   see  Pagi,  under  343  iii. 


daughter,  who  had  devoted  herself  to  a  life  of 
holy  virginity,  was  arraigned  and  executed  at  the 
same  time.  The  following  year,  on  the  day  on 
which  the  passion  of  Christ  was  commemorated, 
and  when  preparations  were  being  made  for  the 
celebration  of  the  festival  commemorative  of 
his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  Sapor  issued  a 
most  cruel  edict  throughout  Persia,  condemning 
to  death  all  those  who  should  confess  themselves 
to  be  Christians.  It  is  said  that  a  greater  num- 
ber of  Christians  suffered  by  the  sword  ;  for  the 
Magi  sought  diligently  in  the  cities  and  villages 
for  those  who  had  concealed  themselves  ;  and 
many  voluntarily  surrendered  themselves,  lest 
they  should  appear,  by  their  silence,  to  deny 
Christ.  Of  the  Christians  who  were  thus  un- 
sparingly sacrificed,  many  who  were  attached  to 
the  palace  were  slain,  and  amongst  these  was 
Azades,-  a  eunuch,  who  was  especially  beloved 
by  the  king.  .  On  hearing  of  his  death,  Sapor 
was  overwhelmed  with  grief,  and  put  a  stop  to 
the  general  slaughter  of  the  Christians ;  and  he 
directed  that  the  teachers  of  religion  should 
alone  be  slain. 


CHAP.    XII. TARBULA,     THE     SISTER     OF     SYMEON, 

AND    HER    MARTYRDOM. 

About  the  same  period,  the  queen  was  at- 
tacked with  a  disease,  and  Tarbula,  the  sister  of 
Symeon  the  bishop,  a  holy  virgin,  was  arrested 
with  her  servant,  who  shared  in  the  same  mode 
of  life,  as  likewise  a  sister  of  Tarbula,  who,  after 
the  death  of  her  husband,  abjured  marriage,  and 
led  a  similar  career.  The  cause  of  their  arrest 
was  the  charge  of  the  Jews,  who  reported  that 
they  had  injured  the  queen  by  their  enchant- 
ments, on  account  of  their  rage  at  the  death  of 
Symeon.  As  invalids  easily  give  credit  to  the 
most  repulsive  representations,  the  queen  be- 
lieved the  charge,  and  especially  because  it 
emanated  from  the  Jews,  since  she  had  em- 
braced their  sentiments,  and  lived  in  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Jewish  rites,  for  she  had  great 
confidence  in  their  veracity  and  in  their  attach- 
ment to  herself.  The  Magi  having  seized 
Tarbula  and  her  companions,  condemned  them 
to  death  ;  and  after  having  sawn  them  asunder, 
they  fastened  tliem  up  to  poles  and  made  the 
queen  pass  through  the  midst  of  the  poles  as  a 
medium  for  turning  away  the  disease.  It  is 
said  that  this  Tarbula  was  beautiful  and  very 
stately  in  form,  and  that  one  of  the  Magi,  hav- 
ing become  deeply  enamored  with  her,  secretly 
sent  a  proposal  for  intercourse,  and  promised  as 
a  reward  to  save  her  and  he-  companions  if  she 
would  consent.     But  she  wculd  give  no  ear  to 


-  Assemanus,  Bibl.   Orietit.  t.  i.  189,  speaks  of  Azades  as  the 
eunuch  of  Artascirus,  ruler  of  Adiabene,  who  was  a  cousin  of  Sapor. 


ir.  14.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


267 


his  licentiousness,  and  treated  the  Magi  witli 
scorn,  and  rebnked  his  hist.  She  would  rather 
prefer  courageously  to  die  than  to  betray  her 
virginity. 

As  it  was  ordained  by  the  edict  of  Sapor, 
which  we  mentioned  above,  that  the  Christians 
should  not  be  slaughtered  indiscriminate! v,  but 
that  the  priests  and  teachers  of  the  opinions 
should  be  slain,  the  Magi  and  Arch-Magi  trav- 
ersed the  whole  country  of  Persia,  studiously 
maltreating  the  bishops  and  j)resbyters.  They 
sought  them  especially  in  the  country  of  Adia- 
bene,  a  part  of  the  Persian  dominions,  because 
it  was  whoUv  Christianized. 


CHAP.    XIII. MARTYRDOM    OF    SI .    ACEPSIMAS    AND 

OF    HIS    CO]VrPANIONS.     ■ 

About  this  period  they  arrested  /Vcepsimas  the 
bishop,  and  many  of  his  clergy.  After  having 
taken  counsel  together,  they  satisfied  themselves 
with  the  hunt  after  the  leader  only  ;  they  dismissed 
the  rest  after  they  had  taken  away  their  property. 
James,  however,  who  was  one  of  the  presbyters, 
voluntarily  followed  Acepsimas,  obtained  per- 
mission from  the  Magi  to  share  his  prison,  and 
spiritedly  ministered  to  the  old  man,  lightened 
his  misfortunes  as  far  as  he  was  able,  and  dressed 
his  wounds  ;  for  not  long  after  his  apprehension, 
the  Magi  had  injuriously  tortured  him  with  raw 
thongs  in  forcing  him  to  worship  the  sun ;  and 
on  his  refusal  to  do  so  had  retained  him  again 
in  bonds.  Two  presbyters  named  Aithalas  and 
James,  and  two  deacons,  by  name  Azadanes  and 
Abdiesus,  after  being  scourged  most  injuriously 
by  the  Magi,  were  compelled  to  live  in  prison,  on 
account  of  their  opinions.  After  a  long  time 
had  elapsed,  the  great  Arch-Magi  communicated 
to  the  king  the  facts  about  them  to  be  punished  ; 
and  having  received  permission  to  deal  with 
them  as  he  pleased,  unless  they  would  consent 
to  worship  the  sun,  he  made  known  this  de- 
cision of  Sapor's  to  the  prisoners.  They  replied 
openly,  that  they  would  never  betray  the  cause 
of  Christ  nor  worship  the  sun  ;  he  tortured  them 
unsparingly.  Acepsimas  persevered  in  the  manly 
confession  of  his  faith,  till  death  put  an  end  to 
his  torments.  Certain  Armenians,  whom  the 
Persians  retained  as  hostages,  secretly  carried 
away  his  body  and  buried  it.  The  other  pris- 
oners, although  not  less  scourged,  lived  as  by  a 
miracle,  and  as  they  would  not  change  their 
judgment,  were  again  put  in  bonds.  Among 
these  was  Aithalas,  who  was  stretched  out  while 
thus  beaten,  and  his  arms  were  torn  out  of  his 
shoulders  by  the  very  great  wrench  ;  and  he 
carried  his  hands  about  as  dead  and  swinging 
loosely,  so  that  others  had  to  convey  food  to 
his   mouth.     Under  this    rule,   an  innumerable 


multitude  of  presbyters,  deacons,  monks,  holy 
virgins,  and  others  who  served  the  churches  and 
were  set  apart  for  its  dogma,  terminated  their 
lives  by  martyrdom.  The  following  are  .  the 
names  of  the  bishops,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  ascertain  :  liarbasymes,  Paulus,  Caddiabes,  Sa- 
binus,  Mareas,  Mocius,  John,  Hormisdas,  Papas, 
James,  Romas,  Maares,  Agas,  Bochres,  Abdas, 
Abdiesus,  John,  Abramins,  Agdelas,  Sapores, 
Isaac,  and  I  )ausas.  The  latter  had  been  made 
prisoner  by  the  Persians,  and  brought  from  a 
place  named  Zabd^eus.'  He  died  about  this 
time  in  defense  of  the  dogma ;  and  Mareabdes, 
a  chorepiscopus,  and  al)Out  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  his  clergy,  who  had  also  been  captured 
by  the  Persians,  suffered  with  him. 

CHAP.    XIV. THE    iMAR'n-RDOM    OF    BISHOP   MILLES 

AND  HIS  CONDUCT.  SIXTEEN  THOUSAND  DISTIN- 
GUISHED MEN  IN  PERSIA  SUFFER  MARTYRDOM 
UNDER    SAPOR,    BESIDES    OBSCURE    INDIVIDUALS. 

About  this  period  Milles  suffered  inartyrdom. 
He  originally  served  the  Persians  in  a  military 
capacity,  but  afterwards  abandoned  that  voca- 
tion, in  order  to  embrace  the  apostolical  mode 
of  life.  It  is  related  that  he  was  ordained  bishop 
over  a  Persian  city,  and  he  underwent  a  variety 
of  sufferings,  and  endured  wounds  and  drawings  ; 
and  that,  failing  in  his  efforts  to  convert  the  in- 
habitants to  Christianity,  he  uttered  imprecations 
against  the  city,  and  departed.  Not  long  after, 
some  of  the  principal  citizens  offended  the  king, 
and  an  army  with  three  hundred  elephants  was 
sent  against  them  ;  the  city  was  utterly  demolished 
and  its  land  was  ploughed  and  sown.  Milles, 
taking  with  him  only  his  wallet,  in  which  was 
the  holy  Book  of  the  Gospels,  repaired  to  Jeru- 
salem in  prayer ;  thence  he  proceeded  to  Egypt 
in  order  to  see  the  monks.  The  extraordinary 
and  admirable  works  which  we  have  heard  that 
he  accomplished,  are  attested  by  the  Syrians, 
who  have  written  an  account  of  his  actions  and 
life.  For  my  own  part,  I  think  that  I  have  said 
enough  of  him  and  of  the  other  martvrs  who 
suffered  in  Persia  during  the  reign  of  Sapor ;  for 
it  would  be  difficult  to  relate  in  detail  every  cir- 
cumstance respecting  them,  such  as  their  names, 
their  country,  the  mode  of  completing  their  mar- 
tyrdom, and  the  species  of  torture  to  which  they 
were  subjected  ;  for  they  are  innumerable,  since 
such  methods  are  jealously  affected  by  the  Per- 
sians, even  to  the  extreme  of  cruelty.  I  shall 
briefly  state  that  the  number  of  men  and  women 
whose  names  have  been  ascertained,  and  who 
were  martyred  at  this  period,  have  been  com- 
puted to  be  sixteen  thousand  ;  while  the  multi- 
tude outside  of  these  is  beyond  enumeration,  and 

1  Am.  Marcell.  20.  7,  i,  Zabdiceni;  25.  7,  9,  Zabdicena. 


268 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  14. 


on  this  account  to  reckon  off  their  names  ap- 
peared difficult  to  the  Persians  and  Syrians  and 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Edessa,  who  have  devoted 
much  care  to  this  matter. 

CHAP.    XV. CONST ANTINE    WRITES    TO     SAPOR    TO 

STAY   THE   PERSECUTION    OF   THE    CHRISTIANS. 

CoNSTANTiNE  the  Roman  emperor  was  angry, 
and  bore  it  ill  when  he  heard  of  the  sufferings 
to  which  the  Christians  were  exposed  in  Persia. 
He  desired  most  anxiously  to  render  them  as- 
sistance, yet  knew  not  in  what  way  to  effect  this 
object.  About  this  time  some  ambassadors  from 
the  Persian  king  arrived  at  his  court,  and  after 
granting  their  requests  and  dismissing  them,  he 
thought  it  would  be  a  favorable  opportunity  to 
address  Sapor  in  behalf  of  the  Christians  in 
Persia,  and  wrote  to  him,'  confessing  that  it 
would  be  a  very  great  and  forever  indescribable 
favor,  if  he  would  be  humane  to  those  who  ad- 
mired the  teaching  of  the  Christians  under  him. 
"There  is  nothing  in  their  religion,"  said  he, 
"  of  a  reprehensible  nature  ;  by  bloodless  prayers 
alone  do  they  offer  supplication  to  God,  for  he 
delighteth  not  in  the  outpouring  of  blood,  but 
taketh  pleasure  only  in  a  pure  soul  devoted  to 
virtue  and  to  rehgion  ;  so  that  they  who  believe 
the^e  things  are  worthy  of  commendation."  The 
emperor  then  assured  Sapor  that  God  would  be 
propitious  to  him  if  he  treated  the  Christians 
with  lenity,  and  adduced  the  example  of  Vale- 
rian and  of  himself  in  proof  thereof.  He  had 
himself,  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  by  the  aid  of 
Divine  inclination,  come  forth  from  the  shores 
of  the  Western  ocean,  and  reduced  to  obedience 
the  whole  of  the  Roman  world,  and  had  termi- 
nated many  wars  against  foreigners  and  usurp- 
ers ;  and  yet  had  never  had  recourse  to  sacrifices 
or  divinations,  but  had  for  victory  used  only  the 
symbol  of  the  Cross  at  the  head  of  his  own  ar- 
mies, and  prayer  pure  from  blood  and  defile- 
ment. The  reign  of  Valerian  was  prosperous 
so  long  as  he  refrained  from  persecuting  the 
Church  ;  but  he  afterwards  commenced  a  perse- 
cution against  the  Christians,  and  was  delivered 
by  Divine  vengeance  into  the  hands  of  the  Per- 
sians, who  took  him  prisoner  and  put  him  to  a 
cruel  death." 

It  was  in  this  strain  that  Constantine  wrote  to 
Sapor,  urging  him  to  be  well-disposed  to  this 
religion ;  for  the  emperor  extended  his  watchful 
care  over  all  the  Christians  of  every  region, 
whether  Roman  or  foreign. 


'  The  Embassy  is  spoken  of  in  Ens.  V.  C.  iv.  8;  the  letter  of 
Constantine  to  Shapur,  iv.  9-13.  But  Soz.  is  mistaken  about  its 
date;  for  it  was  written  before  Sapor  had  commenced  his  persecution 
of  the  Christians.  As  usual,  Soz.  quotes  briefly,  and  with  no  regard 
to  the  language  and  little  to  the  thought.  Iheodoret,  //.  E.  i.  25 
(24).  is  accurate.  For  further  relations  of  Constantine  with  Persia, 
cf.  Eus.  V.  C.  iv.  56,  57. 


CHAP..     XVI. EUSEBIU3     AND     THEOGNIS     WHO     AT 

THE    COUNCIL    OF    NICE     HAD    ASSENTED   TO    THE 
WRITINGS    OF    ARIUS     RESTORED    TO     THEIR    OWN 

SEES. 

Not  long  after  the  council  of  Nice,  Arius  was 
recalled  from  exile  ;  but  the  prohibition  to  enter 
Alexandria  was  unrevoked.  It  shall  be  related 
in  the  proper  place  how  he  strove  to  obtain  per- 
mission to  return  to  Egypt.  Not  long  after, 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis, 
bishop  of  Nicaea,  regained  possession  of  their 
churches  after  expelling  Amphion  and  Chrestos 
who  had  been  ordained  in  their  stead.-  They 
owed  their  restoration  to  a  document  which 
they  had  presented  to  the  bishops,  containing 
a  retractation:  "Although  we  have  been  con- 
demned without  a  trial  by  your  piety,  we  deemed 
it  right  to  remain  silent  concerning  the  judgment 
passed  by  your  piety.  But  as  it  would  be 
absurd  to  remain  longer  silent,  when  silence  is 
regarded  as  a  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  calumni- 
ators, we  now  declare  to  you  that  we  too  agree 
in  this  faith,  and  after  a  diligent  examination  of 
the  thought  in  the  word  '  eonsubstantial,'  we  are 
wholly  intent  upon  preserving  peace,  and  that 
we  never  pursued  any  heresy.  Having  proposed 
for  the  safety  of  the  churches  such  argument  ^  as 
occurred  to  us,  and  having  been  fully  convinced, 
and  fully  convincing  those  who  ought  to  have 
been  persuaded  by  us,  we  undersigned  the 
creed ;  but  we  did  not  subscribe  to  the  anath- 
ema, not  because  we  impugned  the  creed,  but 
because  we  did  not  believe  the  accused  to  be 
what  he  was  represented  to  us  ;  the  letters  we 
had  received  from  him,  and  the  arguments  he 
had  delivered  in  our  presence,  fully  satisfying  us 
that  he  was  not  such  an  one.  Would  that  the 
holy  Synod  were  convinced  that  we  are  not  bent 
on  opposing,  but  are  accordant  with  the  points  ac- 
curately defined  by  you,  and  by  this  document, 
we  do  attest  our  assent  thereto  :  and  this  is  not 
because  we  are  weaned  of  exile,  but  because  we 
wish  to  avert  all  suspicion  of  heresy ;  for  if  you 
will  condescend  to  admit  us  now  into  your  pres- 
ence, you  will  find  us  in  all  points  of  the  same 
sentiments  as  yourselves,  and  obedient  to  your 
decisions,  and  then  it  shall  seem  good  to  your 
piety  to  be  merciful  to  him  who  was  accused  on 
these  points  and  to  have  him  recalled.  If  the 
party  amenable  to  justice  has  been  recalled  and 
has  defended  himself  from  the  charge  made,  it 
would  be  absurd,  were  we  by  our  silence  to  con- 


2  Cf.  Soc.  i.  14.     The  variations  of  text  are  slight.     Is  the  original 

from  Sabinus'  17  avvciyL^yr}  tu>i'  o-itoSik  .>•.'? 

■'  The  facts  (as  we  learn  from  the  Epistle  of  Eusebuis  of  Caesarea, 
which  is  given  by  Soc.  i.  8,  and  Theodoret,  //.  E.  i.  12)  are  as  fol- 
lows: The  bishops,  who  demurred  to  the  term  hfxoovcriov,  as  defined 
in  the  Nicene  symbol,  proposed  another  alleged  older  Antiochan 
form  to  the  Synod.  But  the  Nicene  Fathers  rejected  it.  and  refused 
to  depart  from  their  own  definition.  Eusebius  Pamphdus  and  his 
party  then  signed  the  Catholic  and  Orthodo.\  creed,  for  fear  of  the 
emperor  and  other  motives. 


II.  I7.J 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


269 


firm  the  reports  that  caUimny  had  spread  against 
us.  We  beseech  you  then,  as  befits  your  piety, 
dear  to  Christ,  that  you  memoriahze  our  em- 
peror, most  beloved  of  God,  and  that  you  hand 
over  our  petition,  and  that  you  counsel  quickly, 
what  is  agreeable  to  you  concerning  us."  It 
was  by  these  means  that  Kusebius  an(l  Theognis, 
after  their  change  of  sentiment,  were  reinstated 
in  their  churches. 


CHAP.     XVII. ON     THE     DEATH     OF     ALEXANDER, 

BISHOP  OF  ALEXANDRA,  AT  HIS  SUGGESTION, 
ATHANASIUS  RECEIVES  THE  THRONE  ;  AND  AN 
ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  YOUTH  ;  HOW  HE  WAS  A  SELF- 
TAUGHT  PRIEST,  AND  BELOVED  BY  ANTONY  THE 
GREAT. 

About  this  period  ^  Alexander,  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria, when  about  to  depart  this  life,  left  Atha- 
nasius  as  his  successor,  in  accordance,  I  am 
convinced,  with  the  Divine  will  directing  the 
vote  upon  him.  It  is  said  that  Athanasius  at 
first  sought  to  avoid  the  honor  by  flight,  but  that 
he,  although  unwilling,  was  afterwards  constrained 
by  Alexander  to  accept  the  bishopric.  This  is 
testified  by  Apolinarius,  the  Syrian,-  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms  :  "  In  all  these  matters  much  dis- 
turbance was  excited  by  impiety,  but  its  first 
effects  were  felt  by  the  blessed  teacher  of  this 
man,  who  was  at  hand  as  an  assistant,  and  be- 
naved  as  a  son  would  to  his  father.  Afterwards 
this  holy  man  himself  underwent  the  same  expe- 
rience, for  when  appointed  to  the  episcopal  suc- 
cession he  fled  to  escape  the  honor ;  but  he  was 
discovered  in  his  place  of  concealment  by  the 
help  of  God,  who  had  forecast  by  Divine  mani- 
festations to  his  blessed  predecessor,  that  the 
succession  was  to  devolve  upon  him.  For  when 
Alexander  was  on  the  point  of  death,  he  called 
upon  Athanasius,  who  was  then  absent.  One 
who  bore  the  same  name,  and  who  happened  to 
be  present,  on  hearing  him  call  this  way,  an- 
swered him  ;  but  to  him  Alexander  was  silent, 
since  he  was  not  summoning  this  man.  Again 
he  called,  and  as  it  often  happens,  the  one  present 
kept  still,  and  so  the  absent  one  was  disclosed. 
Moreover,  the  blessed  Alexander  prophetically 
exclaimed,  '  O  Athanasius,  thou  thinkest  to 
escape,  but  thou  wilt  not  escape  '  ;  meaning  that 
Athanasius  would  be  called  to  the  conflict." 
■Such  is  the  account  given  by  Apolinarius  re- 
specting Athanasius. 

The  Arians  assert  that  after  the  death  of  Alex- 
ander, the  respective  followers  of  that  bishop 
and  of  Melitius  held  communion  together,  and 
fifty-four  bishops  from  Thebes,  and  other  parts 
of  Egypt,  assembled  together,  and    agreed    by 

'  About  five  months  after  the  council  of  Nicsa,  according  to  a 
statement  of  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  59. 

-  This  quotation  is  firtt  made  by  Soz.,  and  is  found  nowhere  else. 


oath  to  choose  by  a  common  vote,  the  man  who 
could  advantageously  administer  the  Church  of 
Alexandria  ;  but  that  seven  ■'  of  the  bishops,  in 
violation  of  their  oath,  and  contrary  to  the  opin- 
ion of  all,  secretly  ordained  Athanasius ;  and 
that  on  this  account  many  of  the  people  and  of 
the  Egyptian  clergy  seceded  from  communion 
with  him.  For  my  part,  I  am  convinced  that  it 
was  by  Divine  appointment  that  Athanasius  suc- 
ceeded to  the  high-priesthood  ;  for  he  was  elo- 
quent and  intelligent,  and  capable  of  opposing 
plots,  and  of  such  a  man  the  times  had  the 
greatest  need.  He  displayed  great  aptitude  in 
the  exercise  of  the  ecclesiastical  functions  and 
fitness  for  the  priesthood,  and  was,  so  to  speak, 
from  his  earliest  years,  self-taught.  It  is  said 
that  the  following  incident  occurred  to  him  in  his 
youth.''  It  was  the  custom  of  the  Alexandrians 
to  celebrate  with  great  pomp  an  annual  festival 
in  honor  of  one  of  their  bishops  named  Peter, 
who  had  suffered  martyrdom.  Alexander,  who 
then  conducted  the  church,  engaged  in  the  cele- 
bration of  this  festival,  and  after  having  completed 
the  worship,  he  remained  on  the  spot,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  some  guests  whom  he  expected  to 
breakfast.  In  the  meantime  he  chanced  to  cast 
his  eyes  towards  the  sea,  and  perceived  some 
children  playing  on  the  shore,  and  amusing  them- 
selves by  imitating  the  bishop  and  the  ceremonies 
of  the  Church.  At  first  he  considered  the  mim- 
icry as  innocent,  and  took  pleasure  in  witnessing 
it ;  but  when  they  touched  upon  the  unutterable, 
he  was  troubled,  and  communicated  the  matter 
to  the  chief  of  the  clergy.  The  children  were 
called  together  and  questioned  as  to  the  game 
at  which  they  were  playing,  and  as  to  what  they 
did  and  said  when  engaged  in  this  amusement. 
At  first  they  through  fear  denied  ;  but  when 
Alexander  threatened  them  with  torture,  they 
confessed  that  Athanasius  was  their  bishop  and 
leader,  and  that  many  children  who  had  not 
been  initiated  had  been  baptized  by  him.  Alex- 
ander carefully  inquired  what  the  priest  of  their 
play  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  or  doing,  and 
what  they  answered  or  were  taught.  On  finding 
that  the  exact  routine  of  the  Church  had  been 
accurately  observed  by  them,  he  consulted  the 
priests  around  him  on  the  subject,  and  decided 
that  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  rebaptize  those 
who,  in  their  simplicity,  had  been  judged  worthy 
of  the  Divine  grace.  He  therefore  merely  per- 
formed for  them  such  offices  as  it  is  lawful  only 
for  those  who  are  consecrated  to  initiating  the 
mysteries.  He  then  took  Athanasius  and  the 
other  children,  who  had  playfully  acted  as  pres- 


•''  See  the  refutation  of  the  calumny  in  Athan.  Apol.  cotit.  Arian. 
6,  where  the  acts  of  the  vindicatory  synod  are  given,  3  sqq.  Cf. 
Philost.  ii.  II,  gives  a  different  account  from  the  Arian  point  of 
view;   probably  the  whole  story  is  from  Sabinus. 

■*  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  14.  Cf.  Soc.  i.  15,  who  credits  Ruf.  with  the 
story. 


270 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  17. 


byters  and  deacons,  to  their  own  relations  under, 
God  as  a  witness  that  they  might  be  brought  up 
for  the  Church,  and  for  leadership  in  what  they 
had  imitated.  Not  long  after,  he  took  Athana- 
sius  as  his  table  companion  and  secretary.  He 
had  been  well  educated,  was  versed  in  grammar 
and  rhetoric,  and  already  when  he  came  to  man's 
estate,  and  before  he  attained  the  bishopric,  he 
gave  proof  to  those  conversing  with  him  of  his 
being  a  man  of  wisdom  and  intellectuality.  But 
when,^  on  the  death  of  Alexander,  the  succession 
devolved  upon  him,  his  reputation  was  greatly 
increased,  and  was  sustained  by  his  own  private 
virtues  and  by  the  testimony  of  the  monk, 
Antony  the  Great.  This  monk  repaired  to 
him  when  he  requested  his  presence,  visited  the 
cities,  accompanied  him  to  the  churches,  and 
agreed  with  him  in  opinion  concerning  the  God- 
head. He  evinced  unlimited  friendship  towards 
him,  and  avoided  the  society  of  his  enemies  and 
opponents. 

CHAP.  XVIII. THE  ARIANS  AND  .MELITIANS  CON- 
FER CELEBRITY  ON  ATHANASIUS  ;  CONCERNING 
EUSEBIUS,  AND  HIS  REQUEST  OF  ATH.4NASIUS  TO 
ADMIT  ARIUS  TO  COMMUNION  ;  CONCERNING  THE 
TERM  "  CONSUBSTANTIAL  "  ;  EUSEBIUS  PAMPHILUS 
AND  EUSTATHIUS,  BISHOP  OF  ANTIOCH,  CREATE 
TUMULTS   ABOVE    ALL   THE    REST. 

The  reputation  of  Athanasius  was,  however, 
especially  increased  by  the  Arians  and  Aleli- 
tians  ;  -  although  always  plotting,  they  never  ap- 
peared rightly  to  catch  and  make  him  a  prisoner. 
In  the  first  place,  Eusebius  wrote  to  urge  him  to 
receive  the  Arians  into  communion,  and  threat- 
ened, without  writing  it,  to  ill-treat  him  should 
he  refuse  to  do  so.  But  as  Athanasius  v/ould 
not  yield  to  his  representation,  but  maintained 
that  those  who  had  devised  a  heresy  in  innovat- 
ing upon  the  truth,  and  who  had  been  con- 
demned by  the  council  of  Nice,  ought  not  to 
be  received  into  the  Church,  Eusebius  contrived 
to  interest  the  emperor  in  favor  of  Arius,  and 
so  procured  his  return.  I  shall  state  a  Httle  fur- 
ther on  how  all  these  events  came  to  pass.'' 
*"  At  this  period,  the  bishops  had  another  tu- 
multuous dispute  among  themselves,  concerning 
the  precise  meaning  of  the  term  "  consubstan- 
tial."  "*  Some  thought  that  this  term  could  not 
be  admitted  without  blasphemy  ;  that  it  implied 
the  non-existence  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  that 
it  involved  the  error  of  Montanus  and  Sabellius. 
Those,  on  the  other   hand,  who   defended  the 

'  From  the  Life  of  Antony,  attributed  to  Athanasius,  which 
Evagrius,  a  presbyter  of  Antioch,  translated  into  Latin.  Ruf.  //.  E. 
i.  8,  Ilieron.  dc  vir.  iilnst.  87,  88,  125. 

-  Source  here  is  Soc.  i.  23,  but  abridged.  ■'   Sec  chap.  22. 

■•  Soc.  again  the  source,  but  abridged;  the  matter  is  entirely  the 
fruit  of  his  own  research,  as  Soc.  states  in  this  chapter  (chap.  i.  23). 
Cf.  Eus.  /'.  C.  iii.  23. 


term",  regarded  their  opponents  as  Greeks  (or 
pagans),  and  considered  that  their  sentiments 
led  to  polytheism.  Eusebius.  surnamed  Pam- 
philus,  and  Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  took 
the  lead  in  this  dispute.  They  both  confessed 
the  Son  of  God  to  exist  hypostatically,  and  yet 
they  contended  together  as  if  they  had  misunder- 
stood each  other.  Eustathius  accused  Eusebius 
of  altering  the  doctrines  ratified  by  the  council 
of  Nicsea,  while  the  latter  declared  that  he  ap- 
proved of  all  the  Nicaean  doctrines,  and  re- 
proached Eustathius  for  cleaving  to  the  heresy 
of  Sabellius. 


CHAP.  XIX. SYNOD  OF  ANTIOCH  ;  UNJUST  DEPO- 
SITION OF  EUSTATHIUS  ;  EUPHRONIUS  RECEIVES 
THE  THRONE  ;  CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT  WRITES 
TO  THE  SYNOD  AND  TO  EUSEBIUS  PAMPHILUS, 
WHO    REFUSES   THE    BISHOPRIC    OF    ANTIOCH. 

A  Synod  having  been  convened  at  Antioch, 
Eustathius  was  deprived  of  the  church  of  that 
city.^  It  was  most  generally  believed  that  he 
was  deposed  merely  on  account  of  his  adherence 
to  the  faith  of  the  council  of  Nicsea,  and  on  ac- 
count of  his  having  accused  Eusebius,  Paulinus, 
bishop  of  Tyre,  and  Patrophilus,  bishop  of 
Scythopolis  (whose  sentiments  were  adopted  by 
the  Eastern  priests),  of  favoring  the  heresy  of 
Arius.  The  pretext  resorted  to  for  hjs  deposi- 
tion, however,  was,  that  he  had  defiled  the  priest- 
hood by  unholy  deeds.  His  deposition  excited 
so  great  a  sedition  at  Antioch,  that  the  people 
were  on  the  point  of  taking  up  arms,  and  the 
whole  city  was  in  a  state  of  commotion.  This 
greatly  injured  him  in  the  opinion  of  the  em- 
peror ;  for  when  he  understood  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  that  the  people  of  that  church  were 
divided  into  two  parties,  he  was  much  enraged, 
and  regarded  him  with  suspicion  as  the  author 
of  the  tumult.  The  emperor,  however,  sent  an 
illustrious  officer  of  his  palace,  invested  with  full 
authority,  to  calm  the  populace,  and  put  an  end 
to  the  disturbance,  without  having  recourse  to 
violence  or  injury. 

Those  who  had  deposed  Eustathius,  and  who 
on  this  account  were  assembled  in  Antioch, 
imagining  that  their  sentiments  would  be  uni- 
versally received,  if  they  could  succeed  in  plac- 
ing over  the  Church  of  Antioch  one  of  their  own 
opinion,  who  was  known  to  the  emperor,  and 
held  in  repute  for  learning  and  eloquence,  and 
that  they  could  obtain  the  obedience  of  the  rest, 
fixed  their  thoughts  upon  Eusebius  Pamphilus 
for  that  see.  They  wrote  to  the  emperor  upon 
this  subject,  and  stated  that  this  course  would 
be  highly  acceptable  to  the  people.     He  had, 

"'  Eus.  J'.  C.  iii.  59-62:  Soc.  i.  24;  Philost.  ii.  7.  Soz.  has 
additional  details,  especially  of  names.  Very  likely,  therefore,  Soc. 
and  Soz.  have  drawn  from  the  same  source! 


II.  21.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


271 


in  fact,  been  sought  by  all  the  clergy  and  laity 
Avho  were  inimical  to  Eustathius.  Eusebius, 
however,  wrote  to  the  emperor  refusing  the 
dignity.  The  emperor  approved  of  his  refusal 
with  praise  ;  for  there  was  an  ecclesiastical  law 
prohibiting  the  removal  of  a  bishop  from  one 
bishopric  to  another.  He  wrote  to  the  people 
and  to  Eusebius,  adopting  his  judgment  and 
calling  him  happy,  because  he  was  worthy  to 
hold  the  bishopric  not  only  of  one  single  city, 
but  of  the  world.  The  emperor  also  wrote  to 
the  people  of  the  Church  of  Antioch  concerning 
like-mindedness,  and  told  them  that  they  ought 
not  to  desire  the  bishops  of  other  regions,  even 
as  they  ought  not  to  covet  the  possessions  of 
others.  In  addition  to  these,  he  despatched 
another  epistle  to  the  Synod,  in  private  session, 
and  similarly  commended  Eusebius  as  in  the 
letter  to  him  for  having  refused  the  bishopric  ; 
and  being  convinced  that  Euphronius,  a  presby- 
ter of  Cappadocia,  and  George  of  Arethusa  were 
men  approved  in  creed,  he  commanded  the 
bishops  to  decide  for  one  or  other  of  them,  or 
for  whomsoever  might  appear  worthy  of  the 
honor,  and  to  ordain  a  president  for  the  Church 
of  Antioch.  On  the  receipt  of  these  letters 
from  the  emperor,  Euphronius  was  ordained  ; 
and  I  have  heard  that  Eustathius  bore  this 
unjust  calumny  calmly,  judging  it  to  be  better, 
as  he  was  a  man  who,  besides  his  virtues  and 
excellent  qualities,  was  justly  admired  on  account 
of  his  fine  eloquence,  as  is  evidenced  by  his 
transmitted  works,  which  are  highly  approved 
for  their  choice  of  words,  flavor  of  expression, 
temperateness  of  sentiments,  elegance  and  grace 
of  narration. 


CHAP.     XX.  —  CONCERNING     MAXIMUS,     WHO     SUC- 
CEEDED  MACARIUS   IN   THE   SEE   OF   JERUSALEM. 

About  this  time  Mark,^  who  had  succeeded 
Silvester,  and  who  had  held  the  episcopal  sway 
during  a  short  period,  died,  and  Julius  was 
raised  to  the  see  of  Rome.  Maximus  succeeded 
Macarius  in  the  bishopric  of  Jerusalem.-  It  is 
said  that  Macarius  had  ordained  him  bishop 
over  the  church  of  Diospolis,  but  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  of  Jerusalem  insisted  upon 
his  remaining  among  them.  For  since  he  was 
a  confessor,  and  otherwise  excellent,  he  was 
secretly  chosen  beforehand  in  the  approbation 
of  the  people  for  their  bishopric,  after  that 
Macarius  should  die.  The  dread  of  offending 
the  people  and  exciting  an  insurrection  led  to 
the  election  of  another  bishop  over  Diospolis, 


1  Marcus  is  not  mentioned  by  See.  or  Theodoret,  only  by  the 
Latins.  The  order  is  correct,  whereas  in  i.  17  Julius  is  mistakenly 
made  to  do  duty  for  Silvester. 

''  This  whole  chapter  is  from  an  unknown  source,  and  shows 
familiarity  with  Palestinian  history. 


and  Maximus  remained  in  Jerusalem,  and  exer- 
cised the  priestly  functions  conjointly  with 
Macarius ;  and  after  the  death  of  this  latter, 
he  governed  that  church.  It  is,  however,  well 
known  to  those  who  are  accurately  act^uainted 
with  these  circumstances,  that  Macarius  con- 
curred with  the  people  in  their  desire  to  retain 
Maximus ;  for  it  is  said  that  he  regretted  the 
ordination  of  Maximus,  and  thought  that  he 
ought  necessarily  to  have  been  reserved  for  his 
own  succession  on  account  of  his  holding  right 
views  concerning  God  and  his  confession,  which 
had  so  endeared  him  to  the  people.  He  like- 
wise feared  that,  at  his  death,  the  adherents  of 
Eusebius  and  Patrophilus,  who  had  embraced 
Arianism,  would  take  that  opportunity  to  place 
one  of  their  own  views  in  his  see  ;  for  even  while 
Macarius  was  living,  they  had  attempted  to  in- 
troduce some  innovations,  but  since  they  were 
to  be  separated  from  him,  they  on  this  account 
kept  quiet. 


CHAP.    XXL THE     MELITIANS     AND     THE     ARIANS 

AGREE  IN  SENTIMENT;  EUSEBIUS  AND  THEOGNIS 
ENDEAVOR  TO  INFLAME  ANEW  THE  DISEASE  OF 
ARIUS. 

In  the  meantime  the  contention  which  had 
been  stirred  in  the  beginning  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, could  not  be  quelled.'^  The  Arian  heresy 
had  been  positively  condemned  by  the  council 
of  Nice,  while  the  followers  of  Melitius  had 
been  admitted  into  communion  under  the  stipu- 
lations above  stated.  When  Alexander  returned 
to  Egypt,  Melitius  delivered  up  to  him  the 
churches  whose  government  he  had  unlawfully 
usurped,  and  returned  to  Lycus.  Not  long 
after,  finding  his  end  approaching,  he  nominated 
John,  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends,  as  his 
successor,  contrary  to  the  decree  of  the  Nicaean 
Council,  and  thus  fresh  cause  of  discord  in  the 
churches  was  produced.  When  the  Arians  per- 
ceived that  the  Melitians  were  introducing  inno- 
vations, they  also  harassed  the  churches.  For, 
as  frequently  occurs  in  similar  disturbances,  some 
applauded  the  opinion  of  Arius,  while  others 
contended  that  those  who  had  been  ordained  by 
Melitius  ought  to  govern  the  churches.  These 
two  bodies  of  sectarians  had  hitherto  been  op- 
posed to  each  other,  but  on  perceiving  that  the 
priests  of  the  Catholic  Church  were  followed  by 
the  multitude,  they  became  jealous  and  formed 
an  alliance  together,  and  manifested  a  common 
enmity  to  the  clergy  of  Alexandria.  Their 
measures  of  attack  and  defense  were  so  long 
carried  on  in  concert,  that  in  process  of  time 
the    Melitians  were  generally  called  Arians  in 


3  This  chapter  is  also  unique  with  Soz.,  both  as  to  the  Melitians 
and  Eusebius.      The  Melitian  opposition  is  evident  from  Soc.  i.  27. 


272 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  22. 


Egypt,  although  they  only  dissent  on  questions 
of  the  presidency  of  the  churches,  while  the 
Arians  hold  the  same  opinions  concerning  God 
as  Arius.  Although  they  individually  denied 
one  another's  tenets,  yet  they  dissimulated  in 
contradiction  of  their  own  view,  in  order  to  at- 
tain an  underhanded  agreement  in  the  fellow- 
ship of  their  enmity;  at  the  same  time  each 
one  expected  to  prevail  easily  in  what  he  de- 
sired. From  this  period,  however,  the  Melitians 
after  the  discussion  on  those  topics,  received  the 
Arian  doctrines,  and  held  the  same  opinion  as 
Arius  concerning  Cxod.  This  revived  the  origi- 
nal controversy  concerning  Arius,  and  some  of 
the  laity  and  clergy  seceded  from  communion 
with  the  others.  The  dispute  concerning  the 
doctrines  of  Arius  was  rekindled  once  more  in 
other  cities,  and  particularly  in  Bithynia  and 
Hellespontus,  and  in  the  city  of  Constantinople. 
In  short,  it  is  said  that  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nico- 
media,  and  Theognis,  bishop  of  Nicsea,  bribed 
the  notary  to  whom  the  emperor  had  intrusted 
the  custody  of  the  documents  of  the  Nicsean 
Council,  effaced  their  signatures,  and  attempted 
openly  to  teach  that  the  Son  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered consubstantial  with  the  Father.  Euse- 
bius was  accused  of  these  irregularities  before 
the  emperor,  and  he  replied  with  great  boldness 
as  he  showed  part  of  his  clothing.  "  If  this 
robe,"  said  he,  "  had  been  cut  asunder  in  my 
presence,  I  could  not  affirm  the  fragments  to  be 
all  of  the  same  substance."  The  emperor  was 
much  grieved  at  these  disputes,  for  he  had  be- 
lieved that  questions  of  this  nature  had  been 
finally  decided  by  the  council  of  Nicaea,  but  con- 
trary to  his  hopes  he  saw  them  again  agitated. 
He  more  especially  regretted  that  Eusebius  and 
Theognis  had  received  certain  Alexandrians  into 
communion,'  although  the  Synod  had  recom- 
mended them  to  repent  on  account  of  their 
heterodox  opinions,  and  although  he  had  him- 
self condemned  them  to  banishment  from  their 
native  land,  as  being  the  exciters  of  sedition.- 
It  is  asserted  by  some,  that  it  was  for  the  above 
reasons  that  the  emperor  in  anger  exiled  Euse- 
bius and  Theognis  ;  but  as  I  have  already  stated, 
I  have  derived  my  information  from  those  who 
are  intimately  acquainted  with  these  matters. 


•CHAP.    XXII. THE    VAIN    MACHINATIONS    OF    THE 

ARIANS  AND    MELITIANS    AGAINST  ST.  ATHANASIUS. 

Thk  various  calamities  which  befell  Athana- 
sius  were  primarily  occasioned  by  Eusebius  and 


1  Soz.  has  taken  this  from  the  Epistle  of  Constantine  to  the  Nico- 
medians  against  Eusebius  and  Theognis.  This  is  preserved  by 
Theod.iret,  N.  £.  i.  20.  Theodoret  gives  the  full  text:  he  and  S02. 
both  obtained  it  from  some  such  collection  as  that  of  Sabinus. 

2  Cf.  Athan.  Apoi.  cont.  Arian.  7  (in  the  letter  of  the  Alexan- 
.drian  Synod). 


Theognis."  As  they  possessed  great  freedom 
of  speech  and  influence  with  the  emperor,  they 
strove  for  the  recall  of  Arius,  with  whom  they 
were  on  terms  of  concord  and  friendship,  to 
Alexandria,  and  at  the  same  time  the  expulsion 
from  the  Church  of  him  who  was  opposed  to 
them.  They  accused  him  before  Constantine 
of  being  the  author  of  all  the  seditions  and 
troubles  that  agitated  the  Church,  and  of  ex- 
cluding those  who  were  desirous  of  joining  the 
Church  ;  and  alleged  that  unanimity  would  be 
restored  were  he  alone  to  be  removed.  The 
accusations  against  him  were  substantiated  by 
many  bishops  and  clergy  who  were  with  John, 
and  who  sedulously  obtained  access  to  the  em- 
peror ;  they  pretended  to  great  orthodoxy,  and 
imputed  to  Athanasius  and  the  bishops  of  his 
party  all  the  bloodshed,  bonds,  unjust  blows, 
wounds,  and  conflagrations  of  churches.  But 
when  Athanasius  demonstrated  to  the  emperor 
the  illegality  of  the  ordination  of  John's  adher- 
ents, their  innovations  of  the  decrees  of  the  Ni- 
csean  Council,  and  the  unsoundness  of  their  faith, 
and  the  insults  offered  to  those  who  held  right 
opinions  about  God,  Constantine  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  whom  to  believe.  Since  there  were  such 
mutual  allegations,  and  many  accusations  were 
frequently  stirred  up  by  each  party,  and  since 
he  was  earnestly  anxious  to  restore  the  like- 
mindedness  of  the  people,  he  wrote  to  Athana- 
sius that  no  one  should  be  shut  out.  If  this 
should  be  betrayed  to  the  last,  he  would  send  re- 
gardless of  consequences,  one  who  should  expel 
him  from  the  city  of  Alexandria.  If  any  one 
should  desire  to  see  this  letter  of  the  emperor's, 
he  will  here  find  the  portion  of  it  relating  to 
this  affair  :  "  As  you  are  now  acquainted  with 
my  will,  which  is,  that  to  all  who  desire  to  enter 
the  Church  you  should  offer  an  unhindered 
entrance.  For  should  I  hear  that  any  who  are 
willing  to  join  the  Church,  have  been  debarred 
or  hindered  therefrom  by  you,  I  shall  send  at 
once  an  officer  who  shall  remove  you,  according 
to  my  command,  and  shall  transfer  you  to  some 
other  place."  Athanasius,  however,  wrote  to 
the  emperor  and  convinced  him  that  the  Arians 
ought  not  to  be  received  into  communion  by 
the  Catholic  Church ;  and  Eusebius,  perceiv- 
ing that  his  schemes  could  never  be  carried  into 
execution  while  Athanasius  strove  in  opposition, 
determined  to  resort  to  any  means  in  order  to 
get  rid  of  him.  But  as  he  could  not  find  a 
sufficient  pretext  for  effecting  this  design,  he 
promised  the  Melitians  to  interest  the  emperor 
and  those  in  power  in  their  favor,  if  they  would 
bring  an  accusation  against  Athanasius.  Ac- 
cordingly, came  the  first  indictment  that  he  had 
imposed  upon  the    Egyptians    a    tax    on    linen 

3  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  6:  Soc.  i.  27;    Theod.  H.  E.  i.  26, 
27.     Soz.  works  independently  from  the  same  sources. 


II.  23.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


^7Z 


tunics,  and  that  such  a  tribute  had  been  exacted 
from  the  accusers.  Apis '  and  Macarius,  pres- 
byters of  the  Church  of  Athanasius,  who  then 
happened  to  be  at  court,  clearly  proved  the  per- 
sistent accusation  to  be  false.  On  being  sum- 
moned to  answer  for  the  offense,  Athanasius  was 
further  accused  of  having  conspired  against  the 
emperor,  and  of  having  sent,  for  this  purpose, 
a  casket  of  gold  to  one  Philumen.  The  em- 
peror detected  the  calumny  of  his  accusers,  sent 
Athanasius  home,  and  wrote  to  the  people  of 
Alexandria  to  testify  that  their  bishop  possessed 
great  moderation  and  a  correct  faith ;  that  he 
had  gladly  met  him,  and  recognized  him  to  be 
a  man  of  God ;  and  that,  as  envy  had  been 
the  sole  cause  of  his  indictment,  he  had  appeared 
to  better  advantage  than  his  accusers  ;  and  hav- 
ing heard  that  the  Arian  and  Melitian  sectarians 
had  excited  dissensions  in  Egypt,  the  emperor, 
in  the  same  epistle,  exhorted  the  multitude  to 
look  to  God,  to  take  heed  unto  his  judgments,  to 
be  well  disposed  toward  one  another,  to  prose- 
cute with  all  their  might  those  who  plotted 
against  their  Uke-mindedness  ;  thus  the  emperor 
wrote  to  the  people,  exhorting  them  all  to  like- 
mindedness,  and  striving  to  prevent  divisions  in 
the  Church. 

CRA.P.    XXIII. CALUMNY  RESPECTING    ST.    ATHANA- 
SIUS   AND   THE    HAND    OF    ARSENIUS. 

The  Melitians,  on  the  failure  of  their  first 
attempt,  secredy  concocted  other  indictments 
against  Athanasius.'  On  the  one  hand  they 
charged  him  with  breaking  a  sacred  chalice,  and 
on  the  other  with  having  slain  one  Arsenius,  and 
with  having  cut  off  his  arm  and  retained  it  for 
magical  purposes.  It  is  said  that  this  Arsenius 
was  one  of  the  clergy,'  but  that,  having  com- 
mitted some  crime,  he  fled  to  a  place  of  con- 
cealment for  fear  of  being  convicted  and  pun- 
ished by  his  bishop.  The  enemies  of  Athanasius 
devised  the  most  serious  attack  for  this  occur- 
rence. They  sought  Arsenius  with  great  dili- 
gence, and  found  him;  they  showed  him  great 
kindness,  promised  to  secure  for  him  every  good- 
will and  safety,  and  conducted  him  secretly  to 
Patrines,*  a  presbyter  of  a  monastery,  who  -was 
one  of  their  confederates,  and  of  the  same  inter- 
est as  themselves.  After  having  thus  carefully 
concealed  him,  they  diligently  spread  the  report 
in  the  market-places  and  public  assemblies  that 
he  had  been  slain  by  Athanasius.     They  also 

1  Soc.  i.  27,  Alypius;  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Armti.  60,  where  a 
part  of  the  Epistle  of  the  emperor  Constantine  is  given,  and  in  this 
Apis  and  Macarius  are  mentioned;  here  is  an  instance  how  Soz. 
corrects  Soc. 

2  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  63;  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  15-17;  Soc. 
i.  27.     Independent  workers  of  the  same  and  other  material. 

^  He  was  bishop  of  the  city  of  Hypselita;,  according  to  the 
caption  of  his  letter  to  Athan.     See  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  69. 

*  Athan.  calls  him  Pinnes,  presbyter  of  a  mansio  (not  monastery) 
of  Ptemencyrceus.  See  his  letter  to  John  in  the  Apol.  cont.  Arian. 
67.     How  did  Soz.  change  this  name  to  Patrines? 


bribed  John,  a  monk,  to  corroborate  the  accusa- 
tion. As  this  evil  report  was  universally  circu- 
lated, and  had  even  reached  the  ears  of  the 
emperor,  Athanasius,  being  apprehensive  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  defend  his  cause  before 
judges  whose  minds  were  prejudiced  by  such 
false  rumors,  resorted  to  stratagems  akin  to 
those  of  his  adversaries.  He  did  everything  in 
his  power  to  prevent  truth  from  being  obscured 
by  their  attacks  ;  but  the  multitude  could  not 
be  convinced,  on  account  of  the  non-appearance 
of  Arsenius.  Reflecting,  therefore,  that  the  sus- 
picion which  rested  upon  him  could  not  be  re- 
moved except  by  proving  that  Arsenius,  who  was 
said  to  be  dead,  was  still  alive,  he  sent  a  most 
trustworthy  deacon  in  quest  of  him.  The  deacon 
went  to  Thebes,  and  ascertained  from  the  decla- 
ration of  some  monks  where  he  was  living.  And 
when  he  came  to  Patrines,  with  whom  he  had 
been  concealed,  he  found  that  Arsenius  was  not 
there  ;  for  on  the  first  intelligence  of  the  arrival 
of  the  deacon  he  had  been  conveyed  to  Lower 
Eg3qDt.  The  deacon  arrested  Patrines,  and  con- 
ducted him  to  Alexandria,  as  also  Elias,  one  of 
his  associates,  who  was  said  to  have  been  the 
person  who  conveyed  Arsenius  elsewhere.  He 
delivered  them  both  to  the  commander  of  the 
Egyptian  forces,  and  they  confessed  that  Arsenius 
was  still  alive,  that  he  had  been  secretly  con- 
cealed in  their  house,  and  that  he  was  now  living 
in  Egypt.  Athanasius  took  care  that  all  these 
facts  should  be  reported  to  Constantine.  The 
emperor  wrote  back  to  him,  desiring  him  to 
attend  to  the  due  performance  of  the  priestly 
functions,  and  the  maintenance  of  order  and 
piety  among  the  people,  and  not  to  be  disquieted 
by  the  machinations  of  the  Melitians,  it  being 
evident  that  envy  alone  was  the  cause  of  the 
false  indictments  which  were  circulated  against 
him  and  the  disturbance  in  the  churches.  The 
emperor  added  that,  for  the  future,  he  should 
not  give  place  to  such  reports  ;  and  that,  unless 
the  calumniators  preserved  the  peace,  he  should 
certainly  subject  them  to  the  rigor  of  the  state 
laws,  and  let  justice  have  its  course,  as  they  had 
not  only  unjustly  plotted  against  the  innocent, 
but  had  also  shamefully  abused  the  good  order 
and  piety  of  the  Church.  Such  was  the  strain 
of  the  emperor's  letter  to  Athanasius  ;  and  he 
further  commanded  that  it  should  be  read  aloud 
before  the  public,  in  order  that  they  might  all 
be  made  acquainted  with  his  intentions.  The 
Melitians  were  alarmed  at  these  menaces,  and 
became  more  quiet  for  a  while,  because  they 
viewed  with  anxiety  the  threat  of  the  ruler.  The 
churches  throughout  Egypt  enjoyed  profound 
peace,  and,  directed  by  the  presidency  of  this 
great  priest,  it  daily  increased  in  numbers  by 
the  conversion  of  multitudes  of  pagans  and  other 
heretics. 


2  74 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  24. 


CHAP.     XXIV. SOME     INDIAN     NATIONS     RECEIVED 

CHRISTIANITY  AT  THAT  TIME  THROUGH  THE 
INSTRUMENTALITY  OF  TWO  CAPTIVF„S,  FRUMEN- 
TIUS   AND    EDESIUS. 

We  have  heard  that  about  this  period  some  of 
the  most  distant  of  the  nations  that  we  call  In- 
dians, to  whom  the  preaching  of  Bartholomew 
was  unknown,  shared  in  our  doctrine,  through 
Frumentius,^  who  became  a  priest  and  teacher  of 
the  sacred  learning  among  them.  But  in  order 
that  we  may  know,  even  by  the  marvel  of  what 
happened  in  India,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Christians  ought  to  be  received  as  a  system  not 
from  man,  as  it  seems  a  tissue  of  miracles  to 
some,  it  is  necessary  to  relate  the  reason  for  the 
ordination  of  Frumentius.  It  was  as  follows  : 
The  most  celebrated  philosophers  among  the 
Greeks  explored  unknown  cities  and  regions. 
Plato,  the  friend  of  Socrates,  dwelt  for  a  time 
among  the  Egyptians,  in  order  to  acquaint  him- 
self with  their  manners  and  customs.  He  like- 
wise sailed  to  Sicily  for  the  sight  of  its  craters, 
whence,  as  from  a  fountain,  spontaneously  issued 
streams  of  fire,  which  frequently  overflowing, 
mshed  like  a  river  and  consumed  the  neighbor- 
ing regions,  so  that  even  yet  many  fields  appear 
burnt  and  cannot  be  sown  or  planted  with  trees, 
just  as  they  narrate  about  the  land  of  Sodom. 
These  craters  were  likewise  explored  by  Empe- 
docles,  a  man  highly  celebrated  for  philosophy 
among  the  Greeks,  and  who  has  expounded  his 
knowledge  in  heroic  verse.  He  set  out  to  inves- 
tigate this  fiery  eruption,  when  either  because  he 
thought  such  a  mode  of  death  preferable  to  any 
other,  or  because,  to  speak  more  truthfully,  he 
perhaps  knew  not  wherefore  he  should  seek  to 
terminate  his  life  in  this  manner,  he  leaped  into 
the  fire  and  perished.  Democritus  of  Coos  ex- 
plored many  cities  and  climates  and  nations,  and 
he  savs  concerning  himself  that  eighty  years  of 
his  life  were  spent  in  traveling  through  foreign 
lands.  Besides  these  philosophers,  thousands 
of  wise  men  among  the  Greeks,  ancient  and 
modern,  devoted  themselves  to  this  travel.  In 
emulation,  Meropius,  a  philosopher  of  Tyre  in 
Phoenicia,  journeyed  as  far  as  India.  They  say 
he  was  accompanied  by  two  youths,  named  Fru- 
mentius and  Edesius ;  they  were  his  relatives ; 
he  conducted  their  rhetorical  training,  and  edu- 
cated them  liberally.  After  exploring  India  as 
much  as  possible,  he  set  out  for  home,  and  em- 
barked in  a  vessel  which  was  on  the  point  of 
sailing  for  Egypt.  It  happened  that,  from  want 
of  water  or  some  other  necessary,  the  vessel  was 
obliged  to  stop  at  some  port,  and  the  Indians 
rushed  upon  it  and  murdered  all,  Meropius  in- 


'  Ruf.  i.  9,  who  gathered  the  facts  from  Edesius  himself.  Cf.  Soc. 
i.  19.  Soz.  substitutes  the  scientific  order  of  Plato,  Empedocles,  and 
Democritus  for  that  of  Metrodorus.  The  story  is  briefly  reported 
by  Theodorct,  H.  E.  i.  23. 


eluded.  These  Indians  had  just  thrown  off 
their  alliance  with  the  Romans ;  they  took  the 
boys  as  living  captives,  because  they  pitied  their 
youth,  and  conducted  them  to  their  king.  He 
appointed  the  younger  one  his  cup-bearer ;  the 
older,  Frumentius,  he  put  over  his  house  and 
made  him  administrator  of  his  treasures  ;  for  he 
perceived  that  he  was  intelligent  and  very  capable 
in  business.  These  youths  served  the  king  use- 
fully and  faithfully  daring  a  long  course  of  years, 
and  when  he  felt  his  end  approaching,  his  son 
and  wife  surviving,  he  rewarded  the  good-will  of 
the  servants  with  liberty,  and  permitted  them  to 
go  where  they  pleased.  They  were  anxious  to 
return  to  Tyre,  where  their  relatives  resided ; 
but  the  king's  son  being  a  minor,  his  mother 
besought  them  to  remain  for  a  little  while  and 
take  charge  of  public  affairs,  until  her  son 
reached  the  years  of  manhood.  They  yielded 
to  her  entreaties,  and  directed  the  affairs  of  the 
kingdom  and  of  the  government  of  the  Indies. 
Fnunentius,  by  some  Divine  impulse,  perhaps 
because  God  moved  him  spontaneously,  inquired 
whether  there  were  any  Christians  in  India,  or 
Romans  among  the  merchants,  who  had  sailed 
thither.  Having  succeeded  in  finding  the  objects 
of  his  inquiry,  he  summoned  them  into  his  pres- 
ence, treated  them  with  love  and  friendliness, 
and  convened  them  for  prayer,  and  the  assembly 
was  conducted  after  the  Roman  usage ;  and 
when  he  had  built  houses  of  prayer,  he  encour- 
aged them  to  honor  God  continually. 

When  the  king's  son  attained  the  age  of  man- 
hood, Frumentius  and  Edesius  besought  him 
and  the  queen,  and  not  without  difficulty  per- 
suaded the  rulers  to  be  separated  from  them- 
selves, and  having  parted  as  friends,  they  went 
back  as  Roman  subjects.  Edesius  went  to  Tyre 
to  see  his  relatives,  and  was  soon  after  advanced 
to  the  dignity  of  presbyter.  Frumentius,  how- 
ever, instead  of  returning  to  Phcenicia,  repaired 
to  Alexandria  ;  for  with  him  patriotism  and  filial 
piety  were  subordinate  to  religious  zeal.  He 
conferred  with  Athanasius,  the  head  of  the  Alex- 
andrian Church,  described  to  him  the  state  of 
affairs  in  India,  and  the  necessity  of  appointing 
a  bishop  over  the  Christians  located  in  that 
country.  Athanasius  assembled  the  endemic 
priests,  and  consulted  with  them  on  the  subject ; 
and  he  ordained  Frumentius  bishop  of  India, 
since  he  was  peculiarly  qualified  and  apt  to  do 
much  service  among  those  among  whom  he  was 
the  first  to  manifest  the  name  of  Christian,  and 
the  seed  of  the  participation  in  the  doctrine  was 
sown.-  Frumentius,  therefore,  returned  to  India, 
and,  it  is  said,  discharged  the  priestly  functions 
so  admirably  that  he  became  an  object  of  uni- 

-  Athan.  Apol.  ad  Const.  29-31.  Frumentius  was  called  the 
Abba  Salama  of  Avfoiiixi?  (Axum).  Cf.  Historia  Ethiopica, 
Ludolf;  Nic.  Call,  repeats  this  story  of  Rufinus  in  his  H.  E.  i.  37, 
with  wiiich  compare  the  narrative  in  xvii.  32. 


II.   25.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


275 


versal  admiration,  and  was  revered  as  no  less 
than  an  apostle.  God  highly  honored  him,  en- 
abling him  to  perform  many  wonderful  cures, 
and  to  work  signs  and  wonders.  Such  was  the 
origin  of  the  Indian  priesthood. 

CHAP.   XXV,  —  COUNCIL    OF    TVRE  ;    ILLEGAL   DEPO- 
SITION  OF   ST.   ATHANASIUS. 

The  plots  of  the  enemies  of  Athanasius  in- 
volved him  in  fresh  troubles,  excited  the  hatred 
of  the  emperor  against  him,  and  stirred  up  a 
multitude  of  accusers.  Wearied  by  their  im- 
portunity, the  emperor  convened  a  council  at 
Cjesarea  in  Palestine.  Athanasius  was  sum- 
moned thither;  but  fearing  the  artifices  of 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  the  city,  of  Eusebius,  bishop 
of  Nicomedia,  and  of  their  party,  he  refused  to 
attend,  and  for  thirty  months,  although  pressed 
to  attend,  persisted  in  his  refusal.  At  the  end 
of  that  period,  however,  he  was  forced  more 
urgently  and  repaired  to  Tyre,  where  a  great 
number  of  the  bishops  of  the  East  were  assem- 
bled,^ who  commanded  him  to  undergo  the 
charges  of  those  who  accused  him.  Of  John's 
party,  Callinicus,  a  bishop,  and  a  certain  Ischurias, 
accused  him  of  breaking  a  mystical  chalice  and 
of  throwing  down  an  episcopal  chair;  and  of 
often  causing  Ischurias,  although  he  was  a  pres- 
byter, to  be  loaded  with  chains  ;  and  by  falsely 
informing  Hyginus,  governor  of  Egypt,  that  he 
had  cast  stones  at  the  statues  of  the  emperor ; 
of  occasioning  his  being  thrown  into  prison  ;  of 
deposing  Callinicus,  bishop  of  the  Catholic 
Church  at  Pelusiufn,  and  of  saying  that  he  would 
debar  him  from  fellowship  unless  he  could  re- 
move certain  suspicions  concerning  his  having 
broken  a  mj'stical  chahce  ;  of  committing  the 
Church  of  Pelusium  to  Mark,  a  deposed  presby- 
ter ;  and  of  placing  Callinicus  under  a  military 
guard,  and  of  putting  him  under  judicial  tortures. 
Euplus,  Pachomius,  Isaac,  Achillas,"  and  Her- 
m^eon,  bishops  of  John's  party,  accused  him  of 
inflicting  blows.  They  all  concurred  in  main- 
taining that  he  obtained  the  episcopal  dignity  by 
means  of  the  perjury  of  certain  individuals,  it 
having  been  decreed  that  no  one  should  receive 
ordination,  who  could  not  clear  himself  of  any 
crime  laid  to  his  charge.  They  further  alleged, 
that  having  been  deceived  by  him,  they  had 
separated  themselves  from  communion  with  him, 
and  that,  so  far  from  satisfying  their  scruples,  he 
had  treated  them  with  violence  and  thrown  them 
into  prison. 

Further,  the  afifair  of  Arsenius  was  again  agi- 

'  Eus.  V.  C.  iv.  41,  42;  the  letter  in  42  has  a  late  addition  in 
Theodoret,  f/.  E.  i.  29  (27);  Athan.  Apol.  cout.  Avian.  8-12, 
71-83:   Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  16,  17;   Soc.  i.  27-32. 

2  In  the  brief  by  Melitius,  Achilles  and  Hermaeon  are  given  as 
bishops  respectively  of  Ciisse  and  Cynus  (Cynopolis)  Athan.  Apol. 
cont.  Arian.  71. 


tated  ;  and  as  generally  happens  in  such  a  stu- 
diously concocted  plot,  many  even  of  those  con- 
sidered his  friends  loomed  up  unexpectedly  as 
accusers.  A  document  was  then  read,  contain- 
ing popular  complaints  that  the  people  of  Alex- 
andria could  not  continue  their  attendance  at 
church  on  his  account.  Athanasius,  having  been 
urged  to  justiiy  himself,  presented  himself  re- 
peatedly before  the  tribunal ;  successfully  repelled 
some  of  the  allegations,  and  requested  delay  for 
investigation  as  to  the  others.  He  was  exceed- 
ingly perplexed  when  he  reflected  on  the  favor 
in  which  his  accusers  were  held  by  his  judges,  on 
the  number  of  witnesses  belonging  to  the  sects 
of  Arius  and  Melitius  who  appeared  against 
him,  and  on  the  indulgence  that  was  manifested 
towards  the  informers,  whose  allegations  had 
been  overcome.  And  especially  in  the  indict- 
ment concerning  Arsenius,  whose  arm  he  was 
charged  with  having  cut  off  for  purposes  of 
magic,  and  in  the  indictment  concerning  a  cer- 
tain woman  to  whom  he  was  charged  with  hav- 
ing given  gifts  for  uncleanness,  and  with  having 
corrupted  her  by  night,  although  she  was  unwill- 
ing. Both  these  indictments  were  proved  to  be 
ridiculous  and  full  of  false  espionage.  When 
this  female  made  the  deposition  before  the 
bishops,  Timothy,  a  presbyter  of  Alexandria, 
who  stood  by  Athanasius,  approached  her  ac- 
cording to  a  plan  he  had  secretly  concerted,  and 
said,  to  her,  "  Did  I  then,  O  woman,  violate  your 
chastity?  "  "  She  replied,  "  But  didst  thou  not  ?  " 
and  mentioned  the  place  and  the  attendant  cir- 
cumstances, in  which  she  had  been  forced.  He 
likewise  led  xA.rsenius  into  the  midst  of  them, 
showed  both  his  hands  to  the  judges,  and  re- 
quested them  to  make  the  accusers  account  for 
the  arm  which  they  had  exhibited.  For  it  hap- 
pened that  Arsenius,  either  driven  by  a  Divine 
influence,  or,  as  it  is  said,  having  been  concealed 
by  the  plans  of  Athanasius,  when  the  danger  to 
that  bishop  on  his  account  was  announced, 
escaped  by  night,  and  arrived  at  Tyre  the  day 
before  the  trial.  But  these  allegations  having 
been  thus  summarily  dismissed,  so  that  no  de- 
fense was  necessary,  no  mention  of  the  first  was 
made  in  the  transactions  ;  most  probably,  I  think, 
because  the  whole  affair  was  considered  too  in- 
decorous and  absurd  for  insertion.  As  to  the 
second,  the  accusers  strove  to  justify  themselves 
by  saying  that  a  bishop  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Athanasius,  named  Plusian,^  had,  at  the  command 
of  his  chief,  burnt  the  house  of  Arsenius,  fas- 
tened him  to  a  column,  and  maltreated  him  with 
thongs,  and  then  chained  him  in  a  cell.  They 
further  stated  that   Arsenius   escaped   from  the 


3  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  17. 

^  Mention  is  made  of  a  bishop  of  this  name  in  the  Epistle  of 
Arsenius  to  Athanasius,  which  is  preserved  in  the  Apol.  cont. 
Arian.  69. 


276 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  25. 


cell  through  a  window,  and  while  he  was  sought 
for  remained  a  while  in  concealment ;  that  as  he 
did  not  appear,  they  naturally  supposed  him  to 
be  dead  ;  that  the  reputation  he  had  acquired  as 
a  man  and  confessor,  had  endeared  him  to  the 
bishops  of  John's  party ;  and  that  they  sought 
for  him,  and  applied  on  his  behalf  to  the  magis- 
trates. 

Athanasius  was  filled  with  apprehension  when 
lie  reflected  on  these  subjects,  and  began  to 
suspect  that  his  enemies  were  secretly  schem- 
ing to  effect  his  ruin.  After  several  sessions, 
when  the  Synod  was  filled  with  tumult  and  con- 
fusion, and  the  accusers  and  a  multitude  of  per- 
sons around  the  tribunal  were  crying  aloud  that 
Athanasius  ought  to  be  deposed  as  a  sorcerer 
and  a  ruffian,  and  as  being  utterly  unworthy  the 
priesthood,  the  officers,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  the  emperor  to  be  present-  at  the  Synod  for 
the  maintenance  of  order,  compelled  the  accused 
to  quit  the  judgment  hall  secretly ;  for  they 
feared  lest  they  might  become  his  murderers,  as 
is  apt  to  be  the  case  in  the  rush  of  a  tumult.  On 
finding  that  he  could  not  remain  in  Tyre  without 
peril  of  his  life,  and  that  there  was  no  hope  of 
obtaining  justice  against  his  numerous  accusers, 
from  judges  who  were  inimical  to  him,  he  fled 
to  Constantinople.  The  Synod  condemned  him 
during  his  absence,  deposed  him  from  the 
bishopric,  and  prohibited  his  residing  at  Alex- 
andria, lest,  said  they,  he  should  excite  disturb- 
ances and  seditions.  John  and  all  his  adher- 
ents were  restored  to  communion,  as  if  they  had 
been  unjustly  suffering  wrongs,  and  each  was 
reinstated  in  his  own  clerical  rank.  The  bishops 
then  gave  an  account  of  their  proceedings  to  the 
emperor,  and  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  all  regions, 
enjoining  them  not  to  receive  Athanasius  into 
fellowship,  and  not  to  write  to  him  or  receive 
letters  from  him,  as  one  who  had  been  convicted 
of  the  crimes  which  they  had  investigated, 
and  on  account  of  his  flight,  as  also  guilty  in 
those  indictments  which  had  not  been  tried. 
They  likewise  declared,  in  this  epistle,  that  they 
had  been  obliged  to  pass  such  condemnation 
upon  him,  because,  when  commanded  by  the 
emperor  the  preceding  year  to  repair  to  the 
bishops  of  the  East,  who  were  asseml)led  at 
Caesarea,  he  disobeyed  the  injunction,  kept  the 
bishops  waiting  for  him,  and  set  at  naught  the 
commands  of  the  ruler.  They  also  deposed 
that  when  the  bishops  had  assembled  at  Tyre, 
he  went  to  that  city,  attended  by  a  large  retinue, 
for  the  purpose  of  exciting  disturbances  and 
tumults  in  the  Synod ;  that  when  there,  he 
sometimes  refused  to  reply  to  the  charges 
preferred  against  him  ;  sometimes  insulted  the 
bishops  individually  ;  when  summoned  by  them, 
sometimes  not  obeying,  at  others  not  deigning 
to    be    judged.     They    specified    in    the    same 


letter,  that  he  was  manifestly  guilty  of  having 
broken  a  mystical  chalice,  and  that  this  fact 
was  attested  by  Theognis,  bishop  of  Niceea ;  by 
Maris,  bishop  of  Chalcedonia ;  by  Theodore, 
bishop  of  Heraclea ;  by  Valentinus  and  Ursa- 
cius  ;  and  by  Macedonius,  who  had  been  sent 
to  the  village  in  Egypt,  where  the  chalice  was 
said  to  have  been  broken,  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  truth.  Thus  did  the  bishops  detail  succes- 
sively each  of  the  allegations  against  Athana- 
sius, with  the  same  art  to  which  sophists  resort 
when  they  desire  to  heighten  the  effect  of  their 
calumnies.  Many  of  the  priests,  however,  who 
were  present  at  the  trial,  perceived  the  injustice 
of  the  accusation.  It  is  related  that  Paphnutius, 
the  confessor,^  who  was  present  at  the  Synod, 
arose,  and  took  the  hand  of  Maximus,  the 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  to  lead  him  away,  as  if 
those  who  were  confessors,  and  had  their  eyes 
dug  out  for  the  sake  of  piety,  ought  not  to  par- 
ticipate in  an  assembly  of  wicked  men. 


CHAP.    XXVI. ERECTIOX     OF   A    TEMPLE     BY    CON- 

STAXTINE   THE    (JREAT   AT     GOLGOTHA,    IN    JERU- 
SALEM ;    ITS    DEDICATION. 

The  temple,-  called  the  "Great  Martyrium," 
which  was  built  in  the  place  of  the  skull  at  Jeru- 
salem, was  completed  about  the  thirtieth  year'''  of 
the  reign  of  Constantine  ;  and  Marianus,  an  offi- 
cial, who  was  a  short-hand  writer  of  the  emperor, 
came  to  Tyre  and  delivered  a  letter  from  the 
emperor  to  the  council,  commanding  them  to 
repair  quickly  to  Jerusalem,  in  order  to  conse- 
crate the  temple.  Although  this  had  been 
previously  determined  upon,  yet  the  emperor 
deemed  it  necessary  that  the  disputes  which 
prevailed  among  the  bishops  who  had  been 
convened  at  Tyre  should  be  first  adjusted,  and 
that  they  should  be  purged  of  all  discord  and 
grief  before  going  to  the  consecration  of  the 
temple.  For  it  is  fitting  to  such  a  festival  for 
the  priests  to  be  like-minded.  ^^'hen  the 
bishops  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  the  temple  was 
therefore  consecrated,  as  likewise  numerous 
ornaments  and  gifts,  which  were  sent  by  the 
emperor  and  are  still  preserved  in  the  sacred 
edifice ;  their  costliness  and  magnificence  is 
such  that  they  cannot  be  looked  upon  without 
exciting  wonder.  Since  that  period  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  consecration  has  been  celebrated 
with  great  pomp  by  the  church  of  Jerusalem  ;  * 
the  festival  continues  eight  days,  initiation  by 
baptism  is  administered,  and  people  from  every 

'  This  is  in  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  17.  He  also  signs  the  first  letter  of 
the  Egyptian  bishops  at  Tyre  to  Dionysius;  Athan.  Apnl.  cont. 
Ariau.  ■}()■,  he  presumably  subscribed  to  the  second.     //'I'li. 

-  Eus.  I'.  C.  iv.  43-47;  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  84;  Soc. 
i.  33.  Ci".  Theodoret,  H.  E.  i.  31  (29).  Soz.'s  account  is  better 
than  that  of  either  Soc.  or  Theodoret. 

»  A.D.  335.  *  Sept.  13. 


11.27.]  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


277 


region  under  the  sun  resort  to  Jerusalem  during 
this  festival,  and  visit  the  sacred  places. 


CHAP.    XXVII. CONCERNIXG     THE     PRESBYTER     BY 

WHOM  COXSTANTINE  WAS  PERSUADED  TO  RE- 
CALL ARIUS  AND  EUZOIUS  FROM  EXILE  ;  THE 
TR.\CTATE  CONCERNING  HIS  K3SS1BLY  PIOUS 
FAITH,  AND  HOW  ARIUS  WAS  AGAIN  RECEIVED 
BY   THE   SYNf)D    ASSEMBLED    AT    JERUSALEM. 

The  bishops  who  had  embraced  the  senti- 
ments of  Arius  found  a  favorable  opportunity  of 
restoring  him  and  Euzoius  to  communion,  by 
zealously  striving  to  have  a  council  in  the  city 
of  Jerusalem.  They  effected  their  design  in 
the  following  manner  ^ :  — 

A  certain  presbyter  who  was  a  great  admirer 
of  the  Arian  doctrines,  was  on  terms  of  intimacy 
with  the  emperor's  sister.  At  first  he  concealed 
his  sentiments  ;  but  as  he  frequently  visited  and 
became  by  degrees  more  familiar  with  Con- 
stantia,  for  such  was  the  name  of  the  sister  of 
Constantine,  he  took  courage  to  represent  to 
her  that  Arius  was  unjustly  exiled  from  his  coun- 
try, and  cast  out  from  the  Church,  through  the 
jealousy  and  personal  enmity  of  Alexander, 
bishop  of  the  Alexandrian  Church.  He  said 
that  his  jealousy  had  been  excited  by  the  esteem 
which  the  people  manifested  towards  Arius. 

Constantia  believed  these  representations  to  be 
true,  yet  took  no  steps  in  her  lifetime  to  inno- 
vate upon  the  decrees  of  Nicaea.  Being  attacked 
with  a  disease  which  threatened  to  terminate  in 
death,  she  besought  her  brother,  who  went  to 
visit  her,  to  grant  what  she  was  about  to  ask,  as 
a  last  favor;  this  request  was,  to  receive  the 
above  mentioned  presbyter  on  terms  of  intimacy, 
and  to  rely  upon  him  as  a  man  who  had  correct 
opinions  about  the  Divinity.  "  For  my  part," 
she  added,  "  I  am  drawing  nigh  to  death,  and 
am  no  longer  interested  in  the  concerns  of  this 
life  ;  the  only  apprehension  I  now  feel,  arises 
from  dread  lest  you  should  incur  the  wrath  of 
God  and  suffer  any  calamity,  or  the  loss  of  your 
empire,  S'ince  you  have  been  induced  to  con- 
demn just  and  good  men  wrongfully  to  perpetual 
banishment."  From  that  period  the  emperor 
received  the  presbyter  into  favor,  and  after  per- 
mitting him  to  speak  freely  with  him  and  to 
commune  on  the  same  topics  concerning  which 
his  sister  had  given  her  command,  deemed  it 
necessary  to  subject  the  case  of  Arius  to  a  fresh 
examination ;  it  is  probable  that,  in  forming  this 
decision,  the  emperor  was  either  influenced  by 
a  belief  in  the  credibility  of  the  attacks,  or  by  the 
desire  of  gratifying  his  sister.  It»was  not  long  be- 
fore he  recalled  Arius  from  exile,-  and  demanded 


'  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  11;  Soc.  i.  25,  26,  33. 

-  This  letter  of  the  emperor  is  in  Soc.  i.  25. 


of  him  a  written  exposition  of  his  faith  concern- 
ing the  Godhead,  .'^rius  avoided  making  use  of 
the  new  terms  which  he  had  previously  devised, 
and  constructed  another  exposition  by  using 
simple  terms,  and  such  as  were  recognized  by 
the  sacred  Scrijotures  ;  he  declared  upon  oath,, 
that  he  held  the  doctrines  set  forth  in  this  ex- 
position, that  he  both  felt  these  statements  ex 
anivio  and  had  no  other  thought  than  these.  It 
was  as  follows:''  "Arius  and  Kuzoius,  presby- 
ters, to  Constantine,  our  most  pious  emperor  and 
most  beloved  of  God. 

"According  as  your  piety,  beloved  of  God, 
commanded,  O  sovereign  emperor,  we  here  fur- 
nish a  written  statement  of  our  own  faith,  and 
we  protest  before  God  that  we,  and  all  those 
who  are  with  us,  believe  what  is  here  set  forth. 

"  We  believe  in  one  (;od,  the  Father  Almighty, 
and  in  His  Son  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
begotten  from  Him  before  all  ages,  God  the 
Word,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  whether 
things  in  heaven  or  things  on  earth  ;  He  came 
and  took  upon  Him  flesh,  suffered  and  rose 
again,  and  ascended  into  heaven,  whence  He 
will  again  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead. 

"  We  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  in  the  Hfe  to  come,  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  in  one  Catholic  Church 
of  God,  established  throughout  the  earth.     We 
have  received  this  faith  from  the  Holy  Gospels, 
in  which  the   Lord  says  to  His  disciples,  'Go 
forth  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.'     If  we  do  not  so  believe  this, 
and  if  we  do  not  truly  receive  the  doctrines  con- 
cerning  the    Father,    the  Son,   and    the    Holy 
Ghost,  as  they  are  taught  by  the  whole  Catholic 
Church  and  by  the  sacred  Scriptures,  as  we  be- 
heve  in  every  point,  let  God  be  our  judge,  both 
now  and  in  the  day  which  is  to  come.     Where- 
fore we  appeal  to   your  piety,  O  our  emperor 
most  beloved  of  God,  that,  as  we  are  enrolled 
among   the  members  of  the  clergy,  and  as  we 
hold  the  faith  and  thought  of  the  Church  and  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures,  we  may  be  openly  recon- 
ciled to  our   mother,  the  Church,  through  your 
peacemaking  and   pious  piety;    so  that  useless 
questions  and  disputes  may  be  cast  aside,  and 
that  we  and  the  Church  may  dwell  together  in 
peace,  and  we  all  in  common   may  offer   the 
customary  prayer  for  your  peaceful   and  pious 
empire  and  for  your  entire  family." 

Many  considered  this  declaration  of  faith  as 
an  artful  compilation,  and  as  bearing  the  ap- 
pearance of  difference  in  expression,  while,  in 
reality,  it  supported  the  doctrine  of  Arius ;  the 
terms  in  which  it  was  couched  being  so  vague 


3  Soc.  i.  26,  verbal  variations.     Both  probably  from  Sabinus. 


278 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  27. 


that  it  was  susceptible  of  diverse  interpretations. 
The  emperor  imagined  that  Arius  and  Euzoius 
were  of  the  same  sentiments  as  the  bishops  of 
the  council  of  Nicaea,  and  was  dehghted  over 
the  affair.  He  did  not,  however,  attempt  to  re- 
store them  to  communion  without  the  judgment 
and  approval  of  those  v/ho  are,  by  the  law  of  the 
Church,  masters  in  these  matters.  He,  therefore, 
sends  them  to  the  bishops  who  were  then  assem- 
bled at  Jerusalem,  and  wrote,  desiring  them  to 
examine  the  declaration  of  faith  submitted  by 
Arius  and  Euzoius,  and  so  to  influence  the  Synod 
that,  whether  they  found  that  their  doctrine  was 
orthodox,  and  that  the  jealousy  of  their  ene- 
mies had  been  the  sole  cause  of  their  condem- 
nation, or  that,  without  having  reason  to  blame 
those  who  had  condemned  them,  they  had 
changed  their  minds,  a  humane  decision  might, 
in  either  case,  be  accorded  them.  Those  who 
had  long  been  zealous  for  this,  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity under  cover  of  the  emperor's  letter,  and 
received  him  into  fellowship.  They  wrote  imme- 
diately to  the  emperor  himself,  to  the  Church  of 
Alexandria,  and  to  the  bishops  and  clergy  of 
Egypt,  of  Thebes,  and  of  Libya,  earnestly  ex- 
horting them  to  receive  Arius  and  Euzoius  into 
communion,  since  the  emperor  bore  witness  to 
the  correctness  of  their  faith,  in  one  of  his  own 
epistles,  and  since  the  judgment  of  the  emperor 
had  been  confirmed  by  the  vote  of  the  Synod. ^ 

These  were  the  subjects  which  were  zealously 
discussed  by  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem. 


CHAP.   XXVIII. LETTER   FROM  THE  EMPEROR    CON- 

STANTINE  TO  THE  SYNOD  OF  TYRE,  AND  EXILE 
OF  ST.  ATHANASIUS  THROUGH  THE  MACHINATION 
OF   THE    ARL-\N    FACTION. 

Athanasius,  after  having  fled  from  Tyre,  re- 
paired -  to  Constantinople,  and  on  coming  to  the 
emperor  Constantine,  complained  of  what  he 
had  suffered,  in'  presence  of  the  bishops  who 
had  condemned  him,  and  besought  him  to  per- 
mit the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Tyre  to  be  sub- 
mitted for  examination  l)efore  the  emperor. 
Constantine  regarded  this  request  as  reasonable, 
and  wrote  in  the  following  terms  to  the  bishops 
assembled  at  Tyre  :  — 

"  I  know  not  what  has  been  enacted  in  con- 
fusion and  vehemence  by  your  Synod  ;  but  it 
appears  that,  from  some  disturbing  disorder, 
decrees  which  are  not  in  conformity  with  truth 
have  been  enacted,  and  that  your  constant  irri- 
tation of  one  another  evidently  prevented  you 
from  considering  what  is  pleasing  to  God.  But 
it  will  be  the  work  of  Divine  Providence  to  scat- 

'  Ruf.  H.  E,\.  11;  Soc.  i.  j3.  For  the  letter  of  the  Synod,  cf. 
Athan.  de  Synot/i's,  21 ;  a  part  is  also  s;iven  in  Apo/.  co)it.  Ariati.  84. 

2  This  letter  is  given  in  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  86;  Soc.  i. 
33-35- 


ter  the  evils  which  have  been  drawn  out  of  this 
contentiousness,  and  to  manifest  to  us  clearly 
whether  you  have  not  been  misled  in  your 
judgment  by  motives  of  private  friendship  or 
aversion.  I  therefore  command  that  you  all 
come  here  to  my  piety  without  delay,  in  order 
that  we  may  receive  an  exact  account  of  your 
transactions.  I  will  explain  to  you  the  cause  of 
my  writing  to  you  in  this  strain,  and  you  will 
know  from  what  follows,  why  I  summon  you  be- 
fore myself  through  this  document.  As  I  was 
returning  on  horseback  to  that  city  which  bears 
my  name,  and  which  I  regard  as  my  much  pros- 
pered country,  Athanasius,  the  bishop,  presented 
himself  so  unexpectedly  in  the  middle  of  the 
highway,  with  certain  individuals  who  accompa- 
nied him,  that  I  felt  exceedingly  surprised  at 
beholding  him.  God,  who  sees  all  things,  is  my 
witness,  that  at  first  I  did  not  know  who  he  was, 
but  that  some  of  my  attendants  having  ascer- 
tained this  point,  and  the  injustice  which  he  had 
suffered,  gave  me  the  necessary  information.  I 
did  not  on  this  occasion  grant  him  an  interview. 
He,  however,  persevered  in  requesting  an  audi- 
ence ;  and  although  I  refused  him,  and  was  on 
the  point  of  commanding  that  he  should  be  re- 
moved from  my  presence,  he  told  me  with  more 
boldness,  that  he  sought  no  other  favor  of  me 
than  that  I  should  summon  you  hither,  in  order 
that  he  might  in  your  presence  complain  of  what 
he  had  suffered  unnecessarily.  'As  this  request 
appears  reasonable  and  timely,  I  deemed  it  right 
to  address  you  in  this  strain,  and  to  command 
all  of  you  who  were  convened  at  the  Synod  of 
Tyre  to  hasten  to  the  court  of  our  clemency,  so 
that  you  may  demonstrate  by  your  works,  the 
purity  and  inflexibility  of  your  decisions  before 
me,  whom  you  cannot  refuse  to  acknowledge  as 
a  genuine  servant  of  God.  By  my  zeal  in  His 
service,  peace  has  been  established  throughout 
the  world,  and  the  name  of  God  is  genuinely 
praised  among  the  barbarians,  who  till  now  were 
in  ignorance  of  the  truth  ;  and  it  is  evident  that 
whoever  is  ignorant  of  the  truth  knows  not  God. 
Notwithstanding,  as  is  above  stated,  the  barba- 
rians have,  through  my  instrumentality,  learnt 
to  know  genuinely  and  to  worship  God  ;  for  they 
perceived  that  everywhere,  and  on  all  occasions, 
his  protection  rested  on  me  ;  and  they  reverence 
God  the  more  deeply  because  they  fear  my 
power.  But  we  who  have  to  announce  the  mys- 
teries of  forbearance  (for  I  will  not  say  that  we 
keep  them),  we,  I  say,  ought  not  to  do  anything 
that  can  tend  to  dissension  or  hatred,  or,  to 
speak  plainly,  to  the  destruction  of  the  human 
race.  Gome,  then,  to  us,  as  I  have  said,  with 
all  <liligence,  and  be  assured  that  I  shall  do 
everything  in  my  power  to  preserve  all  the  par- 
ticularly infallible  parts  of  the  law  of  God  in  a 
way  that  no  fault  or  heterodoxy  can  be  fabri- 


II.  30] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


279 


cated  ;  while  those  enemies  of  the  law  who, 
under  the  guise  of  the  Holy  Name,  endeavor 
to  introduce  variant  and  differing  blasphemies, 
have  been  openly  scattered,  utterly  crushed,  and 
wholly  suppressed." 

This  letter  of  the  emperor  so  excited  the 
fears  of  some  of  the  bishops  that  they  set  off  on 
their  journey  homewards.  But  Eusebius,  bishop 
of  Nicomedia,  and  his  partisans,  went  to  the 
emperor,  and  represented  that  the  Synod  of 
Tyre  had  enacted  no  decrees  against  Athana- 
sius  but  what  were  founded  on  justice.  They 
brought  forward  as  witnesses  Theognis,  Maris, 
Theodore,  Valeus,  and  Ursacius,  and  deposed 
that  he  had  broken  the  mystical  cup,  and  after 
uttering  many  other  calumnies,  they  prevailed 
with  their  accusations.  The  emperor,  either 
believing  their  statements  to  be  true,  or  imagin- 
ing that  unanimitv  would  be  restored  among  the 
bishops  if  Athanasius  were  removed,  exiled  him 
to  Treves,  in  Western  Gaul ;  and  thither,  there- 
fore, he  was  conducted. 


CHAP.  XXIX. ALEX.'«rDER,  BISHOP  OF  CONSTAN- 
TINOPLE ;  HIS  REFUSAL  TO  RECEIVE  ARIUS  INTO 
COMMUNION  ;  ARIUS  IS  BURST  ASUNDER  WHILE 
SEEKING   N.\TURAL   RELIEF. 

After  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem,  Arius  went  to 
Egypt,'  but  as  he  could  not  obtain  permission  to 
hold  communion  with  the  Church  of  Alexandria, 
he  returned  to  Constantinople.  As  all  those 
who  had  embraced  his  sentiments,  and  those 
who  were  attached  to  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nico- 
media, had  assembled  cunningly  in  that  city  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  a  council,  Alexander, 
who  was  then  ordering  the  see  of  Constanti- 
nople, used  every  effort  to  dissolve  the  council. 
But  as  his  endeavors  were  frustrated,  he  openly 
refused  all  covenant  with  Arius,  affirming  that  it 
was  neither  just  nor  according  to  ecclesiastical 
canons,  to  make  powerless  their  own  vote,  and 
that  of  those  bishops  who  had  been  assembled 
at  Nicsea,  from  nearly  every  region  under  the 
sun.  When  the  partisans  of  Eusebius  perceived 
that  their  arguments  produced  no  effect  on 
Alexander,  they  had  recourse  to  contumely, 
and  threatened  that  unless  he  would  receive 
Arius  into  communion  on  a  stated  day,  he 
should  be  expelled  from  the  church,  and  that 
another  should  be  elected  in  his  place  who 
would  be  willing  to  hold  communion  with  Arius. 
They  then  separated,  the  partisans  of  Eusebius, 
to  await  the  time  they  had  fixed  for  carrying 
their  menaces  into  execution,  and  Alexander  to 
pray  that  the  words  of  Eusebius  might  be  pre- 

'  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  12,  13;  Soc.  i.  37,  38;  Athan.  Ep.  ad  Serapioti, 
and  ad  Episcop.  ALgypt.  et  Lib.  19.  Soz.  follows  Athan.  and 
Ruf.  Athan.  says  he  derived  his  statements  from  Macarius,  a  pres- 
byter, an  eye-witness  of  som*  of  the  events  narrated  in  this  chapter 
and  the  next. 


vented  from  being  carried  into  deed.  His  chief 
source  of  fear  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  em- 
peror had  been  persuaded  to  give  way.  On  the 
day  before  the  appointed  day  he  prostrated 
himself  before  the  altar,  and  continued  all  the 
night  in  prayer  to  God,  that  his  enemies  might 
be  prevented  from  carrying  their  schemes  into 
execution  against  him.  Late  in  the  afternoon, 
Arius,  being  seized  suddenly  with  pain  in  the 
stomach,  was  compelled  to  repair  to  the  public 
place  set  apart  for  emergencies  of  this  nature. 
As  some  time  passed  away  without  his  coming 
out,  some  persons,  who  were  waiting  for  him 
outside,  entered,  and  found  him  dead  and  still 
sitting  upon  the  seat.  When  his  death  became 
known,  all  people  did  not  view  the  occurrence 
under  the  same  aspect.  Some  believed  that  he 
died  at  that  very  hour,  seized  by  a  sudden 
disease  of  the  heart,  or  suffering  weakness  from 
his  joy  over  the  fact  that  his  matters  were  falling 
out  according  to  his  mind  ;  others  imagined 
that  this  mode  of  death  was  inflicted  on  him  in 
judgment,  on  account  of  his  impiety.  Those 
who  held  his  sentiments  were  of  opinion  that 
his  death  was  brought  about  by  magical  arts. 
It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  what  Atha- 
nasius, bishop  of  Alexandria,  stated  on  the  sub- 
ject.    The  following  is  his  narrative  :  — 


CHAP.  XXX. ACCOUNT   GIVEN   BY  THE  GREAT 

ATHANASIUS  OF  THE  DEATH  OF  ARIUS. 

"Arius,-  the  author  of  the  heresy  and  the 
associate  of  Eusebius,  having  been  summoned 
before  the  most  blessed  Constantine  Augustus, 
at  the  solicitation  of  the  partisans  of  Eusebius, 
was  desired  to  give  in  writing  an  exposition  of 
his  faith.  He  drew  up  this  document  with  great 
artfulness,  and  like  the  devil,  concealed  his 
impious  assertions  beneath  the  simple  words  of 
Scripture.  The  most  blessed  Constantine  said 
to  him,  '  If  you  have  no  other  points  in  mind 
than  these,  render  testimony  to  the  truth  ;  for 
if  you  perjure  yourself,  the  Lord  will  punish 
you ' ;  and  the  wretched  man  swore  that  he 
neither  held  nor  conceived  any  sentiments 
except  those  now  specified  in  the  document, 
even  if  he  had  ever  affirmed  otherwise ;  soon 
after  he  went  out,  and  judgment  was  visited 
upon  him ;  for  he  bent  forwards  and  burst  in 
the  middle.  With  all  men  the  common  end  of 
life  is  death.  We  must  not  blame  a  man,  even 
if  he  be  an  enemy,  merely  because  he  died,  for 
it  is  uncertain  whether  we  shall  live  to  the 
evening.  But  the  end  of  Arius  was  so  singular 
that  it  seems  worthy  of  some  remark.  The 
partisans    of   Eusebius    threatened    to   reinstate 


-  Cf.  Athan.  Ep.  ad  Episc.  Mgypt.  et  Lib.  18,  19;  cf.  Athan. 
Ep.  ad  Serapion,  which  treats  of  the  death  of  Arius. 


2S0 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[II.  30. 


him  in  the  church,  and  Alexander,  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  opposed  their  intention ;  Arius 
placed  his  confidence  in  the  power  and  menaces 
of  Eusebius ;  for  it  was  the  Sabbath,  and  he 
expected  the  next  day  to  be  readmitted.  The 
dispute  ran  high ;  the  partisans  of  Eusebius 
were  loud  in  their  menaces,  while  Alexander 
had  recourse  to  prayer.  The  Lord  was  the 
judge,  and  declared  himself  against  the  unjust. 
A  little  before  sunset  Arius.  was  compelled  by  a 
want  of  nature  to  enter  the  place  appointed  for 
such  emergencies,  and  here  he  lost  at  once  both 
restoration  to  communion  and  his  life.  The 
most  blessed  Constantine  was  amazed  when  he 
heard  of  this  occurrence,  and  regarded  it  as  the 
proof  of  perjury.  It  then  became  evident  to 
every  one  that  the  menaces  of  Eusebius  were 
absohitely  futile,  and  that  the  expectations  of 
Arius  were  vain.  It  also  became  manifest  that 
the  Arian  madness  could  not  be  fellowshipped 
by  the  Saviour  both  here  and  in  the  church  of  the 
Firstborn.  Is  it  not  then  astonishing  that  some 
are  still  found  who  seek  to  exculpate  him  whom 
the  Lord  condemned,  and  to  defend  that  heresy 
which  the  Lord  proved  to  be  unworthy  of  fel- 
lowship, by  not  permitting  its  author  to  enter 
the  church  ?  We  have  been  duly  informed  that 
this  was  the  mode  of  the  death  of  Arius."  It  is 
said  that  for  a  long  period  subsequently  no  one 
would  make  use  of  the  seat  on  which  he  died. 
Those  who  were  compelled  by  necessities  of 
nature,  as  is  wont  to  be  the  case  in  a  crowd,  to 
visit  the  public  place,  when  they  entered,  spoke 
to  one  another  to  avoid  the  seat,  and  the  place 
was  shunned  afterwards,  because  Arius  had  there 
received  the  punishment  of  his  impiety.  At  a 
later  time  a  certain  rich  and  powerful  man,  who 
had  embraced  the  Arian  tenets,  bought  the  place 
of  the  public,  and  built  a  house  on  the  spot,  in 
order  that  the  occurrence  might  fall  into  obliv- 
ion, and  that  there  might  be  no  perpetual  me- 
morial of  the  death  of  Arius. 


CHAP.  XXXI. EVENTS  WHICH  OCCURRED  IN  ALEX- 
ANDRIA AFTER  THE  DEATH  OF  ARIUS.  LETTER 
OF  CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT  TO  THE  CHURCH 
THERE. 

The  death  of  Arius  did  not  terminate  the 
doctrinal  dispute  which  he  had  originated.* 
Those  who*  adhered  to  his  sentiments  did  not 
cease  from  plotting  against  those  who  main- 
tained opposite  opinions.  The  people  of  Alex- 
andria loudly  complained  of  the  exile  of  Atha- 
nasius,  and  offered  up  supplications  for  his 
return  :  and  Antony,  the  celebrated  monk,  wrote 
fre(iuently  to  the  emperor  to  entreat  him  to 
attach  no  credit  to  the  insinuations  of  the  Meli- 

1  This  chapter  has  no  parallel  in  the  present  sources. 


tians,  but  to  reject  their  accusations  as  calum- 
nies ;  yet  the  emperor  was  not  convinced  by 
these  arguments,  and  wrote  to  the  Alexandrians, 
accusing  them  of  folly  and  of  disorderly  conduct. 
He  commanded  the  clergy  and  the  holy  virgins 
to  remain  quiet,  and  declared  that  he  would  not 
change  his  mind  nor  recall  Athanasius,  whom, 
he  said,  he  regarded  as  an  exciter  of  sedition, 
jusdy  condemned  by  the  judgment  of  the 
Church.  He  replied  to  Antony,  by  stating  that 
he  ought  not  to  overlook  the  decree  of  the 
Synod ;  for  even  if  some  few  of  the  bishops,  he 
said,  were  actuated  by  ill-will  or  the  desire  to 
oblige  others,  it  scarcely  seems  credible  that  so 
many  prudent  and  excellent  bishops  could  have 
been  impelled  by  such  motives  ;  and,  he  added, 
that  Athanasius  was  contumelious  and  arrogant, 
and  the  cause  of  dissension  and  sedition.  The 
enemies  of  Athanasius  accused  him  the  more 
especially  of  these  crimes,  because  they  knew 
that  the  emperor  regarded  them  with  pecuhar 
aversion.  When  he  heard  that  the  Church  was 
split  into  two  factions,  of  which  one  supported 
Athanasius  and  the  other  John,  he  was  trans- 
ported with  indignation,  and  exiled  John  him- 
self. This  John  had  succeeded  Melitius,  and 
had,  with  those  who  held  the  same  sentiments  as 
himself,  been  restored  to  communion  and  re- 
established in  the  clerical  functions  by  the  Synod 
of  Tyre.  His  banishment  was  contrary  to  the 
wishes  of  the  enemies  of  Athanasius,  yet  it  was 
done,  and  the  decrees  of  the  Synod  of  Tyre  did 
not  benefit  John,  for  the  emperor  was  beyond 
supplication  or  petition  of  any  kind  with  respect 
to  any  one  who  was  suspected  of  stirring  up 
Christian  people  to  sedition  or  dissension. 


CHAP.  XXXII.  —  CONSTANTINE  ENACTS  A  LAW 
AGAINST  ALL  HERESIES,  AND  PROHIBITS  THE 
PEOPLE  FRO.M  HOLDING  CHURCH  IN  ANY  PLACE 
BUT  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  AND  THUS  THE 
GREATER  NUMBER  OF  HERESIES  DISAPPEAR.  THE 
ARIANS  WHO  SIDED  WITH  EUSEBIUS  OF  NICOISIEDTA, 
ARTFULLY  AITEAIPTED  TO  OBLITERATE  THE  TERM 
"  CONSUBSTANTL^L." 

Although  the  doctrine  of  Arius  was  zealously 
supported  by  many  persons  in  disputations,"  a 
party  had  not  as  yet  been  formed  to  whom  the 
name  of  Arians  could  be  applied  as  a  distinctive 
appellation ;  for  all  assembled  together  as  a 
church  and  held  communion  with  each  other, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Nova  tians,  those 
called  Phrygians,  the  Valentinians,  the  Marcion- 
ites,  the  Paulianians,  and  some  few  others  who 
adhered  to  already  invented  heresies.  The  em- 
peror, however,  enacted    a  law  that  their  own 

-  This  chapter,  outside  of  the  law  of  Constantine  against  the 
heretics  (Ens.  P'.  C.  iii.  64),  consists  of  Soz.'s  reflections  on  the 
state  of  the  heresies. 


n.  33.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


2S1 


houses  of  prayer  should  be  abolished  ;  and  that 
they  should  meet  in  the  churches,  and  not  hold 
church  in  private    houses,  or  in  public  places. 
He  deemed  it  better  to  hold  fellowship  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  and    he  advised  them  to  as- 
semble in  her  walls.     By   means   of  this   law, 
almost  all  the  heresies,  I  believe,  disappeared. 
During   the   reign  of  preceding    emperors,   all 
who    worshiped     Christ,     however    they    might 
have  differed  from  each  other   in   opinion,  re- 
ceived the  same  treatment  from  the  pagans,  and 
were    persecuted   with   equal    cruelty.       These 
common  calamities,  to  which  they  were  all  equally 
liable,   prevented    them    from    prosecuting    any 
close  inquiries  as  to  the  tiifferences  of  opinion 
which  existed  among  themselves  ;  it  was  there- 
fore easy  for  the  members  of  each  party  to  hold 
church  by  themselves,  and  by  continually  con- 
ferring  with   one   another,    however    few   they 
might  have  been  in  number,  they  were  not  dis- 
rupted.    But   after  this   law   was    passed    they 
could  not  assemble  in  public,   because    it  was 
forbidden ;    nor    could    they  hold   their   assem- 
bhes  in  secret,  for  they  were  watched    by  the 
bishops  and  clergy  of  their  city.     Hence    the 
greater  number  of  these  sectarians  were  led,  by 
fear  of  consequences,  to  join  themselves  to  the 
Catholic  Church.     Those  who  adhered  to  their 
original  sentiments  did  not,  at  their  death,  leave 
any  disciples  to  propagate  their  heresy,  for  they 
could   neither   come    together    into    the    same 
place,  nor  were  they  able  to  teach  in  security 
those  of  the  same  opinions.     On  account  either 
of  the  absurdity  of  the  heretical  dogmas,  or  of 
the  utter  ignorance  of  those  who  devised    and 
taught  them,  the    respective    followers  of   each 
heresy  were,  from  the  beginning,   very   few  in 
number.     The  Novatians   alone,^  who  had  ob- 
tained good  leaders,  and    who  entertained  the 
same  opinions  respecting   the    Divinity  as    the 
Catholic    Church,    were    numerous,    from     the 
beginning,  and  remained  so,  not  being  much  in- 
jured by  this  law ;  the  emperor,  I  believe,  will- 
ingly relaxed   in   their   favor  the   rigor   of  the 
enactment,  for  he  only  desired  to  strike  terror 
into  the  minds  of  his  subjects,  and  had  no  in- 
tention of  persecuting  them.     Acesius,  who  was 
then  the  bishop  of  this  heresy  in  Constantinople, 
was  much  esteemed  by  the  emperor  on  account 
of  his  virtuous  life  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  it 
was  for  his  sake  that  the  church  which  he  gov- 
erned   met   with    protection.      The     Phrygians 
suffered  the  same  treatment  as  the  other  heretics 
in  all  the  Roman  provinces  except  Phrygia  and 
the  neighboring  regions,  for  here  they  had,  since 
the  time  of  Montanus,  existed  in  great  numbers, 
and  do  so  to  the  present  day. 


1  Sozomen  speaks  with  favor  of  the  Novatians,  though  not  with 
the  earnestness  of  Socrates. 


About  this  time  the  partisans  of  Eusebius, 
bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  of  Theognis,  bishop 
of  Nicsea,  began  to  make  innovations  in  writing 
upon  the  confession  set  forth  by  the  Nicaean 
Council.  They  did  not  venture  to  reject  openly 
the  assertion  that  the  Son  is  consubstantial  with 
the  Father,  because  this  assertion  was  main- 
tained by  the  emperor ;  but  they  propounded 
another  document,  and  signified  to  the  Eastern 
bishops  that  they  received  the  terms  of  the 
Nicaean  doctrine  with  verbal  interpretations. 
From  this  declaration  and  reflection,  the  former 
dispute  lapsed  into  fresh  discussion,  and  what 
seemed  to  have  been  put  at  rest  was  igain  set 
in  motion. 


CHAP.    XXXIII. MARCELLUS    BISHOP    OF    ANCYRA  ; 

HIS   HERESY   AND   DEPOSITION. 

At  the  same  period,  Marcellus,  bishop  of 
Ancyra,-  in  Galatia,  was  deposed  and  cast  out  of 
the  Church  by  the  bishops  assembled  at  Con- 
stantinople, because  he  had  introduced  some 
new  doctrines,  whereby  he  taught  that  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Son  of  God  commenced  when  He 
was  born  of  Mary,  and  that  His  kingdom  would 
have  an  end ;  he  had,  moreover,  drawn  up  a 
written  document  wherein  these  views  were  pro- 
pounded. Basil,  a  man  of  great  eloquence  and 
learning,  was  invested  with  the  bishopric  of  the 
parish  of  Galatia.  They  also  wrote  to  the 
churches  in  the  neighboring  regions,  to  desire 
them  to  search  for  the  copies  of  the  book^ 
written  by  Marcellus,  and  to  destroy  them,  and 
to  lead  back  any  whom  they  might  find  to  have 
embraced  his  sentiments.  They  stated  that  the 
work  was  too  voluminous  to  admit  of  their  tran- 
scribing the  whole  in  their  epistle,  but  that  they 
inserted  quotations  of  certain  passages  in  order 
to  prove  that  the  doctrines  which  they  had  con- 
demned were  there  advocated.  Some  persons, 
however,  maintained  that  Marcellus  had  merely 
propounded  a  few  questions  which  had  been 
misconstrued  by  the  adherents  of  Eusebius,  and 
represented  to  the  emperor  as  actual  confes- 
sions. Eusebius  and  his  partisans  were  much 
irritated  against  Marcellus,  because  he  had  not 
consented  to  the  definitions  propounded  by  the 
Synod  in  Phoenicia,  nor  to  the  regulations 
which  had  been  made  in  favor  of  Arius  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  had  likewise  refused  to  attend  at 
the  consecration  of  the  Great  Martyrium,  in 
order  to  avoid  communion  with  them.  In  their 
letter  to  the  emperor,  they  dwelt  largely  upon 
this  latter  circumstance,  and  brought  it  forward 


2  Soc.  i.  36.  Soz.  has  more  detail  as  to  Asterius,  and  better 
order;  both  probably  took  from  the  same  source.  Compare  the 
attitude  of  Athan.  toward  Marcellus. 

3  Hil.  Fragtit.  ii.  22,  gives  the  title  of  this  work  as  de  Sub- 
jectione  Domini  Christi.     Eus.  Pamp.  wrote  a  refutation  of  this 

book. 


282 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[11.  33- 


as  a  charge,  alleging  that  it  was  a  personal  in- 
sult to  him  to  refuse  attendance  at  the  conse- 
cration of  the  temple  which  he  had  constructed 
at  Jerusalem.  The  motive  by  which  Marcellus 
was  induced  to  write  this  work  was  that  Asterius, 
who  was  a  sophist  and  a  native  of  Cappadocia, 
had  written  a  treatise  in  defense  of  the  Arian 
doctrines,  and  had  read  it  in  various  cities,  and 
to  the  bishops,  and  likewise  at  several  Synods 
where  he  had  attended.  Marcellus  undertook 
to  refute  his  arguments,  and  while  thus  engaged, 
he,  either  deliberately  or  unintentionally,  fell 
into  the  opinions  of  Paul  of  Samosata.  He  was 
afterwards,  however,  reinstated  in  his  bishopric 
by  the  Synod  of  Sardis,  after  having  proved 
that  he  did  not  hold  such  sentiments. 


CHAP.     XXXIV.  DEATH      OF      CONSTANTINE      THE 

GREAT  ;      HE     DIED     AFTER      BAPTISM     AND     WAS 
BURIED  IN  THE  TEMPLE    OF    THE  HOLY  APOSTLES. 

The  emperor  had  already  divided  the  empire 
among  his-  sons,  who  were  styled  Csesars.^  To 
Constantine  and  Constans  he  awarded  the  west- 
ern regions  ;  and  to  Constantius,  the  eastern ; 
and  as  he  was  indisposed,  and  required  to  have 
recourse  to  bathing,  he  repaired  for  that  purpose 
to  Helenopolis,  a  city  of  Bithynia.  His  malady, 
however,  increased,  and  he  went  to  Nicomedia, 
and  was  initiated  into  holy  baptism  in  one  of 
the  suburbs  of  that  city.  After'  the  ceremony 
he  was  filled  with  joy,  and  returned  thanks  to 
God.  He  then  confirmed  the  division  of  the 
empire  among  his  sons,  according  to  his  former 
allotment,  and  bestowed  certain  privileges  on 
old  Rome  and  on  the  city  named  after  himself 
He  placed  his  testament  in  the  hands  of  the 
presbyter  who  constantly  extolled  Arius,  and 
who  had  been  recommended  to  him  as  a  man 

1  Eus.   K  C.  iv.  61-75;    Ruf.   H.  E.  i.  ii;    Soc.  i.  38-40;    cf. 
Philost.  ii.  16,  17.     Cf.  Eutrop.  Brev.  hist.  Rom.  x.  7,  8. 


of  virtuous  life  by  his  sister  Constantia  in  her 
last  moments,  and  commanded  him  with  an 
added  oath  to  deliver  it  to  Constantius  on  his 
return,  for  neither  Constantius  nor  the  other 
Caesars  were  with  their  dying  father.  After 
making  these  arrangements,  Constantine  sur- 
vived but  a  few  days ;  he  died  in  the  sixty-fifth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-first  of  his  reign. 
He  was  a  powerful  protector  of  the  Christian 
rehgion,  and  was  the  first  of  the  emperors  who 
began  to  be  zealous  for  the  Church,  and  to  be- 
stow upon  her  high  benefactions.  He  was  more 
successful  than  any  other  sovereign  in  all  his 
undertakings  ;  for  he  formed  no  design,  I  am 
convinced,  without  God.  He  was  victorious  in 
his  wars  against  the  Goths  and  Sarmatians,  and, 
indeed,  in  all  his  military  enterprises  ;  and  he 
changed  the  form  of  government  according  to 
his  own  mind  with  so  much  ease,  that  he  created 
another  senate  and  another  imperial  city,  to 
which  he  gave  his  own  name.  He  assailed  the 
pagan  religion,  and  in  a  little  while  subverted 
it,  although  it  had  prevailed  for  ages  among  the 
princes  and  the  people. 

After  the  death  of  Constantine,  his  body  was 
placed  in  a  golden  cofiin,  conveyed  to  Constan- 
tinople, and  deposited  on  a  certain  platform  in 
the  palace ;  the  same  honor  and  ceremonial 
were  observed,  by  those  who  were  in  the  palace, 
as  were  accorded  to  him  while  hving.  On  hear- 
ing of  his  father's  death,  Constantius,  who  was 
then  in  the  East,  hastened  to  Constantinople,  and 
interred  the  royal  remains  with  the  utmost  mag- 
nificence, and  deposited  them  in  the  tomb  which 
had  been  constructed  by  order  of  the  deceased 
in  the  Church  of  the  Apostles.  From  this  period 
it  became  the  custom  to  deposit  the  remains  of 
subsequent  Christian  emperors  in  the  same 
place  of  interment  ;  and  here  bishops,  likewise, 
were  buried,  for  the  hierarchical  dignity  is  not 
only  equal  in  honor  to  imperial  power,  but,  in 
sacred  places,  even  takes  the  ascendancy. 


BOOK    III, 


CHAP.  I.  —  AFTER  THE  DEATH  OF  CONSTANTINE 
THE  GREAT,  THE  ADHERENTS  OF  EUSEBIUS  AND 
THEOGNIS    ATTACK   THE    NICENE    FAITH. 

We  have  now  seen  what  events  transpired  in 
the  churches  during  the  reign  of  Constantine.' 
On  his  death  the  doctrine  which  had  been  set 
forth  at  Nicjea,  was  subjected  to  renewed  exami- 
nation.     Although   this  doctrine  was  not  uni- 
versally approved,   no    one,   during  the   life   of 
Constantine,  had  dared  to  reject  it  openly.     At 
his  death,  however,  many  renounced  this  opinion, 
especially  those  who  had  previously  been  sus- 
pected of  treachery.     Of  all  these  Eusebius  and 
Theognis,  bishops  of  the  province  of  Bithynia, 
did  everything  in  their  power  to  give  predomi- 
nance to  the  tenets  of  Arius.      They  beheved 
that  this  object  would  be  easily  accomplished, 
if  the    return   of  Athanasius  from    exile   could 
be   prevented,  and    by  giving   the   government 
of  the  Egyptian  churches  to  a  bishop  of  hke 
opinion   with   them.     They    found   an   efficient 
coadjutor  in  the  presbyter  who  had   obtained 
from  Constantine  the  recall  of  Arius.     He  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  emperor  Constantius, 
on  account  of  the  service  he  had  rendered  in 
delivering  to  him  the  testament  of  his  father; 
since  he  was  trusted,  he  boldly  seized  the  oppor- 
tunities, until  he  became  an  intimate  of  the  em- 
peror's wife,  and  of  the   powerful    eunuchs    of 
the    women's    sleeping    apartments.       At    this 
period  Eusebius  -  was  appointed  to  superintend 
the  concerns  of  the  royal  household,  and  being 
zealously  attached  to  Arianism,  he  induced  the 
empress  and  many  of  the  persons  belonging  to 
the  court  to  adopt  the  same  sentiments.     Hence 
disputations  concerning  doctrines  again  became 
prevalent,   both  in  private   and  in   public,  and 
revilings  and  animosities  were  renewed.     This 
state  of  things  was  in  accordance  with  the  views 
of  Theognis  and  his  partisans. 

CHAP.    II. RETURN     OF    ATHANASIUS     THE     GREAT 

FROM  ROME  ;  LETTER  OF  CONSTANTINE  CJESAK, 
SON  OF  CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT  ;  RENEWED 
MACHINATIONS  OF  THE  ARIANS  AGAINST  ATHA- 
NASIUS ;  ACACIUS  OF  BERRCEA  ;  WAR  BETWEEN 
CONSTANS    AND    CONSTANTINE. 

At  this  period  Athanasius  returned  from  Gaul 


to  Alexandria.^  It  is  said  that  Constantine  in- 
tended to  have  recalled  him,  and  that  in  his 
testament  he  even  gave  orders  to  that  effect. 
But  as  he  was  prevented  by  death  from  per- 
forming his  intention,  his  son  who  bore  his 
name,  and  who  was  then  commanding  in  West- 
ern Gaul,  recalled  Athanasius,  and  wrote  a  letter 
on  the  subject  to  the  people  of  Alexandria. 
Having  met  with  a  copy  of  this  letter  translated 
from  the  Latin  into  Greek,  I  shall  insert  it  pre- 
cisely as  I  found  it.     It  is  as  follows  :  — 

"Constantine    Caesar,  to    the  people    of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  city  of  Alexandria.* 

"  You  cannot,  I  believe,  be  unacquainted  with 
the  fact  that  Athanasius,  the  interpreter  of  the 
venerated  law,  since  the  cruelty  of  his  blood- 
thirsty and   hostile    enemies   continued,   to   the 
danger  of  his  sacred  person,  was  sent  for  a  time 
into  Gaul  in  order  that  he  might  not  incur  irre- 
trievable extremities  through  the  perv^ersity  of 
these   worthless    opponents ;    in   order   then   to 
make  this  danger  futile,  he  was  taken  out  of  the 
jaws  of  the  men,  who  pressed  upon  him,  and 
was  commanded  to  live  near  me,  so  that  in  the 
city  where  he   dwelt,  he   might  be  amply  fur- 
nished with   all    necessaries ;    but   his  .virtue  is 
so    famous   and    extraordinary,    because    he    is 
confident  of  Divine  aid,  that  he  sets  at  naught 
all  the   rougher  burdens   of  fortune.     Our  lord 
and  my  father,  Constantine  Augustus,  of  blessed 
memory,  intended  to  have  reinstated  this  bishop 
in  his  own  place,   and   thus  especially  to  have 
restored  him  to  your  much  beloved  piety ;  but, 
since  he  was  anticipated  by  the  human  lot,  and 
died  before  fulfilling  his  intention,  I,  as  his  succes- 
sor, purpose  to  carry  into  execution  the  design 
of  the  emperor  of  Divine  memory.     Athanasius 
will  inform  you,  when  he   shall  see  your  face,  in 
how  great  reverence  he  was  held  by  me.     Nor  • 
is  it  surprising  that  I   should    have  acted  as    I 
have  done  towards  him,  for  the  image  of  your 
own  desire   and   the  appearance  of  so  noble  a 
man,  moved  and  impelled  me  to  this  step.    May 
Divine  Providence  watch  over  you,  my  beloved 

brethren." 

In  consequence  of  this  letter  from  the  emper- 
or Athanasius  went  home,  and  resumed  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Egyptian  churches.  Those  who 
were  attached  to  the  Arian  doctrines  were  thrown 


'  This  section  is  manifestly  an  abridgment  of  Soc.  ii.  2. 
-  This  Eusebius  was  a  eunuch,  who  was  now  made  chief  cham- 
berlain, and  became  a  disciple  of  the  alleged  presbyter. 


3  This  chapter  follows  the  order  of  Soc.  ii.  2-5.    Cf.  Philost. 

"'  *  This  letter  is  translated  in  Athan.  Apol  cotit.  Ariati.  87 ;  the 
original  was  in  Latin,  and  Athan.  probably  translated  it. 


284 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  2. 


into  consternation  and  could  not  keep  the  peace  ; 
they  excited  continuous  seditions,  and  had  re- 
course to  other  machinations  against  him.  The 
partisans  of  Eusebius  accused  him  before  the 
emperor  of  being  a  seditious  person,  and  of 
having  reversed  the  decree  of  exile, .  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  the  church,  and  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  bishops.  I  shall  presendy  relate  in 
the  proper  place,  how,  by  their  intrigues,  Athana- 
sius  was  again  expelled  from  Alexandria. 

Eusebius,  surnamed  Pamphilus,  died^  about 
this  period,  and  Acacius  succeeded  to  the  bish- 
opric of  Caesarea  in  Palestine.  He  was  a  zeal- 
ous imitator  of  Eusebius  because  he  had  been 
instructed  by  him  in  the  Sacred  Word  ;  he  pos- 
sessed a  capable  mind  and  was  polished  in  ex- 
pression, so  that  he  left  many  writings  worthy 
of  commendation.  Not  long  after,-  the  emperor 
Constandne  declared  war  against  his  brother 
Constans  at  Aquileia,^  and  was  slain  by  his  own 
generals.  The  Roman  Empire  was  divided  be- 
tween the  surviving  brothers ;  the  West  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Constans  and  the  East  to  Constan- 
tius. 


CHAP.  HI.  —  PAUL,  BISHOP  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE,  AND 
MACEDONIUS,  THE   PNEUMATOMACHIAN. 

Alescander  died^  about  this  time,  and  Paul 
succeeded  to  the  high  priesthood  of  Constanti- 
nople. The  followers  of  Arius  and  Macedonius 
assert  that  he  took  possession  at  his  own  motion, 
and  against  the  advice  of  Eusebius,  bishop  of 
Nicomedia,  or  of  Theodore,  bishop  of  Heraclea, 
in  Thrace  ;  upon  whom,  as  being  the  nearest 
bishops,  the  right  of  conferring  ordination  de- 
volved. Many,  however,  maintain,  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Alexander,  whom  he  succeeded,  that 
he  was  ordained  by  the  bishops  who  were  then 
assembled  at  Constantinople.''"'  For  when  Alex- 
ander, who  was  ninety-eight  years  of  age,  and 
who  had  conducted  the  episcopal ._^ office  vigor- 
ously for  twenty-three  years,  was  at  the  point  of 
death,  his  clergy  asked  him  to  w^hom  he  wished 
to  turn  over  his  church.  "  If,"  replied  he,  "you 
seek  a  man  good  in  Divine  matters*  and  one 
who  is  apt  to  teach  you,  have  Paul.  P>ut  if  you 
desire  one  who  is  conversant  with  public  affairs, 
and  with  the  councils  of  rulers,  Macedonius  is 
better."  The  Macedonians  themselves  admit 
that  this  testimony  was  given  by  AlexandeV ;  but 
they  say  that  Paul  was  more  skilled  in  the  trans- 
action of  business  and  the  art  of  eloquence  ; 
but  they  put  emphasis  for  Macedonius,  on  the 


1  Soc.  ii.  4.  2  Soc.  ii.  5. 

■■'  The  mention  of  Aqiiilcia,  which  is  omitted  by  Socrates,  shows 
consultation  with  another  source.  The  statement  of  the  agents  in 
his  death  is  different  also. 

<  Cf.  Soc.  ii.  6.  While  the  order  of  events  is  the  same,  Soz. 
had  a  different  source,  for  he  makes  additions.  Cf.  Athan.  Hist. 
A  nan.  7.  "'  An  endemic  Synod. 


testimony  of  his  life  ;  and  they  accuse  Paul  of  hav- 
ing been  addicted  to  effeminacy  and  an  indiffer- 
ent conduct."  It  appears,  however,  from  their 
own  acknowledgment,  that  Paul  was  a  man  of  elo- 
quence, and  brilliant  in  teaching  the  Church. 
Events  proved  that  he  was  not  competent  to 
combat  the  casualties  of  life,  or  to  hold  inter- 
course with  those  in  power ;  for  he  was  never 
successful  in  subverting  the  machinations  of  his 
enemies,"  like  those  who  are  adroit  in  the 
management  of  affairs.  Although  he  was  greatly 
beloved  by  the  people,  he  suffered  severely 
from  the  treachery  of  those  who  then  rejected 
the  doctrine  which  prevailed  at  Nicsea.  In  the 
first  place,  he  was  expelled  from  the  church  of 
Constantinople,  as  if  some  accusation  of  mis- 
conduct had  been  established  against  him.'  He 
was  then  condemned  to  banishment,  and  finally, 
it  is  said,  fell  a  victim  to  the  devices  of  his  ene- 
mies, and  was  strangled.  But  these  latter  e\-ents 
took  place  at  a  subsequent  period. 


CHAP.     IV. A     SEDITION    WAS     EXCITED      ON    THE 

ORDINATION    OF    PAUL. 

The  ordination  of  Paul  occasioned  a  great 
commotion  in  the  Church  of  Constantinople.^ 
During  the  life  of  Alexander,  the  Arians  did  not 
act  very  openly  ;  for  the  people  by  being  attentive 
to  him  were  well  governed  and  honored  Divine 
things,  and  especially  beheved  that  the  unex- 
pected occurrence  which  befell  Arius,  whom 
they  believed  met  such  a  death,  was  the  Divine 
wrath,  drawn  down  by  the  imprecations  of  Alex- 
ander. Al'ter  the  death  of  this  bishop,  however, 
the  people  became  divided  into  two  parties,  and 
disputes  and  contests  concerning  doctrines  were 
openly  carried  on.  The  adherents  of  Arius  de- 
sired the  ordination  of  Macedonius,  while  those 
who  maintained  that  the  Son  is  consubstantial 
with  the  Father  wished  to  have  Paul  as  their 
bishop  ;  and  this  latter  party  prevailed.  After 
the  ordination  of  Paul,  the  emperor,  who  chanced 
to  be  away  from  home,  returned  to  Constanti- 
nople, and  manifested  as  much  displeasure  at 
what  had  taken  place  as  though  the  bishopric 
had  been  conferred  upon  an  unworthy  man. 
Througli  the  machinations  of  the  enemies  of 
Paul  a  Synod  was  convened,  and  he  was  expelled 
from  the  Church.  It  handed  over  the  Church 
of  Constantinople  to  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nico- 
media. 


"  afiia<iopos  eiot,  literally  "an  indifferent  life."  St.  Nilus,  St. 
Basil,  and  others  of  the  Christian  Fathers  use  this  phrase  as  opposed 
to  an  ascetic  life. 

"  He  h,ad  been  originally  accused  by  his  presbyter  Macedonius. 
The  accusation,  according  to  Theodoret,  after  his  restoration  was 
sedition  (//.  I'',  ii.  5),  the  crime  usually  imputed  to  the  homoou- 
sians.     Cf.  Athan.  //I'si.  Arian. 

"  .Soc.  ii.  6,  7. 


III.  5.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


285 


CHAl'.  V.  —  JHE  PARTIAL  COUNCIL  OK  ANllOCH  ;  IT 
DEPOSED  ATHANASIUS  ;  IT  SUBSTITUTED  GREGORY  ; 
ITS  TWO  STATEMENTS  OF  THE  FAITH  ;  THOSE  WHO 
AGREED    WITH    THEM. 

So(-)N  after  these    occurrences,   the    emperor 
went    to    Antioch,   a    city    of   Syria.'       Here    a 
church  had  already  been  completed,  which  ex- 
celled in  size  and  beauty.     Constantine  began  to 
build  it  during  his  lifetime,  and  as  the  structure 
had   been  just  finished  by  his  son  Constantius, 
it  was  deemed  a  favorable   opportunity  by  the 
partisans  of  Eusebius,  who  of  old  were  zealous 
for  it,  to  convene   a  council.     They,  therefore, 
with  those  from  various  regions  who  held  their 
sentiments,    met    together   in   Antioch ;  -    their 
bishops   were    about    ninety-seven   in    number. 
Their  professed  object  was  the  consecration  of 
the  newly  finished   church;    but  they  intended 
nothing  else   than  the  abolition  of  the  decrees 
of  the  Nicjean  Council,  and  this  was  fully  proved 
by   the   sequel.      The   Church   of   Antioch   was 
then  governed  by  Placetus,^  who  had  succeeded 
Euphronius.      The    death    of    Constantine    the 
Great  had  taken  place  about  five  years  prior  to 
this  period.     When  all  the  bishops  had  assem- 
bled in  the  presence  of  the  emperor  Constantius, 
the   majority   expressed   great   indignation,  and 
vigorously  accused  Athanasius  of  having  con- 
temned   the    sacerdotal    regulation   which    they 
had  enacted,^  and  taken  possession  of  the  bish- 
opric of  Alexandria  without  first  obtaining  the 
sanction  of  a  council.     They  also  deposed  that 
he  was  the  cause  of  the  death  of  several  persons, 
who  fell  in  a  sedition  excited  by  his  return  ;  and 
that  many  others  had  on  the  same  occasion  been 
arrested  and  delivered  up  to  the  judicial  tribu- 
nals.     By  these   accusations   they  contrived  to 
cast  odium  on  Athanasius,  and  it  was  decreed 
that  Gregory  should  be  invested  with  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  of  Alexandria.     They  then 
turned  to  the  discussion  of  doctrinal  questions, 
and  found  no  fault  with  the  decrees  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Nice.     They  dispatched  letters  to  the  bish- 
ops of  every  city,  in  which  they  declared  that,  as 
they  were  bishops  themselves,  they  had  not  fol- 
lowed Arius.     "  For  how,"  said  they,  "  could  we 
have  been  followers  of  him,  when  he  was  but  a 
presbyter,^  and  we   were   placed    above   him?" 
Since  they  were  the  testers  of  his  faith,  they  had 
readily  received  him  ;  and  they  believed  in  the 
faith  which  had  from  the  beginning  been  handed 
down  by  tradition.     This  they  further  explained 
at  the  bottom  of  their  letter,  but  without  men- 
tioning the  substance  of  the  Father  or  the  Son, 


or  the  term  consubstantial.     They  resorted,  in 
fact,  to  such  ambiguity  of  expression,  that  neither 
the  Arians  nor  the  followers  of  the  decrees  of 
the  Nicsean  Council  could  call  the  arrangement 
of  their   words    into    question,   as   though    they 
were  ignorant  of  the  holy  Scriptures.     They  pur- 
posely  avoided   all   forms   of  expression  which 
were  rejected  by  either  party,  and  only  made 
use  of  those  whicii   were   universally  admitted. 
They  confessed "  that  the  Son  is  with  the  Father, 
that  He  is  the  only  begotten  One,  and  that  He  is 
God,  and  existed  before  all  things ;  and  that  He 
took  flesh  upon  Him,  and  fulfilled  the  will  of  His 
P'ather.    They  confessed  these  and  similar  truths, 
but  they  did  not  describe  the  doctrine  of  the 
Son  being  co-eternal  or  consubstantial  with  the 
Father,    or    the    opposite.      They   subsequently 
changed  their  minds,  it  appears,  about  this  for- 
mulary, and  issued  another,''  which,  I  think,  very 
nearly  resembled  that  of  the  council  of  Nice, 
unless,  indeed,  some  secret  meaning  be  attached 
to  the  words  which  is  not  apparent  to  me.     Al- 
though they  refrained  —  I  know  not  from  what 
motive  —  from   saying  that  the  Son  is   consub- 
stantial, they  confessed   that  He  is  immutable, 
that  His  Divinity  is  not  susceptible  of  change, 
that  He  is  the  perfect  image  of  the  substance, 
and  counsel,  and  power,  and  glory  of  the  Father, 
and  that  He  is  the  first-born  of  every  creature. 
They  stated  that  they  had  found  this  formulary 
of   faith,   and    that    it   was    entirely  written   by 
Lucianus,''  who  was  martyred  in  Nicomedia,  and 
who  was  a  man  highly  approved  and  exceedingly 
accurate  in  the  sacred  Scriptures.     I  know  not 
whether  this  statement  was  really  true,  or  whether 
they  merely  advanced  it  in  order  to  give  weight 
to  their  own   document,  by  connecting  with  it 
the  dignity  of  a  martyr.     Not  only  did  Eusebius 
(who,    on    the    expulsion    of    Paul,    had     been 
transferred  from    Nicomedia   to  the  throne  of 
Constantinople)  participate  in  this  council,  but 
likewise    Acacius,    the    successor    of    Eusebius 
Pamphilus,    Patrophilus,  bishop   of  Scythopolis, 
Theodore,  bishop   of  Heraclea,  formerly  called 
Perinthus,  Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Germanicia,  who 
subsequently  directed  the  Church  of  Constanti- 
nople after  Macedonius,  and  Gregory,  who  had 
been  chosen  to  preside  over  the  Church  of  Alex- 
andria.     It  was  universally  acknowledged  that 
all  these  bishops  held  the  same  sentiments,  such 
as  Dianius,^  bishop  of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia, 
George,  bishop  of  Laodicea  in  Syria,  and  many 
others  who  acted  as  bishops  over  metropolitan 
and  other  distinguished  churches. 


'  Soc.  ii.  7. 

-  Soc.  ii.  8-10.     Soz.  with  independent  matter  borrows  from  the 
same  sources  as  Soc,  one  of  which  is  Athan.  de  Synodis,  22-25. 
•'  aIso  called  Flaccillus.     Soc.  ii.  8. 
^  Cf.  Soc.  ii.  10.  ''  Athan.  de  Synodis,  22. 


"  This  creed  is  given  in  Athati.  (/c  Synodis,  23.  Cf.  Soc.  ii.  10; 
here  only  in  a  suggestion  and  criticism. 

'  Theophronius'  statement  is  passed  over,  and  the  final  creed  is 
here  given  in  summary.     Athan.  de  Synodis,  24,  25. 

"  This  person  was  a  presbyter  of  Antioch.  Cf.  vi.  12;  Philost. 
ii.  12-14;   Ens.  H-  E.  ix.  6. 

"  He  is  also  called  Dianccus. 


286 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  6. 


CHAP.        VI.  EUSEBIUS        SURXAMED        EMESENUS  ; 

GREGORY     ACCEPTED    ALEXANDRIA  ;     ATHANASIUS 
SEEKS    REFUGE    IN    ROME. 

EusEBius,  surnamed  Emesenus,  likewise  at- 
tended the  council.^  He  sprang  from  a  noble 
family  of  Edessa,  a  city  of  Osroenas.  According 
to  the  custom  of  his  country,  he  had  from  his 
youth  upwards,  learned  the  Holy  Word,  and  was 
afterwards  made  acquainted  with  the  learning  of 
the  Greeks,  by  the  teachers  who  then  frequented 
his  native  city.  He  subsequently  acquired  a 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  sacred  literature, 
under  the  guidance  of  Eusebius  Pamphilus  and 
Patrophilus,  the  president  of  Scythopolis.  He 
went  to  Antioch  at  the  time  that  Eustathius  was 
deposed  on  the  accusation  of  Cyrus,  and  lived 
with  Euphronius,  his  successor,  on  terms  of 
intimacy.  He  fled  to  escape  being  invested 
with  the  priestly  dignity,  went  to  Alexandria, 
and  frequented  the  schools  of  the  philosophers. 
After  acquainting  himself  with  their  mode  of 
discipline,  he  returned  to  Antioch  and  dwelt 
with  Placetus,  the  successor  of  Euphronius. 
During  the  time  that  the  council  was  held  in 
that  city,  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
entreated  him  to  accept  the  see  of  Alexandria ; 
for  it  was  thought  that,  by  his  great  reputation  for 
sanctity  and  consummate  eloquence,  he  would 
easily  supplant  Athanasius  in  the  esteem  of 
the  Egyptians.  He,  however,  refused  the  ordi- 
nation, on  the  plea  that  he  could  otherwise  only 
incur  the  ready  hatred  of  the  Alexandrians,  who 
would  have  no  other  bishop  but  Athanasius. 
Gregory  was,  therefore,  appointed  to  the  church 
of  Alexandria,  and  Eusebius  to  that  of  Emesa. 

There  he  suffered  from  a  sedition  ;  for  the 
people  accused  him  of  practicing  that  variety  of 
astronomy  which  is  called  astrological,  and  being 
obliged  to  seek  safety  by  flight,  he  repaired  to 
Laodicea,  and  dwelt  with  George,  bishop  of  that 
city,  who  was  his  particular  friend.  He  after- 
wards accompanied  this  bishop  to  Antioch,  and 
obtained  permission  from  the  bishops  Placetus 
and  Narcissus  to  return  to  Emesa.  He  was 
much  esteemed  by  the  emperor  Constantius, 
and  attended  him  in  his  military  expedition 
against  the  Persians.  It  is  said  that  God 
wrought  miracles  through  his  instrumentality, 
as  is  testified  by  George  of  Laodicea,^  who  has 
related  these  and  other  incidents  about  him. 

But  although  he  was  endowed  with  so  many 
exalted  qualities,  he  could  not  escape  the  jeal- 
ousy of  those  who  are  irritated  by  witnessing  the 
virtues  of  others.  He  endured  the  censure  of 
having  embraced  the  doctrines  of  Sabellius.  At 
the  present  time,  however,  he  voted  with  the 
bishops  who  had  been  convened  at  Antioch.     It 

1  From  his  life  by  George,  bishop  of  Laodicea.    Cf.  Soc.  ii.  9. 
*  Soc.  also  quotes  him  (ii.  9),  and  says  he  wrote  an  Encomium 
of  Eusebius  Emesenus,  ii.  24 


is  said  that  Maximus,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  pur- 
posely, kept  aloof  from  this  council,  because  he 
repented  having  unawares  consented  to  the  dep- 
osition of  Athanasius.'  The  manager  of  the 
Roman  see,  nor  any  representative  from  the  east 
of  Italy,  nor  from  the  parts  beyond  Rome  were 
present  at  Antioch.^  At  the  same  period  of 
time,  the  Franks  devastated  Western  Gaul ;  and 
the  provinces  of  the  East,  and  more  particularly 
Antioch  after  the  Synod,  were  visited  by  tremen- 
dous earthquakes."'  After  the  Synod,  Gregory 
repaired  to  Alexandria  with  a  large  body  of 
soldiers,  who  were  enjoined  to  provide  an  undis- 
turbed and  safe  entrance  into  the  city ;  the 
Arians  also,  who  were  anxious  for  the  expulsion 
of  Athanasius,  sided  with  him.  Athanasius,  fear- 
ful lest  the  people  should  be  exposed  to  suffer- 
ings on  his  account,*'  assem.bled  them  by  night 
in  the  church,  and  when  the  soldiers  came  to 
take  possession  of  the  church,  prayers  having 
been  concluded,  he  first  ordered  a  psalm  to  be 
sung.  During  the  chanting  of  this  psalm  the 
soldiers  remained  without  and  quietly  awaited 
its  conclusion,  and  in  the  meantime  Athanasius 
passed  under  the  singers  and  secretly  made  his 
escape,  and  fled  to  Rome.  In  this  manner 
Gregory  possessed  himself  of  the  see  of  Alex- 
andria. The  indignation  of  the  people  was 
aroused,  and  they  burnt  the  church  which  bore 
the  name  of  Dionysius,  one  of  their  former 
bishops. 

CHAP.  VII. HIGH  PRIESTS  OF  ROME  AND  OF  CON- 
STANTINOPLE ;  RESTORATION  OF  PAUL  AFTER 
EUSEBIUS  ;  THE  SLAUGHTER  OF  HERMOGENES, 
A  GENERAL  OF  THE  ARMY  ;  CONSTANTIUS  CAME 
FROM  ANl'IOCH  AND  REMOVED  PAUL,  AND  WAS 
WRATHFULLY  DISPOSED  TOWARD  THE  CITY  ;  HE 
ALLOWED  IVL4.CEDON1US  TO  BE  IN  DOUBT,  AND  RE- 
TURNED TO  ANTIOCH. 

Thus  were  the  schemes  of  those  who  upheld 
various  heresies  in  opposition  to  truth  success- 
fully carried  into  execution ;  and  thus  did  they 
depose  those  bishops  who  strenuously  maintained 
throughout  the  East  the  supremacy  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Nicaean  Council.  These  heretics 
had  taken  possession  of  the  most  important 
sees,  such  as  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  Antioch  in 
Syria,  and  the  imperial  city  of  the  Hellespont, 
and  they  held  all  the  persuaded  bishops  in  sub- 
jection. The  ruler  of  the  Church  at  Rome  and 
all  the  priests  of  the  West  regarded  these  deeds 
as  a  personal  insult  ;  for  they  had  accorded 
from  the  beginning  with  all  the  decisions  in  the 
vote  made  by  those  convened  at  Nice,  nor  did 
they  now  cease  from  that  way  of  thinking.  On 
the    arrival    of  Athanasius,  they    received    him 


■^  Soc.  ii.  8.  •*  Soc.  ii.  8.  °  Soc.  ii.  10. 

"  Athan.  Ep.  Encyc.  2-7;  Apol.  cottt.  Arian.  30;   Hist.  Arian. 
10-14,  57>  74''   Soc.  ii.  11. 


III.  8.] 


THE    FXCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


287 


kindly,  and  espoused  his  cause  among  them- 
selves. Irritated  at  this  interference,  Eusebius 
wrote  to  Julius,  exhorting  him  to  constitute  him- 
self a  judge  of  the  decrees  that  had  been 
enacted  against  Athanasius  by  the  council  of 
Tyre.^  But  before  he  had  been  able  to  ascertain 
the  sentiments  of  Julius,  and,  indeed,  not  long 
after  the  council  of  Antioch,  Eusebius  died. 
Immediately  upon  this  event,  those  citizens  of 
Constantinople  who  maintained  the  doctrines  of 
the  NicKan  Council,  conducted  Paul  to  the 
church.  At  the  same  time  those  of  the  oppos- 
ing multitude  seized  this  occasion  and  came 
together  in  another  church,  among  whom  were 
the  adherents  of  Theognis,  bishop  of  Nicsea,  of 
Theodore,  bishop  of  Heraclea,  and  others  of  the 
same  party  who  chanced  to  be  present,  and  they 
ordained  Macedonius  bishop  of  Constantinople. 
This  excited  frequent  seditions  in  the  city  which 
assumed  all  the  appearance  of  a  war,  for  the  peo- 
ple fell  upon  one  another,  and  many  perished. 
The  city  was  filled  with  tumult,  so  that  the  em- 
peror, who  was  then  at  Antioch,  on  hearing  of 
what  had  occurred,  was  moved  to  wrath,  and  issued 
a  decree  for  the  expulsion  of  Paul.  Hermogenes, 
general  of  the  cavalry,  endeavored  to  put  this 
edict  of  the  emperor's  into  execution  ;  for  having 
been  sent  to  Thrace,  he  had,  on  the  journey,  to 
pass  by  Constantinople,  and  he  thought,  by 
means  of  his  army,  to  eject  Paul  from  the  church 
by  force.  But  the  people,  instead  of  yielding, 
met  him  with  open  resistance,  and  while  the 
soldiers,  in  order  to  carry  out  the  orders  they 
had  received,  attempted  still  greater  violence, 
the  insurgents  entered  the  house  of  Hermo- 
genes, set  fire  to  it,  killed  him,  and  attaching  a 
cord  to  his  body,  dragged  it  through  the  city.' 
The  emperor  had  no  sooner  received  this  in- 
telligence than  he  took  horse  for  Constantino- 
ple, in  order  to  punish  the  people.  But  he 
spared  them  when  he  saw  them  coming  to  meet 
him  with  tears  and  supplications.  He  deprived 
the  city  of  about  half  of  the  corn  which  his 
father,  Constantine,  had  granted  them  annually 
out  of  the  public  treasury  from  the  tributes  of 
Egypt,  probably  from  the  idea  that  luxury  and 
excess  made  the  populace  idle  and  disposed  to 
sedition.  He  turned  his  anger  against  Paul  and 
commanded  his  expulsion  from  the  city.  He 
manifested  great  displeasure  against  Macedo- 
nius also,  because  he  was  the  occasion  of  the 
murder  of  the  general  and  of  other  individuals  ; 
and  also,  because  he  had  been  ordained  with- 
out first  obtaining  his  sanction.  He,  however, 
returned  to  Antioch,  without  having  either  con- 
firmed or  dissolved  his  ordination.  Meanwhile 
the  zealots  of  the  Arian  tenets  deposed  Gregory, 
because    he    was    indifferent   in  the  support  of 


■  Soc.  ii.  11-14:   Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  22. 
^  Cf.  Am.  Marcel,  xiv.  10.  2. 


their  doctrines,  and  had  moreover  incurred  the 
ill-will  of  the  Alexandrians  on  account  of  the 
calamities  which  had  befallen  the  city  at  his 
entrance,  especially  the  conflagration  of  the 
church.  They  elected  George,  a  native  of 
Cappadocia,  in  his  stead  ;"  this  new  bishop  was 
admired  on  account  of  his  activity  and  his  zeal 
in  support  of  the  Arian  dogma. 


CHAP.  VIII.  —  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  EASTERN  HIGH 
PRIESTS  AT  ROME  ;  LETTER  OF  JULIUS,  BISHOP 
OF  ROME,  CONCERNING  THEM  ;  BY  MEANS  OF 
THE  LEITKRS  OF  JULIUS,  PAUL  AND  ATHANASIUS 
RECEIVE  THEIR  OWN  SEES  ;  CONTENTS  OF  THE 
LETTER  FROM  THE  ARCHPRIESTS  OF  THE  EAST  TO 
JULIUS. 

Athanasius,  on  leaving  Alexandria,  had  fled  to 
Rome.*  Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  Marcel- 
lus,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  and  Asclepas,  bishop  of 
Gaza,  repaired  thither  at  the  same  time.  Asclepas, 
who  was  opposed  to  the  x\rians  and  had  there- 
fore been  deposed,  after  having  been  accused 
by  some  of  the  heterodox  of  having  thrown 
down  an  altar ;  Quintianus  had  been  appointed 
in  his  stead  over  the  Church  of  Gaza.  Lucius  also, 
bishop  of  Adrianople,  who  had  been  deposed 
from  the  church  under  his  care  on  another 
charge,  was  dwelling  at  this  period  in  Rome.  The 
Roman  bishop,  on  learning  the  accusation  against 
each  individual,  and  on  finding  that  they  held 
the  same  sentiments  about  the  Nicsean  dogmas, 
admitted  them  to  communion  as  of  like  ortho- 
doxy ;  and  as  the  care  for  all  was  fitting  to  the 
dignity  of  his  see,  he  restored  them  all  to  their 
own  churches.  He  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  the 
East,  and  rebuked  them  for  having  judged  these 
bishops  unjustly,  and  for  harassing  the  Churches 
by  abandoning  the  Nic?ean  doctrines.  He  sum- 
moned a  -few  among  them  to  appear  before  him 
on  an  appointed  day,  in  order  to  account  to  him 
for  the  sentence  they  had  passed,  and  threatened 
to  bear  with  them  no  longer,  unless  they  would 
cease  to  make  innovations.  This  was  the  tenor 
of  his  letters.  Athanasius  and  Paul  were  rein- 
stated in  their  respective  sees,  and  forwarded 
the  letter  of  Julius  to  the  bishops  of  the  East. 
The  bishops  could  scarcely  brook  such  docu- 
ments, and  they  assembled  together  at  Antioch,* 
and  framed  a  reply  to  Julius,  beautifully  ex- 
pressed and  composed  with  great  legal  skill,  yet 
filled  with  considerable  irony  and  indulging  in 
the  strongest  threats.  They  confessed  in  this 
epistle,  that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  entitled 
to  universal  honor,  because  it  was  the  school  of 
the  apostles,  and  had  become  the  metropolis  of 


3  Soc.  ii.  14.     Cf.  Philost.  iii.  3. 
■*  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  20-35;   Soc.  ii.  15. 
than  Soc. 

6  From  Sabinus?    Cf.  Soc.  u.  15. 


Soz.  is  more  extended 


288 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  8. 


piety  from  the  outset,  although  the  introducers 
of  the  doctrine  had  settled  there  from  the  East. 
They  added  that  the  second  place  in  point  of 
honor  ought  not  to  be  assigned  to  them,  because 
they  did  not  have  the  advantage  of  size  or  num- 
ber in  'their  churches ;  for  they  excelled  the 
Romans  in  virtue  and  determination.  They 
called  Julius  to  account  for  having  admitted  the 
followers  of  Athanasius  into  communion,  and 
expressed  their  indignation  against  him  for  hav- 
ing insulted  their  Synod  and  abrogated  their 
decrees,  and  they  assailed  his  transactions  as 
unjust  and  discordant  with  ecclesiastical  right. 
After  these  censures  and  protestations  against 
such  grievances,  they  proceeded  to  state,  that  if 
Julius  would  acknowledge  the  deposition  of  the 
bishops  wliom  they  had  expelled,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  those  whom  they  had  ordained  in 
their  stead,  they  would  promise  peace  and  fel- 
lowship ;  but  that,  unless  he  would  accede  to 
these  terms,  they  would  openly  declare  their 
opposition.  They  added  that  the  priests  who 
had  preceded  them  in  the  government  of  the 
Eastern  churches  had  offered  no  opposition  to 
the  deposition  of  Novatian,  by  the  Church  of 
Rome.  They  made  no  allusion  in  their  letter 
to  any  deviations  they  had  manifested  from  the 
doctrines  of  the  council  of  Nice,  but  merely 
stated  they  had  various  reasons  to  allege  in  justi- 
fication of  the  course  they  had  pursued,  and  that 
they  considered  it  unnecessary  to  enter  at  that 
time  upon  any  defense  of  their  conduct,  as  they 
were  suspected  of  having  violated  justice  in 
every  respect. 


CH.'^P.    IX. EJECTION    OF    PAUL   AND   ATHANASIUS; 

MACEDONIUS    IS     INVESTED    WITH    THE     GOVERN- 
MENT   OF   THE    CHURCH    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

After  having  written  in  this  strain  to  Julius, 
the  bishops  of  the  East  brought  accusations 
against  those  whom  they  had  deposed  before 
the  emperor  Constantius.^  Accordingly,  the  em- 
peror, who  was  then  at  Antioch,  wrote  to  Philip, 
the  prefect  of  Constantinople,  commanding  him 
to  surrender  the  Church  to  Macedonius,  and  to 
expel  Paul  from  the  city.  The  prefect  feared 
the  commotion  among  the  people,  and  before 
the  order  of  the  emperor  could  be  divulged,  he 
repaired  to  the  public  bath  which  is  called 
Zeuxippus,  a  conspicuous  and  large  structure, 
and  summoned  Paul,  as  if  he  wished  to  converse 
with  him  on  some  affairs  of  general  interest;  as 
soon  as  he  had  arrived,  he  showed  him  the  edict 
of  the  emperor.  Paul  was,  according  to  orders, 
secretly  conducted  through  the  palace  contigu- 
ous to  the  bath,  to  the  seaside,  and  placed  on 


»  Soc.  ii.  i6,  17;    Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  7;   and  Aiol.  de  fuca 
sua,  3,  6-8.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  5.  -^  ^ 


board  a  vessel  and  was  sent  to  Thessalonica, 
whence,  it  is  said,  his  ancestors  originally  came. 
He  was  strictly  prohibited  from  approaching  the 
Eastern  regions,  but  was  not  forbidden  to  visit 
lUyria  and  the  remoter  provinces. 

On  quitting  the  court  room,  Philip,  accompa- 
nied by  Macedonius,  proceeded  to  the  church. 
The  people,  who  had  in  the  meantime  befen  as- 
sembhng  together  in  untold  numbers,  quickly 
filled  the  church,  and  the  two  parties  into  which 
they  were  divided,  namely,  the  supporters  of  the 
Arian  heresy  and  the  followers  of  Paul  respec- 
tively, strove  to  take  possession  of  the  building. 
When  the  prefect  and  Macedonius  arrived  at  the 
gates  of  the  church,  the  soldiers  endeavored  to 
force  back  the  people,  in  order  to  make  way  for 
these  dignitaries,  but  as  they  were  so  crowded 
together,  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  recede, 
since  they  were  closely  packed  to  the  farthest 
point,  or  to  make  way  ;  the  soldiers,  under  the  im- 
pression that  the  crowd  was  unwilling  to  retire, 
slew  many  with  their  swords,  and  a  great  number 
were  killed  by  being  trampled  upon.  The  edict 
of  the  emperor  was  thus  accomplished,  and 
Macedonius  received  the  Churches,  while  Paul 
was  unexpectedly  ejected  from  the  Church  in 
Constantinople. 

Athanasius  in  the  meantime  had  fled,  and  con- 
cealed himself,  fearing  the  menace  of  the  em- 
peror Constantius,  for  he  had  threatened  to  punish 
him  with  death  ;  for  the  heterodox  had  made  the 
emperor  believe  that  he  was  a  seditious  person, 
and  that  he  had,  on  his  return  to  the  bishopric, 
occasioned  the  death  of  several  persons.  But 
the  anger  of  the  emperor  had  been  chiefly  ex- 
cited by  the  representation  that  Athanasius  had 
sold  the  provisions  which  the  emperor  Constan- 
tine  had  bestowed  on  the  poor  of  Alexandria, 
and  had  appropriated  the  price. 


CKW.    X. THE   BISHOP  OF  ROME  WRITES  TO  THE 

BISHOPS  OF  THE  EAST  IN  FAVOR  OF  ATHANASIUS, 
AND  THEY  SEND  AN  EMBASSY  TO  ROME  WHO,  WITH 
THE  BISHOP  OF  ROME,  ARE  TO  INVESTIGATE  THE 
CHARGES  AGAINST  THE  EASTERN  BISHOPS  ;  THIS 
DEPUTATION  IS  DISMISSED  BY  CONSTANS,  THE 
C^SAR. 

The  bishops  of  Egypt,-  having  sent  a  declara- 
tion in  writing  that  these  allegations  were  false, 
and  Julius  having  been  apprised  that  Athanasius 
was  far  from  being  in  safety  in  Egypt,  sent  for 
him  to  his  own  city.  He  replied  at  the  same 
time  to  the  letter  of  the  bishops  who  were  con- 
vened at  Antioch,  for  just  then  he  happened  to 
have  received  their  epistle,"  and  accused  them 
of  having  clandestinely  introduced   innovations 

2  Athan.  Afiol.  cont.  Arian.  3-19. 

^  Id.  20-35,  36:  Soc.  ii.  17,  18.  Soz.  gives  more  points.  Soc. 
accuses  Sabinus  of  omitting  the  Julian  letters. 


III.  II.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


289 


contrary  to  the  dogmas  of  the  Nicene  council, 
and  of  having  violated  the  laws  of  the  Church, 
by  neglecting  to  invite  him  to  join  their  Synod  ; 
for  he  alleged  that  there  is  a  sacerdotal  canon 
which  declares  that  whatever  is  enacted  contrary 
to  the  juiigment  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  is  null. 
He  also  reproached  them  for  having  deviated 
from  justice  in  all  their  proceedings  against 
Athanasius,  both  at  Tyre  and  Mareotis,  and 
stated  that  the  decrees  enacted  at  the  former 
city  had  been  annulled,  on  account  of  the  cal- 
umny concerning  the  hand  of  Arsenius,  and  at 
the  latter  city,  on  account  of  the  absence  of 
Athanasius.  Last  of  all  he  reprehended  the 
arrogant  style  of  their  epistle. 

Julius  was  induced  by  all  these  reasons  to 
undertake  the  defense  of  Athanasius  and  of  Paul : 
the  latter  had  arrived  in  Italy  not  long  previ- 
ously, and  had  lamented  bitterly  these  calamities. 
When  Julius  perceived  that  what  he  had  written 
to  those  who  held  the  sacerdotal  dignity  in  the 
East  was  of  no  avail,  he  made  the  matter  known 
to  Constans  the  emperor.  Accordingly,  Con- 
stans  wrote  to  his  brother  Constantius,  request- 
ing him  to  send  some  of  the  bishops  of  the 
East,  that  they  might  assign  a  reason  for  the 
edicts  of  deposition  which  they  had  passed. 
Three  bishops  were  selected  for  this  purpose ; 
namely.  Narcissus,  bishop  of  Irenopolis,  in  Cili- 
cia ;  Theodore,  bishop  of  Heraclea,  in  Thrace  ; 
and  Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa,  in  Syria.  On 
their  arrival  in  Italy,  they  strove  to  justify  their 
actions  and  to  persuade  the  emperor  that  the 
sentence  passed  by  the  Eastern  Synod  was  just. 
Being  required  to  produce  a  statement  of  their 
belief,  they  concealed  the  formulary  they  had 
drawn  up  at  Antioch,  and  presented  another 
written  confession  ^  which  was  equally  at  vari- 
ance with  the  doctrines  approved  at  Nicaea. 
Constans  perceived  that  they  had  unjustly  en- 
trapped both  Paul  and  Athanasius,  and  had 
ejected  them  from  communion,  not  for  charges 
against  his  conduct,  as  the  depositions  held,  but 
simply  on  account  of  differences  in  doctrine  ;  and 
he  accordingly  dismissed  the  deputation  without 
giving  any  credit  to  the  representations  for  which 
they  had  come. 


CHAP.  XI. THE  LOXG  FORMULARY  AND  THE  EN- 
ACTMENTS ISSUED  BY  THE  SYNOD  OF  SARDICA. 
JULIUS,  BISHOP  OF  ROME,  AND  HOSIUS,  THE 
SPANISH  BISHOP,  DEPOSED  BY  THE  BISHOPS  OF 
THE  EAST,  BECAUSE  THEY  HELD  COMMUNION 
WITH    ATH.ANASIUS    AND    THE    REST. 

Three  years  afterwards,  the    bishops  of  the 
East"  sent  to  those  of  the  West  a  formulary  of 

1  Athan.  de  Synodis,  25,  and  given  in  full  by  Soc.  ii.  18. 

2  Athan.  de  Synodis,  26,  in  ten  heads,  and  givtn  by  Soc.  ii.  19, 
and  with  like  introduction. 


faith,  which,  because  it  had  been  framed  with 
verbiage  and  thoughts  in  excess  of  any  former 
confession,  was  called  ixuKpoa-rixos  (.kB(.(tl<;J^  Li 
this  formulary  they  made  no  mention  of  the 
substance  of  God,  but  those  are  excommuni- 
cated who  maintain  that  the  Son  arose  out  of 
what  had  no  previous  existence,  or  that  He  is  of 
another  hypostasis,  and  not  of  God,  or  that  there 
was  a  time  or  an  age  in  which  He  existed  not. 
Eudoxius,  who  was  still  bishop  of  Germanicia, 
Martyrius,  and  Macedonius,  carried  this  docu- 
ment, but  the  Western  priests  did  not  entertain 
it ;  for  they  declared  that  they  felt  fully  satisfied 
with  the  doctrines  established  at  Nicaea,  and 
thought  it  entirely  unnecessary  to  be  too  curious 
about  such  points. 

After  the  Emperor  Constans''  had  requested 
his  brother  to  reinstate  the  followers  of  Athana- 
sius in  their  sees,  and  had  found  his  application 
to  be  unavailing,  on  account  of  the  counteract- 
ing influence  of  those  who  adopted  a  hostile 
heresy ;  and  when,  moreover,  the  party  of  Atha- 
nasius and  Paul  entreated  Constans  to  assemble 
a  Synod  on  account  of  the  plots  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  orthodox  doctrines,  both  the  emperors 
were  of  the  opinion  that  the  bishops  of  the 
East  and  of  the  West  should  be  convened  on  a 
certain  day  at  Sardica,  a  city  of  Illyria.  The 
bishops  of  the  East,  who  had  previously  assem- 
bled at  Philippopolis,  a  city  of  Thrace,  wrote  to 
the  bishops  of  the  West,  who  had  already  as- 
sembled at  Sardica,  that  they  would  not  join 
them,  unless  they  would  eject  the  followers  of 
Athanasius  from  their  assembly,  and  from  com- 
munion with  them,  because  they  had  been  de- 
posed. They  afterwards  went  to  Sardica,  but 
declared  they  would  not  enter  the  church,  while 
those  who  had  been  deposed  by  them  were 
admitted  thither.  The  bishops  of  the  West 
replied,  that  they  never  had  ejected  them,  and 
that  they  would  not  yield  this  now,  particularly 
as  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome,  after  having  investi- 
gated the  case,  had  not  condemned  them,  and 
that  besides,  they  were  present  and  ready  to  jus- 
tify themselves  and  to  refute  again  the  offenses 
imputed  to  them.  These  declarations,  however, 
were  of  no  avail ;  and  since  the  time  they  had 
appointed  for  the  adjustment  of  their  differences, 
concerning  which  they  had  convened,  had  ex- 
pired, they  finally  wrote  letters  to  one  another 
on  these  points,  and  by  these  they  were  led  to 
an  increase  of  their  previous  ill-will.  And  after 
they  had  convened  separately,  they  brought  for- 
ward opposite  decisions  ;  for  the  Eastern  bishops 
confirmed  the  sentences  they  had  already  en- 
acted against  Athanasius,  Paul,  Marcellus,  and 
Asclepas,  and  deposed  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome, 

- 

3  For  the  whole  section,  Soc.  ii.  19.  20;  Athan.  de  Synodis,  26. 
Cf.  Hil.  Frag.  ii.  and  iii.;  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  36. 
■•  Soc.  ii.  20,  but  Soz.  has  other  details. 


290 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  II. 


because  he  had  been  the  first  to  admit  those 
who  had  been  condemned  by  them,  into  com- 
munion ;  and  Hosius,  the  confessor,  was  also 
deposed,  partly  for  the  same  reason,  and  partly 
because  he  was  the  friend  of  Paulinus  and  Eu- 
stathius,  the  rulers  of  the  church  in  Antioch. 
Alaximus,  bishop  of  Treves,  was  deposed,  be- 
cause he  had  been  among  the  first  who  had  re- 
ceived Paul  into  communion,  and  had  been  the 
cause  of  his  returning  to  Constantinople,  and 
because  he  had  excluded  from  communion  the 
Eastern  bishops  who  had  repaired  to  Gaul. 
Besides  the  above,  they  likewise  deposed  Proto- 
genes,  bishop  of  Sardica,  and  Gaudentius  ;  ^  the 
one  because  he  favored  Marcellus,  although  he 
had  previously  condemned  him,  and  the  other 
because  he  had  adopted  a  different  fine  of  con- 
duct from  that  of  Cyriacus,  his  predecessor,  and 
had  supported  many  individuals  then  deposed  by 
them.  After  issuing  these  sentences,  they  made 
known  to  the  bishops  of  every  region,  that  they 
were  not  to  hold  communion  with  those  who 
were  deposed,  and  that  they  were  not  to  write 
to  them,  nor  to  receive  letters  from  them.  They 
likewise  commanded  them  to  believe  what  was 
said  concerning  God  in  the  formulary  which 
they  subjoined  to  their  letter,  and  in  which  no 
mention  was  made  of  the  term  "  consubstan- 
tial,"  but  in  which,  those  were  excommunicated 
who  said  there  are  three  Gods,  or  that  Christ  is 
not  God,  or  that  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  are  the  same,  or  that  the  Son  is  un- 
begotten,  or  that  there  was  a  time  or  an  age  in 
which  He  existed  not.- 


CHAP.      XII. THE      BISHOPS      OF     THE     PARTY     OF 

JULIUS  AND  HOSIUS  HELD  ANOTHER  SESSION  AND 
DEPOSED  THE  KASTERN  HIGH  PRIESTS,  AND  ALSO 
MADE    A    FORMULARY    OF    FAITH. 

The  adherents  of  Hosius,''  in  the  meantime, 
assembled  together,  and  declared  them  innocent : 
Athanasius,  because  unjust  machinations  had 
been  carried  on  against  him  by  those  who  had 
convened  at  Tyre  ;  and  Marcellus,  because  he 
did  not  hold  the  opinions  with  which  he  was 
charged  ;  and  Asclepas,  because  he  had  been 
re-established  in  his  diocese  by  the  vote  of  Euse- 
bius  Pamphilus  and  of  many  other  judges  ;  that 
this  was  true  he  proved  by  the  records  of  th'e 
trial ;  and  lastly,  Lucius,  because  his  accusers 
had  fled.  They  wrote  to  the  parishes  of  each  of 
the  acquitted,  commanding  them  to  receive  and 
recognize  their  bishops.  They  stated  that  Greg- 
ory had  not  been  nominated  by  them  bishop  of 


•  He  was  bishop  of  Naissus  in  Moesia  Superior. 

'  This  section  concerning  the  .Synod  of  the  Eastern  bishops  is 
probably  from  Sabinus.     Cf.  Hil.  Frng.  in. 

^  .■\than.  Apol.  emit.  Ari'an.  36-50;  Hil.  Fras^.  ii.  and  iii.; 
Soc.  11.  20,  22.  Cf.  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  i6.  Soz.  iised  the  same 
source  as  Soc,  but  independently. 


Alexandria ;  nor  Basil,  bishop  of  Ancyra  ;  nor 
Quintianus,  bishop  of  Gaza ;  and  that  they  had 
not  received  these  men  into  communion,  and 
did  not  even  account  them  Christians.  They 
deposed  from  the  episcopates,  Theodore,  bishop 
of  Thrace ;  Narcissus,  bishop  of  Irenopolis ; 
x'\cacius,  bishop  of  Csesarea,  in  Palestine;  Meno- 
phantus,  bishop  of  Ephesus  ;  Ursacius,  bishop  of 
Sigidunus  in  Moesia ;  Valens,  bishop  of  Mursia 
in  Pannonia ;  and  George,  bishop  of  Laodicea, 
although  this  latter  had  not  attended  the  Synod 
with  the  Eastern  bishops.  They  ejected  the 
above-named  individuals  from  the  priesthood 
and  from  communion,  because  they  separated 
the  Son  from  the  substance  of  the  Father,  and 
had  received  those  who  had  been  formerly  de- 
posed on  account  of  their  holding  the  Arian 
heresy,  and  had,  moreover,  promoted  them  to 
the  highest  offices  in  the  service  of  God.  After 
they  had  excided  them  for  these  perversions  and 
decreed  them  to  be  aliens  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
they  afterwards  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  every 
nation,*  commanding  them  to  confirm  these  de- 
crees, and  to  be  of  one  mind  on  doctrinal  sub- 
jects with  themselves.  They  likewise  compiled 
another  document  of  faith,  which  was  more 
copious  than  that  of  Nicaea,  although  the  same 
thought  was  carefully  preserved,  and  very  little 
change  was  made  in  the  words  of  that  instru- 
ment. Hosius  and  Protogenes,  who  held  the 
first  rank  among  the  Western  bishops  assembled 
at  Sardica,  fearing  perhaps  lest  they  should  be 
suspected  of  making  any  innovations  upon  the 
doctrines  of  the  Nicene  council,  wrote  to 
Julius,'  and  testified  that  they  were  firmly  at- 
tached to  these  doctrines,  but,  pressed  by  the 
need  of  perspicuity,  they  had  to  expand  the 
identical  thought,  in  order  that  the  Arians  might 
not  take  advantage  of  the  brevity  of  the  docu- 
ment, to  draw  those  who  were  unskilled  in  dia- 
lectics into  some  absurdity.  \Mien  what  I  have 
related  had  been  transacted  by  each  party,  the 
conference  was  dissolved,  and  the  members  re- 
turned to  their  respective  homes.  This  Synod 
was  held  during  the  consulate  of  Rufinus  and 
Eusebius,  and  about  eleven  years  after  the  death 
of  Constant! ne."  There  were  about  three  hun- 
dred' bishops  of  cities  in  the  West,  and  upwards 
of  seventy-six  Eastern  bishops,  among  whom 
was  Ischyrion,  who  had  been  appointed  bishop 
of  Mareotis  by  the  enemies  of  Athanasius. 

CH.\P.    XIII. AFTER   TITE    SYNOD,    THE     EAST    AND 

the   west    are    separated  ;     THE    WEST   NOBLY 


■•  This  letter  is  in  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  44-49;  and  cf. 
Theod. //..£•.  ii.  8;  Hil. /^rrt^.  li. 

'"'  This  epistle  is  nowliere  extant.  Giildenpenning  suggests  Sabi- 
nus as  the  source,  but  hardly  from  the  statement  which  Socrates 
makes  as  to  Sabinian  partiality. 

'■  A.D.  347-8.     But  A.D.  344  is  probably  the  true  date. 

'  So  Soc. ;  but  Theodoret  says  250,  ii.  7. 


III.  14.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


291 


ADHERES  TO  THE  FAITH  OF  THE  NICENE  COUN- 
CIL, WHILE  THE  EAST  IS  DISTURBED  BY  CON- 
TENTION   HERE   AND   THERE    OVICR    THIS     DOGMA. 

After  this  Synod,  the  F^astern  and  the  West- 
ern churches  ceased  to  maintain  the  intercourse 
which  usually  exists  among  people  of  the  same 
faith,  and  refrained  from  holding  communion 
with  each  other.'  The  Christians  of  the  West 
separated  themselves  from  all  as  for  as  Thrace ; 
those  of  the  East  as  far  as  Illyria.  This  divided 
state  of  the  churches  was  mixed,  as  might  be 
supposed,  with  dissentient  views  and  calumnies. 
Although  they  had  previously  differed  on  doc- 
trinal subjects,  yet  the  evil  had  attained  no  great 
height,  for  they  had  still  held  communion  to- 
gether and  were  wont  to  have  kindred  feelings. 
The  Church  throughout  the  whole  of  the  West 
in  its  entirety  regulated  itself  by  the.  doctrines 
of  the  Fathers,  and  kept  aloof  from  all  con- 
tentions and  hair-splitting  about  dogma.  Al- 
though Auxentius,  who  had  become  bishop  of 
Milan,  and  Valens  and  Ursacius,  bishops  of 
Pannonia,  had  endeavored  to  lead  that  part 
of  the  empire  into  the  Arian  doctrines,  their 
efforts  had  been  carefully  anticipated  by  the 
president  of  the  Roman  see  and  the  other 
priests,  who  cut  out  the  seeds  of  such  a  trouble- 
some heresy.  As  to  the  Eastern  Church,  al- 
though it  had  been  racked  by  dissension  since 
the  time  of  the  council  of  Antioch,  and  although 
it  had  already  openly  differed  from  the  Nicaean 
form  of  belief,  yet  I  think  it  is  true  that  the 
opinion  of  the  majority  united  in  the  same 
thought,  and  confessed  the  Son  to  be  of  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Father.  There  were  some,  how- 
ever, who  were  fond  of  wrangling  and  battled 
against  the  term  "  consubstantial  "  ;  for  those  who 
had  been  opposed  to  the  word  at  the  beginning, 
thought,  as  I  infer,  and  as  happens  to  most  peo- 
ple, that  it  would  be  a  disgrace  to  appear  as 
conquered.  Others  were  finally  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  the  doctrines  concerning  God,  by  the 
habit  of  frequent  disputation  on  these  themes, 
and  ever  afterwards  continued  firmly  attached  to 
them.  Others  again,  being  aware  that  conten- 
tions ought  not  to  arise,  inclined  toward  that 
which  was  gratifying  to  each  of  the  sides,  on 
account  of  the  influence,  either  of  friendship  or 
they  were  swayed  by  the  various  causes  which 
often  induce  men  to  embrace  what  they  ought 
to  reject,  and  to  act  without  boldness,  in  cir- 
cumstances which  require  thorough  conviction. 
Many  others,  accounting  it  absurd  to  consume 
their  time  in  altercations  about  words,  ([uietly 
adopted  the  sentiments  inculcated  by  the  coun- 
cil of  Nicsea.  Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
Athanasius,    bishop    of   Alexandria,    the    entire 

^  Soc.  ii.  22.     The   rest  of  the  chapter  is  marked  by  an  inde- 
pendent survey  of  the  division. 


multitude  of  monks,  Antony  the.  Great,  who  still 
survived,  his  disciples,  and  a  great  number  of 
EgyjJtians  and  of  other  places  in  the  Roman 
territory,  firmly  and  openly  maintained  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Nicasan  council  throughout  the 
other  regions  of  the  East.  As  I  have  been  led  to 
allude  to  the  monks,  I  shall  briefly  mention  those 
who  flourished  during  the  reign"  of  Constantius. 


CHAP.  XIV.  OF  THE  HOLY  MEN  WHO  FLOUR- 
ISHED ABOUT  THIS  TIME  IN  EGYPT,  NAMELY, 
ANTONY,  THE  TWO  MACARIUSES,  HERACLIUS, 
CRONIUS,  PAPHNUTIUS,  PUTUBASTUS,  ARSISIUS, 
SERAPION,  PITURION,  PACHOMIUS,  APOLLONIUS, 
ANUPH,  HILARION,  AND  A  REGISTER  OF  MANY 
OTHER   SAINTS. 

I  SHALL  commence  my  recital-  with  Egypt 
and  the  two  men  named  Macarius,  who  were  the 
celebrated  chiefs  of  Scetis  and  of  the  neighbor- 
ing mountain ;  the  one  was  a  native  of  Egypt, 
the  other  was  called  Politicus,  because  he  was  a 
citizen  and  was  of  Alexandrian  origin.  They 
were  both  so  wonderfully  endowed  with  Divine 
knowledge  and  philosophy,  that  the  demons  re- 
garded them  with  terror,  and  they  wrought  many 
extraordinary  works  and  miraculous  cures.  The 
Egyptian,  the  story  says,  restored  a  dead  man  to 
life,  in  order  to  convince  a  heretic  of  the  truth 
of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  He  lived 
about  ninety  years,  sixty  of  which  he  passed  in 
the  deserts.  When  in  his  youth  he  commenced 
the  study  of  philosophy,  he  progressed  so  rapidly, 
that  the  monks  surnamed  him  "  old  child,''  and 
at  the  age  of  forty  he  was  ordained  presbyter. 
The  other  Macarius  became  a  presbyter  at  a  later 
period  of  his  life  ;  he  was  proficient  in  all  the 
exercises  of  asceticism,  some  of  which  he  devised 
himself,  and  what  particulars  he  heard  among 
other  ascetics,  he  carried  through  to  success  in 
every  form,  so  that  by  thoroughly  drying  up  his 
skin,  the  hairs  of  his  beard  ceased  to  grow. 
Pambo,  Heraclides,  Cronius,  Paphnutius,  Putu- 
bastus,  Arsisius,  Serapion  the  Great,  Piturion,  who 
dwelt  near  Thebes,  and  Pachomius,  the  founder 
of  the  monks  called  the  Tabennesians,  flourished 
at  the  same  place  and  period.  The  attire  and 
government  of  this  sect  differed  in  some  respects 
from  those  of  other  monks.  Its  members  were, 
however,  devoted  to  virtue,  they  contemned  the 
things  of  earth,  excited  the  soul  to  heavenly  con- 
templation, and  prepared  it  to  quit  the  body 
with  joy.  They  were  clothed  in  skins  in  remem- 
brance of  Elias,  it  appears  to  me,  because  they 

-  This  chapter  is  made  up  from  a  great  variety  of  sources,  as 
well  as  personal  observation.  Prominent  among  these  are  Ruf. 
H.  M.  and  H.  E.;  Pall.  H.  L.:  .Syrian  biographies;  Ephraim 
Syrus,  I'ita  Julinni;  Athan.  I'iia  Aniouii;  Timotheus'  collec- 
tion of  monastic  biography,  mentioned  in  Soz.  vi.  29;  Hieron.  de 
7nr.  iUttst.;  Evagrius  Ponticus,  Giwsticiis;  Philippus  of  Side, 
Historia  Christiana;  Snip.  Ssv.  de  I'ita  Martini. 


292 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  14. 


thought  that  the  virtue  of  the  prophet  would  be 
thus  always  retained  in  their  memory,  and  that 
they  would  be  enabled,  like  him  to  resist  manfully 
the  seductions  of  amorous  pleasures,  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  similar  zeal,  and  be  incited  to  the 
practice  of  sobriety  by  the  hope  of  an  equal  re- 
ward. It  is  said  that  the  peculiarvestments  of  these 
Egyptian  monks  had  reference  to  some  secret 
connected  with  their  philosophy,  and  did  not 
differ  from  those  of  others  without  some  adequate 
cause.  They  wore  their  tunics  without  slee\'es, 
in  order  to  teach  that  the  hands  ought  not  to  be 
ready  to  do  presumptuous  evil.  They  wore  a 
covering  on  their  heads  called  a  cowl,  to  show 
that  they  ought  to  live  with  the  same  innocence 
and  purity  as  infants  Avho  are  nourished  with 
milk,  and  wear  a  covering  of  the  same  form. 
Their  girdle,  and  a  species  of  scarf,  which  they 
wear  across  the  loins,  shoulders,  and  arms,  ad- 
monish them  that  they  ought  to  be  always  ready 
in  the  service  and  work  of  God.  I  am  aware 
that  other  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  their 
peculiarity  of  attire,  but  what  I  have  said  appears 
to  me  to  be  sufficient.  It  is  said  that  Pachomius 
at  first  practiced  philosophy  alone  in  a  cave,  but 
that  a  holy  angel  appeared  to  him,  and  com- 
manded him  to  call  together  some  young  monks, 
and  live  with  them,  for  he  had  succeeded  well  in 
pursuing  philosophy  by  himself,  and  to  train  them 
by  the  laws  which  were  about  to  be  delivered  to 
him,  and  now  he  was  to  possess  and  benefit  many 
as  a  leader  of  communities.  A  tablet  was  then 
given  to  him,  which  is  still  carefully  preserved. 
Upon  this  tablet  were  inscribed  injunctions  by 
which  he  was  bound  to  permit  every  one  to  eat,  to 
drink,  to  work,  and  to  fast,  according  to  his  capa- 
bilities of  so  doing ;  those  who  ate  heartily  were 
to  be  subjected  to  arduous  labor,  and  the  ascetic 
were  to  have  more  easy  tasks  assigned  them ;  he 
was  commanded  to  have  many  cells  erected,  in 
each  of  which  three  monks  were  to  dwell,  who 
were  to  take  their  meals  at  a  common  refectory 
in  silence,  and  to  sit  around  the  table  with  a  veil 
thrown  over  the  face,  so  that  they  might  not  be 
able  to  see  each  other  or  anything  but  the  table 
and  what  was  set  before  them ;  they  were  not  to 
admit  strangers  to  eat  with  them,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  travelers,  to  whom  they  were  to  show 
hospitality  ;  those  who  desired  to  live  with  them, 
were  first  to  undergo  a  probation  of  three  years, 
during  which  time  the  most  laborious  tasks  were 
to  be  done,  and,  by  this  method  they  could  share 
in  their  community.  They  were  to  clothe  them- 
selves in  skins,  and  to  wear  woolen  tiaras  adorned 
with  purple  nails,  and  linen  tunics  and  girdles. 
They  were  to  sleep  in  their  tunics  and  garments  of 
skin,  reclining  on  long  chairs  specially  constructed 
by  being  closed  on  each  side,  so  that  it  could  liold 
the  material  of  each  couch.  On  the  first  and  Inst 
daysof  the  week  theyweretoapproach  the  altar  for 


the  communion  in  the  holy  mysteries,  and  were 
then  to  unloose  their  girdles  and  throw  off  their 
robes  of  skin.  They  were  to  pray  twelve  times 
every  day  and  as  often  during  the  evening,  and 
were  to  offer  up  the  same  number  of  prayers 
during  the  night.  At  the  ninth  hour  they  were 
to  pray  thrice,  and  when  about  to  partake  of  food 
they  were  to  sing  a  psalm  before  each  prayer. 
The  whole  community  was  to  be  divided  into 
twenty-four  classes,  each  of  which  was  to  be  distin- 
guished by  one  of  the  letters  of  the  Greek  alpha- 
bet, and  so  that  each  might  have  a  cognomen 
fitting  to  the  grade  of  its  conduct  and  habit. 
Thus  the  name  of  Iota  was  given  to  the  more 
simple,  and  that  of  Zeta  or  of  Xi  to  the  crooked, 
and  the  names  of  the  other  letters  were  chosen 
according  as  the  purpose  of  the  order  most 
fittingly  answered  the  form  of  the  letter. 

These  were  the  laws^  by  which  Pachomius 
ruled  his  own  disciples.  He  was  a  man  who 
loved  men  and  was  beloved  of  God,  so  that  he 
could  foreknow  future  events,  and  was  frequently 
admitted  to  intercourse  with  the  holy  angels. 
He  resided  at  Tabenna,  in  Thebais,  and  hence 
the  name  Tabennesians,  which  still  continues.  By 
adopting  these  rules  for  their  government,  they 
became  very  renowned,  and  in  process  of  time 
increased  so  vastly,  that  they  reached  to  the  num- 
ber of  seven  thousand  men.  But  the  community  on 
the  island  of  Tabenna  with  which  Pachomius  lived, 
consisted  of  about  thirteen  hundred  ;  the  others 
resided  in  the  Thebais  and  the  rest  of  Egypt. 
They  all  observed  one  and  the  same  rule  of  life, 
and  possessed  everything  in  common.  They 
resrarded  the  communitv  established  in  the  island 
of  Tabenna  as  their  mother,  and  the  rulers  of  it 
as  their  fathers  and  their  princes. 

About  the  same  period,  x\pollonius  became 
celebrated  by  his  profession  of  monastic  philos- 
ophy. It  is  said  that  from  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
devoted  himself  to  philosophy  in  the  deserts, 
and  that  when  he  attained  the  age  of  forty,  he 
went  according  to  a  Divine  command  he  then 
received,  to  dwell  in  regions  inhabited  by  men. 
He  had  likewise  a  community  in  the  Thebais. 
He  was  greatly  beloved  of  God,  and  was  en- 
dowed with  the  power  of  performing  miraculous 
cures  and  notable  works.  He  was  exact  in  the 
observance  of  duty,  and  instructed  others  in 
philosophy  with  great  goodness  and  kindness. 
He  was  acceptable  to  such  a  degree  in  his  pray- 
ers, that  nothing  of  what  he  asked  from  God 
was  denied  him,  but  he  was  so  wise  that  he  al- 
ways proffered  prudent  recpiests  and  such  as  the 
Divine  Being  is  ever  ready  to  grant. 

I  believe  that  .Anuph  the  divine,  lived  about 
this  period.  I  have  been  informed  that  from 
the    time    of    the    persecution,    when    he    first 

'  See  the  Collection  of  Regulse  and  Precepts,  as  translated  by 
Hieron.  ii.  p.  66  sqq. 


ill.  14.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


293 


avowed  his  attachment  to  Christianity,  he  never 
uttered  a  falsehood,  nor  desired  the  things  of 
earth.  All  his  prayers  and  supplications  to  God 
were  duly  answered,  and  he  was  instructed  by  a 
holy  angel  in  every  virtue.  Let,  however,  what 
we  have  said  of  the  Egyptian  monks  suffice. 

The  same  species  of  philosoph)'  was  about  this 
time  cultivated  in  Palestine,  after  being  learned 
in  Egypt,  and  Hilarion  the  divine  then  acquired 
great  celebrity.  He  was  a  native  of  Thabatha,* 
a  village  situated  near  the  town  of  Gaza,  towards 
the  south,  and  hard  by  a  torrent  which  falls  into 
the  sea,  and  received  the  same  name  as  the  village, 
from  the  people  of  that  country.  \Vhen  he  was 
studying  grammar  at  Alexandria,  he  went  out  into 
the  desert  to  see  the  monk  Antony  the  Great, 
and  in  his  company  he  learned  to  adopt  a  like 
philosophy.  After  spending  a  short  time  there, 
he  returned  to  his  own  country,  because  he  was 
not  allowed  to  be  as  quiet  as  he  wished,  on  ac- 
count of  the  multitudes  who  flocked  around 
Antony.  On  finding  his  parents  dead,  he  dis- 
tributed his  patrimony  among  his  brethren  and 
the  poor,  and  without  reserving  anything  what- 
ever for  himself,  he  went  to  dwell  in  a  desert 
situated  near  the  sea,  and  about  twenty  stadia 
from  his  native  village.  His  cell  residence  was  a 
very  little  house,  and  was  constructed  of  bricks, 
chips  and  broken  tiles,  and  was  of  such  a  breadth, 
height,  and  length  that  no  one  could  stand  in  it 
without  bending  the  head,  or  lie  down  in  it  with- 
out drawing  up  the  feet ;  for  in  everything  he 
strove  to  accustom  himself  to  hardship  and  to 
the  subjugation  of  luxurious  ease.  To  none  of 
those  we  have  known  did  he  yield  in  the  high 
reach  of  his  unboastful  and  approved  temper- 
ance. He  contended  against  hunger  and  thirst, 
cold  and  heat,  and  other  afflictions  of  the  body 
and  of  the  soul.  He  was  earnest  in  conduct, 
grave  in  discourse,  and  with  a  good  memory 
and  accurate  attainment  in  Sacred  Writ.  He 
was  so  beloved  by  God,  that  even  now  many 
afflicted  and  possessed  people  are  healed  at  his 
tomb.  It  is  remarkable  that  he  was  first  in- 
terred in  the  island  of  Cyprus,  but  that  his  re- 
mains are  now  deposited  in  Palestine  ;  for  it  so 
happened,  that  he  died  during  his  residence  in 
Cyprus,  and  was  buried  by  the  inhabitants  with 
great  honor  and  respect.  But  Hesychas,  one  of 
the  most  renowned  of  his  disciples,  stole  the 
body,  conveyed  it  to  Palestine,  and  interred  it 
in  his  own  monastery.  From  that  period,  the 
inhabitants  conducted  a  public  and  brilliant  fes- 
tival yearly ;  for  it  is  the  custom  in  Palestine  to 
bestow  this  honor  on  those  among  them,  who 
have  attained  renown  by  their  goodness,  such 
as  Aurelius,   Anthedonius,  Alexion,  a  native    of 

1  According  to  Hieronymus,  P'iia  Hilaronis,  2,  Hilarion  was 
born  in  the  village  of  Thabatha,  which  is  about  five  miles  from 
Gaza;   Thebasa,  according  to  Niceph.  ix.  15. 


Bethagathon,  and  Alaphion,  a  native  of  Asalea, 
who,  during  the  reign  of  Constantius,  lived 
religiously  and  courageously  in  the  practice  of 
philosophy,  and  by  their  personal  virtues  they 
caused  a  considerable  increase  to  the  faith 
among  the  cities  and  villages  tliat  were  still 
under  the  pagan  superstition. 

About  the  same  period,  Julian  practiced 
philosophy  near  Edessa ;  he  attempted  a  very 
severe  and  incorporeal  method  of  life  so  that  he 
seemed  to  consist  of  bones  and  skin  without 
flesh.  The  setting  forth  of  the  history  is  due  to 
Ephraim,  the  Syrian  writer,  who  wro^te  the  story 
of  Julian's  life.  God  himself  confirmed  the 
high  opinion  which  men  had  formed  of  him  ; 
for  He  bestowed  on  him  the  power  of  expelling 
demons  and  of  healing  all  kinds  of  diseases, 
without  having  recourse  to  drugs,  but  simply  by 
prayer. 

Besides  the  above,  many  other  ecclesiastical 
philosophers  flourished  in  the  territories  of 
Edessa  and  Amida,  and  about  the  mountain 
called  Gaugalius  ;  among  these  were  Daniel  and 
Simeon.  But  I  shall  now  say  nothing  further  of 
the  Syrian  monks  ;  I  shall  further  on,  if  God 
will,  describe  them  more  fully .^ 

It  is  said  that  Eustathius;^  who  governed  the 
church  of  Sebaste  in  Armenia,  founded  a  society 
of  monks  in  Armenia,  Paphlagonia,  and  Pontus, 
and  became  the  author  of  a  zealous  discipline, 
both  as  to  what  meats  were  to  be  partaken  of  or  to 
be  avoided,  what  garments  were  to  be  worn,  and 
what  customs  and  exact  course  of  conduct  were 
to  be  adopted.  Some  assert  that  he  was  the 
author  of  the  ascetic  treatises  commonly  at- 
tributed to  Basil  of  Cappadocia.  It  is  said 
that  his  great  exactness  led  him  into  certain 
extravagances  which  were  altogether  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  the  Church.  Many  persons,  how- 
ever, justify  him  from  this  accusation,  and  throw 
the  blame  upon  some  of  his  disciples,  who  con- 
demned marriage,  refused  to  pray  to  God  in  the 
houses  of  married  persons,  despised  married 
presbyters,  fasted  on  Lord's  days,  held  their 
assemblies  in  private  houses,  denounced  the 
rich  as  altogether  without  part  in  the  king- 
dom of  God,  contemned  those  who  partook 
of  animal  food.  They  did  not  retain  the  cus- 
tomary tunics  and  stoles  for  their  dress,  but 
used  a  strange  and  unwonted  garb,  and  made 
many  other  innovations.  Many  women  were 
deluded  by  them,  and  left  their  husbands  ;  but, 
not  being  able  to  practice  continence,  they  fell 
into  adultery.  Other  women,  under  the  pretext 
of  religion,  cut  off  their  hair,  and  behaved  other- 
wise than  is  fitting  to  a  woman,  by  arraying 
themselves  in  men's  apparel.  The  bishops  of 
the   neighborhood  of  Gangroe,   the    metropolis 

-  See  below,  chap.  16,  and  vi.  34. 
2  Soc.  ii.  43. 


294 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  14. 


of  Paphlagonia,  asb'embled  themselves  together, 
and  declared  that  all  those  who  imbibed  these 
opinions  should  be  aUens  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
unless,  according  to  the  definitions  of  the  Synod, 
they  would  renounce  each  of  the  aforesaid  cus- 
toms. It  is  said  that  from  that  time,  Eustathius 
exchanged  his  clothing  for  the  stole,  and  made 
his  journe)'s  habited  like  other  priests,  thus 
proving  that  he  had  not  introduced  and  prac- 
ticed these  novelties  out  of  self-will,  but  for  the 
sake  of  a  godly  asceticism.  He  was  as  renowned 
for  his  discourses  as  for  the  purity  of  his  life. 
To  confess  the  truth,  he  was  not  eloquent,  nor 
had  he  ever  studied  the  art  of  eloquence  ;  yet 
he  had  admirable  sense  and  a  high  capacity  of 
persuasion,  so  that  he  induced  several  men  and 
women,  who  were  li\ing  in  fornication,  to  enter 
upon  a  temperate  and  earnest  course  of  life. 
It  is  related  that  a  certain  man  and  woman, 
who,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Church, 
had  devoted  themselves  to  a  life  of  virginity, 
were  accused  of  cohabiting  together.  He  strove 
to  make  them  cease  from  their  intercourse ; 
finding  that  his  remonstrances  produced  no 
effect  upon  them,  he  sighed  deeply,  and  said, 
that  a  woman  who  had  been  legally  married 
had,  on  one  occasion,  heard  him  discourse  on 
the  adv^antage  of  continence,  and  was  thereby 
so  deeply  affected  that  she  voluntarily  abstained 
from  legitimate  intercourse  with  her  own  hus- 
band, and  that  the  weakness  of  his  powers  of 
conviction  was,  on  the  other  hand,  attested  by 
the  fact,  that  the  parties  above  mentioned  per- 
sisted in  their  illegal  course.  Such  were  the 
men  who  originated  the  practice  of  monastic 
discipline  in  the  regions  above  mentioned. 

Although  the  Thracians,  the  Illyrians,  and  the 
other  European  nations  were  still  inexperienced 
in  monastic  communities,  yet  they  were  not 
altogether  lacking  in  men  devoted  to  philoso- 
phy. Of  these,  Martin,'  the  descendant  of  a 
noble  family  of  Saboria  in  Pannonia,  was  the 
most  illustrious.  He  was  originally  a  noted 
warrior,  and  the  commander  of  armies  ;  but,  ac- 
comiting  the  service  of  ( iod  to  be  a  more  hon- 
orable profession,  he  embraced  a  life  of  philos- 
ophy, and  lived,  in  the  first  place,  in  Illyria. 
Here  he  zealously  defended  the  orthodox  doc- 
trines against  the  attacks  of  the  Arian  bishops, 
and  after  being  plotted  against  and  frequently 
beaten  by  the  people,  he  was  driven  from  the 
country.  He  then  went  to  Milan,  and  dwelt 
alone.  He  was  soon,  however,  obliged  to  quit 
his  place  of  retreat  on  account  of  the  machina- 
tions of  Auxentius,  bishop  of  that  region,  who 
did  not  hold  soundly  to  the  Nicene  faith  ;  and 
he  went  to  an  island  called  (kallenaria,  where  he 
remained  for  some  time,  satisfying  himself  with 
roots  of  plants.     Gallenaria  is  a  small  and  unin- 

>  Sulp.  Sev.  Fiia  Martini, 


habited  island  lying  in  the  Tyrrhenian  Sea.  Mar- 
tin was  afterwards  appointed  bishop  of  the  church 
of  Tarracinae  (Tours).  He  was  so  richly  en- 
dowed with  miraculous  gifts  that  he  restored  a 
dead  man  to  life,  and  performed  other  signs  as 
wonderful  as  those  wrought  by  the  apjostles.  ^Ve 
have  heard  that  Hilary,  a  man  divine  in  his  life 
and  conversation,  lived  about  the  same  time,  and 
in  the  same  country  ;  like  Martin,  he  was  obliged 
to  flee  from  his  place  of  abode,  on  account  of  his 
zeal  in  defense  of  the  faith. 

I  have  now  related  what  I  have  been  able  to  as- 
certain concerning  the  individuals  who  practiced 
philosophy  in  piety  and  ecclesiastical  rites. 
There  were  many  others  who  were  noted  in  the 
churches  about  the  same  period  on  account  of 
their  great  eloquence,  and  among  these  the  most 
distinguished  were,  Eusebius,  who  administered 
the  priestly  office  at  Emesa ;  Titus,  bishop  of 
Bostra ;  Serapion,  bishop  of  Thmuis ;  Basil, 
bishop  of  Ancyra  ;  Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Germa- 
nicia ;  Acacius,  bishop  of  Csesarea ;  and  Cyril, 
who  controlled  the  see  of  Jerusalem.  A  proof 
of  their  education  is  in  the  books  they  have 
written  and  left  behind,  and  the  many  things 
worthy  of  record. 


CHAP.  XV. DIDYMUS  THE  BLIND,  AND   AETIUS  THK 

HERETIC. 

DiDYMUS,"  an  ecclesiastical  writer  and  presi- 
dent of  the  school  of  sacred  learning  in  Alexan- 
dria, flourished  about  the  same  period.  He  was 
acquainted  with  every  branch'  of  science,  and 
was  conversant  with  poetry  and  rhetoric,  with 
astronomy  and  geometry,  with  arithmetic,  and 
with  the  various  theories  of  philosophy.  He 
had  acquired  all  this  knowledge  by  the  efforts 
of  his  own  mind,  aided  by  the  sense  of  hearing, 
for  he  became  blind  during  his  first  attempt  at 
learning  the  rudiments.  When  he  had  advanced 
to  youth,  he  manifested  an  ardent  desire  to  ac- 
quire speech  and  training,  and  for  this  purpose 
he  frequented  the  teachers  of  these  branches, 
but  learned  by  hearing  only,  where  he  made 
such  rapid  progress  that  he  speedily  compre- 
hended the  difficult  theorems  in  mathematics. 
It  is  said  that  he  learned  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet by  means  of  tablets  in  which  they  were  en- 
graved, and  which  he  felt  with  his  fingers  ;  and 
that  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  syllables 
and  words  by  the  force  of  attention  and  mem- 
ory, and  by  listening  attentively  to  the  sounds. 
His  was  a  very  extraordinary  case,  and  many 
persons  resorted  to  Alexandria  for  the  express 
purpose  of  hearing,  or,  at  least,  of  seeing  him. 
His  firmness  in  defending  the   doctrines  of  the 


^  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  7;  i.  30,  31;   Soc.  iv.  25;  iii.  lo;   ii.  35;  Hieron. 
(/i?  T'l'r.  lUnst.  c.  cix. 


III.  i6.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


!95 


Nic?ean  council  was  extremely  displeasing  to  the 
Arians.  He  easily  carried  conviction  to  the 
minds  of  his  audience  by  persuasion  rather  than 
by  power  of  reasoning,  and  he  constituted  each 
one  a  judge  of  the  ambiguous  points.  He  was 
much  sought  after  bv  the  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic  Church,  and  was  praised  by  the.  orders  of 
monks  in  Egyj)!,  and  by  Antony  the  (Ireat. 

It  is  related  that  when  Antony  left  the  desert 
and  repaired  to  Alexandria  to  give  his  testimony 
in  favor  of  the  doctrines  of  Athanasius,  he  said 
to  Didymus,  "  It  is  not  a  severe  thing,  nor  does 
it  deserve  to  be  grieved  over,  O  Didymus,  that 
you  are  deprived  of  the  organs  of  sight  which 
are  possessed  by  rats,  mice,  and  the  lowest 
animals  ;  but  it  is  a  great  blessing  to  possess 
eyes  like  angels,  whereby  you  can  contemplate 
keenly  the  Divine  Being,  and  see  accurately  the 
true  knowledge."  In  Italy  and  its  territories, 
Eusebius  and  Hilary,  whom  I  have  already 
mentioned,  were  conspicuous  for  strength  in  the 
use  of  their  native  tongue,  whose  treatises  ^  con- 
cerning the  faith  and  against  the  heterodox,  they 
say,  were  approvingly  circulated.  Lucifer,  as 
the  story  goes,  was  the  founder  of  a  heresy  which 
bears  his  name,-  and  flourished  at  this  period. 
Aetius"  was  likewise  held  in  high  estimation 
among  the  heterodox  ;  he  was  a  dialectician,  apt 
in  syllogism  and  proficient  in  disputation,  and  a 
diligent  student  of  such  forms,  but  without  art. 
He  reasoned  so  boldly  concerning  the  nature 
of  God,  that  many  persons  gave  him  the  name 
of  "Atheist."  It  is  said  that  he  was  originally 
a  physician  of  Antioch  in  Syria,  and  that,  as  he 
frequently  attended  meetings  of  the  churches, 
and  thought  over  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  Gallus,  who  was  then 
Caesar,  and  who  honored  religion  much  and 
cherished  its  professors.  It  seems  likely  that, 
as  Aetius  obtained  the  esteem  of  Caesar  by  means 
of  these  disputations,  he  devoted  himself  the 
more  assiduously  to  these  pursuits,  in  order  to 
progress  in  the  favor  of  the  emperor.  It  is 
said  that  he  was  versed  in  the  philosophy  of 
Aristotle,  and  frequented  the  schools  in  which 
it  was  taught  at  Alexandria. 

Besides  the  individuals  above  specified,  there 
were  many  others  in  the  churches  who  were 
capable  of  instructing  the  people  and  of  reason- 
ing concerning  the  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. It  would  be  too  great  a  task  to  attempt 
to  name  them  all.  Let  it  not  be  accounted 
strange,  if  I  have  bestowed  commendations 
upon  the  leaders  or  enthusiasts  of  the  above- 
mentioned  heresies.  I  admire  their  eloquence, 
and  their  impressiveness   in  discourse.     I  leave 


1  He  alludes  to  the  treatises  of  Hilary  against  the  Arians  and 
Auxentius,  and  against  Constantius. 

-  That,  namely,  of  the  Luciferians.     Cf.  Soc.  iii.  9. 

3  Cf.  Soc.  ii.  35;  Philost.  iii.  15-20;  supplementa  from  Phot, 
cod.  40;  fragmenta  from  Suidas,  s.v. 


their  doctrines  to  be  judged  by  those  whose 
right  it  is.  For  I  have  not  been  set  forth  to 
record  such  matters,  nor  is  it  befitting  in  his- 
tory ;  I  have  only  to  give  an  account  of  events 
as  they  happened,  not  supplementing  my  own 
additions.  Of  those  who  at  that  time  became 
most  distinguished  in  education  and  discourse 
and  who  used  the  Roman  and  Greek  languages, 
I  have  enumerated  in  the  above  narrative  as 
many  as  I  have  received  an  account  of. 

CHAP.    XVI. CONCERNING    ST.    EPHRAIM. 

Ephr-aim  the  Syrian  *  was  entitled  to  the 
highest  honors,  and  was  the  greatest  ornament 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  was  a  native  of 
Nisibis,  or  his  family  was  of  the  neighboring 
territory.  He  devoted  his  hfe  to  monastic 
philosophy ;  and  although  he  received  no  in- 
struction, he  became,  contrary  to  all  expectation, 
so  proficient  in  the  learning  and  language  of  the 
Syrians,  that  he  comprehended  with  ease  the 
most  abstruse  theorems  of  philosophy.  His 
style  of  writing  was  so  replete  with  splendid 
oratory  and  with  richness  and  temperateness  of 
thought  that  he  surpassed  the  most  approved 
writers  of  Greece.  If  the  works  of  these  writers 
were  to  be  translated  into  Syriac,  or  any  other 
language,  and  divested,  as  it  were,  of  the  beauties 
of  the  Greek  language,  they  would  retain  little 
of  their  original  elegance  and  value.  The  pro- 
ductions of  Ephraim  have  not  this  disadvantage  : 
they  were  translated  into  Greek  during  his  life, 
and  translations  are  even  now  being  made,  and 
yet  they  preserve  much  of  their  original  force, 
so  that  his  works  are  not  less  admired  when 
read  in  Greek  than  when  read  in  Syriac.  Basil, 
who  was  subsequently  bishop  of  the  metropolis 
of  Cappadocia,  was  a  great  admirer  of  Ephraim, 
and  was  astonished  at  his  erudition.  The 
opinion  of  Basil,  who  is  universally  confessed  to 
have  been  the  most  eloquent  man  of  his  age,  is 
a  stronger  testimony,  I  think,  to  the  merit  of 
Ephraim,  than  anything  that  could  be  indited 
to  his  praise.  It  is  said  that  he  wrote  three 
hundred  thousand  verses,  and  that  he  had  many 
disciples  who  were  zealously  attached  to  his 
doctrines.  The  most  celebrated  of  his  disciples 
were  Abbas,  Zenobius,  Abraham,  Maras,  and 
Simeon,  in  whom  the  Syrians  and  whoever  among 
them  pursued  accurate  learning  make  a  great 
boast.  Paulanas  and  Aranad  are  praised  for 
their  finished  speech,  although  reported  to  have 
deviated  from  sound  doctrine. 

I  am  not  ignorant  that  there  were  some  very 
learned  men  who  formerly  flourished  in  Osroene, 
as,  for  instance,  Bardasanes,  who  devised  a  her- 
esy designated  by  his  name,^  and  Harmonius,  his 

*  See  below,  vi.  34.  This  chapter  is  independent.  Theod.  iv. 
29  has  Soz.  before  him,  and  possibly  also  the  same  original.  Cf. 
Hieron.  de  vir.  illust.  cxv.  ^  Qf.  Euseb.  //.  E.  iv.  30. 


296 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  16. 


son.  It  is  related  that  this  latter  was  deeply 
versed  in  Grecian  erudition,  and  was  the  first  to 
subdue  his  native  tongue  to  meters  and  musical 
laws ;  these  verses  he  delivered  to  the  choirs, 
and  even  now  the  Syrians  frequently  sing,  not 
the  precise  copies  by  Harmonins,  but  the 
same  melodies.  For  as  Harmonius  was  not  al- 
together free  from  the  errors  of  his  father,  and 
entertained  various  opinions  concerning  the 
soul,  the  generation  and  destruction  of  the  body, 
and  the  regeneration  which  are  taught  by  the 
Greek  philosophers,  he  introduced  some  of 
these  sentiments  into  the  lyrical  songs  which  he 
composed.  When  Ephraim  perceived  that  the 
Syrians  were  charmed  with  the  elegance  of  the 
diction  and  the  rhythm  of  the  melody,  he  be- 
came apprehensive,  lest  they  should  imbibe  the 
same  opinions  ;  and  therefore,  although  he  was 
ignorant  of  Grecian  learning,  he  applied  himself 
to  the  understanding  of  the  metres  of  Harmo- 
nius, and  composed  similar  poems  in  accord- 
ance with  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  and 
wrought  also  in  sacred  hymns  and  in  the  praises 
of  passionless  men.  P>om  that  period  the 
Syrians  sang  the  odes  of  Ephraim  according  to 
the  law  of  the  ode  established  by  Harmonius. 
The  execution  of  this  work  is  alone  sufficient  to 
attest  the  natural  endowments  of  Ephraim.  He 
was  as  celebrated  for  the  good  actions  he  per- 
formed as  for  the  rigid  course  of  discipline  he 
pursued.  He  was  particularly  fond  of  tranquil- 
lity. He  was  so  serious  and  so  careful  to  avoid 
giving  occasion  to  calumny,  that  he  refrained 
from  the  very  sight  of  women.  It  is  related 
that  a  female  of  careless  life,  who  was  either  de- 
sirous of  tempting  him,  or  who  had  been  bribed  for 
the  purpose,  contrived  on  one  occasion  to  meet 
him  face  to  flice,  and  fixed  her  eyes  intently 
upon  him ;  he  rebuked  her,  and  commanded 
her  to  look  down  upon  the  ground,  "  Wherefore 
should  I  obey  your  injunction,"  rephed  the 
woman ;  "  for  I  was  born  not  of  the  earth,  but 
of  you?  It  would  be  more  just  if  you  were  to 
look  down  upon  the  earth  whence  you  sprang, 
while  I  look  upon  you,  as  I  was  born  of  you." 
Ephraim,  astonished  at  the  little  woman,  re- 
corded the  whole  transaction  in  a  book,  which 
most  Syrians  regard  as  one  of  the  best  of  his  pro- 
ductions. It  is  also  said  of  him,  that,  although 
he  was  naturally  prone  to  passion,  he  never 
exhibited  angry  feeling  toward  any  one  from 
the  period  of  his  embracing  a  monastic  life. 
It  once  happened  that  after  he  had,  according 
to  custom,  been  fasting  several  days,  his  attend- 
ant, in  presenting  some  food  to  him,  let  fall 
the  dish  on  which  it  was  placed.  Ephraim,  per- 
ceiving that  he  was  overwhelmed  with  shame 
and  terror,  said  to  him,  "  Take  courage;  we  will 
go  to  the  food  as  the  food  does  not  come  to 
us  "  ;  and  he  immediately  seated  himself  beside 


the  fragments  of  the  dish,  and  ate  his  supper. 
What  I  am  about  to  relate  will  suffice  to  show 
that  he  was  totally  exempt  from  the  love  of  vain- 
glory. He  was  appointed  bishop  of  some  town, 
and  attempts  were  made  to  convey  him  away 
for  the  purpose  of  ordaining  him.  As  soon  as 
he  became  aware  of  what  was  intended,  he  ran 
to  the  market-place,  and  showed  himself  as  a 
madman  by  stepping  in  a  disorderly  way,  drag- 
ging his  clothes  along,  and  eating  in  public. 
Those  who  had  come  to  carry  him  away  to  be 
their  bishop,  on  seeing  him  in  this  state,  be- 
lieved that  he  was  out  of  his  mind,  and  de- 
parted ;  and  he,  meeting  with  an  opportunity 
for  effecting  his  escape,  remained  in  concealment 
until  another  had  been  ordained  in  his  place. 
What  I  have  now  said  concerning  Epliraim  must 
suffice,  although  his  own  countrymen  relate  many 
other  anecdotes  of  him.  Yet  his  conduct  on  one 
occasion,  shortly  before  his  death,  appears  to  me 
so  worthy  of  remembrance  that  I  shall  record  it 
here.  The  city  of  Edessa  being  severely  visited 
by  famine,  he  quitted  the  solitary  cell  in  which 
he  pursued  philosophy,  and  rebuked  the  rich  for 
permitting  the  poor  to  die  around  them,  in- 
stead of  imparting  to  them  of  their  superfluities  ; 
and  he  represented  to  them  by  his  philosophy, 
that  the  wealth  which  they  were  treasuring  up 
so  carefully  would  turn  to  their  own  condemna- 
tion, and  to  the  ruin  of  the  soul,  which  is  of 
more  value  than  all  riches,  and  the  body  itself 
and  all  other  values,  and  he  proved  that  they 
were  putting  no  estimate  upon  their  souls,  be- 
cause of  their  actions.  The  rich  men,  revering 
the  man  and  his  words,  replied,  *'We  are  not 
intent  upon  hoarding  our  wealth,  but  we  know 
of  no  one  to  whom  we  can  confide  the  distribu- 
tion of  our  goods,  for  all  are  prone  to  seek  after 
lucre,  and  to  betray  the  trust  placed  in  them." 
"  What  think  you  of  me  ? "  asked  Ephraim. 
On  their  admitting  that  they  considered  him  an 
efficient,  excellent,  and  good  man,  and  worthy, 
and  that  he  was  exactly  what  his  reputation  con- 
firmed, he  offered  to  undertake  the  distribution 
of  their  alms.  As  soon  as  he  received  their 
monev,  he  had  about  three  hundred  beds  fitted 
up  in  the  public  porches  ;  and  here  he  tended 
those  who  were  ill  and  suftering  from  the  effects 
of  the  famine,  whether  they  were  foreigners  or 
natives  of  the  surrounding  country.  On  the 
cessation  of  the  famine  he  returned  to  the  cell 
in  which  he  had  previously  dwelt ;  and,  after 
the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  he  expired.  He  at- 
tained no  higher  clerical  degree  than  that  of 
deacon,  although  he  became  no  less  famous  for 
his  virtue  than  those  who  are  ordained  to  the 
priesthood  and  are  admired  for  the  conversation 
of  a  good  life  and  for  learning.  I  have  now 
given  some  account  of  the  virtue  of  Ephraim.  It 
would  require  a  mor^  experienced  hand  than 


III.  i8.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


297 


mine,  to  furnish  a  full  description  of  his  cliar- 
acter  and  that  of  the  other  illustrious  men  who, 
about  the  same  period,  had  devoted  themselves 
to  a  life  and  career  of  philosophy ;  and  for 
some  things,  it  would  require  such  a  writer  as  he 
himself  was.  The  attempt  is  beyond  my  powers 
by  reason  of  weakness  of  language,  and  igno- 
rance of  the  men  themselves  and  their  exploits. 
Some  of  them  concealed  themselves  in  the 
deserts.  Others,  who  lived  in  the  intercourse  of 
cities,  strove  to  preserve  a  mean  appearance, 
and  to  seem  as  if  they  differed  in  no  respect 
from  the  multitude,  working  out  their  virtue, 
concealing  a  true  estimate  of  themselves,  that 
they  might  avoid  the  praises  of  others.  For  as 
they  were  intent  upon  the  exchange  of  future 
benefits,  they  made  God  alone  the  witness  of 
their  thoughts,  and  had  no  concern  for  outward 
glory. 


CH-^P.  XVII. TRANSACTIONS  OF   THAT  PERIOD,  AND 

PROGRESS  OF  CHRISTIAN  DOCTRINE  THROUGH  THE 
JOINT  EFFORTS  OF   E.MPERORS  AND  ARCH-PRIESTS. 

Those  who  presided  over  the  churches  at  this 
period  were  noted  for  personal  conduct,  and,  as 
might  be  expected,  the  people  whom  they  gov- 
erned were  earnestly  attached  to  the  worship  of 
Christ.'  Religion  daily  progressed,  by  the  zeal, 
virtue,  and  wonderful  works  of  the  priests,  and 
of  the  ecclesiastical  philosophers,  who  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  pagans,  and  led  them  to  re- 
nounce their  superstitions.  The  emperors  who 
then  occupied  the  throne  were  as  zealous  as 
was  their  father  in  protecting  the  churches,  and 
they  granted  honors  and  tax  exemptions  to  the 
clergy,  their  children,  and  their  slaves.  They 
confirmed  the  laws  enacted  by  their  father,  and 
enforced  new  ones  prohibiting  the  offering  of 
sacrifice,  the  worship  of  images,  or  any  other 
pagan  observance.  They  commanded  that  all 
temples,  whether  in  cities  or  in  the  country, 
should  be  closed.  Some  of  these  temples  were 
presented  to  the  churches,  when  either  the 
ground  they  stood  on  or  the  materials  for  build- 
ing were  required.  The  greatest  possible  care  was 
bestowed  upon  the  houses  of  prayer,  those  which 
had  been  defaced  by  time  were  repaired,  and 
others  were  erected  from  the  foundations  in  a 
style  of  extraordinary  magnificence.  The  church 
of  Emesa  is  one  most  worthy  to  see  and  famous 
for  its  beauty.  The  Jews  were  strictly  forbid- 
den to  purchase  a  slave  belonging  to  any  other 
heresy  than  their  own.  If  they  transgressed  this 
law,  the  slave  was  confiscated"  to  the  public  ; 
but  if  they  administered  to  him  the  Jewish  rite 


1  This  chapter  is  an  independent  view,  and  also  groups  the  laws 
under  Constantius.     Cf.  Cod.  Theod. 

-  Sriix6<rLov  oiKeT-qv  flvai.  The  early  interpreters  understood 
these  words  as  referring  to  the  Jewish  offender,  and  not  to  the  slave. 


of  circumcision,  the  penalties  were  death  and 
total  confiscation  of  property.  For,  as  the  em- 
perors were  desirous  of  promoting  by  every 
means  the  spread  of  Christianity,  they  deemed 
it  necessary  to  prevent  the  Jews  from  proselyt- 
ing those  whose  ancestors  were  of  another  relig- 
ion, and  those  who  were  holding  the  hope  of 
professing  (Christianity  were  carefully  reserved 
for  the  Church  ;  for  it  was  from  the  pagan  mul- 
titudes that  the  Christian  religion  increased. 


CHAP.  XVIII. — CONCERNING  THE  DOCTRINES  HELD 
BY  THE  SONS  OF  CONSTANTINE.  DISTINCTION 
BETWEEN  THE  TERMS  "  HOMOOUSIOS  "  AND 
"  HOMOIOUSIOS. "  WHENCE  IT  CAME  THAT  CON- 
STANTIUS QUICKLY  ABANDONED  THE  CORRECT 
FAITH. 

The  emperors  ^  had,  from  the  beginning,  pre- 
served their  father's  view  about  doctrine  ;  for 
they  both  favored  the  Nicene  form  of  belief, 
Constans  maintained  these  opinions  till  his 
death ;  Constantius  held  a  similar  view  for  some 
time  ;  he,  however,  renounced  his  former  senti- 
ments when  the  term  "  consubstantial "  was 
calumniated,  yet  he  did  not  altogether  refrain 
from  confessing  that  the  Son  is  of  like  substance 
with  the  Father.  The  followers  of  Eusebius, 
and  other  bishops  of  the  East,  who  were  admired 
for  their  speech  and  life,  made  a  distinction,  as 
we  know,  between  the  term  "  consubstantial " 
{homoousios)  and  the  expression  "  of  like  sub- 
stance," which  latter  they  designated  by  the 
term,  "  homoiousiosy  They  say  that  the  term 
"consubstantial"  (homoousios)  properly  be- 
longs to  corporeal  beings,  such  as  men  and  other 
animals,  trees  and  plants,  whose  participation  and 
origin  is  in  like  things  ;  but  that  the  term  "  homoi- 
ousios  "  appertains  exclusively  to  incorporeal 
beings,  such  as  God  and  the  angels,  of  each  one 
of  whom  a  conception  is  formed  according  to 
his  own  peculiar  substance.  The  Emperor 
Constantius  was  deceived  by  this  distinction  ;. 
and  although  I  am  certain  that  he  retained  the 
same  doctrines  as  those  held  by  his  father  and 
brother,  yet  he  adopted  a  change  of  phraseology, 
and,  instead  of  using  the  term  "  homoousios," 
made  use  of  the  term  "  homoiousios."  The 
teachers  to  whom  we  have  alluded  maintained 
that  it  was  necessary  to  be  thus  precise  in  the 
use  of  terms,  and  that  otherwise  we  should  be  in 
danger  of  conceiving  that  to  be  a  body  which  is 
incorporeal.  Many,  however,  regard  this  dis- 
tinction as  an  absurdity,  "for,"  say  they,  "the 
things  which  are  conceived  by  the  mind  can  be 

But  the  law  itself  is  extant  in  Cod.  Theod.  xvi.  91,  2,  and  is  entitled 
Ne   Christianum  Mancipium  JudieHS  habeat.     The  second  law 
begins:   Si  aliquis  Judaeorum,  mancipium  sectae  alterius  sen  natio- 
nis  crediderit  comparandum,  maitciptum  fisco  protenus  vindicetur. 
3  An  independent  survey  of  the  imperial  and  clerical  views. 


298 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[III.  iS. 


designated  only  by  names  derived  from  things 
wliich  are  seen  ;  and  there  is  no  danger  in  the 
use  of  words,  provided  that  there  be  no  error 
about  the  idea. 


CHAP.    XIX. FURTHER    PARTICULARS    CONCERNING 


THE     TERM 


CONSUBSTANTIAL. 


COUNCIL     OF 


ARIMINU.M,    THE    MANNER,    SOURCE,    AND    REASON 
OF  ITS   CONVENTION. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantius  was  induced  to  adopt  the  use  of  the 
term  "  homoiousios,'^  for  it  was  admitted  by 
many  priests  who  conformed  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  Nicasan  council.^  Many  use  the  two  words 
indifferently,  to  convey  the  same  meaning. 
Hence,  it  appears  to  me,  that  the  Arians  departed 
greatly  from  the  truth  when  they  affirmed  that, 
after  the  council  of  Nic^a,  many  of  the  priests, 
among  whom  w-ere  Eusebius  and  Theognis, 
refused  to  admit  that  the  Son  is  consubstantial 
with  the  Father,  and  that  Constantine  was  in 
consequence  so  indignant,  that  he  condemned 
them  to  banishment.  They  say  that  it  was  after- 
wards revealed  to  his  sister  by  a  dream  or  a  vision 
from  God,  that  these  bishops  held  orthodox 
doctrines  and  had  suffered  unjustly ;  and  that 
the  emperor  thereupon  recalled  them,  and  de- 
manded of  them  wherefore  they  had  departed 
from  the  Nicene  doctrines,  since  they  had  been 
participants  in  the  document  concerning  the 
faith  which  had  been  there  framed ;  and  that 
they  urged  in  reply  that  they  had  not  assented 
to  those  doctrines  from  conviction,  but  from  the 
fear  that,  if  the  disputes  then  existing  were  pro- 
longed, the  emperor,  who  was  then  just  begin- 
ning to  embrace  Christianity,  and  who  was  yet 
unbaptized,  might  be  impelled  to  return  to 
Paganism,  as  seemed  likely,  and  to  persecute 
the  Church.  They  assert  that  Constantine  was 
pleased  with  this  defense,  and  determined  upon 
convening  another  council ;  but  that,  being  pre- 
vented by  death  from  carrying  his  scheme  into 
execution,  the  task  devolved  upon  his  eldest 
son,  Constantius,  to  whom  he  represented  that 
it  would  avail  him  nothing  to  be  possessed  of 
imperial  power,  unless  he  could  establish  uni- 
formity of  worship  throughout  his  empire  ;  and 
Constantius  they  say,  at  the  instigation  of  his 
father,  convened  a  council  at  Ariminum.-  This 
story  is  easily  seen  to  be  a  gross  fiibrication,  for 
the  council  was  convened  during  the  consulate 
of  Hypatius  and  Eusebius,  and  twenty-two  years 
after  Constantius  had,  on  the  death  of  his  father, 
succeeded  to  the  empire.  Now,  during  this  in- 
terval of  twenty-two  years,  many  councils  were 
held,  in  which  debates  were  carried  on  concern- 


An  independent  chapter  on  the  true  cause  of  division  and  the 
origin  of  the  council  of  Ariminum.     Cf.  Athan.  Ef.  de  Synodis. 
•  Cf.  See.  ii.  37. 


ing  the  terms  " homoousios"  and  " homoiousiosy 
No  one,  it  appears,  ventured  to  deny  that  the 
Son  is  of  like  substance  ^  with  the  Father,  until 
Aetius,  by  starting  a  contrary  opinion,  so  offended 
the  emperor  that,  in  order  to  arrest  the  course  of 
the  heresy,  he  commanded  the  priests  to  assemble 
themselves  together  at  Ariminum  and  at  Seleucia. 
Thus  the  true  cause  of  this  council  being  con- 
vened was  not  the  command  of  Constantine,* 
but  the  question  agitated  by  Aetius.  And  this 
will  become  still  more  apparent  by  what  we  shall 
hereafter  relate. 


CHAP  XX. ATHANASIUS  AGAIN  REINSTATED  BY  THE 

LETTER  OF  CONSTANTIUS,  AND  RECEIVES  HIS  SEE. 
THE  ARCH-PRIESTS  OF  ANTIOCH.  QUESTION  PUT 
BY  CONSTANTIUS  TO  ATHANASIUS.  THE  PRAISE 
OF  GOD  IN  HYMNS. 

When  Constans  was  apprised  of  what  had 
been  enacted  at  Sardica,  he  wrote  "^  to  his 
brother  to  request  him  to  restore  the  followers 
of  Athanasius  and  Paul  to  their  own  churches. 
As  Constantius  seemed  to  hesitate,  he  wrote 
again,  and  threatened  him  with  war,  unless  he 
would  consent  to  receive  the  bishops.  Con- 
stantius, after  conferring  on  the  subject  with  the 
bishops  of  the  East,  judged  that  it  would  be 
foolish  to  excite  on  this  account  the  horrors  of 
civil  war.  He  therefore  recalled  Athanasius 
from  Italy,  and  sent  public  carriages  to  convey 
him  on  his  return  homewards,  and  wrote  several 
letters  requesting  his  speedy  return.  Athanasius, 
who  was  then  residing  at  Aquilea,  on  receiving 
the  letters  of  Constantius,  repaired  to  Rome  to 
take  leave  of  Julius  and  his  friends.  JuHus 
parted  from  him  with  great  demonstrations  of 
friendship,  and  gave  him  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  clergy  and  people  of  Alexandria,  in  which 
he  spoke  of  him  as  a  wonderful  man,  deserving 
of  renown  by  the  numerous  trials  he  had  under- 
gone, and  congratulated  the  church  of  Alexan- 
dria on  the  return  of  so  good  a  priest,  and  ex- 
horted them  to  follow  his  doctrines. 

He  then  proceeded  to  Antioch  in  Syria,  where 
the  emperor  was  then  residing.  Leontius  pre- 
sided over  the  churches  of  that  region  ;  for  after 
the  flight  of  Eustathius,  those  who  held  heret- 
ical sentiments  had  seized  the  see  of  Antioch. 
The  first  bishop  they  appointed  was  Euphronius  ; 
to  him  succeeded  Placetus ;  and  afterwards 
Stephen.  This  latter  was  deposed  as  being  un- 
worthy of  the  dignity,  and  Leontius  obtained 
the  bishopric.  Athanasius  avoided  him  as  a 
heretic,    and  communed  with   those  who  were 

3  /car'  oxKTiai'  iiv6u.oiov  is  the  right  correction  of  Valesius. 

■*  A  mistake  for  Constantius. 

^  Athan.  A^o/.  coiil.  Arian.  51-56;  Hist.  Arian.  15,  16;  Ruf. 
i.  19;  Soc.  ii.  22,  23,  who  gives  texts  from  Athanasius  of  the  second 
letter  of  Constans  (in  part);  those  of  Constantius  to  Athanasius; 
and  Julius  to  the  Alexandrians.     Philost.  iii.  13. 


III.  22.J 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


299 


called  Eustathians,  who  assembled  in  a  private 
house.  Since  he  found  that  Constantius  was 
well  disposed,  and  agreeable,  and  it  looked  as  if 
the  emperor  would  restore  his  own  church  to 
him,  Constantius,  at  the  instigation  of  the  leaders 
of  the  opposing  heresy,  replied  as  follows : 
*'  I  am  ready  to  perform  all  that  I  promised 
when  I  recalled  you ;  but  it  is  just  that  you 
should  in  return  grant  nie  a  favor,  and  that  is, 
that  you  yield  one  of  the  numerous  churches 
which  are  under  your  sway  to  those  who  are 
averse  to  holding  communion  with  you."  Atha- 
nasius  replied  :  ''  O  emperor,  it  is  exceedingly 
just  and  necessary  to  obey  your  commands, 
and  I  will  not  gainsay,  but  as  in  the  city  of  An- 
tioch  there  are  many  who  eschew  communion 
between  the  heterodox  and  ourselves,  I  seek  a 
like  favor  that  one  church  may  be  conceded  to 
lis,  and  that  we  may  assemble  there  in  safety." 
As  the  request  of  Athanasius  appeared  reasona- 
ble to  the  emperor,  the  heterodox  deemed  it 
more  politic  to  keep  quiet ;  for  they  reflected 
that  their  peculiar  opinions  could  never  gain 
any  ground  in  Alexandria,  on  account  of  Atha- 
nasius, who  was  able  both  to  retain  those  who 
held  the  same  sentiments  as  himself,  and  lead 
those  of  contrary  opinions  ;  and  that,  moreover, 
if  they  gave  up  one  of  the  churches  of  Antioch, 
the  Eustathians,  who  were  very  numerous,  would 
assemble  together,  and  then  probably  attempt 
innovations,  since  it  would  be  possible  for  them 
without  risk  to  retain  those  w^hom  they  held. 
Besides,  the  heterodox  perceived  that,  although 
the  government  of  the  churches  was  in  their 
hands,  all  the  clergy  and  people  did  not  conform 
to  their  doctrines.'  When  they  sang  hymns  to 
God,  they  were,  according  to  custom,  divided 
into  choirs,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  odes,  each 
one  declared  what  were  his  own  peculiar  senti- 
ments. Some  offered  praise  to  "the  Father  ^?;/^/ 
the  Son,"  regarding  them  as  co-equal  in  glory ; 
others  glorified  "The  Father  by  the  Son,"  to 
denote  by  the  insertion  of  the  preposition  that 
they  considered  the  Son  to  be  inferior  to  the 
Father.  While  these  occurrences  took  place, 
Leontins,  the  bishop  of  the  opposite  faction, 
who  then  presided  over  the  see  of  Antioch,  dicl 
not  dare  to  prohibit  the  singing  of  hymms  to 
God  which  were  in  accordance  with  the  tradi- 
tion of  the  Nicsean  Synod,  for  he  feared  to  excite 
an  insurrection  of  the  people.  It  is  related, 
however,  that  he  once  raised  his  hand  to  his 
head,  the  hairs  of  which  were  quite  white,  and 
said,  "  When  this  snow  is  dissolved,  there  will 
be  plenty  of  mud."  By  this  he  intended  to  sig- 
nify that,  after  his  death,  the  different  modes  of 
singing  hymns  would  give  rise  to  great  seditions, 

1  Here  he  uses  Athan.  Historia  Ariati.  28;  Apol.  defnga  sua, 
26.  Theodoret,  too,  in  his  sketch  of  Leontius,  H.  E.  ii.  24,  quotes 
briefly  from  Athan.     Cf.  Philost.  iii.  13. 


and  that  his  successors  would  not  show  the  same 
consideration  to  the  people  which  he  ha<l 
manifested. 

CHAP.     XXI. LETl'ER     OF     CONST.INTIUS     TO     THE 

EGYPTIANS    IN    BEHALF    OF    AlHANASIUS.       SYNOD 
OK    JERUSALEM. 

The  emperor,  on  sending  back-  Athanasius 
to  Egypt,  wrote  in  his  favor  to  the  bishops  and 
presbyters  of  that  country,  and  to  the  people  of 
the  church  of  Alexandria  ;  he  testified  to  the  in- 
tegrity of  his  conduct  and  the  virtue  of  his  man- 
ners, and  exhorted  them  to  be  of  one  mind,  and 
to  unite  in  prayer  and  service  to  God  under  his 
guidance.  He  added  that,  if  any  evil-disposed 
persons  should  excite  disturbances,  they  should 
receive  the  punishment  awarded  by  the  laws  for 
such  offenses.  He  also  commanded  that  the 
former  decrees  he  had  enacted  against  Athana- 
sius, and  those  who  were  in  communion  with 
him,  should  be  effaced  from  the  public  registers, 
and  that  his  clergy  should  be  admitted  to  the 
same  exemptions  they  had  previously  enjoyed  ; 
and  edicts  to  this  effect  were  dispatched  to  the 
governors  of  Egypt  and  Libya. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  in  Egypt,  Athanasius 
displaced  those  whom  he  knew  to  be  attached 
to  Arianism,  and  placed  the  government  of  the 
Church  and  the  confession  of  the  Nicasan  council 
in  the  hands  of  those  whom  he  approved,  and 
he  exhorted  them  to  hold  to  this  with  earnest- 
ness. It  w^as  said  at  that  time,  that,  when  he 
was  traveling  through  other  countries,  he  effected 
the  same  change,  if  he  happened  to  visit  churches 
which  were  under  the  Arians.  He  was  certainly 
accused  of  having  dared  to  perform  the  ceremony 
of  ordination  in  cities  where  he  had  no  right  to 
do  so.  But  because  he  had  effected  his  return, 
although  his  enemies  were  unwilling,  and  it  did 
not  seem  that  he  could  be  easily  cast  under 
suspicion,  in  that  he  was  honored  with  the 
friendship  of  the  Emperor  Constans,  he  was 
regarded  with  greater  consideration  than  before. 
Many  Ijishops,  who  had  previously  been  at 
enmity  with  him,  received  him  into  communion, 
particularly  those  of  Palestine.  When  he  at 
that  time  visited  these  latter,  they  received 
him  kindly.  They  held  a  Synod  at  Jerusalem, 
and  Maximus  and  the  others  wrote  the  following 
letter  in  his  favor. 

chap.  XXII. EPISTLE  WRIITEN  BY  THE    SYNOD    OF 

JERUSALEM    IN    FAVOR    OF   ATHANASIUS. 

"The  holy  Synod  assembled  at  Jerusalem, 
to  the  presbyters,  deacons,  and  people  of  Egypt, 
Libya,  and  Alexandria,  our  beloved  and  most 
cherished  brethren,  greeting  in  the  Lord.^ 


^  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  54-56;  Hist.  Arian.  23:  these  are 
given  in  Soc.  ii.  23;  and  for  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem,  ii.  24;   Ruf.  i.  19. 

^  From  -iVthan.  Af>ol.  cofii.  Ari'ati.  57,  where  also  the  names  of 
the  subscribers  are  given. 


^oo 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOAIEN. 


[III.  22. 


"  We  can  never,  O  beloved,  return  adequate 
thanks  to  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things,  for  the 
wonderful  works  he  has  now  accomplished,  par- 
ticularly for  the  blessings  He  has  conferred  on 
your  churches  by  the  restoration  of  Athanasius, 
your  shepherd  and  lord,  and  our  fellow-minister. 
Who  could  have  hoped  to  have  ever  seen  this 
with  his  eyes,  which  now  you  are  realizing  in 
deed?  But  truly  your  prayers  have  been  heard 
by  the  God  of  the  universe  who  is  concerned 
for  His  Church,  and  who  has  regarded  your  tears 
and  complaint,  and  on  this  account  has  heard 
your  requests.  For  you  were  scattered  abroad 
and  rent  like  sheep  without  a  pastor.  Therefore, 
the  true  Shepherd,  who  from  heaven  watched 
over  you,  and  who  is  concerned  for  His  own  sheep, 
has  restored  to  you  him  whom  3'ou  desired. 
Behold,  we  do  all  things  for  the  peace  of  the 
Church,  and  are  influenced  by  love  like  yours. 
Therefore  we  received  and  embraced  your  pastor, 
and,  having  held  communion  with  you  through 
him,  we  dispatch  this  address  and  our  eucha- 
ristic  prayers  that  you  may  know  how  we  are 
united  by  the  bond  of  love  to  him  and  you.  It  is 
right  that  you  should  pray  for  the  piety  of  the  em- 
perors most  beloved  of  God,  who  having  recog- 
nized your  desire  about  him  and  his  purity  de- 
teruiined  to  restore  him  to  you  with  every  honor. 
Receive  him,  then,  with  uplifted  hands,  and  be 
zealous  to  send  aloft  the  requisite  eucharistic 
prayers  in  his  behalf  to  the  God  who  has  con- 
ferred these  benefits  upon  you  ;  and  may  you 
ever  rejoice  with  God,  and  glorify  the  Lord  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  by  whom  be  glory  to  the 
Father  throughout  all  ages.     Amen." 

CHAP.  XXIII.  —  VALENS  AND  URSACIUS,  WHO  BE- 
LONGED TO  THE  ARIAN  FACTION,  CONFESS  TO  THE 
BISHOP  OF  ROME  THAT  THEY  HAD  MADE  FALSE 
CHARGES  AGAINST  ATHANASIUS. 

Such  was  the  letter  written  by  the  Synod  con- 
vened in  Palestine.  Some  time  after  Athana- 
sius had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  injustice 
of  the  sentence  enacted  against  him  bv  the 
council  of  Tyre  publicly  recognized.^  Valens 
and  Ursacius,  who  had  been  sent  with  Theognis 
and  his  followers  to  obtain  information  in  Mare- 
otis,  as  we  before  mentioned,  concerning  the 
holy  cup  which  Ischyrion  had  accused  Athana- 
sius of  having  broken,  wrote  the  following  retrac- 
tion to  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome  :  — 

"  Ursacius  and  Valens,  to  the  most  blessed 
Lord  Pope  Julius. 

"  Since  we  previously,  as  is  well  known,  made 
many  various  charges  against  Athanasius,  the 
bishop,  by  our  letters,  and  although  we  have 
been  urged  persistently  by  the  epistles  of  your 
excellency    in   this    matter   which   we    publicly 

'  From  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Ari'an.  58:  Soc.  ii.  24,  only  an  allu- 
sion;  Hil.  Fyagiii.  ii.  20:   Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  36. 


alleged  and  have  not  been  able  to  give  a  reason 
for  our  accusation,  therefore,  we  now  confess  to 
your  excellency  in  the  presence  of  all  the  pres- 
byters, our  brethren,  that  all  that  you  have  heard 
concerning  the  aforesaid  Athanasius  is  utterly 
false  and  fictitious,  and  in  every  way  foreign  to 
his  nature.  For  this  reason,  we  joyfully  enter 
into  communion  with  him,  particularly  as  your 
piety  in  accordance  with  your  implanted  love  of 
goodness  has  granted  forgiveness  to  us  for  our 
error.  Moreover,  we  declare  unto  you  that  if 
the  bishops  of  the  East,  or  even  Athanasius  him- 
self, should  at  any  time  malignantly  summon  us 
to  judgment,  we  would  not  sever  ourselves  from 
your  judgment  and  disposition  about  the  case. 
We  now  and  ever  shall  anathematize,  as  we  for- 
merly did  in  the  memorial  which  we  presented 
at  Milan,  the  heretic  Arius  and  his  followers, 
who  say  that  there  was  a  time,  in  which  the  Son 
existed  not,  and  that  Christ  is  from  that  which 
had  no  existence,  and  who  deny  that  Christ  was 
God  and  the  Son  of  God  before  all  ages.  We 
again  protest,  in  our  own  handwriting,  that  we 
shall  ever  condemn  the  aforesaid  Arian  heresy, 
and  its  originators. 

"  I,  Ursacius,  sign  this  confession  with  my  own 
signature.     In  like  manner  also  Valens." 

This  was  the  confession  which  they  sent  to 
Julius.  It  is  also  necessary  to  append  to  it  their 
letter  to  Athanasius  :    it  is  as  follows  :  — 

CHAP.  XXIV.  —  LETTER  OF  CONCILIATION  FROM  VA- 
LENS AND  URSACIUS  TO  THE  GREAT  ATHANASIUS. 
RE.STORATION  OF  THE  OTHER  EASTERN  BISHOPS 
TO  THEIR  OWN  SEES.  EJECTION  OF  MACEDONIUS 
AGAIN  ;    AND  ACCESSION  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  SEE. 

"The  bishops,  Ursacius  and  Valens,  to 
Athanasius,  our  brother  in  the  Lord.^ 

"  We  take  the  opportunity  of  the  departure  of 
Museus,  our  brother  and  fellow-presbyter,  who 
is  going  to  your  esteemed  self,  O  beloved 
brother,  to  send  you  amplest  greeting  from 
Aquileia  through  him,  and  hope  that  our  letter 
will  find  you  in  good  health.  You  will  afford  us 
great  encouragement  if  you  will  write  us  a  reply 
to  this  letter.  Know  that  we  are  at  peace  and 
in  ecclesiastical  communion  with  you." 

Athanasius  therefore  returned  under  such  cir- 
cumstances from  the  W^est  to  Egypt.  Paul,  Mar- 
cellus,  Asclepas,  and  Lucius,  whom  the  edict  of 
the  emperor  had  returned  from  exile,  received 
their  own  sees.  Immediately  on  the  return  of 
Paul  to  Constantinople  Macedonius  retired,  and 
held  church  in  private.  There  was  a  great  tu- 
mult at  Ancyra  on  the  deposition  of  Basil  from 
the  church  there,  and  the  reinstallation  of  Mar- 
cellus.  The  other  bishops  were  reinstated  in 
their  churches  without  difficulty.^ 

-  Athan.  Apol.  cont.  Arian.  58;   Hil.  Fragni.  ii.  20. 
2  Soc.  ii.  23. 


BOOK    IV. 


CHAP.    I.  —  DEATH    OF    CONSTANS   C«SAR.       OCCUR- 
RENCES   WHICH    TOOK    PLACE    IN    ROME. 

Four  years  after  the  council  of  Sardica/ 
Constans  was  killed  in  Western  Gaul.-  Mag- 
nentius,  who  had  plotted  his  murder,  reduced 
the  entire  government  of  Constans  under  his 
own  sway.  In  the  meantime  Vetranio  was  pro- 
claimed emperor  at  Sirmium.  by  the  Illyrian 
troops.  Nepotian,  the  son  of  the  late  emperor's 
sister,  gathered  about  him  a  body  of  gladiators, 
and  wrangled  for  the  imperial  power,  and  ancient 
Rome  had  the  greatest  share  of  these  evils. 
Nepotian,  however,  was  put  to  death  by  the 
soldiers  of  Magnentius.^  Constantius,  finding 
himself  the  sole  master  of  the  empire,  was  pro- 
claimed sole  ruler,  and  hastened  to  depose  the 
tyrants.  In  the  meantime,  Athanasius,  having 
arrived  in  Alexandria,  prepared  to  convene  a 
Synod  of  the  Egyptian  bishops,  and  had  the 
enactments  confirmed  which  had  been  passed 
at  Sardica,  and  in  Palestine,  in  his  favor. 


CHAP.  II. CONSTANTIUS  AGAIN  EJECTS  ATHANASIUS, 

AND  BANISHES  THOSE  WHO  REPRESENTED  THE 
HOMOOUSIAN  DOCTRINE.  DEATH  OF  PAUL,  BISHOP 
OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.  MACEDONIUS  :  HIS  SECOND 
USURPATION  OF  THE  SEE,  AND  HIS  EVIL  DEEDS. 

The  emperor,*  deceived  by  the  calumnies  of 
the  heterodox,  changed  his  mind,  and,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Sardica, 
exiled  the  bishops  whom  he  had  previously 
restored.  Marcellus  was  again  deposed,  and 
Basil  re-acquired  possession  of  the  bishopric  of 
Ancyra.  Lucius  was  thrown  into  prison,  and 
died  there.  Paul  was  condemned  to  perpetual 
banishment,  and  was  conveyed  to  Cucusum,  in 
Armenia,  where  he  died.  I  have  never,  how- 
ever, been  able  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  he 
died  a  natural  death.  It  is  still  reported,  that 
he  was  strangled  by  the  adherents  of  Mace- 
donius.^  As  soon  as  he  was  sent  into  exile, 
Macedonius     seized     the    government     of     his 

'  According  to  Soz.  a.d.  351,  really  a.d.  350. 

2  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  19:  Soc.  ii.  25,  26.  Soz.  here  condenses  See. 
Cf.  Athan.  Afiol.  ad.  Imp.  Constantinm. 

^  Zos.  ii.  41-53;  Am.  Marcel,  xv.  1,2:  Petrus  Patricius,  His- 
toria,  14;   Eutrop.  Brev.  Hist.  Rom.  x.  9-1 1. 

■*  Soc.  ii.  26,  27:  Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  7;  Apol.  de fuga  sua,  3; 
cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  5. 

"  See  preceding  references;  Athan.  is  decided. 


church ;  and,  being  aided  by  several  orders  of 
monks  whom  he  had  incorporated  at  Constanti- 
nople, and  by  alliances  with  many  of  the  neigh- 
boring bishops,  he  commenced,  it  is  said,  a 
persecution  against  those  who  held  the  seriti- 
ments  of  Paul.  He  ejected  them,  in  the  first 
place,  from  the  church,  and  then  compelled 
them  to  enter  into  communion  with  himself. 
Many  perished  from  wounds  received  in  the 
struggle  ;  some  were  deprived  of  their  posses- 
sions ;  some,  of  the  rights  of  citizenship  ;  and 
others  were  branded  on  the  forehead  with  an 
iron  instrument,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
stamped  as  infamous.  The  emperor  was  dis- 
pleased when  he  heard  of  these  transactions, 
and  imputed  the  blame  of  them  to  Macedonius 
and  his  adherents. 

CH.AP.  III. MARTYRDOM    OF   THE    HOLY    NOTARIES. 

The  persecution  increased  in  violence,*'  and 
led  to  deeds  of  blood.  Martyrius  and  Marcian 
were  among  those  who  were  slain.  They  had 
lived  in  Paul's  house,^  and  were  deUvered  up  by 
Macedonius  to  the  governor,  as  having  been 
guilty  of  the  murder  of  Hermogenes,  and  of 
exciting  the  former  sedition  against  him.  Mar- 
tyrius was  a  sub-deacon,  and  Marcian  a  singer 
and  a  reader  of  Holy  Scripture.  Their  tomb  is 
famous,  and  is  situated  before  the  walls  of  Con- 
stantinople, as  a  memorial  of  the  martyrs ;  it  is 
placed  in  a  house  of  prayer,  which  was  com- 
menced by  John  and  completed  by  Sisinnius  ; 
these  both  afterwards  presided  over  the  church 
of  Constantinople.  For  they  who  had  been 
unworthily  adjudged  to  have  no  part  in  the 
honors  oiF  martyrdom,  were  honored  by  God, 
because  the  very  place  where  those  conducted 
to  death  had  been  decapitated,  and  which  pre- 
viously was  not  approached  on  account  of  ghosts, 
was  now  purified,  and  those  who  were  under  the 
influence  of  demons  were  released  from  the  dis- 
ease, and  many  other  notable  miracles  were 
wrought  at  the  tomb.  These  are  the  particulars 
which  should  be  stated  concerning  Martyrius 
and   Marcian.     If  what  I  have  related  appears 

"An  independent  chapter. 

'  Nieeph.  Coll.  H.  E.  ix.  30  adds  that  they  were  the  notaries  of 
Paul:  hence  the  caption.  The  memory  of  these  martyrs  is  cele- 
brated in  the  Greek  Church  under  the  name  of  the  Notaries,  on  the 
25th  of  October. 


2,02 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  3- 


to  be  scarcely  credible,  it  is  easy  to  apply  for 
further  information  to  those  who  are  more  accu- 
rately acquainted  with  the  circumstances ;  and 
perhaps  far  more  wonderful  things  are  related 
concerning  them  than  those  which  I  have  de- 
tailed. 


CHAP.  I\'. CAMPAIGN  OF  CONSTANTIUS  IN  SIRMIUM, 

AND  DETAILS  CONCERNING  VETRANIO  AND  MAG- 
NENTIUS.  GALLUS  RECEIVES  THE  TITLE  OF  CAESAR, 
AND  IS  SENT  TO  THE  EAST. 

On  the  expulsion  of  x\thanasius,  which  took 
place  about  this  period,  George  persecuted  ^  all 
those  throughout  Egypt  who  refused  to  conform 
to  his  sentiments.  The  emperor  marched  into 
Illyria,  and  entered  Sirmium,  whither  Vetranio 
had  repaired  by  appointment.  The  soldiers 
who  had  proclaimed  him  emperor  suddenly 
changed  their  mind,  and  saluted  Constantius  as 
sole  sovereign,  and  as  Augustus,  for  both  the 
emperor  and  his  supporters,  strove  for  this  very 
action.  Vetranio  perceived  that  he  was  be- 
trayed, and  threw  himself  as  a  suppliant  at  the 
feet  of  Constantius.  Constantius  pitied  him 
indeed,  but  stripped  him  of  the  imperial  orna- 
ments and  purple,  obliged  him  to  return  to 
private  life,  liberally  provided  for  his  wants  out 
of  the  public  treasury,  and  told  him  that  it  was 
more  seemly  to  an  old  man  to  abstain  from  the 
cares  of  empire  and  to  live  in  quietude.  After 
terminating  these  arrangements  in  favor  of 
Vetranio,  Constantius  sent  a  large  army  into 
Italy  against  Magnentius.  He  then  conferred 
the  title  of  Caesar  on  his  cousin  Gallus,  and  sent 
him  into  Syria  to  defend  the  provinces  of  the 
East. 


CHAP.  V. CYRIL  DIRECTS  THE  SACERDOTAL  OFFICE 

AFTER  MAXIMUS,  AND  THE  LARGEST  FORM  OF  THE 
CROSS,  SURPASSING  THE  SUN  IN  SPLENDOR,  AGAIN 
APPEARS  IN  THE  HEAVENS,  AND  IS  VISIBLE  DURING 
SEVERAL  DAYS. 

At  the  time  that  Cyril  administered  the 
church  of  Jerusalem  after  Maximus,  the  sign 
of  the  cross  appeared  in  the  heavens.  It 
shone  brilliantly,  not  with  divergent  rays  like 
a  comet,  but  with  the  concentration  of  a  great 
deal  of  light,  apparently  dense  and  yet  trans- 
parent. Its  length  was  about  fifteen  stadia 
from  Calvary  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  its 
breadth  was  in  proportion  to  its  length.  So 
extraordinary  a  phenomenon  excited  universal 


1  Eutrop.  Brev.  Hist.  Rom.  x.  ii,  12;  Zos.  ii.  44,  45;  Athan 
Apol.  de  fnga  sua,  6,  7;  Ef,.  ad  Episc.  .-Eg.  tt  Lib.  7;  Soc.  ii 
25-29;   Ruf.  H.  E.  1.  19;  Philost.  iii.  22,  25. 


terror.  Men,  women,  and  children  left  their 
houses,  the  market-place,  or  their  respective 
employments,  and  ran  to  the  church,  where  thev 
sang  hymns  to  Christ  together,  and  voluntarily 
confessed  their  belief  in  God.  The  intelligence 
disturbed  in  no  little  measure  our  entire  domin- 
ions, and  this  happened  rapidly ;  for,  as  the 
custom  was,  there  were  travelers  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  so  to  speak,  who  were  dwelling 
at  Jerusalem  for  prayer,  or  to  visit  its  places  of 
interest,  these  were  spectators  of  the  sign,  and 
divulged  the  facts  to  their  friends  at  home.  The 
emperor  was  made  acquainted  with  the  occur- 
rence, partly  by  numerous  reports  concerning  it 
which  were  then  current,  and  partly  by  a  letter 
from  Cyril-  the  bishop.  It  was  said  that  this 
prodigy  was  a  fulfillment  of  an  ancient  prophecy 
contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  It  was  the 
means  of  the  conversion  of  many  pagans  and 
Jews  to  Christianity. 


CHAP.  VI.  —  PHOTESrUS,  BISHOP  OF  SIRMIUM.  HIS 
HERESY,  AND  THE  COUNCIL  CONVENED  AT  SIRMI- 
UM IN  OPPOSITION  THERETO.  THE  THREE  FOR- 
MULARIES OF  FAITH.  THIS  AGITATOR  OF  EMPl^Y 
IDEAS  WAS  REFUTED  BY  BASIL  OF  ANCYR.\.  AFTER 
HIS  DEPOSITION  PHOTINUS,  ALTHOUGH  SOLICITED,. 
DECLINED  RECONCILIATION. 

About  this  time,"  Photinus,  who  administered 
the  church  of  Sirmium,  laid  before  the  emperor,, 
who  was  then  staying  at  that  city,  a  heresy  which 
he  had  originated  some  time  previously.  His 
natural  ease  of  utterance  and  powers  of  persua- 
sion enabled  him  to  lead  many  into  his  own  way 
of  thinking.  He  acknowledged  that  there  was 
one  (iod  Almighty,  by  whose  own  word  all 
things  were  created,  but  would  not  admit  that 
the  generation  and  existence  of  the  Son  was 
before  all  ages  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  alleged  that 
Christ  derived  His  existence  from  Mary.  As  soon 
as  this  opinion  was  divulged,  it  excited  the  indig- 
nation of  the  Western  and  of  the  Eastern  bish- 
ops, and  they  considered  it  in  common  as  an 
innovation  of  each  one's  particular  belief,  for  it 
was  equally  opposed  by  those  who  maintained 
the  doctrines  of  the  Nicsean  council,  and  by  those 
who  favored  the  tenets  of  Arius.  The  emperor 
also  regarded  the  heresy  with  aversion,  and  con- 
vened a  council  at  vSirmium,  where  he  was  then 
residing.  Of  the  Eastern  bishops,  George,  who 
governed  the  church  of  .Alexandria,  Basil,  bishop 
of  Ancyra,  and  Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa,  were 
present  at  this  council ;  and  among  the  Western 


*  The  letter  here  alluded  to  by  Sozomen  was  addressed  by  Cyril 
of  Jerusalem  to  Constantius,  and  is  extant  among  his  works,  c. 
1 165,  M.  P.  G.  33;  cf.  Soc.  ii.  28;  Philost.  iii.  26;  Hieron.  Chron. 
Ens.  s.  A.D.  357. 

^  Athan.  de  Synodis,  8,  9;  Soc.  ii.  29-31,  37:  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S. 
ii.  36,  37. 


IV.  7.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


303 


bishops  were  Valens,  bishop  of  Mursa,  and 
Hosius  the  Confessor.  This  latter,  who  had  at- 
tended the  council  of  Niceea,  was  unwillingly  a 
participant  of  this ;  he  had  not  long  previously 
been  condemned  to  banishment  through  the 
machinations  of  the  Arians ;  he  was  summoned 
to  the  council  of  Sirmium  by  the  command  of 
the  emperor  extorted  by  the  Arians,  who  be- 
lieved that  their  party  would  be  strengthened,  if 
they  could  gain  over,  either  by  persuasion  or 
force,  a  man  held  in  universal  admiration  and 
esteem,  as  was  Hosius.  The  period  at  which 
the  council  was  convened  at  Sirmium,  was  the 
year  after  the  expiration  of  the  consulate  of  Ser- 
gius  and  Nigrinian ;  and  during  this  year  there 
were  no  consuls  either  in  the  East  or  the  West, 
owing  to  the  insurrections  excited  by  the  tyrants. 
Photinus  was  deposed  by  this  council,  because 
he  was  accused  of  countenancing  the  errors  of 
Sabellius  and  Paul  of  Samosata.  The  council 
then  proceeded  to  draw  up  three  formularies  of 
faith  in  addition  to  the  previous  confessions,  of 
which  one  was  written  in  Greek,  and  the  others 
in  Latin.  But  they  did  not  agree  with  one  an- 
other, nor  with  any  other  of  the  former  exposi- 
tions of  doctrine,  either  in  word  or  import.  It 
is  not  said  in  the  Greek  formulary,^  that  the  Son 
is  consubstantial,  or  of  like  substance,  with  the 
Father,  but  it  is  there  declared,  that  those  who 
maintain  that  the  Son  had  no  commencement, 
or  that  He  proceeded  from  an  expansion  of  the 
substance  of  the  Father,  or  that  He  is  united  to 
the  Father  without  being  subject  to  Him,  are  ex- 
communicated. In  one  of  the  Roman  formu- 
laries,- it  is  forbidden  to  say,  of  the  essence  of 
the  Godhead  which  the  Romans  call  substance, 
that  the  Son  is  either  consubstantial,  or  of  like 
substance  with  the  Father,  as  such  statements 
do  not  occur  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  understanding  and 
knowledge  of  men.  It  is  said,  that  the  Father 
must  be  recognized  as  superior  to  the  Son  in 
honor,  in  dignity,  in  divinity,  and  in  the  rela- 
tionship suggested  by  His  name  of  Father  ;  and 
that  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Son,  like  all 
created  beings,  is  subject  to  the  Father,  that 
the  Father  had  no  commencement,  and  that  the 
generation  of  the  Son  is  unknown  to  all  save  the 
Father.  It  is  related,  that  when  this  formulary 
was  completed,  the  bishops  became  aware  of  the 
errors  it  contained,  and  endeavored  to  withdraw 
it  from  the  public,  and  to  correct  it ;  and  that 
the  emperor  threatened  to  punish  those  who 
should  retain  or  conceal  any  of  the  copies  that 
had  been  made  of  it.  But  having  been  once 
published,  no  efforts  were  adequate  to  suppress 
it  altogether. 


1  Soc.  ii.  30,  text. 

*  Soc.  ii.  30,  Latin  text  translated  into  Greek. 


The  third  formulary "  is  of  the  same  import  as 
the  others.  It  prohibits  the  use  of  the  term 
"  substance  "  on  account  of  the  terms  used  in 
Latin,  while  the  Greek  term  having  been  used 
with  too  much  simplicity  by  the  Fathers,  and 
having  been  a  cause  of  offense  to  many  of  the  un- 
learned multitude,  because  it  was  not  to  be  found 
in  the  Scriptures,  "we  have  deemed  it  right 
totally  to  reject  the  use  of  it :  and  we  would 
enjoin  the  omission  of  all  mention  of  the  term 
in  allusion  to  the  Godhead,  for  it  is  nowhere  said 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost  are  of  the  same  substance, 
where  the  word  person  is  written.  But  we  say, 
in  conformity  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  the 
Son  is  like  unto  the  Father." 

Such  was  the  decision  arrived  at  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  emperor  concerning  the  faith.  Ho- 
sius at  first  refused  to  assent  to  it.  Compulsion, 
however,  was  resorted  to  ;  and  being  extremely 
old,  he  sunk,  as  it  is  reported,  beneath  the  blows 
that  were  inflicted  on  him,  and  yielded  his  con- 
sent and  signature. 

After  the  deposition  of  Photinus,  the  Synod 
thought  it  expedient  to  try  whether  it  were  not 
somehow  possible  to  persuade  him  to  change 
his  views.  But  when  the  bishop  urged  him, 
and  promised  to  restore  his  bishopric  if  he 
would  renounce  his  own  dogma,  and  vote  for 
their  formulary,  he  would  not  acquiesce,  but 
challenged  them  to  a  discussion.  On  the  day 
appointed  for  this  purpose,  the  bishops,  there- 
fore, assembled  with  the  judges  who  had  been 
appointed  by  the  emperor  to  preside  at  their 
meetings,  and  who,  in  point  of  eloquence  and 
dignity,  held  the  first  rank  in  the  palace.  Basil, 
bishop  of  Ancyra,  was  selected  to  commence 
the  disputation  against  Photinus.  The  conflict 
lasted  a  long  time,  on  account  of  the  numerous 
questions  started  and  the  answers  given  by  each 
party,  and  which  were  immediately  taken  down 
in  short-hand  ;  but  finally  the  victory  declared 
itself  in  favor  of  Basil.  Photinus  was  condemned 
and  banished,  but  did  not  cease  on  that  account 
from  enlarging  his  own  dogma.  He  wrote  and 
published  many  works  in  Greek  and  Latin,  in 
which  he  endeavored  to  show  that  all  opinions, 
except  his  own,  were  erroneous.  I  have  now 
concluded  all  that  I  had  to  say  concerning  Pho- 
tinus and  the  heresy  to  which  his  name  was 
affixed. 


CHAP.  VII.  —  DEATH  OF  THE  TVR.\NTS  MAGNENTIUS 
AND  SILVANUS  THE  APOSTATE.  SEDITION  OF  THE 
JEWS  IN  PALESTINE.  CALLUS  C/ESAR  IS  SL-VIN, 
ON   SUSPICION   OF   REVOLUTION. 

In  the  meantime,*  Magnentius  made  himself 


3  Athan.  de  Synodis,  8;   Soc.  ii.  37,  text  translated  into  Greek. 
<  Soc.  ii.  32-34;  of.  Philost.  iii.  26-28;  iv,  i;  Orosius,  vii.  20; 


304 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  7. 


master  of  ancient  Rome,  and  put  numbers  of 
the  senators,  and  of  the  people,  to  death. 
Hearing  that  the  troops  of  Constantius  were  ap- 
proaching, he  retired  into  Gaul ;  and  here  the 
two  parties  had  frequent  encounters,  in  which 
sometimes  the  one  and  sometimes  the  other  was 
victorious.  .At  length,  however,  Magnentius  was 
defeated,  and  fled  to  Mursa,  which  is  the  fortress 
of  this  Gaul,  and  when  he  saw  that  his  soldiers 
were  dispirited  because  they  had  been  defeated, 
he  stood  on  an  elevated  spot  and  endeavored 
to  revive  their  courage.  But,  although  they 
addressed  Magnentius  with  the  acclamations 
usually  paid  to  emperors,  and  were  ready  to 
shout  at  his  public  appearance,  they  secretly 
and  without  premeditation  shouted  for  Constan- 
tius as  emperor  in  place  of  Magnentius.  Mag- 
nentius, concluding  from  this  circumstance,  that 
he  was  not  destined  by  God  to  hold  the  reins  of 
empire,  endeavored  to  retreat  from  the  fortress 
to  some  distant  place.  But  he  was  pursued  by 
the  troops  of  Constantius,  and  being  overtaken 
at  a  spot  called  Mount  Seleucus,  he  escaped 
alone  from  the  encounter,  and  fled  to  Lugduna. 
On  his  arrival  there,  he  slew  his  own  mother 
and  his  brother,  whom  he  had  named  Csesar ; 
and  lastly,  he  killed  himself.^  Not  long  after, 
Decentius,  another  of  his  brothers,  put  an  end 
to  his  own  existence.  Still  the  public  tumults 
were  not  quelled  ;  for  not  long  after,  Silvanus 
assumed  the  supreme  authority  in  Gaul ;  but  he 
was  put  to  death  immediately  by  the  generals  of 
Constantius. 

The  Jews  of  Diocsesarea  also  overran  Pales- 
tine and  the  neighboring  territories ;  they  took 
up  arms  with  the  design  of  shaking  off  the 
Roman  yoke.'  On  hearing  of  their  insurrection, 
Gallus  Caesar,  who  was  then  at  Antioch,  sent 
troops  against  them,  defeated  them,  and  de- 
stroyed Diocaesarea.  Gallus,  intoxicated  with 
success,  could  not  bear  his  prosperity,  but 
aspired  to  the  supreme  power,  and  he  slew 
Magnus,  the  quaestor,  and  Domitian,  the  prefect 
of  the  East,  because  they  apprised  the  emperor 
of  his  innovations.  The  anger  of  Constantius 
was  excited ;  and  he  summoned  him  to  his 
presence.  Gallus  did  not  dare  to  refuse  obedi- 
ence, and  set  out  on  his  journey.  When,  how- 
ever, he  reached  the  island  Elavona  he  was 
killed  by  the  emperor's  order ;  this  event  oc- 
curred in  the  third  year  of  his  consulate,  and  the 
seventh  of  Constantius.^ 

CHAP.  VIII. ARRIVAL   OF     CONSTANTIUS    AT     ROME. 

A  COUNCIL  HELD  IN  ITALY.  ACCOUNT  OF  WHAT 
HAPPENED  TO  ATHAN.-VSIUS  THE  GREAT  THROUGH 
THE  MACHINATIONS  OF  THE  ARIANS. 


language  and  order  like  Soz. ;  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  38:   Am.  Marcel, 
xiv.  I,  7-9,  n;  Zos.  ii.  45-55:   Eutrop.  Brcv.  hist.   Rom.  x.  12,  13. 
2   c —    :; .  '(    .    .,     


A.D.  353. 


OC.  U.  33,  34. 


A.D.  353. 


Ox  the  death  of  tlie  tyrants,*  Constantius  an- 
ticipated the  restoration  of  peace  and  cessation 
of  tumults,  and  quitted  Sirmium  in  order  to  re- 
turn to  ancient  Rome,  and  to  enjoy  the  honor 
of  a  triumph  after  his  victory  over  the  tyrants. 
He  likewise  intended  to  bring  the  Eastern  and 
the  Western  bishops,  if  possible,  to  one  mind 
concerning  doctrine,  by  convening  a  council  in 
Italy.  Julius  died  about  this  period,  after  having 
governed  the  church  of  Rome  during  twenty- 
five  years;''  and  Liberius  succeeded  him. 
Those  who  were  opposed  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Nicjean  council  thought  this  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity to  calumniate  the  bishops  whom  they  had 
deposed,  and  to  procure  their  ejection  from  the 
church  as  abettors  of  false  doctrine,  and  as  dis- 
turbers of  the  public  peace  ;  and  to  accuse  them 
of  having  sought,  during  the  life  of  Constans,  to 
excite  a  misunderstanding  between  the  empe- 
rors ;  and  it  was  true,  as  we  related  above,^  that 
Constans  menaced  his  brother  with  war  unless 
he  would  consent  to  receive  the  orthodox 
bishops.  Their  efforts  were  principally  directed 
against  Athanasius,  towards  whom  they  enter- 
tained so.  great  an  aversion  that,  even  when  he 
was  protected  by  Constans,  and  enjoyed  the 
friendship  of  Constantius,  they  could  not  con- 
ceal their  enmity.  Narcissus,  bishop  of  Cilicia, 
Theodore,  bishop  of  Thrace,  Eugenius,  bishop 
of  Nicaea,  Patrophilus,  bishop  of  Scythopolis, 
Menophantes,  bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  other 
bishops,  to  the  number  of  thirty,  assembled 
themselves  in  Antioch,"  and  wrote  a  letter  to  all 
the  bishops  of  every  region,  in  which  they  stated 
that  Athanasius  had  returned  to  his  bishopric  in 
violation  of  the  rules  of  the  Church,  that  he  had 
not  justified  himself  in  any  council,  and  that  he 
was  only  supported  by  some  of  his  own  faction ; 
and  they  exhorted  them  not  to  hold  communion 
with  him,  nor  to  write  to  him,  but  to  enter  into 
communion  with  George,  who  had  been  or- 
dained to  succeed  him.  Athanasius  only  con- 
temned these  proceedings  ;  but  he  was  about  to 
undergo  greater  trials  than  any  he  had  3'et  expe- 
rienced. Immediately  on  the  death  of  Magnen- 
tius, and  as  soon  as  Constantius  found  himself 
sole  master  of  the  Roman  Empire,  he  directed 
all  his  efforts  to  induce  the  bishops  of  the  West 
to  admit  that  the  Son  is  of  like  substance  with 
the  Father.  In  carrying  out  this  scheme,  how- 
ever, he  did  not,  in  the  first  place,  resort  to 
compulsion,  but  endeavored  by  persuasion  to 
obtain  the  concurrence  of  the  other  bishops 
in  the  decrees  of  the  Eastern  bishops  against 
Athanasius ;    for  he  thought    that   if  he    could 

■*  Independent  chapter. 

"  Sozomen  is  mistaken  in  saying  twenty-five  years;  he  was  bishop 
from  A.D.  ^37-352,  fifteen  years;  this  error  is  due  to  his  earlier  con- 
fusion of  Julius  and  Silvester. 

"  See  above,  iii.  20. 

"  Sozomen  is  the  only  historian  who  makes  mention  of  this  Synod 
at  Antioch  in  Syria;  probably  from  Sabinus. 


IV.  lo.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


305 


bring  them  to  be  of  one  mind  on  tliis  point,  it 
would  be  easy  for  him  to  regulate  aright  the 
affairs  connected  with  religion. 


CHAP.    IX.  COUNCIL    OF    MILAN. 

ATHANASIUS. 


FLIGHT    OF 


The  emperor  ^  was  extremely  urgent  to  con- 
vene a  council  in  Milan,  yet  few  of  the  Eastern 
bishops  repaired  thither  ;  some,  it  appears,  ex- 
cused themselves  from  attendance  under  the 
plea  of  illness  ;  others,  on  account  of  the  length 
and  difficulties  of  the  journey.  There  were, 
however,  upwards  of  three  hundred  of  the 
Western  bishops  at  the  council.  The  Eastern 
bishops  insisted  that  Athanasius  should  be  con- 
demned to  banishment,  and  expelled  from  Alex- 
andria ;  and  the  others,  either  from  fear,  fraud, 
or  ignorance,  assented  to  the  measure.  Diony- 
sius,  bishop  of  Alba,  the  metropolis  of  Italy, 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  Vercella  in  Liguria,  Paulinus, 
bishop  of  Treves,  Rhodanus,"  and  Lucifer,  were 
the  only  bishops  who  protested  against  this  de- 
cision ;  and  they  declared  that  Athanasius  ought 
not  to  be  condemned  on  such  slight  pretexts  ; 
and  that  the  evil  would  not  cease  with  his  con- 
demnation ;  but  that  those  who  supported  the 
orthodox  doctrines  concerning  the  Godhead 
would  be  forthwith  subjected  to  a  plot.  They 
represented  that  the  whole  measure  was  a  scheme 
concerted  by  the  emperor  and  the  Arians  with 
the  view  of  suppressing  the  Nicene  faith.  Their 
boldness  was  punished  by  an  edict  of  immediate 
banishment,  and  Hilary  was  exiled  with  them. 
The  result  too  plainly  showed  for  what  purpose 
the  council  of  Milan  had  been  convened.  For 
the  councils  which  were  held  shortly  after  at 
Ariminum  and  Seleucia  were  evidently  designed 
to  change  the  doctrines  established  by  the 
Nicaean  council,  as  I  shall  directly  show. 

Athanasius,  being  apprised  that  plots  had 
been  formed  against  him  at  court,  deemed  it 
prudent  not  to  repair  to  the  emperor  himself,  as 
he  knew  that  his  life  would  be  thereby  endan- 
gered, nor  did  he  think  that  it  would  be  of  any 
avail.  He,  however,  selected  five  of  the  Egyp- 
tian bishops,  among  whom  was  Serapion.  bishop 
of  Thumis,  a  prelate  distinguished  by  the  won- 
derful sanctity  of  his  life  and  the  power  of  his 
eloquence,  and  sent  them  with  three  presbyters 
of  the  Church  to  the  emperor,  who  was  then  in 
the  West.  They  were  directed  to  attempt,  if 
possible,  to  conciliate  the  emperor ;  to  reply, 
if  requisite,  to  the  calumnies  of  the  hostile  party  ; 
and  to  take  such  measures  as  they  deemed  most 

1  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  19,  20;  Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  31-46,  and  probably 
the  lost  letter  of  consecration  addressed  to  the  nuns;  Theodoret, 
H.  E.\\.  14,  15;   Soc.  ii.  36;   Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  39. 

^  Or,  as  Rufinus  and  Sulpicius  Sevenis  call  him,  Rhodanius.  Soc- 
rates omits  Rhodanius  and  Lucifer,  and  does  not  mention  Hilary. 
Sozomen  evidently  used  Rufinus.  Rhodanius  was  bishop  of  Tou- 
louse.    Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  39. 


advisable  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church  and 
himself  Shortly  after  they  had  embarked  on 
their  voyage,  Athanasius  received  some  letters 
from  the  emperor,  summoning  him  to  the  palace. 
Athanasius  and  all  the  people  of  the  Church 
were  greatly  troubled  at  this  command ;  for 
they  considered  that  no  safety  could  be  enjoyed 
when  acting  either  in  obedience  or  in  disobedi- 
ence to  an  emperor  of  heterodox  sentiments. 
It  was,  however,  determined  that  he  should 
remain  at  Alexandria,  and  the  bearer  of  the 
letters  quitted  the  city  without  having  effected 
anything.  The  following  summer,  another  mes- 
senger from  the  emperor  arrived  with  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  provinces,  and  he  was  charged 
to  urge  the  departure  of  Athanasius  from  the 
city,  and  to  act  with  hostility  against  the  clergy. 
When  he  perceived,  however,  that  the  people  of 
the  Church  were  full  of  courage,  and  ready  to 
take  up  arms,  he  also  departed  from  the  city 
without  accomplishing  his  mission.  Not  long 
after,  troops,  called  the  Roman  legions,  which 
were  quartered  in  Egypt  and  Libya,  marched 
into  Alexandria.  As  it  was  reported  that  Atha- 
nasius was  concealed  in  the  church  known  by 
the  name  "Theonas,"  the  commander  of  the 
troops,  and  Hilary,^  whom  the  emperor  had 
again  intrusted  with  the  transaction  of  this  affair, 
caused  the  doors  of  the  church  to  be  burst 
open,  and  thus  effected  their  entrance ;  but 
they  did  not  find  Athanasius  within  the  walls, 
although  they  sought  for  him  everywhere.  It  is 
said  that  he  escaped  this  and  many  other  perils 
by  the  Divine  interposition  ;  and  that  God  had 
disclosed  this  previously ;  directly  as  he  went 
out,  the  soldiers  took  the  doors  of  the  church, 
and  were  within  a  little  of  seizing  him. 


CHAP.  X. DIVERS    MACHINATIONS    OF    THE    ARIANS 

AGAINST  ATHANASIUS,  AND  HIS  ESCAPE  FROM 
VARIOUS  DANGERS  THROUGH  DIVINE  INTERPOSI- 
TION. EVIL  DEEDS  PERPETRATED  BY  GEORGE  IN 
EGYPT  AFPER  THE  EXPULSION  OF  ATHANASIUS. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Athanasius  was 
beloved  of  God,  and  endowed  with  the  gift  of 
foreseeing  the  future.*  More  wonderful  facts  than 
those  which  we  have  related  might  be  adduced  to 
prove  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  futurity. 
It  happened  that  during  the  life  of  Constans, 
the  Emperor  Constantius  was  once  determined 
upon  ill-treating  this  holy  man ;  but  Athanasius 
fled,  and  concealed  himself  with  some  one  of 
his  acquaintances.  He  lived  for  a  long  time 
in  a  subterraneous  and  sunless  dwelling,  which 

'  The  general  was  Syrianus;  Hilary  was  notary  to  the  Emperor 
Constantius,  and  was  sent  by  him  to  expel  Athanasius  from  Alexan- 
dria. On  the  whole  passage,  see  Athan.  Apol.  ad  Const,  imp. 
19-25;  Apol.  de  jTuga  sua,  ■2.\. 

*  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  18,  33,  34;  Soc.  ii.  45;  iii.  14;  Sozomen  groups 
these  stories  without  regard  to  time;  see  next  chapter;  he  has  some 
independent  material. 


3o6 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  lo. 


had  been  used  as  a  reservoir  for  water.  No 
one  knew  where  he  was  concealed  except  a 
serving-woman,  who  seemed  faithful,  and  who 
waited  upon  him.  As  the  heterodox,  however, 
were  anxiously  intent  upon  taking  Athanasius 
alive,  it  appears  that,  by  means  of  gifts  or 
promises,  they  at  length  succeeded  in  corrupting 
the  attendant.  But  Athanasius  was  forewarned 
by  God  of  her  treachery,  and  effected  his  escape 
from  the  place.  The  servant  was  punished  for 
having  made  a  false  deposition  against  her 
masters,  while  they,  on  their  part,  fled  the 
country ;  for  it  was  accounted  no  venial  crime 
by  the  heterodox  to  receive  or  to  conceal 
Athanasius,  but  was,  on  the  contrary,  regarded 
as  an  act  of  disobedience  against  the  express 
commands  of  the  emperor,  and  as  a  crime 
against  the  empire,  and  was  visited  as  such  by 
the  civil  tribunals.  It  has  come  to  my  hearing 
that  Athanasius  was  saved  on  another  occasion 
in  a  similar  manner.  He  was  again  obliged  for' 
the  same  reason  to  flee  for  his  life ;  and  he  set 
sail  up  the  Nile  ^  with  the  design  of  retreating 
to  the  further  districts  of  Egypt,  but  his  enemies 
received  inteUigence  of  his  intention,  and  pur- 
sued him.  Being  forewarned  of  God  that  he 
would  be  pursued,  he  announced  it  to  his 
fellow-passengers,  and  commanded  them  to 
return  to  Alexandria.  While  he  sailed  down  the 
river,  his  plotters  rowed  by.  He  reached  Alex- 
andria in  safety,  and  effectually  concealed  him- 
self in  the  midst  of  its  similar  and  numerous 
houses.  His  success  in  avoiding  these  and  many 
other  perils  led  to  his  being  accused  of  sorcery 
by  the  pagan  and  the  heterodox.  It  is  reported, 
that  once,  as  he  was  passing  through  the  city,  a 
crow  was  heard  to  caw,  and  that  a  number  of 
pagans  who  happened  to  be  on  the  spot,  asked 
him  in  derision  what  the  crow  was  saying.  He 
replied,  smiling,  "  It  utters  the  sound  eras,  the 
meaning  of  which  in  the  Latin  language  is,  '  to- 
morrow ' ;  and  it  has  hereby  announced  to  you 
that  the  morrow  will  not  be  propitious  to  you ; 
for  it  indicates  that  you  will  be  forbidden  by  the 
Roman  emperor  to  celebrate  your  festival  to- 
morrow." Although  this  prediction  of  Athanasius 
appeared  to  be  absurd,  it  was  fulfilled ;  for  the 
following  day  edicts  were  transmitted  to  the 
governors  from  the  emperor,  by  which  it  was 
commanded  that  the  pagans  were  not  to  be 
permitted  to  assemble  in  the  temples  to  perform 
their  usual  ceremonies,  nor  to  celebrate  their 
festival ;  and  thus  was  abolished  the  most  solemn 
and  magnificent  feast  which  the  pagans  had 
retained.  What  I  have  said  is  sufficient  to  show 
that  this  holy  man  was  endoVved  with  the  gift 
of  prophecy. 

After  Athanasius  had  escaped,  in  the  manner 


'  Soc.  iii.  14. 


we  have  described,  from  those  who  sought  to 
arrest  him,  his  clergy  and  people  remained  for 
some  time  in  possession  of  the  churches  ;  but 
eventually,  the  governor  of  Egypt  and  the  com- 
mander of  the  army  fdrcibly  ejected  all  those 
who  maintained  the  sentiments  of  Athanasius,  in 
order  to  deliver  up  the  government  of  the 
churches  to  those  who  favored  George,  whose 
arrival  was  then  expected.  Not  long  after  he 
reached  the  city,  and  the  churches  were  placed 
under  his  authority.  He  ruled  by  force  rather 
than  by  priestly  moderation ;  and  as  he  strove 
to  strike  terror  into  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  carried  on  a  cruel  persecution  against  the 
followers  of  Athanasius,  and,  moreover,  impris- 
oned and  maimed  many  men  and  women,  he 
was  accounted  a  tyrant.  For  these  reasons  he  fell 
into  a  universal  hate  ;  the  people  were  so  deeply 
incensed  at  his  conduct,  that  thev  rushed  into 
the  church,  and  would  have  torn  him  to  pieces ; 
in  such  an  extremity  of  danger,  he  escaped  with 
difficulty,  and  fled  to  the  emperor.  Those  who 
held  the  sentiments  of  Athanasius  then  took 
possession  of  the  churches.  But  they  did  not 
long  retain  the  mastery  of  them  ;  for  the  com- 
mander of  the  troops  in  Egypt  came  and  re- 
stored the  churches  to  the  partisans  of  George. 
An  imperial  shorthand  writer  of  the  notary 
class  was  afterwards  sent  to  punish  the  leaders 
of  the  sedition,  and  he  tortured  and  scourged 
many  of  the  citizens.  When  George  returned  a 
little  while  after,  he  was  more  formidable,  it 
appears,  than  ever,  and  was  regarded  with 
greater  aversion  than  before,  for  he  instigated 
the  emperor  to  the  perpetration  of  many  evil 
deeds  ;  and  besides,  the  monks  of  Egypt  openly 
declared  him  to  be  perfidious  and  inflated  with 
arrogance.  The  opinions  of  these  monks  were 
always  adopted  by  the  people,  and  their  testi- 
mony was  universally  received,  because  they 
were  noted  for  their  virtue  and  the  philosophical 
tenor  of  their  lives. 

CHAP.    XI. LIBERIUS,  BISHOP    OF    ROME,    AND   THE 

CAUSE    OF     HIS     BEING    EXILED    BY    CONSTANTIUS. 
FELIX  HIS  SUCCESSOR. 

Although  what  I  have  recorded  did  not 
occur  to  Athanasius  and  the  church  of  Alexan- 
dria, at  the  same  period  of  time  after  the  death 
of  Constans,  yet  I  deemed  it  right,  for  the  sake 
of  greater  clearness,  to  relate  all  these  events 
collectively.  The  council  of  Milan-  was  dis- 
solved without  any  business  having  been  trans- 
acted, and  the  emperor  condemned  to  banish- 
ment all  those  who  had  opposed  the  designs  of 
the    enemies    of    Athanasius.     As     Constantius 


-  Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  31-46;  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  21;  Soc.  ii.  36; 
Sulp.  Scv.  //.  S.  ii.  39;  cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  i6,  dialogue  be- 
tween the  emperor  and  Liberius;  Am.  MarceL  xv.  7. 


IV.   12.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


o 


07 


wished  to  establish  uniforinit}''  of  doctrine 
throughout  the  Church,  and  to  unite  the  priest- 
hood in  the  maintenance  of  the  same  senti- 
ments, he  formed  a  plan  to  convene  the  bishops 
of  every  religion  to  a  council,  to  be  held  in  the 
West.  He  was  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  carry- 
ing this  scheme  into  execution,  arising  from  the 
vast  extent  of  land  and  seas  which  some  of  the 
bishops  would  have  to  traverse,  yet  he  did  not 
altogether  despair  of  success.  While  this  pro- 
ject was  occupying  his  mind,  and  before  he  pre- 
pared to  make  his  triumphal  entrance  into 
Rome,  he  sent  for  Liberius,  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  and  strove  to  persuade  him  to  conform- 
ity of  sentiment  with  the  priests  by  whom  he 
was  attended,  amongst  whom  was  Eudoxius.  As 
Liberius,  however,  refused  compliance,  and  pro- 
tested that  he  would  never  yield  on  this  point, 
the  emperor  banished  him  to  Beroea,  in  Thrace. 
It  is  alleged,  that  another  pretext  for  the  banish- 
ment of  Liberius  was,  that  he  would  not  with- 
draw from  communion  with  Athanasius,  but 
manfully  opposed  the  emperor,  who  insisted  that 
Athanasius  had  injured  the  Church,  had  occa- 
sioned the  death  of  the  elder  of  his  two 
brothers,'  and  had  sown  the  seeds  of  enmity 
between  Constans  and  himself.  As  the  empe- 
ror revived  all  the  decrees  which  had  been 
enacted  against  Athanasius  by  various  councils, 
and  particularly  by  that  of  Tyre,  Liberius  told 
him  that  no  regard  ought  to  be  paid  to  edicts 
which  were  issued  from  motives  of  hatred,  of 
favor,  or  of  fear.  He  desired  that  the  bishops 
of  every  region  should  be  made  to  sign  the  for- 
mulary of  faith  compiled  at  Nicsea,  and  that 
those  bishops  who  had  been  exiled  on  account 
of  their  adherence  to  it  should  be  recalled.  He 
suggested  that  after  these  matters  were  righted 
all  the  bishops  should,  at  their  own  expense, 
and  without  being  furnished  either  with  public 
conveyances  or  money,  so  as  not  to  seem  bur- 
densome and  destructive,  proceed  to  Alexan- 
dria, and  make  an  accurate  test  of  the  truth, 
which  could  be  more  easily  instituted  at  that 
city  than  elsewhere,  as  the  injured  and  those 
who  had  inflicted  injury  as  well  as  the  confuters 
of  the  charges  dwelt  there.  He  then  exhibited 
the  letter  written  by  Valens  and  Ursacius  to 
Julius,  his  predecessor  in  the  Roman  see,  in 
which  they  solicited  his  forgiveness,  and  ac- 
knowledged that  the  depositions  brought  against 
Athanasius,  at  the  Mareotis,were  false  ;  and  he  be- 
sought the  emperor  not  to  condemn  Athanasius 
during  his  absence,  nor  to  give  credit  to  enact- 
ments which  were  evidently  obtained  by  the 
machinations  of  his  enemies.  With  respect  to 
the  alleged  injuries  which  had  been  inflicted  on 
his  two  brothers,  he  entreated  the  emperor  not 


to  revenge  himself  by  the  hands  of  priests  who 
had  been  set  apart  by  God,  not  for  the  execu- 
tion of  vengeance,  but  for  sanctification,  and  the 
performance  of  just  and  benevolent  actions. 

The  emperor  perceiving  that  Liberius  was  not 
disposed  to  comply  with  his  mandate,  com- 
manded that  he  should  be  conveyed  to  Thrace, 
unless  he  would  change  his  mind  within  two 
days.  "To  me,  O  emperor,"  replied  Liberius, 
"there  is  no  need  of  deliberation  ;  my  resolu- 
tion has  long  been  formed  and  decided,  and  I 
am  ready  to  go  forth  to  exile."  It  is  said,  that 
when  he  was  being  conducted  to  banishment, 
the  emperor  sent  him  five  hundred  pieces  of 
gold ;  he,  however,  refused  to  receive  them, 
and  said  to  the  messenger  who  brought  them, 
"  Go,  and  tell  him  who  sent  this  gold  to  give  it 
to  the  flatterers  and  hypocrites  ^  who  surround 
him,  for  their  insatiable  cupidity  plunges  them 
into  a  state  of  perpetual  want  which  can  never 
be  relieved.  Christ,  who  is  in  all  respects,"  like 
unto  his  Father,  supplies  us  with  food  and  with 
all  good  things." 

Liberius  having  for  the  above  reasons  been 
deposed  from  the  Roman  church,  his  govern- 
ment was  transferred  to  Felix,  a  deacon  of  the 
clergy  there.  It  is  said  that  Felix  always  con- 
tinued in  adherence  to  the  Nicene  faith  ;  and 
that,  with  respect  to  his  conduct  in  religious 
matters  he  was  blameless.  The  only  thing  al- 
leged against  him  was,  that,  prior  to  his  ordina- 
tion, he  held  communion  with  the  heterodox. 
^Vhen  the  emperor  entered  Rome,  the  people 
loudly  demanded  Liberius,  and  besought  his 
return ;  after  consulting  with  the  bishops  who 
were  with  him,  he  replied  that  he  would  recall 
Liberius  and  restore  him  to  the  people,  if  he 
would  consent  to  embrace  the  same  sentiments 
as  those  held  by  the  priests  of  the  court. 

CHAP.     XII. AETIUS,  THE  SYRIAN,   AND   EUDOXIUS, 

THE  SUCCESSOR  OF  LEONTIUS  IN  ANTIOCH.       CON- 
CERNING  THE    TERM    "  CONSUBSTANTIAL." 

About  this  time,*  Aetius  broached  his  peculiar 
opinions  concerning  the  Godhead.  He  was 
then  deacon  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  and  had 
been  ordained  by  Leontius.^  He  maintained, 
like  Arius,  that  the  Son  is  a  created  being,  that 
He  was  created  out  of  nothing,  and  that  He  is 
dissimilar  from  the  Father.  As  he  was  extremely 
addicted  to  contention,  very  bold  in  his  asser- 
tions on  theological  subjects,  and  prone  to  have 


1  The  dialogue  is  preserved  in  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  16.     Cf.  Hil. 
Fragin.  v.,  vi. 


2  He  means  the  Arian  bishops.  It  is  like  the  terms  Athanasius 
employs. 

'^  One  would  have  expected  from  Liberius  "  the  same,"  i.e.  6^05 
instead  of  0HO109. 

^  iii.  15,  and  references  there:  A\!ti3.n.  de  Sy7todis,%, -fi;  Soc.  li. 
35,  36;  cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  24. 

5  So  also  says  Socrates.  But  Epiphanius  asserts  that  he  was 
ordained  by  George  of  Alexandria  in  Taurus.  Adv.  hceres.  iii.  i.  38 
{hteres.  Ixxiii.). 


3o8 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.   12. 


recourse  to  a  very  subtle  mode  of  argumentation, 
he  was  accounted  a  heretic,  even  by  those  who 
held  the  same  sentiments  as  himself.  When  he 
had  been,  for  this  reason,  excommunicated  by 
the  heterodox,  he  feigned  a  refusal  to  hold  com- 
munion with  them,  because,  they  had  unjustly 
admitted  Arius  into  communion  after  he  had 
perjured  himself  by  declaring  to  the  Emperor 
Constantine  that  he  maintained  the  doctrines  of 
the  council  of  Nicaea.  Such  is  the  account 
given  of  Aetius. 

While  the  emperor  was  in  the  West,  tid- 
ings arrived  of  the  death  of  Leontius,  bishop 
of  Antioch.  Eudoxius  requested  permission  of 
the  emperor  to  return  to  Syria,  that  he  might 
superintend  the  affairs  of  that  church.  On  per- 
mission being  granted,  he  repaired  with  all 
speed  to  Antioch,  and  installed  himself  as  bishop 
of  that  city  without  the  sanction  of  George, 
bishop  of  Laodicea  ;  of  Mark,  bishop  of  Are- 
thusa ;  of  the  other  Syrian  bishops  ;  or  of  any 
other  bishop  to  whom  the  right  of  ordination 
pertained.  It  was  reported  that  he  acted  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  emperor,  and  of  the 
eunuchs  belonging  to  the  palace,  who,  like 
Eudoxius,  favored  the  doctrines  of  Aetius,  and 
believed  that  the  Son  is  dissimilar  from  the 
Father.  When  Eudoxius  found  himself  in  pos- 
session of  the  church  of  Antioch,  he  ventured 
to  uphold  this  heresy  openly.  He  assembled  in 
Antioch  all  those  Avho  held  the  same  opinions 
as  himself,  among  whom  was  Acacius,  bishop 
of  Tyre,  and  rejected  the  terms,  "  of  nke  sub- 
stance," and  "  consubstantial,"  under  the  pretext 
that  they  had  been  denounced  by  the  Western 
bishops.  For  Hosius,  with  some  of  the  priests 
there,  had  certainly,  with  the  view  of  arresting 
the  contention  excited  by  Valens,  Ursacius,  and 
Germanius,^  consented,  though  by  compulsion,- 
at  Sirmium,  as  it  is  reported,  to  refrain  from  the 
use  of  the  terms  "consubstantial"  and  '.'  of  like 
substance,"  because  such  terms  do  not  occur  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  are  beyond  the  under- 
standing of  men.'*  They  *  sent  an  episde  to  the 
bishops  as  though  these  sustained  the  writings 
of  Hosius  on  this  point,'  and  conveyed  their 
thanks  to  Valens,  Ursacius,  and  Germanius, 
because  they  had  given  the  impulse  of  right 
views  to  the  Western  bishops. 

CHAP.  XIII. INNOVATIONS  Op-    EUDOXIUS    CENSURED 

IN  A  LETIKR  WRI'ITEN  BY  GEORGE,  BISHOP  OF 
LAODICEA.  DEPUTATION  FROM  THE  COUNCIL  OF 
ANCVRA  TO  CONSTANTIUS. 

'  Otherwise  called  Germinius.  He  was  afterwards  promoted  to 
the  bishopric  of  Sirmium,  according  to  Athan.  /V/si.  An'an.  74;  cf. 
de  Synodis,  i,  8. 

'  See,  above,  chap.  vi.  near  the  end. 

'  Athanasiiis  also  e.xcuses  the  lapse  of  Hosius  on  the  ground 
that  he  acted  under  compulsion. 

<  Not  the  individual  letter  of  Eudoxius,  according  to  some  read- 
ings, but  of  the  Synod  of  Antioch. 


After  Eudoxius  had  introduced  these  new 
doctrines,  many  members  of  the  church  of  Anti- 
och, who  were  opposed  to  them,  were  excom- 
municated.' George,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  gave 
them  a  letter  to  take  to  the  bishops  who  had 
been  invited  from  the  neighboring  towns  of 
Ancyra  in  Galatia  by  Basil,  for  the  purpose  of 
consecrating  a  church  which  he  had  erected. 
This  letter  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  George,  to  his  most  honored  lords  Mace- 
donius,  Basil,  Cecropius,  and  Eugenius,  sends 
greeting  in  the  Lord. 

"  Nearly  the  whole  city  has  suffered  from  the 
shipwreck  of  Aetius.  The  disciples  of  this 
wicked  man,  whom  you  contemned,  have  been 
encouraged  by  Eudoxius,  and  promoted  by  him 
to  clerical  appointments,  and  Aetius  himself  has 
been  raised  to  the  highest  honor.  Go,  then,  to 
the  assistance  of  this  great  city,  lest  by  its  ship- 
wreck the  whole  world  should  be  submerged. 
Assemble  yourselves  together,  and  solicit  the 
signatures  of  other  bishops,  that  Aetius  may  be 
ejected  from  the  church  of  Antioch,  and  that 
his  disciples  who  have  been  manipulated  before- 
hand into  the  lists  of  the  clergy  by  Eudoxius, 
may  be  cut  off.  If  Eudoxius  persist  in  affirming 
with  Aetius,  that  the  Son  is  dissimilar  from  the 
Father,  and  in  preferring  those  who  uphold  this 
dogma  to  those  who  reject  it,  the  city  of  Anti- 
och is  lost  to  you."  Such  was  the  strain  of 
George's  letter. 

The  bishops  who  were  assembled  at  Ancyra 
clearly  perceived  by  the  enactments  of  F]udox- 
ius  at  Antioch,  that  he  contemplated  the  in- 
troduction of  innovations  in  doctrine ;  they 
apprised  the  emperor  of  this  fact,  and  besought 
him  that  the  doctrine  established  at  Sardica,  at 
Sirmium,  and  at  other  councils,  might  be  con- 
firmed, and  especially  the  dogma  that  the  Son 
is  of  like  substance  with  the  Father.  In  order 
to  proffer  this  request  to  the  emperor,  they  sent 
to  him  a  deputation  composed  of  the  following 
bishops  :  Basil,  bishop  of  Ancyra ;  Eustathius, 
bishop  of  Sebaste  ;  Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus  ; 
and  Leontius,  the  presbyter  of  the  imperial  bed- 
chamber. On  their  arrival  at  the  palace,  they 
found  that  Asphalius,  a  presbyter  of  Antioch, 
and  a  zealot  of  the  Aetian  heresy,  was  on  the 
point  of  taking  his  departure,  after  having  ter- 
minated the  business  for  which  he  undertook  the 
journey  and  having  obtained  a  letter  from  the  em- 
peror. On  receiving,  however,  the  intelligence 
concerning  the  heresy  conveyed  by  the  depu- 
tation from  Ancyra,  Constantius  condemned 
Eudoxius  and  his  followers,  withdrew  the  letter 
he  had  confided  to  Asphalius,  and  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing one  :  — 

^  Philost.  iv.  4-6,  8:  X.  12;  and  fragment  in  Suidas  s.  Eudoxius; 
Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  4,  5;  Hil.  de  Synod.  8,  9,  90;  Soc.  ii.  37,  40: 
Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  25,  26. 


IV.  15.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


509 


CHAP.  XIV.  —  LETIER    OF   THE    EMPEROR   CONSTAN- 
TIUS  AGAINST  EUDOXIUS  AND  HIS  PARTISANS. 

"  CoNSTANTius  AUGUSTUS  the  Conqueror,  to 
the  holy  church  in  Antioch.' 

''  Eudoxius  came  without  our  authority  ;  let  no 
one  suppose  that  he  had  it,  for  we  are  far  from  re- 
garding such  persons  with  favor.  If  they  have 
recourse  to  deceit  with  others  in  transactions  like 
this,  they  give  evidence  that  they  will  refine 
away  the  truth  in  still  higher  things.  For  from 
what  will  they  voluntarily  refrain,  who,  for  the 
sake  of  power,  follow  the  round  of  the  cities, 
leaping  from  one  to  another,  as  a  kind  of  wan- 
derer, prying  into  every  nook,  led  by  the  desire 
for  more  ?  It  is  reported  that  there  are  among 
these  people  certain  quacks  and  sophists,  whose 
very  names  are  scarcely  to  be  tolerated,  and 
whose  deeds  are  evil  and  most  impious.  You 
all  know  to  what  set  of  people  I  allude  ;  for  you 
are  all  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  doctrines 
of  Aetius  and  the  heresy  which  he  has  cultivated. 
He  and  his  followers  have  devoted  themselves 
exclusively  to  the  task  of  corrupting  the  people  ; 
and  these  clever  fellows  have  had  the  audacity 
to  publish  that  we  approved  of  their  ordination. 
Such  is  the  report  they  circulate,  after  the  man- 
ner of  those  who  talk  overmuch ;  but  it  is  not 
true,  and,  indeed,  far  removed  from  the  truth. 
Recall  to  your  recollection  the  words  of  which 
we  made  use,  when  we  first  made  a  declaration 
of  our  belief;  for  we  confessed  that  our  Saviour 
is  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  like  substance  with 
the  Father.  But  these  people,  who  have  the 
audacity  to  set  forth  whatever  enters  their  imag- 
ination, concerning  the  Godhead,  are  not  far  re- 
moved from  atheism  ;  and  they  strive,  moreover, 
to  propagate  their  opinions  among  others.  We 
are  convinced  that  their  iniquitous  proceedings 
will  fall  back  upon  their  own  heads.  In  the 
meantime,  it  is  sufficient  to  eject  them  from 
synods  and  from  ordinary  conference  ;  for  I  will 
not  now  allude  to  the  chastisements  which  must 
hereafter  overtake  them,  unless  they  will  desist 
from  their  madness.  How  great  is  the  evil  they 
perpetrate,  when  they  collect  together  the  most 
wicked  persons,  as  if  by  an  edict,  and  they  select 
the  leaders  of  heresy  for  the  clergy,  thus  debas- 
ing the  reverend  order  as  though  they  were  al- 
lowed to  do  what  they  please!  Who  can  bear 
with  people  who  fill  the  cities  with  impiety,  who 
secrete  impurity  in  the  most  distant  regions, 
and  who  delight  in  nothing  but  in  injuring  the 
righteous  ?  W^hat  an  evil-working  unity  it  is, 
which  limps  forward  to  enthrone  itself  in  the 
diviner  seats  !  Now  is  the  time  for  those  who 
have  imbibed  the  truth  to  come  forward  into  the 

1  Independent  document.  Cf.  Theodoret,  ii.  26,  who  alludes  to  the 
first  part  of  this  letter,  then  apparently  mixes  another  one  by  Con- 
stantius  with  it. 


light,  and  whoever  were  previously  restrained 
through  fear,  and  now  would  escape  from  con- 
ventionalism, let  them  step  into  the  middle  ;  for 
the  artifices  of  these  evil  men  have  been  thor- 
oughly confuted,  and  no  sort  of  device  can  be 
invented  which  will  deliver  them  from  acting 
impiously.  It  is  the  duty  of  good  men  to  retain 
the  faith  of  the  Fathers,  and,  so  to  speak,  to 
augment  it,  without  busying  themselves  with 
other  matters.  I  earnestly  exhort  those  who 
have  escaped,  though  but  recently,  from  the  pre- 
cipice of  this  heresy,  to  assent  to  the  decrees 
which  the  bishops  who  are  wise  in  divine  learn- 
ing, have  rightly  determined  for  the  better." 

Thus  we  see  that  the  heresy  usually  denomin- 
ated Anomian  was  within  a  little  of  becoming 
predominant  at  this  period. 


CHAP.    XV. THE    EMPEROR    CONSTANTIUS    REPAIRS 

TO  SIRMIUM,  RECALLS  LIBERIUS,  AND  RESTORES 
HIM  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  ROME  ;  HE  ALSO  COM- 
iMANDS  FELIX  TO  ASSIST  LIBERIUS  IN  THE  SACER- 
DOTAL   OFFICE. 

Not  long  after  these  events,  the  emperor 
returned  to  Sirmium  from  Rome  ;  on  receiving  a 
deputation  from  the  Western  bishops,  he  recalled 
Liberius  from  Beroea.^  Const^ntius  urged  him,  * 
in  the  presence  of  the  deputies  of  the  Eastern 
bishops,  and  of  the  other  priests  who  were  at 
the  camp,  to  confess  that  the  Son  is  not  of  the 
same  substance  as  the  Father.  He  was  instigated 
to  this  measure  by  Basil,  Eustathius,  and  Euse- 
bius,  who  possessed  great  influence  over  him. 
They  had  formed  a  compilation,  in  one  docu- 
ment, of  the  decrees  against  Paul  of  Samosata, 
and  Photinus,  bishop  of  Sirmium ;  to  which 
they  subjoined  a  formulary  of  faith  drawn  up  at 
Antioch  at  the  consecration  of  the  church,  as  if 
certain  persons  had,  under  the  pretext  of  the 
term  "  consubstantial,"  attempted  to  establish  a 
heresy  of  their  own.  Liberius,  Athanasius,  Alex- 
ander, Severianus,  and  Crescens,  a  priest  of  Af- 
rica, were  induced  to  assent  to  this  document,  as 
were  likewise  Ursacius,  Germanius,  bishop  of 
Sirmium,  Valens,  bishop  of  Mursa,  and  as  many 
of  the  Eastern  bishops  as  were  present.  They 
partially  approved  of  a  confession  of  faith  drawn 
up  by  Liberius,  in  which  he  declared  that  those 
who  affirm  that  the  Son  is  not  hke  unto  the 
Father  in  substance  and  in  all  other  respects, 
are  excommunicated.  For  when  Eudoxius  and 
his  partisans  at  Antioch,  who  favored  the  heresy 
of  Aetius,  received  the  letter  of  Hosius,  they 
circulated  the  report  that  Liberius  had  renounced 
the  term  "consubstantial,"   and   had    admitted 

2  Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  35-41;  Epistles  of  Liberius,  M.  P.  L.  8; 
Hil.  Fragm.  iv.-vi. ;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  17  ;  Ruf.  i.  22 ;  Philost.  iv. 
3;   Soc.  ii.  37;  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  39.     Many  independent  details. 


3IO 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  15. 


that  the  Son  is  dissimilar  from  the  Father. 
After  these  enactments  had  been  made  by  the 
Western  bishops,  the  emperor  permitted  Liberius 
to  return  to  Rome.  The  bishops  who  were  then 
convened  at  Sirmium  ^  wrote  to  FeHx,  who  gov- 
erned the  Roman  church,  and  to  the  other  bishops, 
desiring  them  to  receive  Liberius.  They  directed 
that  both  should  share  the  apostolical  throne 
and  discharge  the  priestly  duties  in  common, 
with  harmony  of  mind;  and  that  whatever  ille- 
galities might  have  occurred  in  the  ordination 
of  Felix,  or  the  banishment  of  Liberius,  might 
be  buried  in  oblivion.  The  people  of  Rome 
regarded  Liberius  as  a  very  excellent  man,  and 
esteemed  him  highly  on  account  of  the  courage 
he  had  evinced  in  opposing  the  emperor,  so 
that  they  had  even  excited  seditions  on  his 
account,  and  had  gone  so  far  as  to  shed  blood. 
Felix  survived  but  a  short  time  ;  and  Liberius 
found  himself  in  sole  possession  of  the  church. 
This  event  was,  no  doubt,  ordained  by  God, 
that  the  seat  of  Peter  might  not  be  dishonored 
by  the  occupancy  of  two  bishops ;  for  such  an 
arrangement  is  a  sign  of  discord,  and  is  foreign 
to  ecclesiastical  law. 


CHAP.  XVI. — THE  EMPEROR  PURPOSED,  ON  ACCOUNT 
t  OF  THE  HERESY  OF  AETIUS  AND  THE  INNOVATIONS 

IN  ANTIOCH,  10  CONVENE  A  COUNCIL  AT  NICO- 
MEDIA  ;  BUT  AS  AN  EARTHQUAKE  TOOK  PLACE  IN 
THAT  CITY,  AND  MANY  OTHER  AFFAIRS  INTER- 
VENED, THE  COUNCIL  WAS  FIRST  CONVENED  AT 
NIC^A,  AND  AFTERWARDS  AT  ARLMINUM  AND 
SELEUCIA.  ACCOUNT  OF  ARSACIUS,  THE  CON- 
FESSOR. 

Such  were  the  events  which  transpired  at 
Sirmium.  It  seemed  at  this  period  as  if,  from 
the  fear  of  displeasing  the  emperor,  the  Eastern 
and  Western  Churches  had  united  in  the  pro- 
fession of  the  same  doctrine.  The  emperor  had 
determined  upon  convening  a  council  at  Nicaea 
to  take  into  consideration  the  innovations  intro- 
duced at  Antioch,  and  the  heresy  of  Aetius.- 
As  Basil,  however,  and  his  party  were  averse  to 
the  council  being  held  in  this  city,  because 
doctrinal  questions  had  previously  been  agitated 
there,  it  was  determined  to  hold  the  council  at 
Nicomedia  in  Bithynia ;  and  edicts  were  issued, 
summoning  the  most  intelligent  and  eloquent 
bishops  of  every  nation  to  repair  thither  punc- 
tually on  an  appointed  day,  so  that  it  might  be 
the  privilege  of  all  the  priests  of  the  state  to 
share  in  the  Synod  and  to  be  present  at  its 
decisions.  The  great  number  of  these  bishops 
had  commenced  their  journey  when  the  calamity 

'  The  fourth  Sirmium  council,  a.d.  358. 

2  Philost.  iv.  10,  11:  Athan.  de  Synndis,  2-7:  Soc.  ii.  37,  39; 
cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.\\.  18,  26.  Soz.'s  facts  are  more  voluminous, 
and  the  grouping  independent. 


that  had  come  upon  Nicomedia  was  reported, 
and  that  God  had  shaken  the  entire  city  to  its 
foundations.  Since  the  story  of  the  destruction 
of  the  city  everywhere  prevailed  and  grew,  the 
bishops  arrested  their  journey ;  for  as  is  usual 
in  such  cases,  far  more  was  rumored  to  those 
at  a  distance,  than  had  actually  occurred.  It 
was  reported  that  Nicaea,  Perinthus,  and  the 
neighboring  cities,  even  Constantinople,  had 
been  involved  in  the  same  catastrophe.  The 
orthodox  bishops  were  grieved  immoderately  at 
this  occurrence ;  for  the  enemies  of  religion 
took  occasion,  on  the  overthrow  of  a  magnifi- 
cent church,  to  represent  to  the  emperor  that 
a  multitude  of  bishops,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren fled  to  the  church  in  the  hope  of  their 
finding  safety,  and  that  they  all  perished.  This 
report  was  not  true.  The  earthquake  occurred 
at  the  second  hour  of  the  day,  at  which  time 
there  was  no  assembly  in  the  church.  The  only 
bishops  who  were  killed  were  Cecropius,  bishop 
of  Nicomedia,  and  a  bishop  from  the  Bosphorus, 
and  they  were  outside  of  the  church  when  the 
fatal  accident  happened.  The  city  was  shaken 
in  an  instant  of  time,  so  that  the  people  had  not 
the  power,  even  if  they  had  the  wish,  to  seek 
safety  by  flight ;  at  the  first  experience  of  dan- 
ger, they  were  either  preserved,  or  they  perished 
on  the  spot  where  they  were  standing.'' 

It  is  said  that  this  calamity  was  predicted  by 
Arsacius.''  He  was  a  Persian,  and  a  soldier  who 
was  employed  in  tending  the  emperor's  lions  ; 
but  during  the  reign  of  Licinius  he  became  a 
noted  confessor,  and  left  the  army".  He  then 
went  to  the  citadel  of  Nicomedia,  and  led  the 
life  of  a  monastic  philosopher  within  its  walls. 
Here  a  vision  from  heaven  appeared  to  him, 
and  he  was  commanded  to  quit  the  city  im- 
mediately, that  he  might  be  saved  from  the 
calamity  about  to  happen.  He  ran  with  the 
utmost  earnestness  to  the  church,  and  besought 
the  clergy  to  offer  supplications  to  God  that  His 
anger  might  be  turned  away.  But,  finding  that 
far  from  being  believed  by  them,  he  was  regarded 
with  ridicule,  and  as  disclosing  unlooked-for  suf- 
ferings, he  returned  to  his  tower,  and  i~irostrated 
himself  on  the  ground  in  prayer.  Just  at  this 
moment  the  earthquake  occurred,  and  many 
perished.  Those  who  were  spared  fled  into  the 
country  and  the  desert.  And  as  happens  in  a 
prosperous  and  large  city,  there  were  fires  in  the 
brasiers  and  extinguishers  of  every  house,  and  in 
the  ovens  of  the  baths,  and  in  the  furnaces  of  all 
who  use  fire  in  the  arts  ;  and  when  the  framework 
fell  in  ruin,  the  flame  was  hemmed  in  by  the  stuff, 
and  of  course  there  was  dry  wood  commingled, 
much  of  which  was  oily,  —  this  served  as  a  con- 

'  Cf.  Am.  Marcell.  xvii.  7;  Idatius  under  358  in  Descriptio  Con- 
silium. 

*  A  story  from  tradition  by  Soz. 


IV.  1 6.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


311 


tribution  to  the  rapid  conflagration,  and  nour- 
islied  the  fire  without  stint  ;  the  flame  creeping 
everywhere,  and  attaching  to  itself  all  circumja- 
cent material,  made  the  entire  city,  so  to  speak, 
one  mass  of  fire.  It  being  impossible  to  obtain 
access  to  the  houses,  those  who  had  been  saved 
from  the  earthquake  rushed  to  the  citadel. 
Arsacius  was  found  dead  in  the  unshaken  tower, 
and  prostrated  on  the  ground,  in  the  same 
posture  in  which  he  had  begun  to  pray.  It  was 
said  that  he  had  supplicated  God  to  permit  him 
to  die,  because  he  preferred  death  to  beholding 
the  destruction  of  a  city  in  which  he  had  first 
known  Christ,  and  practiced  monastical  philos- 
ophy. As  I  have  been  led  to  speak  of  this  good 
man,  it  is  well  to  mention  that  he  was  endowed 
by  God  with  the  power  of  exorcising  demons 
and  of  purifying  those  troubled  by  them.  A 
man  possessed  with  a  demon  once  ran  through 
the  market-place  with  a  naked  sword  in  his 
hand.  The  people  fled  from  him,  and  the 
whole  city  was  in  confusion.  Arsacius  went  out 
to  meet  him,  and  called  upon  the  name  of 
Christ,  and  at  that  name  the  demon  was  ex- 
pelled, and  the  man  restored  to  sanity.  Be- 
sides the  above,  Arsacius  performed  many  other 
actions  beyond  the  power  and  skill  of  man. 
There  was  a  dragon,  or  some  other  species  of 
reptile,  which  had  entrenched  itself  in  a  cavity 
of  the  roadside,  and  which  destroyed  those  who 
passed  by,  with  its  breath.  Arsacius  went  to  the 
spot  and  engaged  in  prayer,  and  the  serpent 
voluntarily  crept  forth  from  its  hole,  dashed  its 
head  against  the  ground,  and  killed  itself.  All 
these  details  I  have  obtained  from  persons  who 
heard  them  stated  by  those  who  had  seen 
Arsacius. 

As  the  bishops  were  deterred  from  continuing 
their  journey  by  the  intelligence  of  the  calamity 
which  had  occurred  at  Nicomedia,  some  awaited 
the  further  commands  of  the  emperor,  and 
others  declared  their  opinions  concerning  the 
faith  in  letters  which  they  wrote  on  the  subject. 
The  emperor  hesitates  as  to  what  measures 
ought  to  be  adopted,  and  writes  to  consult 
Basil  as  to  whether  a  council  ought  to  be  con- 
vened. In  his  reply,  it  appears,  Basil  com- 
mended his  piety,  and  tried  to  console  him  for 
the  destruction  of  Nicomedia  by  examples 
drawn  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  he  exhorted 
him,  for  the  sake  of  religion,  to  hasten  the 
Synod  ;  and  not  to  drop  such  a  proof  of  his 
zeal  for  religion,  and  not  to  dismiss  the  priests 
who  had  been  gathered  together  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  had  already  set  forth  and  were  on 
their  way,  until  some  business  had  been  trans- 
acted. He  also  suggested  that  the  council  might 
be  held  at  Nicsea  instead  of  Nicomedia,  so  that 
the  disputed  points  might  be  finally  decided  on 
the  very  spot  where  they  had  been  first  called 


in  question.  Basil,  in  writing  to  this  effect, 
believed  that  the  emperor  would  be  pleased 
with  this  proposition,  as  he  had  himself  origi- 
nally suggested  the  propriety  of  holding  the 
council  at  Nicsea.  On  receiving  this  epistle 
from  Basil,  the  emperor  commanded  that,  at  the 
commencement  of  summer,  the  bishops  should 
assemble  together  at  Nicaea,  with  the  exception 
of  those  who  were  laboring  under  bodily  infirm- 
ity ;  and  these  latter  were  to  depute  presbyters 
and  deacons  to  make  known  their  sentiments 
and  to  consult  together  on  contested  points  of 
doctrine,  and  arrive  at  the  same  decision  con- 
cerning all  points  at  issue.  He  ordained  that 
ten  delegates  should  be  selected  from  the  West- 
ern churches,  and  as  many  from  the  Eastern,  to 
take  cognizance  of  the  enactments  that  might 
be  issued,  and  to  decide  whether  they  were  in 
accordance  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  also  to 
exercise  a  general  superintendence  over  the  trans- 
actions of  the  council.  After  further  consulta- 
tion the  emperor  enacted  that  the  bishops  should 
remain  where  they  might  be  residing,  or  in  their 
own  churches,  until  it  had  been  decided  where 
the  council  was  to  be  held,  and  until  they  re- 
ceived notice  to  repair  thither.  He  then  writes 
to  Basil,  and  directs  him  to  inquire  by  letter  of 
the  Eastern  bishops,  where  they  would  advise  the 
council  to  be  held,  so  that  a  public  announce- 
ment might  be  made  at  the  commencement  of 
spring ;  for  the  emperor  was  of  opinion  that  it 
was  not  advisable  to  convene  the  council  at 
Nicaea,  on  account  of  the  earthquake  which  had 
recently  occurred  in  the  province.  Basil  wrote 
to  the  bishops  of  every  province,  urging  them  to 
deliberate  together,  and  to  decide  quickly  upon 
the  locality  in  which  it  would  be  most  expedient 
to  hold  the  council,  and  he  prefixed  a  copy  of 
the  emperor's  letter  to  his  epistle.  As  is  fre- 
quently the  case  in  similar  circumstances,  the 
bishops  were  divided  in  opinion  on  the  subject, 
and  Basil  repaired  to  the  emperor,  who  was  then 
at  Sirmium.  He  found  several  bishops  at  that 
city  who  had  gone  thither  on  their  own  private 
affairs,  and  among  them  were  Mark,  bishop  of 
Arethusa,  and  George,  who  had  been  appointed 
to  preside  over  the  church  of  Alexandria.  When 
at  length  it  was  decided  that  the  council  should 
be  held  in  Seleucia,  a  city  of  Isauria,  by  Valens 
and  his  adherents,  for  Valens  was  then  sojourn- 
ing in  Sirmium  ;  since  they  favored  the  heresy  of 
the  Anomians,  they  urged  the  bishops  who  were 
present  at  the  military  court,  to  subscribe  to  a 
formulary  of  the  faith  which  had  been  prepared, 
and  in  which  there  was  no  mention  of  the  term 
"substance."  But  while  preparations  were  being 
zealously  made  for  convening  the  council,  Eu- 
doxius  and  Acacius,  Ursacius  and  Valens,  with 
their  followers,  reflected  that,  while  many  of  the 
bishops  were  attached  to  the  Nicene  faith,  and 


I  2 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  1 6. 


others  favored  the  formulary  drawn  up  at  the 
consecration  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  yet  that 
both  parties  retained  the  use  of  the  term  "  sub- 
stance," and  maintained  that  the  Son  was,  in 
every  respect,  hke  unto  the  Father ;  and  being 
aware  that  if  both  parties  assembled  together  in 
one  place  they  would  readily  condemn  the  doc- 
trines of  Aetius,  as  being  contrary  to  their  respec- 
tive creeds,  they  so  contrived  matters  that  the 
bishops  of  the  West  were  convened  at  Ariminum, 
and  those  of  the  East  at  Seleucia,  a  city  of  Isau- 
ria.  As  it  is  easier  to  convince  a  few  than  a  great 
many  individuals,  they  conceived  that  they  might 
possibly  lead  both  parties  to  favor  their  senti- 
ments by  dealing  with  them  separately,  or  that 
they  might,  at  any  rate,  succeed  with  one,  so 
that  their  heresy  might  not  incur  universal  con- 
demnation. They  accomplished  this  through 
Eusebius,  a  eunuch  who  was  superintendent  of 
the  imperial  house  :  he  was  on  terms  of  friend- 
ship with  Eudoxius,  and  upheld  the  same  doc- 
trines, and  many  of  those  in  power  were  seeking 
to  conciliate  this  very  Eusebius. 


CH.4P.    XVII.  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    COUNCIL    OF 

ARIMINUM. 

The  emperor^  was  persuaded  that  it  would 
not  be  desirable  for  the  public,  on  account  of 
the  expense,  nor  advantageous  to  the  bishops, 
on  account  of  the  length  of  the  journey,  to  con- 
vene them  all  to  the  same  place  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  a  council.  He  therefore  writes  to 
the  bishops  who  were  then  at  Ariminum,  as  well 
as  to  those  who  were  then  at  Seleucia,  and 
directed  them  to  enter  upon  an  investigation  of 
contested  points  concerning  the  faith,  and  then 
to  turn  their  attention  to  the  complaints  of  Cyril, 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  other  bishops  who  had 
remonstrated  against  the  injustice  of  the  decrees 
of  deposition  and  banishment  which  had  been 
issued  against  them,  and  to  examine  the  legality 
of  various  sentences  which  had  been  enacted 
against  other  bishops.  There  were,  in  fact,  sev- 
eral accusations  pending  against  different  bishops. 
George  was  accused  by  the  Egyptians  of  rapine 
and  violence.  Finally,  the  emperor  commanded 
that  ten  deputies  should  be  sent  to  him  from 
each  council,  to  inform  him  of  their  respective 
proceedings. 

In  accordance  with  this  edict,  the  bishops 
assembled  at  the  appointed  cities.  The  Synod 
at  Ariminum  first  commenced  proceedings  ;  -  it 
consisted  of  about  four  hundred  members. 
Those  who  regarded  Athanasius  with  the  greatest 
enmity,  were  of  opinion  that  there  was  nothing 
further  to  be  decreed  against  him.     When  they 


'  Athan.  de  Synodis,  8-11;   Soc.   ii. 
H.  E.  iv.  10;   Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  18. 
2  A.D.  359. 


37;    Riif.    i.    21;   Philost. 


had  entered  upon  the  investigation  of  doctrinal 
questions,  Valens  and  Ursacius,  supported  by 
Germenius,  Auxentius,  Caius,  and  Demophilus, 
advanced  into  the  middle  of  the  assembly,  and 
demanded  that  all  the  formularies  of  the  faith 
which  had  been  previously  compiled  should  be 
suppressed,  and  that  the  formulary  which  they 
had  but  a  short  time  previously  set  forth  in  the 
Latin  language  at  Sirmium  should  be  alone 
retained.  In  this  formulary  it  was  taught, 
according  to  Scripture,  that  the  Son  is  like  unto 
the  Father ;  but  no  mention  was  made  of  the 
substance  of  God.  They  declared  that  this 
formulary  had  been  approved  by  the  emperor, 
and  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  the  council  to 
adopt  it,  instead  of  consulting  too  scrupulously 
the  individual  opinions  of  every  member  of  the 
council,  so  that  disputes  and  divisions  might  not 
spring  up,  were  the  terms  to  be  delivered  up  to 
debate  and  accurate  proof.  They  added  that  it 
would  better  enable  those  who  were  more  igno- 
rant of  the  art  of  discourse  to  have  a  right  con- 
ception of  God,  than  were  they  to  introduce 
novelties  in  terms,  so  akin  to  disputatious  jug- 
glery. By  these  representations,  they  designed 
to  denounce  the  use  of  the  term  "  consubstan- 
tial,"  because  they  said  it  was  not  found  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  was  obscure  to  the  multi- 
tude ;  and,  instead  of  this  term,  they  wished  to 
substitute  the  expression  that  "  the  Son  is  like 
unto  the  Father  in  all  things,"  which  is  borne 
out  by  the  Holy  Scriptures.  After  they  had  read 
their  formulary  containing  the  alcove  representa- 
tions, many  of  the  bishops  told  them  that  no 
new  formulary  of  the  faith  ought  to  be  set  forth, 
that  those  which  had  been  previously  compiled 
were  quite  sufficient  for  all  purposes,  and  that 
they  were  met  together  for  the  express  purpose 
of  preventing  all  innovations.  These  bishops 
then  urged  those  who  had  compiled  and  read 
the  formulary  to  declare  publicly  their  con- 
demnation of  the  Arian  doctrine,  as  the  cause  of 
all  the  troubles  which  had  agitated  the  churches 
of  every  region.  Ursacius  and  Valens,  Germenius 
and  Auxentius,  Demophilus  and  Caius,  having 
protested  against  this  protestation,  the  council 
commanded  that  the  expositions  of  the  other 
heresies  should  be  read,  and  likewise  that  set 
forth  at  Nicsea ;  so  that  those  formularies  which 
favored  divers  heresies  might  be  condemned, 
and  those  which  were  in  accordance  with  the 
Nicene  doctrines  might  be  approved  ;  in  order 
that  there  might  be  no  further  ground  for  dispute, 
and  no  future  necessity  for  councils,  but  that 
an  efficient  decision  might  be  formed.''  They 
remarked  that  it  was  absurd  to  compose  so  many 
formularies,  as  if  they  had  but  just  commenced 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  faith,  and  as  if 

'  This  speech  is  quoted  directly  in  Soc.  ii.  37. 


IV.  iS.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


3^3 


they  wished  to  slight  the  ancient  traditions  of 
the  Church,  by  which  the  churches  had  been 
governed  by  themselves,  and  by  their  prede- 
cessors, many  of  whom  had  witnessed  a  good 
confession,  and  had  received  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom. Such  were  the  arguments  adduced  by 
these  bishops,  to  prove  that  no  innovations  ought 
to  be  attempted.  As  Valens  and  Ursacius  and 
their  partisans  refused  to  be  convinced  by  these 
arguments,  but  persisted  in  advocating  the 
adoption  of  their  own  formulary,  they  were  de- 
posed, and  it  was  decided  that  their  formulary 
should  be  rejected.  It  was  remarked  that  the 
declaration  at  the  commencement  of  this  formu- 
lary, of  its  having  been  compiled  at  Sirmium,  in 
the  presence  of  Constantius,  "  the  eternal  Au- 
gustus," and  during  the  consulate  of  Eusebiu? 
and  Hypatius,  was  an  absurdity.  Athanasius 
made  the  same  remark,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
one  of  his  friends,'  and  said  that  it  was  ridiculous 
to  term  Constantius  the  eternal  emperor,  and 
yet  to  shrink  from  acknowledging  the  Son  of 
God  to  be  eternal ;  he  also  ridiculed  the  date 
affixed  to  the  formulary,  as  though  condemnation 
were  meant  to  be  thrown  on  the  faith  of  former 
ages,  as  well  as  on  those  who  had,  before  that 
period,  been  initiated  into  the  faith. 

After  these  events  had  transpired  at  Ariminum, 
Valens  and  Ursacius,  together  with  their  ad- 
herents, irritated  at  their  deposition,  repaired 
with  all  haste  to  the  emperor. 


CILA.?.     XVIII. LETTER     FROM     THE     COUNCIL     AT 

ARIMINUM    TO    THE    EMPEROR    CONSTANTIUS. 

The  Synod  selected  twenty  bishops,'  and  sent 
them  on  an  embassy  to  the  emperor,  with  the 
following  letter,  which  has  been  translated  from 
Latin  into  Greek  :  —  ^ 

"  We  believe  that  it  is  by  the  command  of 
God,  as  well  as  by  the  arrangement  of  your 
piety,  that  we  have  been  led  from  all  the  cities 
of  the  West,  to  assemble  at  Ariminum,  for  the 
purpose  of  declaring  the  faith  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  of  detecting  those  who  have  set 
forth  heresies  in  opposition  to  it.  After  a  pro- 
tracted investigation,  we  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  is  best  t(J  preserve  that  faith  which 
has  been  continuous  from  antiquity,  and  which 
was  preached  by  the  prophets,  the  evangelists, 
the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Guar- 
dian of  your  empire,  and  Protector  of  your 
strength,  by  holding  on  thereto  and  guarding  it 
to  the  end.  It  would  have  been  absurd,  as  well 
as  illegal,  to  have  introduced  any  change  in  the 
doctrines  which  were  so  rightly  and   so  justly 

^  Athan.  de  Syitodis,  3;   quoted  by  Soc.  ii.  37. 

2  The  emperor  had  requested  ten;  cf.  also  ii.  23. 

3  Athan.  de  Synodis,  c.  10;  Hil.  Fragnt.  viii.,  Latin  form;  Soc. 
ii.  37;  Theod.  ii  19. 


propounded  by  the  bishops  at  Nicaea,  with  the 
concurrence  of  the  most  illustrious  Constantine, 
the  emperor  and  your  father,  whose  teaching 
and  thought  has  gone  forth  and  been  preached 
in  the  universal  hearing  and  reflection  of  men  ; 
and  it  is  the  antagonist  and  destroyer  of  the 
Arian  heresy ;  through  whose  agency  not  only 
that  deflection  from  the  faith,  but '  all  others 
have  been  destroyed.  There  is  great  danger  in 
adding  to,  or  in  taking  away  from,  these  doc- 
trines ;  nor  can  the  slightest  alteration  be  made 
in  any  one  of  them,  without  giving  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  adversaries  to  do  what  they  list. 
Ursacius  and  Valens,  after  having  been  sus- 
pected of  participating  in  and  advising  about  the 
Arian  doctrine,  were  cut  off  from  communion 
with  us.  In  the  hope  of  being  restored  to  com- 
munion, they  confessed  their  error,  and  obtained 
forgiveness,  as  their  own  writings  testify,  through 
which  they  were  spared  and  received  a  par- 
don from  the  charges.  The  occasion  on  which 
the  edict  of  forgiveness  was  conceded,  was 
at  the  council  of  Milan,  when  the  presbyters  of 
the  Roman  church  were  also  present. 

"  Since  we  know  that  the  formulary  of  the 
faith  set  forth  at  Niceea  was  compiled  with  the 
greatest  care  and  accuracy,  in  the  presence  of 
Constantine,  of  worthy  memory,  who  maintained 
it  throughout  his  life,  and  at  his  baptism,  and 
when  he  departed  to  enjoy  the  merited  peace 
of  heaven,  we  judge  that  it  would  be  absurd  to 
attempt  any  alteration  in  it,  and  to  overlook  so 
many  holy  confessors  and  martyrs,  and  the 
writers  and  authors  of  this  dogma,  who  have 
bestowed  much  thought  upon  it,  and  have  per- 
petuated the  ancient  decree  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  God  has  transmitted  the  knowledge 
of  their  faith  to  the  time  in  which  you  live, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  you 
reign  and  rule  the  world.  Again  have  these 
wretched  men,  who  are  lamentable,  to  our  way 
of  thinking,  announced  themselves  as  heralds  of 
an  impious  view  with  unlawful  rashness,  and 
have  attempted  to  overturn  the  entire  system 
of  truth.  For  according  to  your  injunction,  the 
Synod  was  convened,  and  these  men  laid  bare 
the  view  of  their  own  deceit ;  for  they  attempted 
an  innovation  which  they  introduced  with  knav- 
ery and  disturbance,  and  they  found  some  com- 
panions whom  they  captured  for  this  nefarious 
transaction  ;  viz.  Germanius,  Auxentius,  and 
Caius,  who  caused  contention  and  discord.  The 
teaching  of  these  men,  although  it  was  uniform, 
exceeded  the  entire  range  of  blasphemies.  As 
they  perceived  that  they  were  after  all  not  of  the 
same  heresy,  and  that  they  did  not  think  alike  in 
any  of  the  points  of  their  evil  suggestions,  they 
went  over  to  our  symbol,  so  that  it  might  appear 
as  some  other  document.  The  time  was  indeed 
brief,  but  it  was  sufficient  to  refute  their  opinions. 


314 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  1 8. 


In  order  that  the  affairs  of  the  Church  might  not 
be  wrecked  by  them  and  that  the  disturbance  and 
tumult  which  tossed  everything  to  and  fro  might 
be  restrained,  it  appeared  the  safe  thing  to  pre- 
serve the  ancient  and  immovable  definitions,  and 
to  eject  the  aforesaid  persons  from  commimion 
with  us.  We  have,  for  this  reason,  sent  our  re- 
instructed  deputies  to  your  Clemency,  and  have 
furnished  them  with  letters,  declaratory  of  the 
sentiments  of  the  council.  These  deputies  have 
been  especially  charged  by  us  to  maintain  the 
truths  which  were  defined  rightly  by  the  found- 
ers, and  to  instruct  your  Holiness  as  to  the  falsity 
of  the  assertion  of  Valens  and  Ursacius,  that  a 
few  changes  in  righteous  truths  would  produce 
peace  in  the  Church.  For  how  can  peace  be 
reproduced  by  those  who  destroy  peace  ?  They 
would  be  more  likely  to  introduce  contention 
and  disturbance  into  the  other  cities  and  into 
the  Church  of  Rome.  We  therefore  entreat 
your  Clemency  to  consider  our  deputies  with 
gentle  audience  and  mild  look,  and  not  to  allow 
the  dead  to  be  dishonored  by  any  novel  changes. 
We  pray  you  to  permit  us  to  remain  in  the  defi- 
nitions and  decrees  which  we  received  from  our 
ancestors,  who,  we  would  affirm,  did  their  work 
with  ready  minds,  with  prudence,  and  with  the 
Holy  Spirit.  For  these  innovations  not  only 
lead  believers  to  infideUty,  but  also  delude  un- 
believers to  immaturity.  We  likewise  entreat 
you  to  command  that  the  bishops  who  are  now 
absent  from  their  churches,  and  of  whom  some 
are  laboring  under  the  infirmities  of  old  age, 
and  others  under  the  privations  of  poverty,  may 
be  furnished  with  the  means  of  returning  to  their 
own  homes,  in  order  that  the  churches  may  not 
be  longer  deprived  of  their  ministry. 

"  Again,  we  beseech  you  that  nothing  be  taken 
away  from  the  former  decisions,  or  added  to 
them ;  let  all  remain  unchanged,  even  as  it  has 
been  preserved  from  the  piety  of  your  father  to 
the  present  time  ;  so  that  we  may  not  in  future 
be  fatigued,  and  be  compelled  to  become  stran- 
gers to  our  own  parishes,  but  that  bishops  and 
people  may  tlwell  together  in  peace,  and  be  able 
to  devote  themselves  to  prayer  and  supplication 
for  your  own  personal  salvation  and  empire  and 
peace,  which  may  the  Deity  graciously  vouch- 
safe to  you  uninterruptedly. 

"  Our  deputies  will  show  you  the  signatures 
and  the  names  of  the  bishops,  and  some  of 
them  will  offer  instruction  to  your  Holiness  out 
of  the  Sacred  Scriptures." 


CHAP.  XIX.  CONCERNING  THE  DEPUTIES  OF  THE 
COUNCIL  AND  THE  EMPEROR'S  LETFER  ;  AGREE- 
MENT OF  THE  ADHERENTS  OF  URSACIUS  AND 
VALENS  AFTERWARDS  WITH  THE  LETTER  PUT 
FORTH  ;     EXILE     OF     THE     ARCHBISHOPS.        CON- 


CERNING THE  SYNOD  AT  NIC/EA,  AND  THE 
REASON  WHY  THE  SYNOD  WAS  HELD  IN  ARI.MI- 
NUM. 

We  have  now  transcribed  the  letter  of  the 
council  of  Ariminum.  Ursacius  and  Valens, 
with  their  adherents,  anticipating  the  arrival  of 
the  deputies  of  the  council,  showed  to  the  em- 
peror the  document  which  they  had  read,  and 
calumniated  the  council.^  The  emperor  was 
displeased  at  the  rejection  of  this  formulary,  as 
it  had  been  composed  in  his  presence  at  Sirmi- 
um,  and  he  therefore  treated  Ursacius  and  Va- 
lens with  honor ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
manifested  great  contempt  towards  the  deputies, 
and  even  delayed  granting  them  an  audience, 
^t  length,  however,  he  wrote  to  the  Synod,  and 
informed  them  that  an  expedition  which  he  was 
compelled  to  undertake  against  the  barbarians 
prevented  him  from  conferring  with  the  deputies  ; 
and  that  he  had,  therefore,  commanded  them  to 
remain  at  Adrianople  until  his  return,  in  order 
that,  when  public  business  had  been  dismissed, 
his  mind  might  be  at  liberty  to  hear  and  test  the 
representations  of  the  deputies  ;  "  for  it  is  right," 
he  said,  "  to  bring  to  the  investigation  of  Divine 
subjects,  a  mind  unfettered  by  other  cares." 
Such  was  the  strain  of  his  letter.- 

The  bishops  replied  that  they  could  never 
depart  from  the  decision  they  had  formed,  as 
they  had  before  declared  in  writing,  and  had 
charged  their  deputies  to  declare  ;  and  they  be- 
sought him  to  regard  them  with  favor,  and  to 
give  audience  to  their  deputies,  and  to  read  their 
letter.  They  told  him  that  it  must  appear  griev- 
ous to  him  that  so  many  churches  should  be  de- 
prived of  their  bishops  ;  and  that,  if  agreeable  to 
him,  they  would  return  to  their  churches  before 
the  winter.  After  writing  this  letter,  which  was 
full  of  supplications  and  entreaties,  the  bishops 
waited  for  a  time  for  a  reply ;  but  as  no  answer 
was  granted  them,  they  afterwards  returned  to 
their  own  cities. 

What  I  have  above  stated  clearly  proves  that 
the  bishops  who  were  convened  at  Ariminum 
confirmed  the  decrees  which  had  of  old  been 
set  forth  at  Nicsea.  Let  us  now  consider  how  it 
was  that  they  eventually  assented  to  the  formu- 
lary of  faith  compiled  by  Valens  and  Ursacius 
and  their  followers.  Various  accounts  have  been 
given  me  of  this  transaction.  Some  say  that 
the  emperor  was  offended  at  the  bishops  having 
departed  from  Ariminum  without  his  permission, 
and  allowed  Valens  and  his  partisans  to  govern 
the  churches  of  the  West  according  to  their  own 
will,  to  set  forth  their  own  formulary,  to  eject 

•  In  addition  to  the  references  in  i8,  Athan.  de  Synodis,  55; 
Ep.  ad.   Afros   episcopos,   3,  4.      Documents    reproduced  in   Soc. 

"•  37- 

-  The  reply  of  the  bishops  to  Constantiiis,  also  reproduced  in 
Theodoret,  //.  E.  ii.  20,  from  Athan  de  Synodzs,  55.  Soz.  presents 
the  best  general  grouping  of  the  facts. 


IV.  20.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


315 


those  who  refused  to  sign  it  from  the  churches, 
and  to  ordain  others  in  their  place.  They  say 
that,  taking  advantage  of  this  power,  Valens 
compelled  some  of  the  bishops  to  sign  the  for- 
mulary, and  that  he  drove  many  who  refused 
compliance,  from  their  churches,  and  first  of  all 
,  Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome.  It  is  further  asserted 
that  when  Valens  and  his  adherents  had  acted 
in  this  manner  in  Italy,  they  resolved  to  handle 
the  Eastern  churches  in  the  same  way.  As  these 
persecutors  were  passing  through  Thrace,  they 
stopped,  it  is  said,  at  Nic^ea,  a  city  of  that  prov- 
ince. They  there  convened  a  council,  and  read 
the  formulary  of  Ariminum,  which  they  had  trans- 
lated into  the  Cxreek  language,  and  by  represent- 
ing that  it  had  been  approved  by  a  general  coun- 
cil, they  obtained  its  adoption  at  Nicgea  ;  they 
then  cunningly  denominated  it  the  Nicaean  for- 
mulary of  taith,  in  order,  by  the  resemblance  of 
names,  to  deceive  the  simple,  and  cause  it  to  be 
mistaken  for  the  ancient  formulary  set  forth  by 
the  Nicrean  council.  Such  is  the  account  given 
by  some  parties.  Others  say  that  the  bishops 
who  were  convened  at  the  council  of  Ariminum 
were  wearied  by  their  detention  in  that  city,  as 
the  emperor  neither  honored  them  with  a  reply 
to  their  letter,  nor  granted  them  permission  to 
return  to  their  own  churches ;  and  that,  at  this 
juncture,  those  who  had  espoused  the  opposite 
heresy  represented  to  them  that  it  was  not  right 
that  divisions  should  exist  between  the  priests 
of  the  whole  world  for  the  sake  of  one  word, 
and  that  it  was  only  requisite  to  admit  that  the 
Son  is  like  unto  the  Father  in  order  to  put  an 
end  to  all  disputes  ;  for  that  the  bishops  of  the 
East  would  never  rest  until  the  term  "  substance  " 
was  rejected.  By  these  representations,  it  is  said, 
the  members  of  the  council  were  at  length  per- 
suaded to  assent  to  the  formulary  which  IJrsacius 
had  so  sedulously  pressed  upon  them.  Ursacius 
and  his  partisans,  being  apprehensive  lest  the 
deputies  sent  by  the  council  to  the  emperor 
should  declare  what  firmness  was  in  the  first 
place  evinced  by  the  Western  bishops,  and 
should  expose  the  true  cause  of  the  rejection  of 
the  term  "  consubstantial,"  detained  these  depu- 
ties at  Nicsea  in  Thrace  throughout  the  winter, 
under  the  pretext  that  no  public  conveyance 
could  be  then  obtained,  and  that  the  roads  were 
in  a  bad  state  for  traveling  ;  and  they  then  in- 
duced them,  it  is  said,  to  translate  the  formulary 
they  had  accepted  from  Latin  into  Greek,  and 
to  send  it  to  the  Eastern  bishops.  By  this  means, 
they  anticipated  that  the  formulary  would  pro- 
duce the  impression  they  intended  without  the 
fraud  being  detected  ;  for  there  was  no  one  to 
testify  that  the  members  of  the  council  of  Arimi- 
num had  not  voluntarily  rejected  the  term  "  sub- 
stance "  from  deference  to  the  Eastern  bishops, 
who  were  averse  to  the  use  of  that  word.     But 


this  was  evidently  a  false  account;  for  all  the 
members  of  the  council,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few,  maintained  strenuously  that  the  Son  is 
like  unto  the  Father  in  substance,  and  the  only 
differences  of  opinion  existing  between  them 
were  that  some  said  that  the  Son  is  of  the  same 
substance  as  the  Father,  while  others  asserted 
that  he  is  of  like  substance  with  the  P'ather. 
Some  state  this  matter  in  one  form,  others  in  a 
difierent  one. 


CHAP.    XX. EVENTS   WHICH   TOOK    PLACE    IN    THE 

EASTERN  CHURCHES  :  MARATHONIUS,  ELEUSIUS 
OF  CYZICUS,  AND  MACEDONIUS  EXPEL  THOSE 
WHO  MAINTAIN  THE  TERM  "  CONSUBSTANTL^L." 
CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHES  OF  THE  NOVATIANS  ; 
HOW  ONE  CHURCH  WAS  TRANSPORTED  ;  THE  NO- 
VATIANS ENTER  INTO  COMMUNION  WITH  THE 
ORTHODOX. 

While  the  events  I  have  above  related  were 
taking  place  in  Italy,  the  East,  even  before  the 
council  of  Seleucia  had  been  constituted,  was 
the  theatre  of  great  disturbances.^  The  adher- 
ents of  Acacius  and  Patrophilus,  having  ejected 
Maximus,  turned  over  the  church  of  Jerusalem 
to  Cyril.  Macedonius  harassed  Constantinople 
and  the  neighboring  cities  ;  he  was  abetted  by 
Eleusius  and  Marathonius.  This  latter  was  origi- 
nally a  deacon  in  his  own  church,  and  was  a 
zealous  superintendent  of  the  poor  of  the  monas- 
tical  dwellings  inhabited  by  men  and  women, 
and  Macedonius  raised  him  to  the  bishopric  of 
Nicomedia.  Eleusius,  who,  not  without  disdnc- 
tion,  was  formerly  attached  to  the  military  ser- 
vice of  the  palace,  had  been  ordained  bishop  of 
Cyzicus.  It  is  said  that  Eleusius  and  Maratho- 
nius were  both  good  men  in  their  conduct,  but 
that  they  were  zealous  in  persecuting  those  who 
maintained  that  the  Son  is  of  the  same  substance 
as  the  Father,  although  they  were  not  so  distincdy 
cruel  as  Macedonius,  who  not  only  expelled 
those  who  refused  to  hold  communion  with  him, 
but  imprisoned  some,  and  dragged  others  before 
the  tribunals.  In  many  cases  he  compelled  the 
unwilling  to  communion.  He  seized  children 
and  women  who  had  not  been  inidated  and  ini- 
dated  them,  and  destroyed  many  churches  in 
different  places,  under  the  pretext  that  the  em- 
peror had  commanded  the  demolition  of  all 
houses  of  prayer  in  which  the  Son  was  recog- 
nized to  be  of  the  same  substance  as  the  Father. 

Under  this  pretext  the  church  of  the  Nova- 
tians  at  Constantinople,  situated  in  that  part  of 
the  city  called  Pelargus,  was  destroyed.  It  is 
related  that  these  heretics  performed  a  cour- 
ageous action  with  the  aid  of  the  members  of  the 

1  Soc.  ii.  38,  from  which  the  most  of  this  chapter  is  derived;  a 
few  details  in  addition  are  given  by  Soz.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E. 
ii.  26. 


i6 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  20. 


Catholic  Church,  with  whom  they  made  common 
cause.  When  those  who  were  employed  to  de- 
stroy this  church  were  about  to  commence  the 
work  of  demolition,  the  Novatians  assembled 
themselves  together ;  some  tore  down  the  mate- 
rials, and  others  conveyed  them  to  a  suburb  of 
the  city  called  Sycae.  They  quickly  achieved 
this  task ;  for  men,  women,  and  children  partici- 
pated in  it,  and  by  offering  their  labor  to  God 
they  were  extraordinarily  inspirited.  By  the 
exercise  of  this  zeal  the  church  was  soon  re- 
newed, and,  from  this  circumstance,  received  the 
name  of  Anastasia.  After  the  death  of  Constan- 
tius,  Julian,  his  successor,  granted  to  the  Nova- 
tians the  ground  which  they  had  previously 
possessed,  and  permitted  them  to  rebuild  their 
church.  The  people  spiritedly  took  advantage 
of  this  permission,  and  transported  the  identical 
materials  of  the  former  edifice  from  Sycae.  But 
this  happened  at  a  later  period  of  time  than  that 
which  we  are  now  reviewing.  At  this  period  a 
union  was  nearly  effected  between  the  Novatian 
and  Catholic  churches  ;  for  as  they  held  the  same 
opinions  concerning  the  Godhead,  and  were  sub- 
jected to  a  common  persecution,  the  members 
of  both  churches  assembled  and  prayed  together. 
The  Catholics  then  possessed  no  houses  of  prayer, 
for  the  Arians  had  wrested  them  from  them.  It 
appears,  too,  that  from  the  frequent  intercourse 
between  the  members  of  each  church,  they  rea- 
soned that  the  differences  between  them  were 
vain,  and  they  resolved  to  commune  with  one 
another.  A  reconciliation  would  certainly  have 
been  effected,  I  think,  had  not  the  desire  of  the 
multitude  been  frustrated  by  the  slander  of  a 
few  individuals,  who  asserted  that  there  was  an 
ancient  law  prohibiting  the  union  of  the  churches. 


CHAP.  XXI. PROCEEDINGS  OF  I^IACEDONIUS  IN  MAN- 

TINIUM.  HIS  REMOVAL  FROM  HIS  SEE  WHEN  HE 
ATTEMPTED  TO  REMOVE  THE  COFFIN  OF  CON- 
STANTINE  THE  GREAT.  JULIAN  WAS  PRONOUNCED 
C^SAR. 

About  the  same  time  Eleusius  wholly  demol- 
ished the  church  of  the  Novatians  in  Cyzicus.^ 
The  inhabitants  of  other  parts  of  Paphlagonia, 
and  particularly  of  Mantinium,  were  subjected 
to  similar  persecutions.  Macedonius,  having 
been  apprised  that  the  majority  of  these  people 
were  followers  of  Novatus,  and  that  the  eccle- 
siastical power  was  not  of  itself  sufficiently  strong 
to  expel  them,  persuaded  the  emperor  to  send 
four  cohorts  against  them.  For  he  imagined 
that  men  who  are  unaccustomed  to  arms  would, 
on  the  first  appearance  of  soldiers,  be  seized 
with  terror,  and  conform  to  his  sentiments.  But 
it  happened  otherwise,  for  the  people  of  Manti- 

1  Soc.  ii.  38;  order  and  detail  from  Socrates. 


nium  armed  themselves  with  sickles  and  axes 
and  whatever  other  weapons  chanced  to  be  at 
hand,  and  marched  against  the  military.  A 
severe  conflict  ensued,  and  many  of  the  Paphla- 
gonians  fell,  but  nearly  all  the  soldiers  were 
slain.  Many  of  the  friends  of  Macedonius 
blamed  him  for  having  occasioned  so  great  a 
disaster,  and  the  emperor  was  displeased,  and 
regarded  him  with  less  fevor  than  before.  In- 
imical feelings  were  engendered  still  more 
strongly  by  another  occurrence.  Macedonius 
contemplated  the  removal  of  the  coffin  of  the 
Emperor  Constantine,  as  the  structure  in  which 
it  had  been  concealed  was  falHng  into  ruin. 
The  people  were  divided  in  opinion  on  this 
subject :  some  concurred  in  the  design,  and 
others  opposed  it,  deeming  it  impious  and  sim- 
ilar to  digging  up  a  grave.  Those  who  maintained 
the  Nicene  doctrines  were  of  the  latter  senti- 
ment, and  insisted  that  no  indignity  should  be 
offered  to  the  body  of  Constantine,  as  that  em- 
peror had  held  the  same  doctrines  as  themselves. 
They  were  besides,  I  can  readily  imagine,  eager 
to  oppose  the  projects  of  Macedonius.  How- 
ever, without  further  delay,  Macedonius  caused 
the  coffin  to  be  conveyed  to  the  same  church  in 
which  the  tomb  of  Acacius  the  martyr  is  placed. 
The  people,  divided  into  two  factions,'  the  one 
approving,  the  other  condemning  the  deed, 
rushed  upon  each  other  in  the  same  church,  and 
so  much  carnage  ensued  that  the  house  of  prayer 
and  the  adjoining  place  were  filled  with  blood 
and  slaughtered  bodies.  The  emperor,  who  was 
then  in  the  West,  was  deeply  incensed  on  hearing 
of  this  occurrence  ;  and  he  blamed  Macedonius 
as  the  cause  of  the  indignity  offered  to  his  father, 
and  of  the  slaughter  of  the  people. 

The  emperor  had  determined  to  visit  the 
East,  and  held  on  his  way ;  he  conferred  the 
title  of  Cassar  on  his  cousin  Julian,  and  sent  him 
to  Western  Gaul. 

CHAP.  XXII. — council  OF  SELEUCIA. 

About  the  same  period  the  Eastern  bishops 
assembled,-  to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred 
and  sixty,  in  Seleucia,  a  city  of  Isauria.  This  was 
during  the  consultate  of  Eusebius  and  Hypatius. 
Leonas,  who  held  a  brilliant  military  office  at 
the  palace,  repaired  to  this  council  at  the  com- 
mand of  Constantius,  so  that  the  doctrinal  con- 
fession might  be  conducted  in  his  presence. 
Lauricius,  the  military  governor  of  the  province, 
was  present  to  prepare  whatever  might  be  neces- 
sary ;  for  the  letter  of  the  emperor  had  com- 
manded   him  to   render  this    service.     At   the 


^  Soz.  alludes  to  the  original  acts  of  the  Synod  at  the  end,  and 
Soc.  ii.  39,  to  Sabiniis'  collection.  Sabinus  probably  reported  the 
exact  originals.  Athan  de  Synodis,  12,  13;  Hil.  contra  Con- 
staiitium,  12;  Philost.  iv.  11;  Snip.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  42.  Cf.  Theodo- 
ret,  H.  E.  ii.  26 ;   Athan.  de  Synodis,  29. 


IV.   22.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


Z^J 


first  session  of  this  council,  several  of  the  bish- 
ops were  absent,  and  among  others,  Patrophilus, 
bishop  of  ScythopoHs ;  Macedonius,  bishop  of 
Constantinople  ;  and  Basil,  bishop  of  Ancyra. 
They  resorted  to  divers  pretexts  in  justification 
of  their  non-attendance.  Patrophilus  alleged  in 
excuse  a  complaint  in  the  eyes,  and  Macedonius 
pleaded  indisposition  ;  but  it  was  suspected  they 
had  absented  themseh-es  from  the  fear  that 
various  accusations  would  be  brought  against 
them.  As  the  other  bishops  refused  to  enter 
upon  the  investigation  of  disputed  points  during 
their  absence,  Leonas  commanded  them  to  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  the  examination  of  the  ques- 
tions that  had  been  agitated.  Thus  some  were 
of  opinion  that  it  was  necessary  to  commence 
with  the  discussion  of  doctrinal  topics,  while 
others  maintained,  that  inquiries  ought  first  to  be 
instituted  into  the  conduct  of  those  among  them 
against  whom  accusations  had  been  laid,  as  had 
been  the  case  with  Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
Eustathius,  bishop  of  Sebaste,  and  others.  The 
ambiguity  of  the  emperor's  letters,  which  some- 
times prescribed  one  course  and  sometimes  an- 
other, gave  rise  to  this  dispute.  The  contention 
arising  from  this  source  became  so  fierce,  that 
all  union  was  destroyed  between  them,  and  they 
became  divided  into  two  parties.  However, 
the  advice  of  those  who  wished  to  commence 
with  the  examination  of  doctrine,  prevailed. 
When  they  proceeded  to  the  investigation  of 
terms,  some  desired  to  reject  the  use  of  the 
term ''substance,"  and  appealed  to  the  authority 
of  the  formulary  of  faith  which  had  not  long  pre- 
viously been  compiled  by  Mark^  at  Sirmium, 
and  had  been  received  by  the  bishops  who  were 
at  the  court,  among  whom  was  Basil,-  bishop  of 
Ancyra.  Many  others  were  anxious  for  the 
adoption  of  the  formulary  of  faith  drawn  up  at 
the  dedication  of  the  church  of  Antioch.  To 
the  first  of  these  parties  belonged  Eudoxius, 
Acacius,  Patrophilus,  George,  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria, Uranius,  bishop  of  Tyre,  and  thirty-two 
other  bishops.  The  latter  party  was  supported 
by  George,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  in  Syria ;  by 
Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus ;  by  Sophronius, 
bishop  of  Pompeiopolis,  in  Paphlagonia ;  with 
these  the  majority  agreed.  It  was  suspected, 
and  with  reason,  that  Acacius  and  his  partisans 
absented  themselves  on  account  of  the  difference 
between  their  sentiments  and  those  of  the  afore- 
said bishops,  and  also  because  they  desired  to 
evade  the  investigation  of  certain  accusations 
which  had  been  brought  against  them ;  for, 
although  they  had  previously  acknowledged  in 
writing  to  Macedonius,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, that  the  Son  is  in  all  respects  like  unto 
the  Father,  and  of  the  same  substance,  now  they 

'  The  author  of  the  first  formulary  of  Sirmium  is  here  given  by 
Soz.     Soc.  stated  it,  ii.  30.  ^  See  above,  16. 


fought  entirely  shy  of  their  former  professions. 
After  prolonged  disputations  and  contention, 
Silvanus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  declared,  in  a  loud 
and  peremptory  tone,  that  no  new  formulary  of 
faith  ought  to  be  introduced  but  that  which  had 
been  approved  at  Antioch,  and  this  alone  ought 
to  prevail.  As  this  proposition  was  repugnant 
to  the  followers  of  Acacius,  they  withdrew,  and 
the  other  bishops  read  the  formulary  of  Antioch. 
The  following  day  these  bishops  assembled  in 
the  church,  closed  the  doors,  and  privately  con- 
firmed this  formulary.  Acacius  condemned  this 
proceeding,  and  laid  the  formulary  which  he 
advocated  before  Leonas  and  Lauricius  pri- 
vately. Three  days  afterwards  the  same  bishops 
reassembled,  and  were  joined  by  Macedonius 
and  Basil,  who  had  been  previously  absent. 
Acacius  and  his  partisans  declared  that  they 
would  take  no  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
council  until  those  who  had  been  deposed  and 
accused  had  quitted  the  assembly.  His  demand 
was  complied  with  ;  for  the  bishops  of  the  oppo- 
site party  were  determined  that  he  should  have 
no  pretext  for  dissolving  the  council,  which  was 
evidently  his  object,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
impending  examination  of  the  heresy  of  Aetius, 
and  of  the  accusations  which  had  been  brought 
against  himself  and  his  partisans.  When  all  the 
members  were  assembled,  Leonas  stated  that  he 
held  a  document  which  had  been  handed  to  him 
by  the  partisans  of  Acacius  ;  it  was  their  formu- 
lary of  faith,  with  introductory  remarks.  None 
of  the  other  bishops  knew  anything  about  it ; 
for  Leonas,  who  was  of  the  same  sentiment  as 
Acacius,  had  willingly  kept  the  whole  matter  a 
secret.  When  this  document'^  was  read,  the 
whole  assembly  was  filled  with  tumult ;  for 
some  of  the  statements  it  contained  were  to  the 
effect  that,  though  the  emperor  had  prohibited 
the  introduction  of  any  term  into  the  formularies 
of  faith  which  was  not  found  in  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  yet  that  bishops  who  had  been  de- 
posed, having  been  brought  from  various  prov- 
inces to  the  assembly,  with  others  who  had  been 
illegally  ordained,  the  council  had  been  thrown 
into  confusion,  and  that  some  of  the  members 
had  been  insulted,  and  others  prevented  from 
speaking.  It  was  added  that  Acacius  and  his 
partisans  did  not  reject  the  formulary  which  had 
been  compiled  at  Antioch,  although  those  who 
had  assembled  in  that  city  had  drawn  it  up  for 
the  express  purpose  of  meeting  the  difficulty 
which  had  just  then  arisen ;  but  that,  as  the 
terms  "consubstantial "  and  "of  similar  sub- 
stance" had  grieved  some  individuals,  and  that, 
as  it  had  been  recently  asserted  that  the  Son  is 
dissimilar  from  the  Father,  it  was  necessary,  on 
this  account,  to  reject  the  terms  "consubstan- 

3  Given  by  Soc.  ii.  40. 


3i8 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


[IV.   22. 


tial"  and  a  "similar  substance,"  which  do  not 
occur  in  Scripture,  to  condemn  the  term  "  dis- 
similar," and  to  confess  clearly  that  the  Son  is 
like  unto  the  Father ;  for  He  is,  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  somewhere  says,  "  the  image  of  the  in- 
visible God."  These  prefatory  observations 
were  followed  by  a  formular/  which  was  neither 
conformable  with  that  of  Nicaea,  nor  with  that 
of  Antioch,  and  which  was  so  artfully  worded 
that  the  followers  of  Arius  and  of  Aetius  would 
not  appear  to  be  in  error  if  they  should  thus 
state  their  faith.  In  this  formulary,  the  words 
used  by  those  who  had  convened  at  Nicaea,  in 
condemnation  of  the  Arian  doctrine,  were 
omitted,  and  the  declarations  of  the  council  of 
Antioch,  concerning  the  immutability  of  the 
Deity  of  the  Son,  and  concerning  His  being  the 
unchangeable  image  of  the  substance,  the  coun- 
sel, and  the  power,  and  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
were  passed  over  in  silence,  and  belief  was  sim- 
ply expressed  in  the  Father,  in  the  Son,  and  in 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  after  bestowing  some  vul- 
gar epithets  on  a  few  individuals  who  had  never 
entered  into  any  doctrinal  contention  on  one 
side  or  the  other,  all  those  who  entertained  any 
other  opinions  than  those  set  forth  in  this  for- 
mulary were  declared  to  be  aliens  to  the  Cath- 
olic Church.  Such  were  the  contents  of  the 
document  presented  by  Leonas,  and  which  had 
been  signed  by  Acacius,  and  by  those  who  had 
adopted  his  sentiments.  After  it  had  been  read, 
Sophronius,  a  bishop  of  Paphlagonia,  exclaimed, 
"  If  we  daily  receive  the  opinions  of  individuals 
as  a  statement  of  the  faith,  we  shall  fail  in  at- 
taining precision  of  the  truth."  Acacius  having 
retorted  that  it  was  not  forbidden  to  compile 
new  formularies,  as  that  of  Nicaea  had  been 
once  and  frequently  altered,  Eleusius  replied  as 
follows  :  "  But  the  council  has  not  now  met  for 
the  purpose  of  learning  what  is  already  known,  or 
of  accepting  any  other  formulary  than  that  which 
has  been  already  approved  by  those  who  assem- 
bled at  Antioch  ;  and,  moreover,  living  and  dying, 
we  will  adhere  to  this  formulary."  The  dispute 
having  taken  this  turn,  they  entered  upon  another 
inquiry,  and  asked  the  partisans  of  Acacius,  in 
what  they  considered  the  Son  to  be  like  unto  the 
Father.  They  replied  that  the  Son  is  similar  in 
will  only,  but  not  in  substance,  and  the  others 
thereupon  insisted  that  He  is  similar  in  substance, 
and  convicted  Acacius,  by  a  work  which  he  had 
formerly  written,  that  he  had  once  been  of  their 
opinion.  Acacius  replied  that  he  ought  not  to 
be  judged  from  his  own  writings  ;  and  the  dis- 
pute had  continued  with  heat  for  some  time, 
when  Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  spoke  as  fol- 
lows :  "  It  matters  little  to  the  council  whether 
Mark  or  Basil  has  transgressed  in  any  way,  or 
whether  they  or  the  adherents  of  Acacius  have 
any    accusation    to    bring   against    each    other ; 


neither  does  the  trouble  devolve  upon  the  coun- 
cil of  examining  whether  their  formulary  be 
commendable  or  otherwise ;  it  is  enough  to 
maintain  the  formulary  which  has  been  already 
confirmed  at  Antioch  by  ninety-seven  priests  ; 
and  if  any  one  desire  to  introduce  any  doctrine 
which  is  not  contained  therein,  he  ought  to  be 
held  as  an  ahen  to  religion  and  the  Church." 
Those  who  were  of  his  sentiments  applauded 
his  speech ;  and  the  assembly  then  arose  and 
separated.  The  following  day,  the  partisans 
of  Acacius  and  of  George  refused  to  attend 
the  council ;  and  Leonas,  who  had  now  openly 
declared  himself  to  be  of  their  sentiments,  like- 
wise refused,  in  spite  of  all  entreaties,  to  repair 
thither.  Those  who  were  deputed  to  request  his 
attendance  found  the  partisans  of  Acacius  in  his 
house  ;  and  he  declined  their  invitation,  under 
the  plea  that  too  much  discord  prevailed  in  the 
council,  and  that  he  had  only  been  commanded 
by  the  emperor  to  attend  the  council  in  case  of 
unanimity  among  the  members.  Much  time  was 
consumed  in  this  way  ;  and  the  partisans  of  Aca- 
cius were  frequently  solicited  by  the  other  bish- 
ops to.  attend  the  assemblies  ;  but  they  sometimes 
demanded  a  special  conference  in  the  house  of 
Leonas,  and  sometimes  alleged  that  they  had 
been  commissioned  by  the  emperor  to  judge 
those  who  had  been  accused  ;  for  thev  would  not 
receive  the  creed  adopted  by  the  other  bishops, 
nor  clear  themselves  of  the  crimes  of  which  they 
had  been  accused  ;  neither  would  they  examine 
the  case  of  Cyril,  whom  they  had  deposed ;  and 
there  was  no  one  to  compel  them  to  do  so.  The 
council,  however,  eventually  deposed  George, 
bishop  of  Alexandria  ;  Acacius,  bishop  of  Caesa- 
rea ;  Uranius,  bishop  of  Tyre  :  Patrophilus, 
bishop  of  Scythopolis  ;  and  Eudoxius,  bishop  of 
Antioch  ;  and  several  other  prelates.  Many  per- 
sons were  likewise  put  out  of  communion  until 
they  could  purge  themselves  of  the  crimes 
imputed  to  them.  The  transactions  were  con- 
veyed in  writing  to  the  parish  of  each  of  the 
clergy.  Adrian,^  a  presbyter  of  Antioch,  was 
ordained  bishop  over  that  church,  in  room  of 
Eudoxius  ;  but  the  partisans  of  Acacius  arrested 
him  and  delivered  him  over  to  Leonas  and 
Lauricius.  They  committed  him  into  the  custody 
of  the  soldiers,  but  afterwards  sent  him  into  exile. 
We  have  now  given  a  brief  account  of  the 
termination  of  the  council  of  Seleucia.  Those 
who  desire  more  detailed  information  must  seek 
it  in  the  acts  of  the  council,-  which  have  been 
transcribed  by  attendant  shorthand  writers. 


CH.AP.  XXIII.  ACACIUS  AND  AETIUS  ;    AND  HOW  THE 

DEPUTIES    OF   THE   TWO   COUNCILS    OF    ARIMINUM 


'  Mistake  for  Annianiis,  as  given  in  24. 

-  Soc.  refers  anxious  readers  to  the  collection  by  Sabinus,  ii.  39. 


IV.  24.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


319 


AND   OF    SELEUCIA    WERE    LED    BY    THE    EMPEROR 
TO   ACCEPT   THE   SAME   DOCTRINES. 

Immediately  after  the  above  transactions,  the 
adherents  of  Acacius  repaired  to  the  emperor ; ' 
but  the  other  bishops  returned  to  their  respec- 
tive homes.  The  ten  bishops  who  had  been 
unanimously  chosen  as  deputies  to  the  emperor, 
met,  on  their  arrival  at  the  court,  the  ten 
deputies  -  of  the  council  of  Ariminum,  and  like- 
wise the  partisans  of  Acacius.  These  latter  had 
gained  over  to  their  cause  the  chief  men  attached 
to  the  palace,  and,  through  their  influence,  had 
secured  the  favor  of  the  emperor.  It  was 
reported  that  some  of  these  proselytes  had 
espoused  the  sentiments  of  Acacius  at  some 
previous  period ;  that  some  were  bribed  by 
means  of  the  wealth  belonging  to  the  churches  ; 
and  that  others  were  seduced  by  the  subtilty  of 
the  arguments  presented  to  them,  and  by  the 
dignity  of  the  persuader.  Acacius  was,  in  fact, 
no  common  character  ;  by  nature  he  was  gifted 
with  great  powers  of  intellect  and  eloquence, 
and  he  exhibited  no  want  of  skill  or  of  address 
in  the  accomplishment  of  his  schemes.  He  was 
the  president  of  an  illustrious  church,  and  could 
boast  of  Eusebius  Pamphilus  as  his  teacher, 
whom  he  succeeded  in  the  episcopate,  and  was 
more  honorably  known  than  any  other  man  by 
the  reputation  and  succession  of  his  books. 
Endowed  with  all  these  advantage^  he  suc- 
ceeded with  ease  in  whatever  he  undertook. 

As  there  were  at  this  period  at  Constantino- 
ple all  together  twenty  deputies,  ten  from  each 
council,  besides  many  other  bishops,  who,  from 
various  motives,  had  repaired  to  the  city,  Hono- 
ratus,^  whom  the  emperor,  before  his  departure 
to  the  West,  had  constituted  chief  governor  of 
Constantinople,  received  directions  to  examine, 
in  the  presence  of  the  exarchs  of  the  great  coun- 
cil, the  reports  circulated  concerning  Aetius  and 
his  heresy.    Constantius,  with  some  of  the  rulers, 
eventually  undertook   the   investigation    of  this 
case ;    and    as    it  was    proved   that  Aetius    had 
introduced  dogmas  essentially  opposed   to   the 
faith,  the   emperor  and  the   other  judges  were 
offended  at  his  blasphemous  statements.     It  is 
said  that  the  partisans  of  Acacius  at  first  feigned 
ignorance  of  this   heresy,   for  the    purpose    of 
inducing  the  emperor  and  those  around  him  to 
take  cognizance  of  it ;    for   they  imagined  that 
the    eloquence  of  Aetius  would  be  irresistible  ; 
that  he  would  infallibly  succeed  in  convincing 
his  auditory  :  and  that  his  heresy  would  conquer 
the  unwilling.     When,  however,  the  result  proved 
the  futiUty  of  their  expectations,  they  demanded 


1  a  few  hints  in  Philost.  iv.  12;  Soc.  ii.  41.  Cf.  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S. 
ii.  43-45 ;   Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  27.     But  the  main  part  is  independent. 

-  Cf.  iv.  18;  twenty.  Philost.  tells  us  that  Aca<»us  prepared  the 
minutes  of  this  Synod.  .     .     _  , 

3  Concerning  this  Honoratus  see  the  Descriptio  Consulimi  ot 
Idatius. 


that  the  formulary  of  faith  accepted  by  the  coun- 
cil of  .'\riuiinum  should  receive  the  sanction  of 
the  deputies  from  the  council  of  Seleucia.  As 
these  latter  protested  that  they  would  never  re- 
nounce the  use  of  the  term  "substance,"  the 
Acacians  declared  to  them  upon  oath  that  they 
did  not  hold  the  Son  to  be,  in  substance,  dis- 
similar from  the  Father ;  but  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  were  ready  to  denounce  this  opinion 
as  heresy.  They  added  that  they  esteemed  the 
formulary  compiled  by  the  Western  bishops  at 
Ariminum  the  more  highly,  because  the  word 
"  substance  "  had  been  unexpectedly  expunged 
from  it ;  because,  they  said,  if  this  formulary 
were  to  be  received,  there  would  be  no  further 
mention,  either  of  the  word  "substance  "  or  of 
the  term  "  consubstantial,"  to  which  many  of  the 
Western  priests  were,  from  their  reverence  for 
the  Nicsean  council,  peculiarly  attached. 

It  was  for  these  reasons  that  the  emperor  ap- 
proved of  the  formulary  ;  and  when  he  recalled 
to  mind  the  great  number  of  bishops  who  had 
been  convened  at  Ariminum,  and  reflected  that 
there  is  no  error  in  saying  either  that  "  the  Son 
is  like  unto  the  Father"  or  "of  the  same  sub- 
stance as  the  Father  "  ;  and  when  he  further  con- 
sidered that  no  difference  in  signification  would 
ensue,  if,  for  terms  which  do  not  occur  in  Scrip- 
ture, other  equivalent  and  uncontrovertible  expres- 
sions were  to  be  substituted  (such,  for  instance, 
as  the  word  "similar"),  he  determined  upon  giv- 
ing his  sanction  to  the  formulary.  Such  being 
his  own  sentiments,  he  commanded  the  bishops 
to  accept  the  formulary.  The  next  day  prepara- 
tions were  made  for  the  pompous  ceremony  of 
proclaiming  him  consul,  which,  according  to  the 
Roman  custom,  took  place  in  the  beginning  of 
the  month  of  January,  and  the  whole  of  that  day 
and  part  of  the  ensuing  night  the  emperor  spent 
with  the  bishops,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  per- 
suading the  deputies  of  the  council  of  Seleucia  to 
receive  the  formulary  transmitted  from  Ariminum. 

CHAP.  XXIV.  —  FORMULARY  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF 
ARIMINUM  APPROVED  BY  THE  ACACIANS.  LIST  OF 
THE  DEPOSED  CHIEF- PRIESTS,  AND  THE  CAUSES 
OF   THEIR    CONDEMNATION. 

The  partisans  of  Acacius '  remained  some  time 
at  Constantinople,  and  invited  thither  several 
bishops  of  Bithynia,  among  whom  were  Maris, 
bishop  of  Chalcedon,  and  Ulfilas,  bishop  of  the 
Goths.  These  prelates  having  assembled  to- 
gether, in  number  about  fifty,  they  confirmed 
the  formulary  read  at  the  council  of  Ariminum, 
adding  this  provision,  that  the  terms  "  substance  " 

<  The  acts  of  this  Synod  of  Constantinople  were  written  by 
Acacius.  Cf.  Philost.  iv.  12.  Further,  cf.  Philost.  iv.  12,  v.  i; 
Athan.  de  Synrd/s,  30,  the  formulary-;  Soc.  ii.  41  (with  the  revised 
formulary),  42,  43;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  27,  28.  Soz.  enlarges  on 
the  depositions,  giving  us  much  new  material;  Theodoret  gives  a 
letter  against  Aetius  (from  Sabinus?). 


320 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  24. 


and  "  hypostasis  "  should  never  again  be  used  in 
reference  to  God.  They  also  declared  that  all 
other  formularies  set  forth  in  times  past,  as  like- 
wise those  that  might  be  compiled  at  any  future 
period,  should  be  condemned.  They  then  de- 
posed Aetius  from  his  office  of  deacon,  because 
he  had  written  works  full  of  contention  and  of 
a  species  of  vain  knowledge  opposed  to  the 
ecclesiastical  vocation ;  because  he  had  used  in 
writing  and  in  disputation  several  impious  ex- 
pressions ;  and  because  he  had  been  the  occasion 
of  troubles  and  seditions  in  the  Church.  It  was 
alleged  by  many  that  they  did  not  depose  him 
willingly,  but  merely  because  they  wished  to  re- 
move all  suspicion  from  the  mind  of  the  em- 
peror which  he  had  with  regard  to  them,  for 
they  had  been  accused  of  holding  Aetian  views. 
Those  who  held  these  sentiments  took  advantage 
of  the  resentment  with  which,  for  reasons  above 
mentioned,  the  emperor  regarded  Macedonius, 
and  they  accordingly  deposed  him,  and  likewise 
Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus  ;  Basil,  bishop  of  An- 
cyra  ;  Heortasius,  bishop  of  Sardis  ;  and  Dracon- 
tius,  bishop  of  Pergamus.  Although  they  differed 
about  doctrine  from  those  bishops,  yet  in  depos- 
ing them,  no  blame  was  thrown  upon  their  faith, 
but  charges  were  alleged  against  them  in  common 
with  all,  that  they  had  disturbed  the  peace  and  vio- 
lated the  laws  of  the  Church.  They  specified,  in 
particular,  that  when  the  presbyter  Diogenes  was 
traveling  from  Alexandria  to  Ancyra,  Basil  seized 
his  papers,  and  struck  him ;  they  also  deposed 
that  Basil  had,  without  trial,  delivered  over  many 
of  the  clergy  from  Antioch,  from  the  banks  of 
the  Euphrates,  and  from  Cilicia,  Galatia,  and 
Asia,  to  the  rulers  of  the  provinces,  to  be  exiled 
and  subjected  to  cruel  punishments,  so  that 
many  had  been  loaded  with  chains,  and  had  been 
compelled  to  bribe  the  soldiers,  who  were  con- 
ducting them  away,  not  to  ill-use  them.  They 
added  that,  on  one  occasion,  when  the  emperor 
had  commanded  Aetius  and  some  of  his  followers 
to  be  led  before  Cecropius,  that  they  might 
answer  to  him  for  various  accusations  laid  to 
their  charge,  Basil  recommended  the  person 
who  was  intrusted  with  the  execution  of  this 
edict,  to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
judgment.  They  said  that  he  wrote  directions  to 
Hermogenes,'  the  prefect  and  governor  of  Syria, 
stating  who  were  to  be  banished,  and  whither 
they  were  to  be  sent ;  and  that,  when  the  exiles 
were  recalled  by  the  emperor,  he  would  not 
consent  to  their  return,  but  opposed  himself  to 
the  wishes  of  the  rulers  and  of  the  priests.  They 
further  deposed  that  Basil  had  excited  the  clergy 
of  Sirimium  against  Germanius  ;  and  that,  al- 
though he  stated  in  writing  that  he  had  admitted 
Germanius,  Valens,  and  Ursacius  into  commun- 

1  Further  mention  is  made  of  this  Hermogenes  by  Am.  Marcell. 
xix.  12,  6;  xxi.  6,  9. 


ion,  he  had  placed  them  as  criminals  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  African  bishops  ;  and  that,  when 
taxed  with  this  deed,  he  had  denied  it,  and  per- 
jured himself;  and  that,  when  he  was  afterwards 
convicted,  he  strove  to  justify  his  perjury  by 
sophistical  reasoning.  They  added,  that  he  had 
been  the  cause  of  contention  and  of  sedition  in 
Illyria,  Italy,  Africa,  and  in  the  Roman  church  ; 
that  he  had  thrown  a  servant  into  prison  to  com- 
pel her  to  bear  false  witness  against  her  mistress  ; 
that  he  had  baptized  a  man  of  loose  life,  who 
lived  in  illicit  intercourse  with  a  woman,  and  had 
promoted  him  to  be  a  deacon  :  that  he  had  neg- 
lected to  excommunicate  a  quack-doctor  who 
had  occasioned  the  death  of  several  persons ; 
and  that  he  and  some  of  the  clergy  had  bound 
themseh'es  by  oath  before  the  holy  table,  not  to 
bring  accusations  against  each  other.  This, 
they  said,  was  an  artifice  adopted  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  clergy  to  shield  himself  from  the 
accusations  of  his  plaintiffs.  In  short,  such 
were  the  reasons  they  specified  for  the  deposi- 
tion of  Basil.  Eustathius,  they  said,  was  de- 
posed because,  when  a  presbyter,  he  had  been 
condemned,  and  put  away  from  the  communion 
of  prayers  by  Eulalius,  his  own  father,  who  was 
bishop  of  the  church  of  C^esarea,  in  Cappado- 
cia ;  and  also  because  he  had  been  excommuni- 
cated by  a  council  held  at  Neocsesarea,  a  city 
of  Pontus,  and  deposed  by  Eusebius,  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  for  unfaithfulness  in  the  dis- 
charge of  certain  duties  that  had  devolved  upon 
him.  He  had  also  been  deprived  of  his  bishop- 
ric by  those  who  were  convened  in  Gangrce,  on 
account  of  his  having  taught,  acted,  and  thought 
contrary  to  sound  doctrine.  He  had  been  con- 
victed of  perjury  by  the  council  of  Antioch. 
He  had  likewise  endeavored  to  reverse  the 
decrees  of  those  convened  at  Melitina ;  and, 
although  he  was  guilty  of  many  crimes,  he  had  the 
assurance  to  aspire  to  be  judge  over  the  others, 
and  to  stigmati«e  them  as  heretics.  They  de- 
posed Eleusius  because  he  had  raised  inconsid- 
erately one  Heraclius,  a  native  of  Tyre,  to  be  a 
deacon ;  this  man  had  been  a  priest  of  Hercu- 
les at  Tyre,  had  been  accused  of  and  tried  for 
sorcery,  and,  therefore,  had  retired  to  Cyzicus  and 
feigned  conversion  to  Christianity  ;  and  moreover, 
Eleusius,  after  having  been  apprised  of  these  cir- 
cumstances, had  not  driven  him  from  the  Church. 
He  had  also,  without  inquiry,  ordained  certain 
individuals,  who  had  come  to  Cyzicus,  after 
they  had  been  condemned  by  Maris,  bishop  of 
Chalcedonia,  who  participated  in  this  council. 
Heortasius  was  deposed  because  he  had  been 
ordained  bishop  of  Sardis  without  the  sanction 
of  the  bishops  of  Lydia.  They  deposed  Dra- 
contius,  bi^iop  of  Pergamus,  because  he  had 
previously  held  another  bishopric  in  Galatia, 
and  because,  thev  stated,  he  had  on  both  occa- 


IV.  25.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    01<    SUZUMKN. 


\2l 


sions  been  unlawfully  ordained.  After  these 
transactions,  a  second  assembly  of  the  council 
was  held,  and  Silvanus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  So- 
phronius,  bishop  of  Pom})eiopolis  in  Paphlagonia, 
Elpidius,  bishop  of  Satala,  and  Neonas,  bishop 
of  Seleucia  in  Isauria,  were  deposed.  The  rea- 
son they  assigned  for  the  deposition  of  Silvanus 
was,  that  he  had  constituted  himself  the  leader 
of  a  foolish  party  in  Seleucia  and  Constantinople  ; 
he  had,  besides,  constituted  Theophilus  as  presi- 
dent of  tlie  church  of  Castabala,  who  had  been 
previously  ordained  bishop  of  Eleutheropolis  by 
the  bishops  of  Palestine,  and  who  had  promised 
upon  oath  that  he  would  never  accept  any  other 
bishopric  without  their  permission.  Sophronius 
was  deposed  on  account  of  his  avarice,  and  on 
account  of  his  having  sold  some  of  the  offerings 
presented  to  the  church,  for  his  own  profit ; 
besides,  after  he  had  received  a  first  and  second 
summons  to  appear  before  the  council,  he  could, 
at  last,  be  scarcely  induced  to  make  his  appear- 
ance, and  then,  instead  of  replying  to  the  accu- 
sations brought  against  him,  he  appealed  to 
other  judges.  Neonas  was  deposed  for  having 
resorted  to  violence  in  his  endeavors  to  procure 
the  ordination  in  his  own  church,  of  Annianus, 
who  had  been  appointed  bishop  of  Antioch,^ 
and  for  having  ordained  as  bishops  certain  in- 
dividuals who  had  previously  been  engaged  in 
poUtics,  and  who  were  utterly  ignorant  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  of  ecclesiastical  canons, 
and  who,  after  their  ordination,  preferred  the 
enjoyment  of  their  property  to  that  of  the 
priestly  dignity,  and  declared  in  writing  that 
they  would  rather  take  charge  of  their  own  pos- 
sessions than  to  discharge  the  episcopal  func- 
tions without  them.  Elpidius  was  deposed  be- 
cause he  had  participated  in  the  malpractices 
of  Basil,  and  had  occasioned  great  disorders; 
and  because  he  had,  contrary  to  the  decrees  of 
the  council  of  Melitina,  restored  to  his  former 
rank  in  the  presbytery  a  man  named  Eusebius, 
who  had  been  deposed  for  having  created  Nec- 
taria  a  deaconess,  after  she  had  been  excom- 
municated on  account  of  violating  agreements 
and  oaths  ;  and  to  confer  this  honor  upon  her 
was  clearly  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  Church. 

CHAP.  XXV. CAUSES  OF  THE  DEPOSITION  OF  C\-RIL, 

BISHOP  OF  JERUSALEM.  MUTUAL  DISSENSIONS 
AMONG  THE  BISHOPS.  MELITIUS  IS  ORDAINED 
BY  THE  ARIANS,  AND  SUPPLANTS  EUSTATHIUS 
IN   THE    BISHOPRIC    OF    SEBASTE. 

Besides  the  prelates  above  mentioned,  Cyril, 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  was  deposed  -  because  he 
had  admitted  Eustathius  and  Elpidius  into  com- 
munion,  after  they  had   opposed   the    decrees 


1    Cf.   iv.   22. 


2  See  references  to  previous  chapter. 


enacted  by  those  convened  at  Melitina,  among 
whom  was  Cyril  himself;  and  because  he  had 
also  received  Basil  and  Oeorge,  bishop  of  Lao- 
dicea,  into  communion  after  their  deposition  in 
Palestine.  When  Cyril  was  first  installed  in  the 
bishopric  of  Jerusalem,  he  had  a  dispute  with 
Acacius,  bishop  of  Csesarea,  concerning  his  rights 
as  a  Metropolitan,  which  he  claimed  on  the 
ground  of  his  bishopric  being  an  apostolic  see. 
This  dispute  excited  feelings  of  enmity  between 
the  two  bishops,  and  they  mutually  accused 
each  other  of  unsoundness  of  doctrine  concern- 
ing the  Godhead.  In  fact,  they  had  both  been 
suspected  previously ;  the  one,  that  is,  Acacius, 
of  favoring  the  heresy  of  Arius  ;  and  the  other, 
of  siding  with  those  who  maintain  that  the  Son 
is  in  substance  like  unto  the  Father.  Acacius 
being  thus  inimically  disposed  towards  Cyril, 
and  finding  himself  supported  by  the  bishops 
of  the  province,  who  were  of  the  same  senti- 
ments as  himself,  contrived  to  depose  Cyril 
under  the  following  pretext.  Jerusalem  and 
the  neighboring  country  was  at  one  time  visited 
with  a  famine,  and  the  poor  appealed  m  great 
multitudes  to  Cyril,  as  their  bishop,  for  neces- 
sary food.  As  he  had  no  money  to  purchase 
the  requisite  provisions,  he  sold  for  this  purpose 
the  veil  and  sacred  ornaments  of  the  church. 
It  is  said  that  a  man,  having  recognized  an  offer- 
ing which  he  had  presented  at  the  altar  as  form- 
ing part  of  the  costume  of  an  actress,  made  it 
his  business  to  inquire  whence  it  was  procured  ; 
and  ascertained  that  a  merchant  had  sold  it  to 
the  actress,  and  that  the  bishop  had  sold  it  to  the 
merchant.  It  was  under  this  pretext  that  Acacius 
deposed  Cyril. 

And  on  inquiry  I  find  these  to  be  the  facts. 
It  is  said  that  the  Acacians  then  expelled  from 
Constantinople  all  the  bishops  above  mentioned 
who  had  been  deposed.  Ten  bishops  of  their 
own  party  who  had  refused  to  subscribe  to  these 
edicts  of  deposition,  were  separated  from  the 
others,  and  were  interdicted  from  performing  the 
functions  of  the  ministry  or  ruling  their  churches 
until  they  consented  to  give  their  signatures. 
It  was  enacted  that  unless  they  complied  within 
six  months,^  and  yielded  their  assent  to  all  the 
decrees  of  the  council,  they  should  be  deposed, 
and  that  the  bishops  of  every  province  should 
be  summoned  to  elect  other  bishops  in  their 
stead.  After  these  determinations  and  deeds, 
letters  were  then  sent  to  all  the  bishops  and 
clergy,  to  observe  and  fulfill  its  decrees. 

As  a  consequence,  not  long  after,  some  of  the 
Eudoxian  party  were  substituted  here  and  there. 
Eudoxius  himself  took  possession  of  the  bishop- 
ric of  Macedonius  ;  Athanasius  was  placed  over 
the  church  of  Basil ;  and  Eunomius,  who  was 

3  See  the  abrngation  of  the  time-limit  throup;h  a  Synod  convened 
by  Eudoxius.     Pliilost.  vii.  6. 


322 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  25. 


subsequently  the  leader  of  a  heresy  bearing  his 
name,  took  the  see  of  Eleusius  ;  and  Meletius 
was  appointed  to  the  church  of  Sebaste,  instead 
of  Eustathius. 


CHAP.    XXVI.  DEATH    OF    IMCEDONIUS,  BISHOP   OF 

CONSTANTINOPLE.  WHAT  EUDOXIUS  SAID  IN  HIS 
TEACHING.  EUDOXIUS  AND  ACACIUS  STRENU- 
OUSLY SOUGHT  THE  ABOLITION  OF  THE  FORMULA- 
RIES OF  FAITH  SET  FORTH  AT  NIC-EA  AND  AT 
ARIMINUM  ;  TROUBLES  WHICH  THENCE  AROSE 
IN   THE    CHURCHES. 

Macedonius/  on  his  expulsion  from  the  church 
of  Constantinople,  retired  to  one  of  the  suburbs 
of  the  city,  where  he  died.  Eudoxius  took  pos- 
session of  his  church  in  the  tenth  year  of  the 
consulate  of  Constantius,  and  the  third  of  Julian, 
surnamed  Caesar.  It  is  related  that,  at  the 
dedication  of  the  great  church  called  "  Sophia," 
when  he  rose  to  teach  the  people,  he  commenced 
his  discourse  with  the  following  proposition : 
"The  Father  is  impious,  the  Son  is  pious"; 
and  that,  as  these  words  excited  a  great  commo- 
tion among  the  people,  he  added,  "  Be  calm  ; 
the  Father  is  impious,  because  he  worships  no 
one  ;  the  Son  is  pious,  because  he  worships  the 
Father."  On  this  explanation,  he  threw  his  au- 
dience into  laughter.  Eudoxius  and  Acacius 
jointly  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  in  en- 
deavoring to  cause  the  edicts  of  the  Nicene 
Council  to  fall  into  oblivion.  They  sent  the  for- 
mulary read  at  Ariminum  with  various  explana- 
tory additions  of  their  own,  to  every  province  of 
the  empire,  and  procured  from  the  emperor  an 
edict  for  the  banishment  of  all  who  should  refuse 
to  subscribe  to  it.  But  this  undertaking,  which 
appeared  to  them  so  easy  of  execution,  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  greatest  calamities,  for  it  excited 
commotions  throughout  the  empire,  and  entailed 
upon  the  Church  in  every  region  a  persecution 
more  grievous  than  those  which  it  had  suffered 
under  the  pagan  emperors.-  For  if  this  persecu- 
tion did  not  occasion  such  tortures  to  the  body  as 
the  preceding  ones,  it  appeared  more  grievous 
to  all  who  reflected  aright,  on  account  of  its 
disgraceful  nature  ;  for  both  the  persecutors  and 
the  persecuted  belonged  to  the  Church  ;  and  the 
one  was  all  the  more  disgraceful  in  that  men  of 
the  same  religion  treated  their  fellows  with  a 
degree  of  cruelty  which  the  ecclesiastical  laws 
prohibit  to  be  manifested  towards  enemies  and 
strangers. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  —  MACEDONIUS,  AFPER  HIS    REJECTION 
FROM    HIS    SEE,    BLASPHEMES   AGAINST   THE   HOLY 

■  Soc.  ii.  41 ;   Riif.  H.  E.  i.  21.     Soz.  has  independent  details. 
2  Cf.  with  Ruf.  //.  .£.  i.  21. 


SPIRIT  ;  PROPAGATION  OF  HIS  HERESY  THROUGH 
THE  INSTRUMENTALITY  OF  MARATHONIUS  AND 
OTHERS. 

The  spirit  of  innovation  is  self-laudatory,^  and 
hence  it  advanced  further  and  further,  and  crept 
along  to  greater  novelties  with  increasing  self- 
conceit,  and  in  scorn  of  the  fathers  it  enacted 
laws  of  its  own,  nor  does  it  honor  the  doctrines 
of  the  ancients  concerning  God,  but  is  always 
thinking  out  strange  dogmas  and  restlessly  adds 
novelty  to  novelty  as  the  events  now  show.  For 
after  Macedonius  had  been  deposed  from  the 
church  of  Constantinople,  he  renounced  the 
tenets  of  Acacius  and  Eudoxius.'*  He  began  to 
teach  that  the  Son  is  God,  and  that  He  is  in  all 
respects  and  in  substance  like  unto  the  Father. 
But  he  affirmed  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  a 
participant  of  the  same  dignities,  and  designated 
Him  a  minister  and  a  servant,  and  applied  to 
Him  whatever  could,  without  error,  be  said  of 
the  holy  angels.  This-  doctrine  was  embraced 
by  Eleusius,  Eustathius,  and  by  all  the  other 
bishops  who  had  been  deposed  at  Constantinople^ 
by  the  partisans  of  the  opposite  heresy.  Their 
example  was  quickly  followed  by  no  small  part 
of  the  people  of  Constantinople,  Bithynia,  Thrace, 
the  Hellespont,  and  of  the  neighboring  provinces. 
For  their  mode  of  life  had  no  little  influence, 
and  to  this  do  the  people  give  special  attention. 
They  assumed  great  gravity  of  demeanor,  and 
their  discipline  was  like  that  of  the  monks  ;  their 
conversation  was  plain  and  of  a  style  fitted  to 
persuade.  It  is  said  that  all  these  qualifications 
were  united  in  Marathonius.  He  originally  held 
a  public  appointment  in  the  army,  under  the 
command  of  the  prefect.  After  amassing  some 
money  in  this  employment,  he  quit  military  sci- 
ence, and  undertook  the  superintendence  of  the 
establishments  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  the 
destitute.  Afterwards,  at  the  suggestion  of  Eusta- 
thius, bishop  of  Sebaste,  he  embraced  an  ascetic 
mode  of  life,  and  founded  a  monastical  institu- 
tion in  Constantinople  which  exists  to  the  present 
day.  He  brought  so  much  zeal,  and  so  much  of 
his  own  wealth  to  the  support  of  the  aforesaid 
heresy,  that  the  Macedonians  were  by  many 
termed  Marathonians,  and  it  seems  to  me  not 
without  reason  ;  for  it  appears  that  he  alone,  to- 
gether with  his  institutions,  was  the  cause  that  it 
was  not  altogether  extinguished  in  Constantino- 
ple. In  fact,  after  the  deposition  of  Macedonius, 
the  Macedonians  possessed  neither  churches  nor 
bishops  until  the  reign  of  Arcadius.'^ 

The  Arians,  who  drove  out  of  the  churches 
and  rigorously  persecuted  all  who  held  different 

'  Soc.  ii.  45;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  25;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  ii.  6.  Soz. 
independent. 

*  Cf.  Philost.  iv.  9-  ,  .. 

^  After  A.D.  395.  Yet  according  to  vii.  2,  the  Macedonians  took 
advantage  of  the  Gralian  law  and  repossessed  the  xhurches  from 
which  Valens  had  ejected  them. 


IV.  29.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


Z^3 


sentiments  from  themselves,  deprived  them  of 
all  these  privileges.  It  would  be  no  easy  task 
to  enumerate  the  names  of  the  priests  who  were 
at  this  period  ejected  from  their  own  cities ;  for 
I  believe  that  no  province  of  the  empire  was 
exempted  from  such  a  calamity. 


CHAP.  XXVIIl. THE  ARIANS,  UNDER  THE  IMPRES- 
SION THAT  THE  DIVINE  MELETIUS  UPHELD  THEIR 
SENlTiMENTS,  TRANSLATE  HIM  FROM  SEBASTE  TO 
ANTIOCH.  ON  HIS  BOLD  CONFESSION  OF  THE 
ORTHODOX  DOCTRINES,  THEY  Vv'ERE  CONFOUNDED, 
AND  AFTER  THEY  HAD  DEPOSED  HLM  THEY  PLACED 
EUZOIUS  IN  THE  SEE.  IMELETIUS  FORMED  HIS 
OWN  CHURCH  :  BUT  THOSE  WHO  HELD  TO  CONSUB- 
STANTIALITY  TURNED  AWAY  FROM  HIM  BECAUSE 
HE    H.A.D    BEEN    ORDAINED    BY    ARL\NS. 

At  the  period  that  Eudoxius  obtained  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  church  of  Constantinople,^  there 
were  many  aspirants  to  the  see  of  Antioch  ;  and 
as  is  frequently  the  case  under  such  circum- 
stances, contentions  and  seditions  divided  the 
clergy  and  the  people  of  that  church. 

Each  party  was  anxious  to  commit  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  church  to  a  bishop  of  its  own 
persuasion ;  for  interminable  disputes  concern- 
ing doctrine  were  rampant  among  them,  and 
they  could  not  agree  as  to  the  mode  of  singing 
psalms ;  and,  as  has  been  before  stated,  psalms 
were  sung  by  each  individual,  in  conformity 
with  his  own  peculiar  creed.  Such  being  the 
state  of  the  church  at  Antioch,  the  partisans  of 
Eudoxius  thought  it  would  be  well  to  intrust  the 
bishopric  of  that  city  to  Meletius,  then  bishop 
of  Sebaste,  he  being  possessed  of  great  and  per- 
suasive eloquence,  of  excellent  life,  and  above 
all,  as  they  imagined,  being  of  like  opinions  with 
themselves.  They  believed  that  his  reputation 
would  attract  the  inhabitants  of  Antioch  and  of 
the  neighboring  cities  to  conform  to  their  heresy, 
particularly  those  called  Eustathians,  who  had 
adhered  invariably  to  the  Nicene  doctrines.  But 
their  expectations  were  utterly  frustrated.  It  is 
said  that  on  his  first  arrival  in  Antioch,  an  im- 
mense multitude,  composed  of  Arians,  and  of 
those  who  were  in  communion  with  Paulinus, 
flocked  around  him.  Some  wished  to  see  the 
man  because  his  fame  was  great,  even  before 
his  coming ;  others  were  anxious  to  hear  what 
he  had  to  say,  and  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  his 
opinions  ;  for  a  report  had  been  spread  abroad 
which  was  afterwards  proved  to  be  true,  that  he 
maintained  the  doctrines  of  those  convened  at 
Nicsea.  In  his  first  discourses  he  confined  him- 
self to   instructing  the  people  in  what  we   call 

'  Soc.  ii.  44.  The  order  is  the  same  in  Soz..  but  with  many  new 
details.  Philost.  v.  i,  5;  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  24.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E. 
ii.  31. 


ethics  ;  afterwards,  however,  he  openly  declared 
that  the  Son  is  of  the  same  substance  as  the 
Father.  It  is  said  that  at  these  words,  the  arch- 
deacon of  the  church,  who  was  then  one  of  the 
clergy  there,  stretched  out  his  hand,  and  covered 
the  mouth  of  the  preacher  ;  but  that  he  continued 
to  explain  his  sentiments  more  clearly  by  means 
of  his  fingers  than  he  could  by  language.  He 
extended  three  fingers  only  towards  the  people, 
closed  them,  and  then  allowed  only  one  finger 
to  remain  extended,  and  thus  expressed  by  signs 
what  he  was  prevented  from  uttering.  As  the  arch- 
deacon, in  his  embarrassment,  seized  the  hand, 
he  released  the  mouth  ;  the  tongue  was  free, 
and  Meletius  declared  his  opinion  -still  more 
clearly  and  with  a  loud  voice,  and  exhorted  his  au- 
ditors to  adhere  to  the  tenets  of  the  council  of 
Nicsea,  and  he  testified  to  his  hearers  that  those 
who  held  other  views  deviated  from  the  truth. 
As  he  persisted  in  the  enunciation  of  the  same 
sentiments,  either  by  word  of  mouth  or  by  means 
of  signs,  when  the  archdeacon  closed  his  mouth, 
a  contention  between  both  sides  occurred,  not 
unhke  that  of  the  pancratium  ;  the  followers  of 
Eustathius  shouted  aloud  and  rejoiced  and  leaped, 
while  the  Arians  were  cast  down.  Eudoxius  and 
his  partisans  were  transported  with  indignation 
at  this  discourse,  and  contrived  by  their  machi- 
nations to  expel  Meletius  from  Antioch.  Soon 
afterwards,  however,  they  recalled  him,  for  they 
fancied  he  had  renounced  his  former  sentiments 
and  had  espoused  theirs.  As,  however,  it  soon 
became  apparent  that  his  devotion  to  the  Nicene 
doctrines  was  firm  and  unalterable,  he  was  ejected 
from  the  church,  and  banished  by  order  of  the 
emperor ;  and  the  see  of  Antioch  was  conferred 
on  Euzoius,  who  had  formerly  been  banished 
with  Arius.  The  followers  of  Meletius  separated 
themselves  from  the  Arians,  and  held  their  as- 
semblies apart,  for  those  who  had  from  the  begin- 
ning maintained  that  the  Son  is  consubstandal 
with  the  Father  refused  to  admit  them  into  com- 
munion, because  Meletius  had  been  ordained  by 
Arian  bishops,  and  because  his  followers  had 
been  baptized  by  Arian  priests.  For  this  reason 
they  were  separated,  although  holding  the  same 
views. 

The  emperor  having  been  informed  that  an 
insurrection  was  about  to  arise  in  Persia,  repaired 
to  Antioch. 


CHAP.  XXIX. THE    PARTISANS    OF    ACACIUS    AGAIN 

DO  NOT  REMAIN  QUIET,  BUT  STRIVE  TO  ABOLISH 
THE  TERM  "  CONSUBSTANTLAL,"  AND  TO  CONFIRM 
THE  HERESY  OF  ARIUS. 

The  partisans  of  Acacius  ^  were  not  able  to 


^  Soc.  ii.  45.  Soz.  and  he  are  much  alike,  but  yet  each  has  inde- 
pendent statements;  both  evidently  draw  from  the  same  source. 
Athan.  de  Synodis,  31 ;   Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  25. 


324 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IV.  29. 


remain  in  tranquillity  ;  and  they  therefore  assem- 
bled together  with  a  few  others  in  Antioch,  and 
condemned  the  decrees  which  they  had  them- 
selves enacted.  They  decided  to  erase  the 
term  "  similar  "  from  the  formulary  which  had 
been  read  at  Ariminum  and  at  Constantinople, 
and  affirmed  that  in  all  respects,  in  substance 
and  in  will,  the  Son  is  dissimilar  from  the 
Father,  and  that  He  proceeded  from  what  had 
no  previous  existence,  even  as  Arius  had  taught 
from  the  commencement.  They  were  joined 
by  the  partisans  of  Aetius,  who  had  been  the 
first  after  Arius  to  venture  openly  upon  the  pro- 
fession of  these  opinions ;  hence  Aetius  was 
called  atheist,  and  his  approvers,  Anomians  and 
Exucontians. 

When  those  who  maintained  the  Nicene  doc- 
trines demanded  of  the  Acacians  how  they  could 
say  that  the  Son  is  dissimilar  from  the  Father, 
and  that  He  proceeded  out  of  nothing,  when  it 
was  affirmed  in  their  own  formulary  that  He  is 
"God  of  God,"  they  replied  that  the  Aposde 
Paul  had  declared  that  "  All  things  are  of 
God,"^  and  that  the  Son  is  included  in, the  term 
"  all  things  "  ;  and  that  it  was  in  this  sense,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  that 
the  expressions  in  their  formulary  were  to  be 
understood.  Such  were  the  equivocations  and 
sophistry  to  which  they  had  recourse.  At  length, 
finding  that  they  could  advance  no  efficient  argu- 
ment to  justify  themselves  in  the  opinion  of  those 
who  pressed  them  on  this  point,  they  withdrew 
from  the  assembly,  after  the  formulary  of  Con- 
stantinople had  been  read  a  second  time,  and 
returned  to  their  own  cities. 

'  I  Cor.  xi.  12. 


CHAP.    XXX. GEORGE,    BISHOP     OF   ANTIOCH,    AND 

THE  CHIEF-PRIESTS  OF  JERUSALEM.  THREE 
CHIEF-PRIESTS  SUCCESSIVELY  SUCCEED  CVRIL  ; 
RESTORATION  OF  CYRIL  TO  THE  SEE  OF  JERUSA- 
LEM. 

During  this  period,-  Athanasius  was  obliged 
to  remain  in  concealment,  and  George  returned 
to  Alexandria,  and  commenced  a  cruel  perse- 
cution against  the  pagans,  and  against  the 
Christians  who  differed  from  him  in  opinion. 
He  compelled  both  parties  to  offer  worship  in 
the  mode  he  indicated,  and  where  opposition 
was  made,  he  enforced  obedience  by  compul- 
sion. He  was  hated  by  the  rulers  because  he 
scorned  them  and  was  giving  orders  to  the  offi- 
cers ;  and  the  multitude  detested  him  on  account 
of  his  tyranny,  for  his  power  was  greater  than 
all  the  rest.  The  pagans  regarded  him  with 
even  greater  aversion  than  the  Christians,  be- 
cause he  prohibited  them  from  offering  sacri- 
fices, and  from  celebrating  their  ancestral  festi- 
vals ;  and  because  he  had  on  one  occasion, 
introduced  the  governor  of  Egypt  •'^  and  armed 
soldiery  into  the  city,  and  despoiled  their  images, 
votives  and  temple  ornaments.  This  was,  in 
fact,  the  cause  of  his  death,  on  which  I  will 
dwell. 

On  the  deposition  of  Cyril,  Erennius  obtained 
the  church  of  Jerusalem  ;  ■*  he  was  succeeded 
by  Heraclius,  and  to  Heraclius  succeeded  Hila- 
rius  ;  for  we  have  gathered  from  tradition  that 
in  that  period  these  persons  administered  the 
church  there,  until  the  reign  of  Theodosius, 
when  Cyril  was  once  more  restored  to  his  own 
see. 


2  Soc.  ii.  45.     Soz.  has  some  order,  but  varying  points. 

3  Namely,  Artemius,  who  was  afterwards  martyred  under  Julian. 
Am.  Marcel,  xxii.  11.  3-8. 

*  Soc.  iv.  25.    Epiphaniiis  [ad-:'.  Htrres/n.  Ti,io;  Ha-res,  Ixvi.), 
places  another  Cyril  after  Herennius.    Soc.  calls  Erennius,  Arrenius. 


BOOK    V. 


CHAP.    I. APOSTASY     OF     JULUN,     THE     TRAITOR. 

DEATH    OF   THE    EMPEROR    CONSTANTIUS. 

Such  were  the  transactions  which  took  ^  place 
in  the  Eastern  Church.  In  the  meantime,  how- 
ever, Julian,  the  Caesar,  attacked  and  conquered 
the  barbarians  who  dwelt  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine  ;  many  he  killed,  and  others  he  took  pris- 
oners. As  the  victory  added  greatly  to  his 
fame,  and  as  his  moderation  and  gentleness  had 
endeared  him  to  the  troops,  they  proclaimed 
him  Augustus.  Far  from  making  an  excuse  to 
Constantius  for  this  act,  he  exchanged  the  offi- 
cers who  had  been  elected  by  Constantius,  and 
industriously  circulated  letters  wherein  Con- 
stantius had  solicited  the  barbarians  to  enter 
the  Roman  territories,  and  aid  him  against 
Magnentius.  He  then  suddenly  changed  his 
religion,  and  although  he  had  previously  con- 
fessed Christianity,  he  declared  himself  high- 
priest,  frequented  the  pagan  temples,  offered 
sacrifices,  and  invited  his  subjects  to  adopt  that 
form  of  worship. 

As  an  invasion  of  Roman  territory  by  the  Per- 
sians was  expected,  and  as  Constantius  had  on 
this  account  repaired  to  Syria,  Julian  conceived 
that  he  might  without  batde  render  himself 
master  of  lUyricum  ;  he  therefore  set  out  on  his 
journey  to  this  province,  under  pretense  that  he 
intended  to  present  an  apology  to  Constantius 
for  having,  without  his  sanction,  received  the 
symbols  of  imperial  power.  It  is  said,  that 
when  he  arrived  on  the  borders  of  lUyria,  the 
vines  appeared  full  of  green  grapes,  although  the 
time  of  the  vintage  was  past,  and  the  Pleiades 
had  set ;  and  that  there  fell  upon  his  followers  a 
dashing  of  the  dew  from  the  atmosphere,  of 
which  each  drop  was  stamped  with  the  sign  of 
the  cross.  He  and  many  of  those  with  him 
regarded  the  grapes  appearing  out  of  season  as 
a  favorable  omen  ;  while  tht  dew  had  made 
that  figure  by  chance  on  the  garments  upon 
which  it  happened  to  fall. 

Others  thought  that  of  the  two  symbols,  the 
one  of  the  green  grapes  signified  that  the  emperor 
would  die  prematurely,  and  his  reign  would  be 
very  short ;    while  the  second  sign,  that  of  the 


1  Soc.  ii.  47,  and  iii.  i;  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  26:  Orosius,  vii.  29,  30; 
Philost.  vi.  5,6.  Soz.  has  much  that  is  independent.  Cf.  Eunapius, 
Zos.,  and  Am.  Marcel,  under  the  reigns  of  Constantius  and  Juhan. 
Eutrop.  Brev.  Hist.  Rom.  x.  14,  15. 


crosses  formed  by  the  drops  of  dew,  indicated  that 
the  Christian  religion  is  from  heaven,  and  that 
all  persons  ought  to  receive  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
I  am,  for  my  own  part,  convinced  that  those  who 
regarded  these  two  phenomena  as  unfavorable 
omens  for  Juhan,  were  not  mistaken  ;  and  the 
progress  of  time  proved  the  accuracy  of  their 
opinion. 

When  Constantius  heard  that  Julian  was 
marching  against  him  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
he  abandoned  his  intended  expedition  against 
the  Persians,  and  departed  for  Constantinople ; 
but  he  died  on  the  journey,  when  he  had  arrived 
as  far  as  Mopsucrenae,  which  lies  near  the  Taurus, 
between  Cilicia  and  Cappadocia. 

He  died  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  after 
reigning  thirteen  years  conjointly  with  his  father 
Constantine,  and  twenty-five  years  after  the  death 
of  that  emperor. 

A  litde  while  after  the  decease  of  Constantius, 
Julian,  who  had  already  made  himself  master  of 
Thrace,  entered  Constantinople  and  was  pro- 
claimed emperor.  Pagans  assert  that  diviners 
and  demons  had  predicted  the  death  of  Con- 
stantius, and  the  change  in  affairs,  before  his 
departure  for  Galatia,  and  had  advised  him  to 
undertake  the  expedition..  This  might  have 
been  regarded  as  a  true  prediction,  had  not 
the  fife  of  Julian  been  terminated  so  shortly 
afterwards,  and  when  he  had  only  tasted  the 
imperial  power  as  in  a  dream.  But  it  appears 
to  me  absurd  to  believe  that,  after  he  had 
heard  the  death  of  Constantius  predicted,  and 
had  been  warned  that  it  would  be  his  own 
fate  to  fall  in  battle  by  the  hands  of  the  Per- 
sians, he  should  have  leaped  into  manifest  death, 
—  offering  him  no  other  fame  in  the  world  than 
that  of  lack  of  counsel,  and  poor  generalship,  — 
and  who,  had  he  lived,  would  probably  have 
suffered  the  greater  part  of  the  Roman  territo- 
ries to  fall  under  the  Persian  yoke.  This  obser- 
vation, however,  is  only  inserted  lest  I  should  be 
blamed  for  omitting  it.  I  leave  every  one  to 
form  his  own  opinion. 

CH.'^P.  II. THE  LIFE,  EDUCATION,  AND  TRAINING  OF 

JULIAN,  AND  HIS  ACCESSION  TO  THE  EMPIRE. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  Constantius,^ 


2  Soc.  iii.  I.     Much  the  same  order  is  followed  by  Soz.,  but  with 


326 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V.  2. 


the  dread  of  a  persecution  arose  in  the  Church, 
and  Christians  suffered  more  anguish  from  the 
anticipation  of  this  calamity  than  they  would 
have  experienced  from  its  actual  occurrence. 
This  state  of  feeling  proceeded  from  the  fact 
that  a  long  interval  had  made  them  unaccus- 
tomed to  such  dangers,  and  from  the  remem- 
brance of  the  tortures  which  had  been  exercised 
by  the  tyrants  upon  their  fathers,  and  from  their 
knowledge  of  the  hatred  with  which  the  emperor 
regarded  their  doctrines.  It  is  said  that  he 
openly  renounced  the  faith  of  Christ  so  entirely, 
that  he  by  sacrifices  and  expiations,  which  the 
pagans  call  renunciatory,  and  by  the  blood'  of 
animals,  purged  himself  of  our  baptism.  From 
that  period  he  employed  himself  in  auguries  and 
in  the  celebration  of  the  pagan  rites,  both  pub- 
Hcly  and  privately.  It  is  related^  that  one  day, 
as  he  was  inspecting  the  entrails  of  a  victim,  he 
beheld  among  them  a  cross  encompassed  with 
a  crown.  This  appearance  terrified  those  who 
were  assisting  in  the  ceremony,  for  they  judged 
that  it  indicated  the  strength  of  religion,  and  the 
eternal  duration  of  the  Christian  doctrines ;  in- 
asmuch as  the  crown  by  which  it  was  encircled 
is  the  symbol  of  victory,  and  because  of  its  con- 
tinuity, for  the  circle  beginning  everywhere  and 
ending  in  itself,  has  no  limits  in  any  direction. 
The  chief  augur  commanded  Julian  to  be  of 
good  cheer,  because  in  his  judgment  the  victims 
were  propitious,  and  since  they  surrounded  the 
symbol  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  and  was  in- 
deed pushing  into  it,  so  that  it  would  not  spread 
and  expand  itself  where  it  wished,  since  it  was 
limited  by  the  circumference  of  the  circle. 

1  have  also  heard  that  one  day  Julian  de- 
scended into  a  most  noted  and  terrific  adytum,-' 
either  for  the  purpose  of  participating  in  some 
initiation,  or  of  consulting  an  oracle  ;  and  that, 
by  means  of  machinery  which  is  devised  for  this 
end,  or  of  enchantments,  such  frightful  specters 
were  projected  suddenly  before  him,  that  through 
perturbation  and  fear,  he  became  forgetful  of 
those  who  were  present,  for  he  had  turned  to  his 
new  religion  when  already  a  man,  and  so  uncon- 
sciously fell  into  his  earlier  habit,  and  signed 
himself  with  the  symbol  of  Christ,  just  as  the 
Christian  encompassed  with  untried  dangers  is 
wont  to  do.  Immediately  the  specters  disap- 
peared and  their  designs  were  frustrated.  The 
initiator  was  at  first  surprised  at  this,  but  when 
apprised  of  the  cause  of  the  flight  of  the  demons, 
he  declared  that  the  act  was  a  profanation  ;  and 
after  exhorting  the  emperor  to  be  courageous  and 
to  have  no  recourse  in  deed  or  thought  to  anything 
connected  with  the  Christian  religion,  he  again 

the  addition  of  many  details.  Greg.  Naz.  adv.  Julianutn,  i.  and  ii. 
Invectiva;  Eunapius,  Excerpt,  i.  i,  2;  Excerpt,  ii.  1-24;  Zos.  ii. 
45;  iii.  2-25,  34.  Am.  Marcel,  xv.-xxiv.  Thcodoret,  H.  E.  iii.  2,  3, 
follows  Soz.  succinctly.      '  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cent.  Juliaiinm,  i.  54. 

2  Greg.  Naz.  cont.  Julianum,  1  inv.  55. 


conducted  him  to  the  initiation.     The  zeal  of  the 
king  for  such  matters  saddened  the  Christians  not 
a  little  and  made  them  extremely  anxious,  more 
especially  as  he   had  been  himself  formerly  a 
Christian.     He  was  born  of  pious  parents,  had 
been  initiated  in  infancy  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  Church,  and  had  been  brought  up  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  was  nur- 
tured by  bishops  and  men  of  the  Church.     He 
and  Callus  were   the   sons  of  Constantius,  the 
brother  by  the  same  father  of  Constantine   the 
emperor,  and  of  Dalmatius.     Dalmatius  had  a 
son  of  the  same  name,  who  was  declared  Caesar, 
and  was  slain  by  the  soldiery  after  the  death  of 
Constantine.     His  fate  would  have  been  shared 
by  Callus  and  Julian,  who  were   then  orphans, 
had  not  Callus  been  spared  on  account  of  a 
disease  under  which  he  was  laboring,  and  from 
which,  it   was   supposed,  that    he   would    soon 
naturally    die ;    and    Julian,  on    account    of  his 
extreme  youth,  for  he  was  but  eight  years  of  age. 
After   this  wonderful  preservation,  a   residence 
was  assigned  to  the  two   brothers   in  a  palace 
called  Macellum,  situated  in  Cappadocia ;  this 
imperial  post  was  near  Mount  Argeus,  and  not 
far  from   Csesarea ;  it   contained   a  magnificent 
palace  and  was  adorned  with  baths,  gardens,  and 
perennial  fountains.     Here   they  were  cultured 
and    educated    in  a  manner    corresponding   to 
the  dignity  of  their  birth ;  they  were  taught  the 
sciences  and  bodily  exercises  befitting  their  age, 
by  masters  of  languages  and  interpreters  of  the 
Holy    Scriptures,    so    that    they   were   enrolled 
among  the  clergy,  and    read    the   ecclesiastical 
books  to  the  people.     Their  habits  and  actions 
indicated  no  dereliction  from  piety.     They  re- 
spected the  clergy  and  other  good  people  and 
persons  zealous  for  doctrine  ;  they  repaired  reg- 
ularly to  church  and  rendered  due  homage  to 
the  tombs  of  the  martyrs. 

It  is  said  that  they  undertook  to  deposit  the 
tomb  of  St.  Mammas  ^  the  martyr  in  a  large 
edifice,  and  to  divide  the  labor  between  them- 
selves, and  that  while  they  were  trying  to  excel 
one  another  in  a  rivalry  of  honor,  an  event  oc- 
curred which  was  so  astonishing  that  it  would 
indeed  be  utterly  incredible  were  it  not  for  the 
testimony  of  many  who  are  still  among  us,  who 
heard  it  from  those  who  were  eyewitnesses  of 
the  transaction. 

The  part  of  the  edifice  upon  which  Callus 
labored  advanced  rapidly  and  according  to  wish, 
but  of  the  section  upon  which  Julian  labored,  a 
part  fell  into  ruin  ;  another  was  projected  up- 
ward from  the  earth  ;  a  third  immediately  on 
its  touching  the  foundation  could  not  be  held 

'  Under  Aurelian,  a.d.  274.  The  Greeks  celebrate  him  Sept.  2; 
Latins,  Aug.  17.  He  is  said  by  Greg.  Naz.  {Orat.  44,  12),  and  by 
Basil  {Ho»i.  23,  on  St.  Mammas)  to  have  been  a  shepherd  and  also 
a  martyr.  The  miraculous  stor\'  here  related  is  given  also  by  Greg. 
Naz.  in  his  First  Oration  against  Julian,  25,  though  he  does  not 
mention  the  martyr's  name. 


V.  2.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


327 


upright,  but  was  hurled  backward  as  if  some 
resistant  and  strong  force  from  beneath  were 
pushing  against  it. 

This  was  universally  regarded  as  a  prodigy. 
The  people,  however,  drew  no  conclusion  from 
it  till  subsequent  events  manifested  its  import. 
There  were  a  few  who  from  that  moment  doubted 
the  reality  of  Julian's  religion,  and  suspected  that 
he  only  made  an  outward  profession  of  piety  for 
fear  of  displeasing  the  emperor,  who  was  then 
a  Christian,  and  that  he  concealed  his  own  sen- 
timents because  it  was  not  safe  to  divulge  them. 
It  is  asserted  that  he  was  first  secretly  led  to 
renounce  the  religion  of  his  fathers  by  his  inter- 
course with  diviners ;  for  when  the  resentment 
of  Constantius  against  the  two  brothers  was 
abated,  Gallus  went  to  Asia,  and  took  up  his 
residence  in  Ephesus,  where  the  greater  part  of 
his  property  was  situated  ;  and  Julian  repaired 
to  Constantinople,  and  frequented  the  schools, 
where  his  fine  natural  abilities  and  ready  attain- 
ments in  the  sciences  did  not  remain  concealed. 
He  appeared  in  public  in  the  garb  of  a  private 
individual,  and  had  much  company ;  but  be- 
cause he  was  related  to  the  emperor  and  was 
capable  of  conducting  affairs  and  was  expected 
to  become  emperor,  considerable  talk  about  him 
to  this  effect  was  prevalent,  as  is  wont  to  be  the 
case  in  a  populous  and  imperial  city,  he  was  com- 
manded to  retire  to  Nicomedia. 

Here  he  became  acquainted  with  Maximus, 
an  Ephesian  philosopher,^  who  instructed  him 
in  philosophy,  and  inspired  him  with  hatred 
towards  the  Christian  religion,  and  moreover 
assured  him  that  the  much  talked  of  prophecy 
about  him  was  true.  Julian,  as  happens  in  many 
cases,  while  suffering  in  anticipation  of  severe 
circumstances,  was  softened  by  these  favorable 
hopes  and  held  Maximus  as  his  friend.  As  these 
occurrences  reached  the  ears  of  Constantius, 
Julian  became  apprehensive,  and  accordingly 
shaved  himself,  and  adopted  externally  the 
monkish  mode  of  life,  while  he  secretly  held  to 
the  other  religion. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  manhood,  he 
was  more  readily  infatuated,  and  yet  was  anxious 
about  these  tendencies ;  and  admiring  the  art 
(if  there  be  such  an  art)  of  predicting  the  future, 
he  thought  the  knowledge  of  it  necessary ;  he 
advanced  to  such  experiments  as  are  not  lawful 
for  Christians.  From  this  period  he  had  as  his 
friends  those  who  followed  this  art.  In  this 
opinion,  he  came  into  Asia  from  Nicomedia,  and 
there  consorting  with  men  of  such  practices,  he 
became  more  ardent  in  the  pursuit  of  divination. 

When  Gallus,  his  brother,  who  had  been  es- 
tablished as  Caesar,  was  put  to  death  on  being 

1  See  Eunap.  V.  S.  vita  Maxinii ;  Julian  wrote  four  letters  to 
him,  Op.  Ep.  15,  16,  38,  39;  to  be  distinguished  from  another  teacher 
of  Julian,  Maximus  of  Epirus. 


accused  of  revolution,  Constantius  also  suspected 
Julian  of  cherishing  the  love  of  empire,  and 
therefore  put  him  under  the  custody  of  guards. 

Eusebia,  the  wife  of  Constantius,  obtained  for 
him  permission  to  retire  to  Athens  ;  and  he  ac- 
cordingly settled  there,  under  pretext  of  attend- 
ing the  pagan  exercises  and  schools  ;  but  as  rumor 
says,  he  communed  with  diviners  concerning  his 
future  prospects.  Constantius  recalled  him,  and 
proclaimed  him  Caesar,  promised  him  his  sister 
Constantia  -  in  marriage,  and  sent  him  to  Gaul ; 
for  the  barbarians  whose  aid  had  been  hired  by 
Constantius  previously  against  Magnentius,  find- 
ing that  their  services  were  not  required,  had  por- 
tioned out  that  country.  As  Julian  was  very  young, 
generals,  to  whom  the  prudential  affairs  were 
turned  over,  were  sent  with  him ;  but  as  these 
generals  abandoned  themselves  to  pleasure,  he 
was  present  as  Caesar,  and  provided  for  the 
war.  He  confirmed  his  soldiers  in  their  spirit  for 
battle,  and  urged  them  in  other  ways  to  incur 
danger ;  he  also  ordered  that  a  fixed  reward 
should  be  given  to  each  one  who  should  slay  a 
barbarian.  After  he  had  thus  secured  the  affec- 
tions of  the  soldiery,  he  wrote  to  Constantius, 
acquainting  him  with  the  levity  of  the  generals ; 
and  when  another  general  had  been  sent,  he 
attacked  the  barbarians,  and  obtained  the  vic- 
tory. They  sent  embassies  to  beg  for  peace, 
and  showed  the  letter  in  which  Constantius  had 
requested  them  to  enter  the  Roman  dominions. 
He  purposely  delayed  to  send  the  ambassador 
back ;  he  attacked  a  number  of  the  enemy 
unexpectedly  and  conquered  them. 

Some  have  said  that  Constantius,  with  designed 
enmity,  committed  this  campaign  to  him ;  ^  but 
this  does  not  appear  probable  to  me.  For,  as 
it  rested  with  Constantius  alone  to  nominate  him 
Caesar,  why  did  he  confer  that  title  upon  him  ? 
Why  did  he  give  him  his  sister  in  marriage,  or 
hear  his  complaints  against  the  inefficient  gen- 
erals, and  send  a  competent  one  in  their  stead 
in  order  to  complete  the  war,  if  he  were  not 
friendly  to  Juhan  ? 

But  as  I  conjecture,  he  conferred  on  him  the 
title  of  Caesar  because  he  was  well  disposed  to 
Julian;  but  that  after  Julian  had,  without  his 
sanction,  been  proclaimed  emperor,  he  plotted 
against  him  through  the  barbarians  on  the  Rhine  ; 
and  this,  I  think,  resulted  either  from  the  dread 
that  Julian  would  seek  revenge  for  the  ill-treat- 
nient  he  and  his  brother  Gallus  had  experienced 
during  their  youth,  or  as  would  be  natural,  from 
jealousy  of  his  attaining  similar  honor.  But 
a  great  variety  of  opinions  are  entertained  on 
this  subject. 


2  Sozomen  is  mistaken  here,  as  Constantia  was  married  to  Gallus 
Csesar,  the  brother  of  Julian.  Soc.  iii.  i,  and  Am.  Marcel,  xv.  8, 
18,  give  Helena  as  the  name  of  Julian's  wife. 

3  As  Eunapius,  Exc.  ii.  3. 


128 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V, 


CHAP.    III. JULIAN,    ON    HIS     SETTLEMENT    IN   THE 

EMPIRE,  BEGAN  QUIETLY  TO  STIR  UP  OPPOSITION 
TO  CHRISTIANIIT,  AND  TO  INTRODUCE  PAGANISM 
ARTFULLY. 

When  Julian  found  himself  sole  possessor  of 
the  empire,^  he  commanded  that  all  the  pagan 
temples  should  be  reopened  throughout  the  East ; 
that  those  which  had  been  neglected  should  be 
repaired ;  that  those  which  had  fallen  into  ruins 
should  be  rebuilt,  and  that  the  altars  should  be 
restored.  He  assigned  considerable  money  for 
this  purpose  ;  he  restored  the  customs  of  an- 
tiquity and  the  ancestral  ceremonies  in  the 
cities,  and  the  practice  of  offering  sacrifice. 

He  himself  offered  libations  openly  and  pub- 
licly sacrificed ;  bestowed  honors  on  those  who 
were  zealous  in  the  performance  of  these  cere- 
monies ;  restored  the  initiators  and  the  priests, 
the  hierophants  and  the  servants  of  the  images, 
to  their  old  privileges  ;  and  confirmed  the  legisla- 
tion of  former  emperors  in  their  behalf;  he  con- 
ceded exemption  from  duties  and  from  other 
burdens  as  was  their  previous  right ;  he  restored 
the  provisions,  which  had  been  abolished,  to  the 
temple  guardians,  and  commanded  them  to  be 
pure  from  meats,  and  to  abstain  from  whatever 
according  to  pagan  saying  was  befitting  him  who 
had  announced  his  purpose  of  leading  a  pure 
life. 

He  also  ordered  that  the  nilometer  and  the 
symbols  and  the  former  ancestral  tablets  should 
be  cared  for  in  the  temple  of  Serapis,  instead 
of  being  deposited,  according  to  the  regulation, 
established  by  Constantine,  in  the  church.  He 
wrote  frequently  to  the  inhabitants  of  those 
cities  in  which  he  knew  paganism  was  nourished, 
and  urged  them  to  ask  what  gifts  they  might 
desire.  Towards  the  Christians,  on  the  con- 
trary, he  openly  manifested  his  aversion,  refusing 
to  honor  them  with  his  presence,  or  to  receive 
their  deputies  who  were  delegated  to  report  about 
grievances. 

When  the  inhabitants  of  Nisibis  sent  to  im- 
plore his  aid  against  the  Persians,  who  were  on 
the  point  of  invading  the  Roman  territories,  he 
refused  to  assist  them  because  they  were  wholly 
Christianized,  and  would  neither  reopen  their 
temples  nor  resort  to  the  sacred  places ;  he 
threatened  that  he  would  not  help  them,  nor 
receive  their  embassy,  nor  approach  to  enter 
their  city  before  he  should  hear  that  they  had 
returned  to  paganism.  ■ 

He  likewise  accused  the  inhabitants  of  Con- 
stantia  in  Palestine,  of  attachment  to  Christianity, 
and  rendered  their  city  tributary  to  that  of 
Gaza.  Constantia,  as  we  stated  before,  was 
formerly  called  Majuma,  and  was  used  as  a 
harbor  for  the  vessels  of  Gaza ;  but  on  hearing 


'  An  independent  chapter;   cf.  Theodorct,  //.  E.  iii.  6,  7. 


that  the  majority  of  its  inhabitants  were  Chris- 
tians, Constantine  elevated  it  to  the  dignity  of  a 
city,  and  conferred  upon  it  the  name  of  his  own 
son,  and  a  separate  form  of  government ;  for  he 
considered  that  it  ought  not  to  be  dependent 
on  Gaza,  a  city  addicted  to  pagan  rites.  On 
the  accession  of  Julian,  the  citizens  of  Gaza 
went  to  law  against  those  of  Constantia.  The 
emperor  himself  sat  as  judge,  and  decided  in 
favor  of  Gaza,  and  commanded  that  Constantia 
should  be  an  appendage  to  that  city,  although  it 
was  situated  at  a  distance  of  twenty  stadia. 

Its  former  name  having  been  abolished  by 
him,  it  has  since  been  denominated  the  maritime 
region  of  Gaza.  They  have  now  the  same  city 
magistrates,  military  officers,  and  public  regula- 
tions. With  respect  to  ecclesiastical  concerns, 
however,  they  may  still  be  regarded  as  two 
cities.  They  have  each  their  own  bishop  and 
their  own  clergy ;  they  celebrate  festivals  in^ 
honor  of  their  respective  martyrs,  and  in  memory 
of  the  priests  who  successively  ruled  them  ;  and 
the  boundaries  of  the  adjacent  fields  by  which 
the  altars  belonging  to  the  bishops  are  divided, 
are  still  preserved. 

It  happened  within  our  own  remembrance 
that  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  bishop  of 
Gaza,  on  the  death  of  the  president  of  the 
church  at  Majuma,  to  unite  the  clergy  of  that 
town  with  those  under  his  own  jurisdiction  ;  and 
the  plea  he  advanced  was,  that  it  was  not  lawful 
for  two  bishops  to  preside  over  one  city.  The 
inhabitants  of  Majuma  opposed  this  scheme,  and 
the  council  of  the  province  took  cognizance  of 
the  dispute,  and  ordained  another  bishop.  The 
council  decided  that  it  was  altogether  right  for 
those  who  had  been  deemed  worthy  of  the  hon- 
ors of  a  city  on  account  of  their  piety,  not  to  be 
deprived  of  the  privilege  conferred  upon  the 
priesthood  and  rank  of  their  churches,  through 
the  decision  of  a  pagan  emperor,  who  had 
taken  a  different  ground  of  action. 

But  these  events  occurred  at  a  later  period 
than  that  now  under  review. 


CHAP.     IV. JULIAN     INFLICTED     EVILS    UPON    THE 

INHABITAN'l^S    OF    C/ESAREA.       BOLD    FIDELITY    OF 
xMARIS,  BISHOP  OF  CHALCEDON. 

About  the  same  time,  the  emperor  erased 
Csesarea,^  the  large  and  wealthy  metropolis  of 
Cappadocia,  situated  near  Mount  Argeus,  from 
the  catalogue  of  cities,  and  even  deprived  it  of 
the  name  of  Ccesarea,  which  had  been  conferred 
upon  it  during  the  reign  of  Claudius  Caesar,  its. 
former  name    having  been  Mazaca.^     He  had 


2  The  record  is  unique  with  Soz.  Cf.  the  allusion  in  Greg.  Naz. 
Or.  coiit.  y?ilianu}ii,  1.  92;  and  Am.  Marcel,  xx.  9.  i,  2  (Mazaca). 

2  Am.  Marcel,  in  quotation  above;  and  Philost.  ix.  12,  who  says 
that  the  original  name  of  Csesarea  was  Mazaca,  from  Mosoch,  after- 
wards changed  into  Mazaca  by  inflection. 


V.5-] 


TilE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


329 


long  regarded  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  with 
extreme  aversion,  because  they  were  zealously 
attached  to  Christianity,  and  had  formerly  de- 
stroyed the  temple  of  the  ancestral  Apollo  and 
that  of  Jupiter,  the  tutelar  deity  of  the  city.  The 
temple  dedicated  to  Fortune,'  the  only  one  re- 
maining in  the  city,  was  overturned  by  the  Chris- 
tians after  his  accession  ;  and  on  hearing  of  the 
deed,  he  hated  the  entire  city  intensely  and 
could  scarce  endure  it.  He  also  blamed  the 
pagans,  who  were  few  in  number,  but  who  ought, 
he  said,  to  have  hastened  to  the  temple,  and,  if 
necessary,  to  have  suffered  cheerfully  for  Fortune. 
He  caused  all  possessions  and  money  belonging 
to  the  churches  of  the  city  and  suburbs  of  Caesarea 
to  be  rigorously  sought  out  and  carried  away ; 
about  three  hundred  pounds  of  gold,  obtained 
from  this  source,  were  conveyed  to  the  public 
treasury.  He  also  commanded  that  all  the  clergy 
should  be  enrolled  among  the  troops  under  the 
governor  of  the  province,  which  is  accounted 
the  most  arduous  and  least  honorable  service 
among  the  Romans. 

He  ordered  the  Christian  populace  to  be 
numbered,  women  and  children  inclusive,  and 
imposed  taxes  upon  them  as  onerous  as  those  to 
which  villages  are  subjected. 

He  further  threatened  that,  unless  their 
temples  were  speedily  re-erected,  his  wrath 
would  not  be  appeased,  but  would  be  visited  on 
the  city,  until  none  of  the  Galileans  remained  in 
existence  ;  for  this  was  the  name  which,  in  de- 
rision, he  was  wont  to  give  to  the  Christians. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  his  menaces  would 
have  been  fully  executed  had  not  death  quickly 
intervened. 

It  was  not  from  any  feeling  of  compassion 
towards  the  Christians  that  he  treated  them 
at  first  with  greater  humanity  than  had  been 
evinced  by  former  persecutors,  but  because  he 
had  discovered  that  paganism  had  derived  no 
advantage  from  their  tortures,  while  Christianity 
had  been  especially  increased,  and  had  become 
more  honored  by  the  fortitude  of  those  who 
died  in  defense  of  the  faith. 

It  was  simply  from  envy  of  their  glory,  that 
instead  of  employing  fire  and  the  sword  against 
them,  and  maltreating  their  bodies  like  former 
persecutors,  and  instead  of  casting  them  into 
the  sea,  or  burying  them  alive  in  order  to 
compel  them  to  a  change  of  sentiment,  he  had 
recourse  to  argument  and  persuasion,  and 
sought  by  these  means  to  reduce  them  to 
paganism  ;  he  expected  to  gain  his  ends  more 
easily  by  abandoning  all  violent  measures,  and 
by  the  manifestation  of  unexpected  benevo- 
lence.    It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  he 

1  To  Tv\eiov  was  the  Byzantine  term  for  the  temple  of  the  city 
genius.  This  one  is  mentioned  by  Greg.  Naz.  Or.cont.  yulianum, 
i.  92,  as  Tiixi;  similarly  in  Or.  xviii.  34. 


was  sacrificing  in  the  temple  of  Fortune  at  Con- 
stantinople, Maris,^  bishop  of  Chalcedon,  pre- 
sented himself  before  him,  and  publicly  rebuked 
him  as  an  irreligous  man,  an  atheist,  and  an  apos- 
tate. Julian  had  nothing  in  return  to  reproach 
him  with  except  his  blindness,  for  his  sight  was 
impaired  by  old  age,  and  he  was  led  by  a  child. 
According  to  his  usual  custom  of  uttering  blas- 
phemies against  Christ,  Julian  afterward  added 
in  derision,  "  The  Galilean,  thy  God,  will  not 
cure  thee."  Maris  replied,  '  I  thank  God  for 
my  blindness,  since  it  prevents  me  from  behold- 
ing one  who  has  fallen  away  from  our  religion." 
Julian  passed  on  without  giving  a  reply,  for  he 
considered  that  paganism  would  be  more  ad- 
vanced by  a  personal  and  unexpected  exhibition 
of  patience  and  mildness  towards  Christians. 


CH.4P.    V. JULIAN     RESTORES      LIBERTY     TO     THE 

CHRISTIANS,  IN  ORDER  TO  EXECUTE  FURTHER 
TROUBLES  IN  THE  CHURCH.  THE  EVIL  TREAT- 
MENT OF  CHRISTIANS  HE  DEVISED. 

It  was  from  these  motives  that  Julian  recalled 
from  exile  ^  all  Christians  who,  during  the  reign 
of  Constantius,  had  been  banished  on  account 
of  their  religious  sentiments,  and  restored  to 
them  their  property  that  had  been  confiscated 
by  law.  He  charged  the  people  not  to  commit 
any  act  of  injustice  against  the  Christians,  not  to 
insult  them,  and  not  to  constrain  them  to  offer 
sacrifice  unwillingly.  He  commanded  that  if 
they  should  of  their  own  accord  desire  to  draw 
near  the  altars,  they  were  first  to  appease  the 
wrath  of  the  demons,  whom  the  pagans  regard 
as  capable  of  averting  evil,  and  to  purify  them- 
selves by  the  customary  course  of  expiations. 
He  deprived  the  clergy,  however,  of  the  immu- 
nities, honors,  and  provisions  which  Constantino 
had  conferred  ;  ■*  repealed  the  laws  which  had 
been  enacted  in  their  favor,  and  reinforced 
their  statute  liabilities.  He  even  compelled  the 
virgins  and  widows,  who,  on  account  of  their 
poverty,  were  reckoned  among  the  clergy,  to 
refund  the  provision  which  had  been  assigned 
them  from  public  sources.  For  when  Constan- 
tine  adjusted  the  temporal  concerns  of  the 
Church,  he  devoted  a  sufficient  portion  of  the 
taxes  raised  upon  every  city,  to  the  support  of 
the  clergy  everywhere  ;  and  to  ensure  the  stabil- 
ity of  this  arrangement  he  enacted  a  law  which 
has  continued  in  force  from  the  death  of  Julian 
to  the  present  day.  They  say  these  transactions 
were  very  cruel  and  rigorous,  as  appears  by  the 
receipts  given  by  the  receivers  of  the  money  to 
those   from   whom   it   had   been   extorted,  and 

2  Concerning  this  Maris,  see  Soc.  iii.  12. 
^  Soc.  iii.  11;   Philost.  vi.  7,  vii.  4. 
••  Eus.  V.  C.  ii.  30-42. 


330 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V.  5. 


which  were  designed  to  show  that  the  property 
received  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  Constan- 
tine  had  been  refunded. 

Nothing,  however,  could  diminish  the  enmity 
of  the  ruler  against  religion.  In  the  intensity 
of  his  hatred  against  the  faith,  he  seized  every 
opportunity  to  ruin  the  Church.  He  deprived 
it  of  its  property,  votives,  and  sacred  vessels, 
and  condemned  those  who  had  demolished 
temples  during  the  reign  of  Constantine  and 
Constantius,  to  rebuild  them,  or  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  their  re-erection.  On  this  ground, 
since  they  were  unable  to  pay  the  sums  and  also 
on  account  of  the  inquisition  for  sacred  money, 
many  of  the  priests,  clergy,  and  the  other  Chris- 
tians were  cruelly  lortured  and  cast  into  prison. 

It  may  be  concluded  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  if  Julian  shed  less  blood  than   preceding 
persecutors  of  the  Church,  and  that  if  he  devised 
fewer  punishments  for  the  torture  of  the  body, 
yet  that  he  was  severer  in  other  respects  ;  for 
he  appears  as  inflicting  evil  upon  it  in   every 
way,  except  that  he  recalled  the  priests  who  had 
been  condemned  to  banishment  by  the  Emperor 
Constantius ;  but  it  is  said  he  issued  this  order 
in  their  behalf,  not  out  of  mercy,  but  that  through 
contention  among  themselves,  the  churches  might 
be  involved  in  fraternal  strife,  and  might  fail  of 
her  own  rights,  or  because  he  wanted  to  asperse 
Constantius ;  for  he  supposed  that  he  could  ren- 
der the  dead  monarch  odious  to  almost  all  his 
subjects,  by  flivoring  the  pagans  who  were  of 
the  same  sentiments  as  himself,  and  by  showing 
compassion  to  those  who  had  suffered  for  Christ, 
as  having  been  treated  unjustly.     He  expelled 
the  eunuchs  from  the  palaces,  because  the  late 
emperor  had  been  well  affected  towards  them. 
He  condemned  Eusebius,  the  governor  of  the 
imperial  court,  to  death,  from  a  suspicion  he 
entertained   that   it  was  at   his   suggestion   that 
Gallus  his  brother  had  been  slain.     He  recalled 
Aetius,  the  leader  of  the  Eunomian  heresy,'  from 
the  region  whither  Constantius  had  banished  him, 
who  had  been  otherwise  svispected  on  account 
of  his  intimacy  with  Gallus ;  and  to  him   Julian 
sent  letters  full  of  benignity,  and  furnished  him 
with    public    conveyances.     For  a   similar  rea- 
son he  condemned  Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus, 
under  the  heaviest  penalty,  to  rebuild,  within  two 
months,  and  at  his  own  expense,  a  church  be- 
longing to  the  Novatians  which  he  had  destroyed 
under   Constantius.     Many   other  things   might 
be  found  which  he  did  from  hatred  to  his  pred- 
ecessor, either  himself  effecting    these  or  per- 
mitting others  to  accomi)lish  them, 

CHAP.  VI.  — ATHANASIUS,  AFTER  HAVING  BEEN  SEVEN 
YEARS  CONCEALED  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  A  WISE   AND 


1  Juliani  Op.  E/>.  31,  a  letter  from  him  to  Aetius. 


BEAUTIFUL  VIRGIN,  REAPPEARS  AT  IHAT  TIME  IN 
PUBLIC,  AND  ENTERS  THE  CHURCH  OF  ALEXAN- 
DRIA. 

At    this    period,    Athanasius,    who  had   long 
remained    in    concealment,     having    heard    of 
the  death  of  Constantius,  appeared  by  night  in 
the   church    at    Alexandria.-      His   unexpected 
appearance   excited  the    greatest   astonishment. 
He  had  escaped    falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
governor  of  Egypt,  who,  at  the  command  of  the 
emperor,   and  at   the  request  of  the  friends  of 
George,    had    formed    plans    to  arrest    him,    as 
before   stated,    and    had   concealed   himself  in 
the   house  of  a    holy  virgin  in    Alexandria.     It 
is  said  that  she  was  endowed  with  such  extraor- 
dinary  beauty,    that  those  who  beheld  her  re- 
garded her  as  a  phenomenon  of  nature  ;  and  that 
men  who  possessed  continence  and  prudence, 
kept  aloof  from  her  in  order  that  no  blame  might 
be  attached  to  them  by  the  suspicious.    She  was 
in  the  very  flower  of  youth  and  was  exceedingly 
modest  and   prudent,  qualities  which  are  wont 
alone  to  adorn  the  body  even  to  a  refinement  of 
beauty  when  nature  may  not  be  helpful  with  the 
gift.     For   it   is  not    true,   as  some  assert,   that 
"  as  is  the  body,  so  is  the  soul."    On  the  contrary, 
the  habit  of  the  body  is  imaged  forth  by  the  op- 
eration of  the  soul,  and  any  one  who  is  active  in 
any  way  whatever  will  appear  to  be  of  that  na- 
ture as  long  as  he  may  be  thus  actively  engaged. 
This  is  a  truth  I  think  admitted  by  all  who 
have  accurately  investigated  the  subject.     It  is 
related   that  Athanasius    sought    refuge   in   the 
house  of  this    holy  virgin  by  the  revelation  of 
God,  who  designed  to  save  him  in  this  manner. 
When  I  reflect  on  the  result  which  ensued,  I 
cannot     doubt    but    that    all    the     events    were 
directed    by    God ;    so    that    the    relatives    of 
Athanasius   might   not  have   distress   if  any  one 
had  attempted  to  trouble  them  about  him,  and 
had  they  been  compelled  to  swear.     There  was 
nothing    to   excite  suspicion  of  a  priest  being 
concealed  in    the    house    of  so   lovely  a  virgin. 
However,  she  had  the  courage  to  receive  him, 
and    through   her  prudence    preserved  his  life. 
She  was  his  most  faithful  keeper  and  assiduous 
servant ;  for  she  washed  his  feet  and  brought  him 
food,  and  she  alone  served  in  every  other  neces- 
sity, which  nature  demands  in  her  exacting  uses  ; 
the  books  he  stood  in  need  of  she    cared  for 
through    the    help  of   others ;    during  the  long 
time    in   which    these  services  were    rendered, 
none  of  the  inhabitants  of  Alexandria  knew  any- 
thing about  it. 

CHAP.    VII. VIOLENT      DEATH     AND     TRIUMPH     OF 

GEORGE,    BISHOP   OF    ALEXANDRIA.       THE    RESULT 


2  Pallad.  H.  f.  136;  cf.  See.  iii.  4;  cf.  Chronicon  pravzum  to 
Festal  letters,  under  a.d.  360. 


V.  S.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


131 


OF  CERTAIN  OCCURRENCES  IN  THE  TEMPLE  OE 
MITHR.'V.  LE'rrER  OF  JULIAN  ON  THIS  AGGRA- 
VATED CIRCUMSTANCE. 

After  Athanasius  had  been  preserved  in  this 
wise  and  appeared  suddenly  in  the  cluirch,  no 
one  knew  whence  he  came.^  The  people  of 
Alexandria,  however,  rejoiced  at  his  return,  and 
restored  his  churches  to  him. 

The   Arians,  being   thus   expelled   from   the 
churches,  were  compelled  to  hold  their  assem- 
blies in  private  houses,  and  constituted  Lucius, 
in  the  place  of  George,  as  the  bishop  of  their 
heresy.      George   had  been  already  slain ;    for 
when   the   magistrates   had   announced   to  the 
public    the    decease    of   Constantius,    and    that 
JuHan  was  sole  ruler,  the  pagans  of  Alexandria 
"rose    up    in    sedition.     They    attacked    George 
with    shouts    and    reproaches   as   if  they  would 
kill   him  at  once.     The   rcpellants  of  this  pre- 
cipitate attack,  then  put  him  in  prison  ;    a  litde 
while  after  they  rushed,  early  in  the  morning, 
to  the  prison,  killed  him,  flung  the  corpse  upon 
a  camel,  and  after  exposing  it  to  every  insult 
during  the  day,  burnt  it  at  nightfall.     I  am  not 
ignorant    that    the    Arian    heretics    assert    that 
George  received  this  cruel  treatment  from  the 
followers    of  Athanasius ;    but  it   seems  to  me 
more  probable  that  the  perpetrators   of  these 
deeds  were   the   pagans ;    for  they   had   more 
cause  than  any  other  body  of  men  to  hate  him, 
especially  on  account  of  the  insults  he  offered 
their   images   and   their    temples ;    and   having, 
morever,   prohibited   them   from   sacrificing,  or 
performing  the  ancestral  rites.     Besides,  the  in- 
fluence he  had  acquired  in  the  palaces  intensi- 
fied the  hatred  towards  him ;   and  as  the  people 
are  wont  to  feel  towards  those  in  power,  they 
regarded  him  as  unendurable. 

A  calamity  had  also  taken  place  at  a  spot 
called  Mithrium ;  it  was  originally  a  desert,  and 
Constantius  had  bestowed  it  on  the  church  of 
Alexandria.  While  George  was  clearing  the 
ground,  in  order  to  erect  a  house  of  prayer,  an 
adytum  was  discovered.  In  it  were  found  idols 
and  certain  instruments  for  initiadon  or  perfec- 
tion which  seemed  ludicrous  and  strange  to  the 
beholders.  The  Christians  caused  them  to  be  pub- 
licly exhibited,  and  made  a  procession  in  order 
to  nettle  the  pagans ;  but  the  pagans  gathered  a 
multitude  together,  and  rushed  upon  and  at- 
tacked the  Christians,  after  arming  themselves 
with  swords,  stones,  and  whatever  weapon  came 
first  to  hand.  They  slew  many  of  the  Christians, 
and,  in  derision  of  their  religion,  crucified  oth- 
ers, and  they  left  many  wounded. 

This  led   to  the  abandonment  of  the  work 


that  had  been  commenced  by  the  Christians, 
while  the  pagans  murdered  George  as  soon  as 
they  had  heard  of  the  accession  of  Julian  to  the 
empire.  *  This  fact  is  admitted  by  that  emperor 
himself,  which  he  would  not  have  confessed 
unless  he  had  been  forced  by  the  truth  ;  for  he 
would  rather,  I  think,  have  had  the  Christians, 
whoever  they  were,  than  the  pagans  to  be  the 
murderers  of  George  ;  but  it  could  not  be  con- 
cealed. It  is  apparent  in  the  letter  which  he 
wrote  on  the  subject  to  the  inhabitants  of  Alex- 
andria,^ wherein  he  expresses  severe  opinions. 
In  this  episde  he  only  censures  and  passes  over 
the  punishment ;  for  he  said  that  he  feared 
Serapis,  their  tutelary  divinity,  and  Alexander 
their  founder,  and  Julian,  his  own  uncle,  who 
formerly  was  governor  of  Egypt  and  of  Alexan- 
dria. This  latter  was  so  favorable  to  paganism 
and  hated  Christianity  so  exceedingly,  that  con- 
trary to  the  wishes  of  the  emperor,  he  persecuted 
the  Christians  unto  death. 


CHAP.  Vin. CONCERNING  THEODORE,  THE  KEEPER 

OF  THE  SACRED  VESSELS  OF  ANTIOCH.  HOW 
JULIAN,  THE  UNCLE  OF  THE  TRAITOR,  ON  AC- 
COUNT OF  THESE  VESSELS,  FALLS  A  PREY  TO 
WORMS. 

It  is  said  that  when  Julian,  the  uncle  of  the 
emperor,-^  was  intent  upon  removing  the  votive 
gifts  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  which  were  many 
and  costly,  and  placing  them  in  the  imperial 
treasury,  and  also  closing  the  places  of  prayer, 
all  the  clergy  fled.  One  presbyter,  by  name 
Theodoritus,  alone  did  not  leave  the  city; 
Julian  seized  him,  as  the  keeper  of  the  treasures, 
and  as  capable  of  giving  information  concerning 
them,  and  maltreated  him  terribly;  finally  he 
ordered  him  to  be  slain  with  the  sword,  after  he 
had  responded  bravely  under  every  torture  and 
had  been  well  approved  by  his  doctrinal  confes- 
sions. When  Julian  had  made  a  booty  of  the 
sacred  vessels,  he  flung  them  upon  the  ground 
and  began  to  mock;  after  blaspheming  Christ 
as  much  as  he  wished,  he  sat  upon  the  ves- 
sels and  augmented  his  insulting  acts.  Im- 
mediately his  genitals  and  rectum  were  cor- 
rupted ;  their  flesh  became  putrescent,  and  was 
changed  into  worms.  The  disease  was  be- 
yond the  skill  of  the  physicians.  However,  from 
reverence  and  fear  for  the  emperor,  they  resorted 
to  experiments  with  all  manner  of  drugs,  and  the 
most  costly  and  the  fattest  birds  were  slain,  and 
their  fat  was  applied  to  the  corrupted  parts,  in 
the  hope  that  the  worms  might  be  thereby  at- 
tracted to  the  surface,  but  this  was  of  no  effect ; 


1  Soc.  iii.  2-4.  Cf.  Philost.  vii.  2;  Am.  Marcel,  xxii.  11.  3-":. 
Athan.  £/.  ad.  Episc.  T..Hist.  Arian.  51,72,  75,  etc.;  Juliani 
Op.  Epp.  8,  9,  10,  36,  45,  55. 


2  Text  given  by  Soc.  iii.  3;  cf-  Juliatu  Op.  Ep-  10. 

3  Philost.  vii.  10,  variations;    Theodoret,   111.   12,   13. 
Marcel,  xxiii.  i.  4-6. 


Cf.  Am. 


332 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V.  8. 


for  being  deep  buried,  they  crept  into  the  living 
flesh,  and  did  not  cease  their  gnawing  until  they 
put  an  end  to  his  life.  It  seemed  that  this 
calamity  was  an  infliction  of  Divine  wfath,  be- 
cause the  keeper  of  the  imperial  treasures,  and 
other  of  the  chief  ofificers  of  the  court  who  had 
made  sport  of  the  Church,  died  in  an  extraordi- 
nary and  dreadful  manner,^  as  if  condemned  by 
Divine  wrath. 


CHAP.  IX. RL'^R'n^RDOM    OF  THE    SAINTS  EUSEBIUS, 

NESTABUS,  AND   ZENO  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GAZA. 

As  I  have  advanced  thus  far  in  my  history, 
and  have  given  an  account  of  the  death  of  George 
and  of  Theodoritus,  I  deem  it  right  to  relate 
some  particulars  concerning  the  death  of  the 
three  brethren,  Eusebius,  Nestabus,  and  Zeno.- 
The  inhabitants  of  Gaza,  being  inflamed  with 
rage  against  them,  dragged  them  from  their 
house,  in  which  they  had  concealed  themselves, 
and  cast  them  into  prison,  and  beat  them.  They 
then  assembled  in  the  theater,  and  cried  out 
loudly  against  them,  declaring  that  they  had  com- 
mitted sacrilege  in  their  temple,  and  had  used 
the  past  opportunity  for  the  injury  and  insult  of 
paganism.  By  these  shouts  and  by  instigating 
one  another  to  the  murder  of  the  brethren,  they 
were  filled  with  fury ;  and  when  they  had  been 
mutually  incited,  as  a  crowd  in  revolt  is  wont  to 
do,  they  rushed  to  the  prison.  They  handled  the 
men  very  cruelly ;  sometimes  with  the  face  and 
sometimes  with  the  back  upon  the  ground,  the 
victims  were  dragged  along,  and  were  dashed 
to  pieces  by  the  pavement.  I  have  been  told 
that  even  women  quitted  their  distaffs  and 
pierced  them  with  the  weaving-spindles,  and 
that  the  cooks  in  the  markets  snatched  from 
their  stands  the  boiling  pots  foaming  with  hot 
water  and  poured  it  over  the  victims, 'or  per- 
forated them  with  spits.  When  they  had  torn 
the  flesh  from  them  and  crushed  in  their  skulls, 
so  that  the  brain  ran  out  on  the  ground,  their 
bodies  were  dragged  out  of  the  city  and  flung 
on  the  spot  generally  used  as  a  receptacle  for 
the  carcasses  of  beasts ;  then  a  large  fire  was 
lighted,  and  they  burned  the  bodies ;  the  rem- 
nant of  the  bones  not  consumed  by  the  fire 
was  mixed  with  those  of  camels  and  asses,  that 
they  might  not  be  found  easily.  But  they  were 
not  long  concealed  ;  for  a  Christian  woman,  who 
was  an  inhabitant,  though  not  a  native  of  Gaza, 
collected  the  bones  at  night  by  the  direction  of 
God.  She  put  them  in  an  earthen  pot  and 
gave  them  to  Zeno,  their  cousin,  to  keep,  for 


*  Felix  and  Elpidiiis,  officials  whom  Philost.  and  Theodoret 
assert  to  have  heen  punished. 

2  Soz.  alone  reports  this,  probably  from  local  martyrology  or 
from  Bishop  Zeno. 


thus  *  God  had  informed  her  in  a  dream,  and 
also  had  indicated  to  the  woman  where  the  man 
lived  :  and  before  she  saw  him,  he  was  shown 
to  her,  for  she  was  previously  unacquainted  with 
Zeno  ;  and  when  the  persecution  had  been  agi- 
tated recently  he  remained  concealed.  He  was 
within  a  little  of  being  seized  by  the  people  of 
Gaza  and  being  put  to  death ;  but  he  had 
effected  his  escape  while  the  people  were  occii- 
pied  in  the  murder  of  his  cousins,  and  had  fled 
to  Anthedon,  a  maritime  city,  about  twenty 
stadia  from  Gaza  and  similarly  favorable  to 
paganism  and  devoted  to  idolatry,  ^^'hen  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city  discovered  that  he  was  a 
Christian,  they  beat  him  terribly  on  the  back 
with  rods  and  drove  him  out  of  the  city.  He 
then  fled  to  the  harbor  of  Gaza  and  concealed 
himself;  and  here  the  woman  found  him  and 
gave  him  the  remains.  He  kept  them  carefully 
in  his  house  until  the  reign  of  Theodosius,  when 
he  was  ordained  bishop ;  and  he  erected  a 
house  of  prayer  beyond  the  walls  of  the  city, 
placed  an  altar  there,  and  deposited  the  bones 
of  the  martvrs  near  those  of  Nestor,  the  Con- 
fessor.  Nestor  had  been  on  terms  of  intimacy 
with  his  cousins,  and  was  seized  with  them  by 
the  people  of  Gaza,  imprisoned,  and  scourged. 
But  those  who  dragged  him  through  the  city  were 
affected  by  his  .personal  beauty  ;  and,  struck  with 
compassion,  they  cast  him,  before  he  was  quite 
dead,  out  of  the  city.  Some  persons  found  him, 
and  carried  him  to  the  house  of  Zeno,  where  he 
expired  during  the  dressing  of  his  cuts  and 
wounds.  A\'hen  the  inhabitants  of  Gaza  began 
to  reflect  on  the  enormity  of  their  crime,  they 
treml.:)led  lest  the  emperor  should  take  vengeance 
on  them. 

It  was  reported  that  the  emperor  was  filled 
with  indignation,  and  had  determined  upon  pun- 
ishing the  decuria  ;  but  this  report  was  false,  and 
had  no  foundation  save  in  the  fears  and  self-accu- 
sations of  the  criminals.  Julian,  far  from  evincing 
as  much  anger  against  them  as  he  had  mani- 
fested against  the  Alexandrians  on  the  murder 
of  George,  did  not  even  write  to  rebuke  the 
people  of  Gaza.  On  the  contrary,  he  deposed 
the  governor  of  the  province,  and  held  him  as  a 
suspect,  and  represented  that  clemency  alone 
prevented  his  being  put  to  death.  The  crime 
imputed  to  him  was,  that  of  having  arrested 
som.e  of  the  inhabitants  of  Gaza,  who  were  re- 
ported to  have  begun  the  sedition  and  murders, 
and  of  having  imprisoned  them  until  judgment 
could  be  passed  upon  them  in  accordance  with 
the  laws.  "  For  what  right  had  he,"  asked  the 
emperor,  "  to  arrest  the  citizens  merely  for  re- 
taliating on  a  few  Galileans  the  injuries  that  had 
been  inflicted  on  them  and  their  gods?"  This, 
it  is  said,  was  the  fact  in  the  case. 


V.  lo.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL 


HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


33: 


CHAr.    X. CONCERNING     ST.    HILARION    AND     THE 

VIRGINS  IN  HELIOPOLIS  WHO  WERE  DESTROYED 
BY  SWINE.  STRANGE  MARTYRDOM  OF  MARK, 
BISHOP    OF    ARETHUSA. 

At  the  same  period  the  inhabitants  of  Gaza 
sought  for  the  monk  Hilarion  ;  but  he  had  fled 
to  Sicily.'  Here  he  employed  himself  in  collect- 
ing wood  in  the  deserts  and  on  the  mountains, 
which  he  carried  on  his  shoulders  for  sale  in  the 
cities,  and,  by  these  means,  obtained  sufficient 
food  for  the  support  of  the  body.  But  as  he 
was  at  length  recognized  by  a  man  of  quality 
whom  he  had  dispossessed  of  a  demon,  he  re- 
tired to  Dalmatia,  where,  by  the  power  of  God, 
he  performed  numerous  miracles,  and  through 
prayer,  repressed  an  inundation  of  the  sea  and 
restored  the  waves  to  their  proper  bounds,  and 
again  departed,  for  it  was  no  joy  to  him  to  live 
among  those  who  praised  him ;  but  when  he 
changed  his  place  of  abode,  he  was  desirous  of 
being  unobserved  and  by  frequent  migrations 
to  be  rid  of  the  fame  which  prevailed  about  him. 
Eventually  he  sailed  for  the  island  of  Cyprus, 
but  touched  at  Paphos,  and,  at  the  entreaty  of 
the  bishop  of  Cyprus,  he  loved  the  life  there  and 
practiced  philosophy  at  a  place  called  Charbu- 
ris. 

Here  he  only  escaped  martyrdom  by  flight ; 
for  he  fled  in  compliance  with  the  Divine  pre- 
cept which  commands  us  not  to  expose  ourselves 
to  persecution ;  but  that  if  we  fall  into  the  hands 
of  persecutors,  to  overcome  by  our  own  fortitude 
the  violence  of  our  oppressors. 

The  inhabitants  of  Gaza  and  of  Alexandria 
were  not  the  only  citizens  who  exercised  such 
atrocities  against  the  Christians  as  those  I  have 
described.  The  inhabitants  of  Hehopolis,  near 
Mount  Libanus,  and  of  Arethusa  in  Syria,  seem 
to  have  surpassed  them  in  excess  of  cruelty.^  The 
former  were  guilty  of  an  act  of  barbarity  which 
could  scarcely  be  credited,  had  it  not  been  cor- 
roborated by  the  testimony  of  those  who  wit- 
nessed it.  They  stripped  the  holy  virgins,  who 
had  never  been  looked  upon  by  the  multitude, 
of  their  garments,  and  exposed  them  in  a  state 
of  nudity  as  a  public  spectacle  and  objects  of 
insult.  After  numerous  other  inflictions  they  at 
last  shaved  them,  ripped  them  open,  and  con- 
cealed in  their  viscera  the  food  usually  given  to 
pigs ;  and  since  the  swine  could  not  distinguish, 
but  were  impelled  by  the  need  of  their  custo- 
mary food,  they  also  tore  in  pieces  the  human 
flesh. 

I  am  convinced  that  the  citizens  of  Heliopolis 
perpetrated  this  barbarity  against  the  holy  vir- 
gins on  account  of  the  prohibition  of  the  ancient 
custom  of  yielding  up  virgins  to  prostitution  with 


1  Hieron.   Vita  Hilarionis  (divergent  on  some  points). 
-  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cotit.  Julianum,  i.  86,  87. 


any  chance  comer  before  being  united  in  mar- 
riage to  their  betrothed.  This  custom  was  pro- 
hibited by  a  law  enacted  by  Constantine,  after 
he  had  destroyed  the  temple  of  Venus  at  Heli- 
opolis, and  erected  a  church  upon  its  ruins.'^ 

Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa,*  an  old  man  and 
venerable  for  his  gray  hairs  and  life,  was  put  to 
a  very  cruel   death   by  the  inhabitants   of  that 
city,  who  had  long  entertained  inimical  feelings 
against  him,  because,  during  the  reign  of  Constan- 
tine,  he  had   more  spiritedly  than  persuasively 
elevated    the   pagans   to   Christianity,    and   had 
demoUshed  a  most  sacred  and  magnificent  tem- 
ple.    On  the  accession  of  Julian  he  saw  that  the 
people    were    excited    against    the    bishop ;    an 
edict  was  issued  commanding  the  bishop  either 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  its  re-erection,  or  to 
rebuild  the  temple.    Reflecting  that  the  one  was 
impossible  and  the  other  unlawful  for  a  Christian 
and  still  less  for  a  priest,  he  at  first  fled  from  the 
city.     On  hearing,  however,  that  many  were  suf- 
fering on  his  account,  that  some  were  dragged 
before  the  tribunals  and  others  tortured,  he  re- 
turned, and  offered  to  suffer  whatever  the  multi- 
tude  might  choose   to   inflict  upon   him.     The 
entire  people,  instead  of  admiring  him  the  more 
as  having  manifested  a  deed  befitting  a  philoso- 
pher, conceived  that  he  was  actuated  by  con- 
tempt   towards    them,    and    rushed    upon    him, 
dragged  him  through  the  streets,  pressing  and 
plucking  and  beating  whatever  member  each  one 
happened  upon.     People  of  each  sex  and  of  all 
ages  joined  with  alacrity  and  fury  in  this  atro- 
cious   proceeding.     His  ears  were   severed  by 
fine  ropes  ;  the  boys  who  frequented  the  schools 
made   game   of  him   by  tossing   him   aloft  and 
rolling    him   over   and   over,    sending    him   for- 
ward, catching  him  up,  and  unsparingly  pierc- 
ing  him  with    their    styles.      When    his   whole 
body  was  covered  with  wounds,  and  he  never- 
theless was   still   breathing,  they  anointed   him 
with  honey  and  a  certain  mixture,  and   placing 
him    in    a    fish-basket   made   of  woven    rushes, 
raised    him    up  on  an   eminence.      It  is   said 
that    while   he   was   in   this   position,  and    the 
wasps  and  bees  lit  upon  him  and  consumed  his 
flesh,  he  told   the  inhabitants  of  Arethusa  that 
he  was  raised  up  above  them,  and  could  look 
down  upon  them  below  him,  and  that  this  re- 
minded him  of  the  diff'erence  that  would  exist 
between  them  in  the  life  to  come.     It  is  also  re- 
lated that  the  prefect '"  who,  although  a  pagan, 
was  of  such  noble  conduct  that  his  memory  is 
still  honored  in  that  country,  admired  the  self- 
control  of  Mark,  and  boldly  uttered  reproaches 
against  the  emperor  for  allowing  himself  to  be 

■•'  Eus.  V.  C.  iii.  58. 

■*  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cont.  Julianum,  i.  88-90. 

5  He  means  Sallustiiis,  who  was  at  this  time  pra;fectus  prsetorio 
Orientis.  to  be  distinguished  from  another  Sallustius,  who  was  prs- 
fectus  praetorio  Galliac. 


334 


THE  ecclp:siastical  history  of  sozomen. 


[V.  lo. 


vanquished  by  an  old  man,  who  was  exposed  to 
innumerable  tortures;  and  he  added  that  such 
proceedings  reflected  ridicule  on  the  emperor, 
while  the  names  of  the  persecuted  were  at  the 
same  time  rendered  illustrious.  Thus  did  the 
blessed  one'  endure  all  the  torments  inflicted 
upon  him  by  the  inhabitants  of  Arethusa  with 
such  unshaken  fortitude  that  even  the  pagans 
praised  him. 


CHAP.  XI.  —  CONCERNING  MACEDONIUS,  THEODULUS, 
GRATIAN,  BUSIRIS,  BASIL,  AND  EIJPSYCHIUS,  WHO 
SUFFERED  MARTYRDOM  IN  THOSE  TIMES. 

About  the  same  period,  Macedonius,  Theodu- 
lus,  and  Tatian,  who  were  Phrygians  by  birth, 
courageously  endured  martyrdom.^  A  temple 
of  Misos,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  having  been  re- 
opened by  the  governor  of  the  province,  after 
it  had  been  closed  many  years,  these  mar- 
tyrs entered  therein  by  night,  and  destroyed  the 
images.  As  other  individuals  were  arrested,  and 
were  on  the  point  of  being  punished  for  the 
deed,  they  avowed  themselves  the  actors  in  the 
transaction.  They  might  have  escaped  all  fur- 
ther punishment  by  offering  sacrifices  to  idols ; 
but  the  governor  could  not  persuade  them  to  ac- 
cept acquittal  on  these  terms.  His  persuasions 
being  ineffectual,  he  maltreated  them  in  a  variety 
of  forms,  and  finally  extended  them  on  a  gridiron, 
beneath  which  a  fire  had  been  lighted.  While 
they  were  being  consumed,  they  said  to  the 
governor,  "  Amachus  (for  that  was  his  name), 
"  if  you  desire  cooked  flesh,  give  orders  that 
our  bodies  may  be  turned  with  the  other  side 
to  the  fire,  in  order  that  we  may  not  seem,  to 
your  taste,  half  cooked."  Thus  did  these  men 
nobly  endure  and  lay  down  their  life  amid  the 
punishments. 

It  is  said  that  Busiris  also  obtained  renown  at 
Ancyra,  a  city  of  Galatia,  by  his  brilliant  and 
most  manly  confession  of  religion.  He  belonged 
to  the  heresy  denominated  luicratites ;  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  province  apprehended  and  designed 
to  maltreat  him  for  ridiculing  the  pagans.  He 
led  him  forth  publicly  to  the  torture  chamber 
and  commanded  that  he  should  be  elevated. 
Busiris  raised  both  hands  to  his  head  so  as  to 
leave  his  sides  exposed,  and  told  the  governor 
that  it  would  be  useless  for  the  executioners  to 
lift  him  up  to  the  instrument  of  torture  and 
afterwards  to  lower  him,  as  he  was  ready  without 
this  to  yield  to  the  tortures  as  much  as  might 
be  desired.  The  governor  was  surprised  at  this 
proposition  ;  but  his  astonishment  was  increased 
by  what  followed,  for  Busiris  remained  firm,  hold- 


•  Most  likely  this  was  the  same  Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa,  men- 
tioned in  iii.  lo:   iv.  6,  12,  16,  22. 
2  For  the  Phrygians,  See.  iii.  15. 


ing  up  both  hands  and  receiving  the  blows  while 
his  sides  were  being  torn  with  hooks,  according' 
to  the  governor's  direction.  Immediately  after- 
wards, Busiris  was  consigned  to  prison,  but  was 
released  not  long  subsequently,  on  the  announce- 
ment of  the  death  of  Julian.  He  lived  till 
the  reign  of  Theodosius,  renounced  his  former 
heresy,  and  joined  the  Catholic  Church. 

It  is  said  that  about  this  period,  Basil,^  pres- 
byter of  the  church  of  Ancyra,  and  Eupsy- 
chius,*  a  noble  of  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia,  who 
had  but  just  taken  to  himself  a  wife  and  was 
still  a  bridegroom,  terminated  their  lives  by 
martyrdom.  I  believe  that  Eupsychius  was  con- 
demned in  consequence  of  the  demolition  of 
the  temple  of  Fortune,  which,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  excited  the  anger  of  the  emperor  against 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Caesarea.  Indeed,  all  the 
actors  in  this  transaction  were  condemned,  some 
to  death,  and  others  to  banishment.  Basil  had 
long  manifested  great  zeal  in  defense  of  the 
faith,  and  had  opposed  the  Arians  during  the 
reign  of  Constantius ;  hence  the  partisans  of 
Eudoxius  had  prohibited  him  from  holding  public 
assemblies.  On  the  accession  of  Julian,  how- 
ever, he  traveled  hither  and  thither,  publicly  and 
openly  exhorting  the  Christians  to  cleave  to  their 
own  doctrines,  and  to  refrain  from  defiling  them- 
selves with  pagan  sacrifices  and  libations.  He 
urged  them  to  account  as  nothing  the  honors 
which  the  emperor  might  bestow  upon  them, 
such  honors  being  but  of  short  duration,  and 
leading  to  eternal  infamy.  His  zeal  had  al- 
ready rendered  him  an  object  of  suspicion  and 
of  hatred  to  the  pagans,  when  one  day  he 
chanced  to  pass  by  and  see  them  offering  sac- 
rifice. He  sighed  deeply,  and  uttered  a  prayer 
to  the  effect  that  no  Christian  might  be  suf- 
fered to  fall  into  similar  delusion.  He  was 
seized  on  the  spot,  and  conveyed  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  province.  Many  tortures  were  in- 
flicted on  him  ;  and  in  the  manly  endurance  of 
this  anguish  he  received  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom. 

Even  if  these  cruelties  were  perpetrated  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  the  emperor,  yet  they  serve 
to  prove  that  his  reign  was  signalized  by  martyrs 
neither  ignoble  nor  few. 

For  the  sake  of  clearness,  I  have  related  all 
these  occurrences  collectively,  although  the 
martyrdoms  really  occurred  at  different  periods. 


CHAP.    XII. CONCERNING    LUCIFER    AND    EUSEBIUS^ 

BISHOPS  OF  THE  WRST.  EUSEBIUS  WITH  ATHANA- 
SIUS  THE  GREAT  AND  OTHER  BISHOPS  COLLEC'i'  A 
COUNCIL  AT  ALEXANDRIA,  AND  CONFIRM  THE 
NICENE     FAITH     BY    DEFINING    THE     CONSUBSTAN- 


"  Independent  with  Soz. 

■*  Basil,  M.  Ep.  c. ;  Greg.  Naz.  Ep.  Iviii. 


V.  13-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


335 


TIALITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WITH  THE  FATHER  AND 
THE  SON.  THEIR  DECREE  CONCERNING  SUBSTANCE 
AND  HYPOSTASIS. 

Affer  the  return  of  Athanasius,  Lucifer,  bishop 
of  Cagliari  in  Sardinia,  and  Eusebius,  bishop  of 
VercelH,  a  city  of  Liguria  in  Italy,  returned 
from  the  upper  Thebais.^  They  had  been  con- 
demned by  Constantius  to  perpetual  exile  in 
that  country.  For  the  regulation  and  general 
systematizing  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  Eusebius 
came  to  Alexandria,  and  there,  in  concert  with 
Athanasius,  to  hold  a  council  for  the  purpose  of 
confirming  the  Nicene  doctrines. 

Lucifer  sent  a  deacon  with  Eusebius  to  take 
his  place  in  the  council,  and  went  himself  to 
Antioch,  to  visit  the  church  there  in  its  disturb- 
ances. 

A  schism  had  been  excited  by  the  Arians, 
then  under  the  guidance  of  Euzoius,  and  by  the 
followers  of  Aleletius,  who,  as  I  have  above 
stated,  were  at  variance  even  with  those  who 
held  the  same  opinions  as  themselves.  As 
Meletius  had  not  then  returned  from  exile, 
Lucifer  ordained  Paulinus  bishop.- 

In  the  meantime,  the  bishops  of  many  cities 
had  assembled  in  Alexandria  with  Athanasius 
and  Eusebius,  and  had  confirmed  the  Nicene 
doctrines.  They  confessed  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  of  the  same  substance  as  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  and  they  made  use  of  the  term  "  Trinity." 

They  declared  that  the  human  nature  assumed 
by  God  the  Word  is  to  be  regarded  as  consisting 
of  not  a  perfect  body  only,  but  also  of  a  perfect 
soul,  even  as  was  taught  by  the  ancient  Church 
philosophers.  As  the  Church  had  been  agitated 
by  questions  concerning  the  terms  "  substance  " 
and  "  hypostasis,"  and  the  contentions  and  dis- 
putes about  these  words  had  been  frequent,  they 
decreed,  and,  as  I  think,  wisely,  that  these 
terms  should  not  henceforth  at  the  beginning 
be  used  in  reference  to  God,  except  in  refuta- 
tion of  the  Sabellian  tenet ;  lest  from  the  paucity 
of  terms,  one  and  the  same  thing  might  appear 
to  be  called  by  three  names  ;  but  that  one  might 
understand  each  by  its  peculiar  term  in  a  three- 
fold way. 

These  were  the  decrees  passed  by  the  bishops 
convened  at  Alexandria.  Athanasius  read  in 
the  council  the  document  about  his  flight  which 
he  had  written  in  order  to  justify  himself.'^ 


CHAP.     XIII.  —  CONCERNING    PAULINUS    AND    MELE- 
TIUS, CHIEF-PRIESTS  OF  ANTIOCH  ;    HOW  EUSEBIUS 


1  Athan.  Hist.  Arian.  33;  Apol.  de  fiiga  sua,  4.  The  whole 
of  the  Tomus  ad  Antioch.;  Soc.  iii.  5-8;  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  27-30; 
Theodoret,  H.  E.  iii.  4,  5. 

-  Soc.  iii.  6. 

3  Soc.  gives  a  considerable  extract,  iii.  8,  from  Athan.  Apol.  de 
fuga  sua. 


AND  LUCIFER  ANTAGONIZED  ONE  ANOTHER  ;    EUSE- 
BIUS AND  HILARIUS    DEFEND   THE    NICENE    FAITH. 

On  the  termination  of  the  council,  pAisebius 
repaired  to  Antioch  and  found  dissension  pre- 
vailing among  the  people.'  Those  who  were 
attached  to  Aleletius  would  not  join  Paulinus, 
but  held  their  assembhes  apart.  Eusebius  was 
much  grieved  at  the  state  of  affairs ;  for  the 
ordination  ought  not  to  have  taken  place  with- 
out the  unanimous  consent  of  the  people  ;  yet, 
from  respect  towards  Lucifer,  he  did  not  openly 
express  his  dissatisfaction. 

He  refused  to  hold  communion  with  either 
party,  but  promised  to  redress  their  respective 
grievances  by  means  of  a  council.  While  he  was 
thus  striving  to  restore  concord  and  unanimity, 
Meletius  returned  from  exile,  and,  finding  that 
those  who  held  his  sentiments  had  seceded  from 
the  other  party,  he  held  meetings  with  them  be- 
yond the  walls  of  the  city.  Paulinus,  in  the 
meantime,  assembled  his  own  party  within  the 
city ;  for  his  mildness,  his  virtuous  life,  and  his 
advanced  age  had  so  far  won  the  respect  of 
Euzoius,  the  Arian  president,  that,  instead  of 
being  expelled  from  the  city,  a  church  had  been 
assigned  him  for  his  own  use.  Eusebius,  on 
finding  all  his  endeavors  for  the  restoration  of 
concord  frustrated,  quitted  Antioch.  Lucifer 
fancied  himself  injured  by  him,  because  he  had 
refused  to  approve  the  ordination  of  Paulinus; 
and,  in  displeasure,  seceded  from  communion 
with  him.  As  if  purely  from  the  desire  of  con- 
tention, Lucifer  then  began  to  cast  aspersions 
on  the  enactments  of  the  council  of  Alexandria  ; 
and  in  this  way  he  seems  to  have  originated  the 
heresy  which  has  been  called  after  him,  Luci- 
ferian. 

Those  who  espoused  his  cause  seceded  from 
the  church ;  but,  although  he  was  deeply  cha- 
grined at  the  aspect  affairs  had  taken,  yet,  be- 
cause he  had  deputed  a  deacon  to  accompany 
Eusebius  in  lieu  of  himself,  he  yielded  to  the 
decrees  of  the  council  of  Alexandria,  and  con- 
formed to  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
About  this  period  he  repaired  to  Sardinia. 

In  the  meantime  Eusebius  traversed  the  East- 
ern provinces,  restored  those  who  had  declined 
from  the  faith,  and  taught  them  what  it  was 
necessary  to  believe.  After  passing  through 
Illyria,  he  went  to  Italy,  and  there  he  met  with 
Hilarius,  bishop  of  Poictiers^  in  Aquitania. 
Hilarius  had  returned  from  exile  before  Euse- 
bius, and  had  taught  the  Italians  and  the  Gauls 
what  doctrines  they  had  to  receive,  and  what  to 
reject ;  he  expressed  himself  with  great  elo- 
quence   in  the  Latin  tongue,  and  wrote  many 

■•  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  30,  31 ;  Soc.  iii.  9,  10.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iii. 
4,  5;  Sulp.  Sev.  H.  S.  ii.  45. 

^  Soc.  iii.   10,  who   says   his  source  is  Sabinus,  iv  rfi  avvaymyrj 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOxAIEN. 


[V.  13- 


admirable  works,  it  is  said,  in  refutation  of  the 
Arian  dogmas.  Thus  did  Hilarius  and  Eusebius 
maintain  the  doctrines  of  the  Nicasan  council  in 
the  regions  of  the  West. 


CHAP.  XIV. THE  PARTISANS  OF  MACEDONIUS  DIS- 
PUTED WITH  THE  ARIANS  CONCERNING  ACA- 
CIUS. 

At  this  period  the  adherents  of  IMacedonius, 
among  whom  were  Eleusius,  Eustathius,  and 
Sophronius,  who  now  began  openly  to  be  called 
Macedonians,  as  constituting  a  distinct  sect, 
adopted  the  bold  measure  on  the  death  of 
Constantius,  of  calling  together  those  of  their 
own  sentiments  who  had  been  convened  at 
Seleucia,  and  of  holding  several  councils.  They 
condemned  the  partisans  of  Acacius  and  the  faith 
which  had  been  established  at  Ariminum,  and 
confirmed  the  doctrines  which  had  been  set 
forth  at  Antioch,  and  afterwards  approved  at 
Seleucia. 

When  interrogated  as  to  the  cause  of  their 
dispute  with  the  partisans  of  Acacius,  with  whom, 
as  being  of  the  same  sentiments  as  themselves, 
they  had  formerly  held  communion,  they  replied 
by  the  mouth  of  Sophronius,^  a  bishop  of  Paph- 
lagonia,  that  while  the  Christians  in  the  West 
maintained  the  use  of  the  term  "consubstantial," 
the  followers  of  Aetius  in  the  East  upheld  the 
dogma  of  dissimilarity  as  to  substance  ;  and  that 
the  former  party  irregularly  wove  together  into 
a  unity  the  distinct  persons  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son,  by  their  use  of  the  term  "  consubstan- 
tial,"  and  that  the  latter  party  represented  too 
great  a  difference  as  existing  in  the  relationship 
between  the  nature  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son ;  but  that  they  themselves  preserved  the 
mean  between  the  two  extremes,  and  avoided 
both  errors,  by  religiously  maintaining  that  in 
hypostasis,  the  Son  is  like  unto  the  Father.  It 
was  by  such  representations  as  these  that  the 
Macedonians  vindicated  themselves  from  blame. 


CHAP.  XV. ATHANASIUS  IS  AGAIN  BANISHED  ;  CON- 
CERNING ELEUSIUS,  BISHOP  OF  CVZICUS,  AND 
TITUS,  BISHOP  OF  BO.STRA  ;  MENTION  OF  THE 
ANCESTORS    OF   THE    AUTHOR. 

The  emperor,-  on  being  informed  that  Atha- 
nasius  held  meetings  in  the  church  of  Alexandria, 
and  taught  the  people  boldly,  and  converted 
many  pagans  to  Christianity,  commanded  him, 
under  the  severest  penalties,  to  depart  from 
Alexandria.^    The  pretext  made  use  of  for  en- 

1  Soc.  iii.  lo,  gives  a  direct  extract;  Soz.  leaves  out  some  words 
purposely. 

-  Soc.  iii.  13,14;  Ruf.  H.E.  i.  32-34;  all  remotely;  much  new 
material  in  this  chapter.  Cf.  Theodoret,  //.  E.  iii.  9;  Athan.  Ep. 
Heart.,  under  363. 

•'  Tlic  edict  of  Julian,  in  Juliani  Op.  Ep.  xxvi. 


forcing  this  edict,  was  that  x\thanasius,  after 
having  been  banished  by  Constantius,  had  reas- 
sumed  his  episcopal  see  without  the  sanction 
of  the  reigning  emperor ;  for  Julian  declared 
that  he  had  never  contemplated  restoring  the 
bishops  who  had  been  exiled  by  Constantius  to 
their  ecclesiastical  functions,  but  only  to  their 
native  land.  On  the  announcement  of  the  com- 
mand enjoining  his  immediate  departure,  Atha- 
nasius  ^aid  to  the  Christian  multitudes  who 
stood  weeping  around  him,  "  Be  of  good  cour- 
age ;  it  is  l)ut  a  cloud  which  will  speedily  be 
dispersed."  After  these  words  he  bade  fare- 
well ;  he  then  committed  the  care  of  the  church 
to  the  most  zealous  of  his  friends  and  quitted 
Alexandria. 

About  the  same  period,  the  inhabitants  of 
Cyzicus  sent  an  embassy  to  the  emperor  to  lay 
before  him  some  of  their  private  affairs,  and 
particularly  to  entreat  the  restoration  of  the 
pagan  temples.  He  applauded  their  forethought, 
and  promised  to  grant  all  their  requests.  He 
expelled  Eleusius,  the  bishop  of  their  city,  be- 
cause he  had  destroyed  some  temples,  and  dese- 
crated the  sacred  areas  with  contumely,  provided 
houses  for  the  support  of  widows,  erected  build- 
ings for  holy  virgins,  and  induced  pagans  to 
abandon  their  ancestral  rites. 

The  emperor  prohibited  some  foreign  Chris- 
tians, who  had  accompanied  him,  from  entering 
the  city  of  Cyzicus,  from  the  apprehension,  it 
appears,  that  they  would,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Christians  within  the  city,  excite  a  sedition 
on  account  of  religion.  There  were  many  per- 
sons gathered  with  them  who  also  held  Hke  relig- 
ious views  with  the  Christians  of  the  city,  and  who 
were  engaged  in  woolen  manufactures  for  the 
state,  and  were  coiners  of  money.  They  were 
numerous,  and  were  divided  into  two  populous 
classes  ;  they  had  received  permission  from  pre- 
ceding emperors  to  dwell,  with  their  wives  and 
possessions,  in  Cyzicus,  provided  that  they 
annually  handed  over  to  the  public  treasury  a 
supply  of  clothes  for  the  soldiery  and  of  newly 
coined  money. 

Although  Julian  was  anxious  to  advance 
paganism  by  every  means,  yet  he  deemed  it 
the  height  of  imprudence  to  employ  force  or 
vengeance  against  those  who  refused  to  sacri- 
fice. Besides,  there  were  so  many  Christians  in 
every  city  that  it  would  have  been  no  easy  task 
for  the  rulers  even  to  number  them.  He  did 
not  even  forbid  them  to  assemble  together  for 
worship,  as  he  was  aware  that  when  freedom 
of  the  will  is  called  into  question,  constraint  is 
utterly  useless.  He  expelled  the  clergy  and 
presidents  of  the  churches  from  all  the  cities,  in 
order  to  put  an  end  to  these  assemblies,  saying 
truly  that  by  their  absence  the  gatherings  of  the 
people  would  be  effectually  dissolved,  if  indeed 


V.  i6.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


Z^o7 


there  were  none  to  convene  the  churches,  and 
none  to  teach  or  to  dispense  the  mysteries, 
rehgion  itself  would,  in  the  course  of  time,  fall 
into  oblivion.  The  pretext  which  he  advanced 
for  these  proceedings  was,  that  the  clergy  were 
the  leaders  of  sedition  among  the  people.  Under 
this  plea,  he  expelled  Eleusius  and  his  friends 
from  Cyzicus,  although  there  was  not  even  a 
symptom  nor  expectation  of  sedition  in  that 
city.  He  also  publicly  called  upon  the  citizens 
of  Bostra^  to  expel  Titus,  their  bishop.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  emperor  had  threatened  to  im- 
peach Titus  and  the  other  clergy  as  the  authors 
of  any  sedition  that  might  arise  among  the 
people,  and  that  Titus  had  thereupon  written, 
stating  to  him  that  although  the  Christians  were 
near  the  pagans  in  number,  yet  that,  in  accord- 
ance with  his  exhortations,  they  were  disposed 
to  remain  quiet,  and  were  not  likely  to  rise  up 
in  sedition.  Julian,  with  the  view  of  not  exciting 
the  enmity  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bostra  against 
Titus,  represented,  in  a  letter  which  he  addressed 
to  them,  that  their  bishop  had  advanced  a  cal- 
umny against  them,  by  stating  that  it  was  in 
accordance  with  his  exhortations  rather  than 
with  their  own  inclination  that  they  refrained 
from  sedition ;  and  Julian  exhorted  them  to 
expel  him  from  their  city  as  a  public  enemy. 

It  appears  that  the  Christians  were  subjected 
to  similar  injustice  in  other  places  ;  sometimes 
by  the  command  of  the  emperor,  and  some- 
times by  the  wrath  and  impetuosity  of  the  popu- 
lace. The  blame  of  these  transactions  may  be 
justly  imputed  to  the  ruler  ;  for  he  did  not  bring 
under  the  force  of  law  the  transgressors  of  law, 
but  out  of  his  hatred  to  the  Christian  religion, 
he  only  visited  the  perpetrators  of  such  deeds 
with  verbal  rebukes,  while,  by  his  actions,  he 
urged  them  on  in  the  same  course.  Hence 
although  not  absolutely  persecuted  by  the  em- 
peror, the  Christians  were  obliged  to  flee  from 
city  to  city  and  village  to  village.  My  grand- 
father and  many  of  my  ancestors  were  com- 
pelled to  flee  in  this  manner.  My  grandfather 
was  of  pagan  parentage  ;  and,  with  his  own  family 
and  that  of  Alaphion,  had  been  the  first  to  em- 
brace Christianity  in  BetheHa,  a  populous  town 
near  Gaza,  in  which  there  are  temples  highly 
reverenced  by  the  people  of  the  country,  on 
account  of  their  antiquity  and  structural  excel- 
lence. The  most  celebrated  of  these  temples  is 
the  Pantheon,  built  on  an  artificial  eminence  com- 
manding a  view  of  the  v/hole  town.  The  con- 
jecture is  that  the  place  received  its  name  from 
the  temple,  that  the  original  name  given  to  this 
temple  was  in  the  Syriac  language,  and  that  this 
name  was  afterwards  rendered  into  Greek  and 


'  Jidiani  Op.  Ep.  Hi.     Julianus  Bostrenis. 


expressed  by  a  word  which  signifies  that  the 
temple  is  the  residence  of  all  the  gods. 

It  is  said  that  the  above-mentioned  families 
were  converted  through  the  instrumentality  of 
the  monk  Hilarion.  Alaphion,  it  appears,  was 
possessed  of  a  devil ;  and  neither  the  pagans 
nor  the  Jews  could,  by  any  incantations  and  en- 
chantments, deliver  him  from  this  affliction ; 
but  Hilarion,  by  simply  calling  on  the  name  of 
Christ,  expelled  the  demon,  and  Alaphion,  with 
his  whole  family,  immediately  embraced  Chris- 
tianity. 

My  grandfather  was  endowed  with  great  natu- 
ral ability,  which  he  applied  with  success  to  the 
explanation  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  ;  he  had 
made  some  attainments  in  general  knowledge, 
and  was  not  ignorant  of  arithmetic.  He  was 
much  beloved  by  the  Christians  of  Ascalon,  of 
Gaza,  and  of  the  surrounding  country ;  and 
was  regarded  as  necessary  to  religion,  on  ac- 
count of  his  gift  in  expounding  the  doubtful 
points  of  Scripture.  No  one  can  speak  in  ade- 
quate terms  of  the  virtues  of  the  other"  family. 
The  first  churches  and  monasteries  erected 
in  that  country  were  founded  by  members  of 
this  family  and  supported  by  their  power  and 
beneficence  towards  strangers  and  the  needy. 
Some  good  men  belonging  to  this  family  have 
flourished  even  in  our  own  days ;  and  in  my 
youth  I  saw  some  of  them,  but  they  were  then 
very  aged.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  say  more 
concerning  them  in  the  course  of  my  history.'^ 

CHAP.     XVI. EFFORTS     OF    JULIAN    TO     ESTABLISH 

PAGANISM  AND  TO  ABOLISH  OUR  USAGES.  THE 
EPISTLE  WHICH  HE  SENT  TO  THE  PAG.AN  HIGH- 
PRIESTS. 

The  emperor  *  was  deeply  grieved  at  finding 
that  all  his  efforts  to  secure  the  predominance 
of  paganism  were  utterly  ineffectual,  and  at  see- 
ing Christianity  excelling  in  repute  ;  for  although 
the  gates  of  the  temples  were  kept  open,  although 
sacrifices  were  offered,  and  the  observance  of 
ancient  festivals  restored  in  all  the  cities,  yet  he 
was  far  from  being  satisfied  ;  for  he  could  plainly 
foresee  that,  on  the  withdrawal  of  his  influence, 
a  change  in  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs  would 
speedily  take  place.  He  was  particularly  cha- 
grined on  discovering  that  the  wives,  children, 
and  servants  of  many  of  the  pagan  priests  had 
been  converted  to  Christianity.  On  reflecting 
that  one  main  support  of  the  Christian  religion 
was  the  life  and  behavior  of  its  professors,  he 
determined  to  introduce  into  the  pagan  temples 
the  order  and  discipline  of  Christianity,  to  insti- 


-  He  probably  means  that  of  Alaphion. 

^  He  means  Salamines,  Phuscon,  Malachion,  and  Crispion,  whom 
he  mentions  below,  vi.  32. 
■*  Independent  with  Soz. 


338 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V.  1 6. 


tute  various  orders  and  degrees  of  ministry,  to 
appoint  teachers  and  readers  to  give  instruction 
in  pagan  doctrines  and  exhortations,  and  to  com- 
mand that  prayers  should  be  offered  on  certain 
days  at  stated  hours.  He  moreover  resolved  to 
found  monasteries  for  the  accommodation  of 
men  and  women  who  desired  to  live  in  philo- 
sophical retirement,  as  likewise  hospitals  for  the 
relief  of  strangers  and  of  the  poor  and  for  other 
philanthropical  purposes.  He  wished  to  intro- 
duce among  the  pagans  the  Christian  system 
of  penance  for  voluntary  and  involuntary  trans- 
gressions ;  but  the  point  of  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline which  he  chiefly  admired,  and  desired  to 
establish  among  the  pagans,  was  the  custom 
among  the  bishops  to  give  letters  of  recommend- 
ation to  those  who  traveled  to  foreign  lands, 
wherein  they  commended  them  to  the  hospitality 
and  kindness  of  other  bishops,  in  all  places,  and 
under  all  contingencies.  In  this  way  did  Julian 
strive  to  ingraft  the  customs  of  Christianity  upon 
paganism.  But  if  what  I  have  stated  appears 
to  be  incredible,  I  need  not  go  far  in  search 
of  proofs  to  corroborate  my  assertions ;  for  I 
can  produce  a  letter  written  by  the  emperor  him- 
self on  the  subject.      He  writes  as  follows  :  ^  — 

"To  Arsacius,  High- Priest  of  Galatia.  Pagan- 
ism has  not  yet  reached  the  degree  of  prosperity 
that  might  be  desired,  owing  to  the  conduct  of 
its  votaries.  The  worship  of  the  gods,  however, 
is  conducted  on  the  grandest  and  most  magnifi- 
cent scale,  so  far  exceeding  our  very  prayer  and 
hope ;  let  our  Adrastea  be  propitious  to  these 
words,  for  no  one  could  have  dared  to  look  for 
so  extensive  and  so  surprising  a  change  as  that 
which  we  have  witnessed  within  a  very  short 
space  of  time.  But  are  we  to  rest  satisfied  with 
what  has  been  already  effected  ?  Ought  we  not 
rather  to  consider  that  the  progress  of  Atheism 
has  been  principally  owing  to  the  humanity 
evinced  by  Christians  towards  strangers,  to  the 
reverence  they  have  manifested  towards  the 
dead,  and  to  the  delusive  gravity  which  they 
have  assumed  in  their  life  ?  It  is  requisite  that 
each  of  us  should  be  diligent  in  the  discharge  of 
duty  :  I  do  not  refer  to  you  alone,  as  that  would 
not  suffice,  but  to  all  the  priests  of  Galatia. 

"  You  must  either  put  them  to  shame,  or  try 
the  power  of  persuasion,  or  else  deprive  them 
of  their  sacerdotal  offices,  if  they  do  not  with 
their  wives,  their  children,  and  their  servants  join 
in  the  service  of  the  gods,  or  if  they  support 
the  servants,  sons,  or  wives  of  the  Galileans  in 
treating  the  gods  impiously  and  in  preferring 
Atheism  to  piety.  Then  exhort  the  priests  not 
to  frequent  theaters,  not  to  drink  at  taverns,  and 
not  to  engage  in  any  trade,  or  practice  any 
nefarious  art. 

1  Juliani  Op.  Ep.  xlix. 


"  Honor  those  who  yield  to  your  remon- 
strances, and  expel  those  who  disregard  them. 
Establish  hostelries  in  every  city,  so  that  stran- 
gers from  neighboring  and  foreign  countries  may 
reap  the  benefit  of  our  philanthropy,  according 
to  their  respective  need. 

"  I  have  provided  means  to  meet  the  necessary 
expenditure,  and  have  issued  directions  through- 
out the  whole  of  Galatia,  that  you  should  be 
furnished  annually  with  thirty  thousand  bushels 
of  corn  and  sixty  thousand  measures  of  wine,  of 
which  the  fifth  part  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor  who  attend  upon  the  priests ; 
and  the  rest  to  be  distributed  among  strangers 
and  our  own  poor.  For,  while  there  are  no 
persons  in  need  among  the  Jews,  and  while  even 
the  impious  Galileans  provide  not  only  for  those 
of  their  own  party  who  are  in  want,  but  also  for 
those  who  hold  with  us,  it  would  indeed  be  dis- 
graceful if  we  were  to  allow  our  own  people  to 
suffer  from  poverty. 

"  Teach  the  pagans  to  co-operate  in  this  work 
of  benevolence,  and  let  the  first-fruits  of  the 
pagan  towns  be  offered  to  the  gods. 

"  Habituate  the  pagans  to  the  exercise  of  this 
liberality,  by  showing  them  how  such  conduct  is 
sanctioned  by  the  practice  of  remote  antiquity  ; 
for  Homer-  represents  Eumaeus  as  saying, — 

'  My  guest !   I  should  offend,  treating  with  scorn 
The  stranger,  though  a  poorer  should  arrive 
Than  even  thyself ;    for  all  the  poor  that  are, 
And  all  the  strangers  are  the  care  of  Jove.' 

"  Let  US  not  permit  others  to  excel  us  in  good 
deeds  ;  let  us  not  dishonor  ourselves  by  violence, 
but  rather  let  us  be  foremost  in  piety  towards 
the  gods.  If  I  hear  that  you  act  according  to 
my  directions,  I  shall  be  full  of  joy.  Do  not 
often  visit  the  governors  at  their  own  houses, 
but  write  to  them  frequently.  A\'hen  they  enter 
the  city,  let  no  priest  go  to  meet  them  ;  and  let 
not  the  priest  accompany  them  further  than  the 
vestibule  when  they  repair  to  the  temple  of  the 
gods ;  neither  let  any  soldiers  march  before 
them  on  such  occasions ;  but  let  those  follow 
them  who  will.  For  as  soon  as  they  have 
entered  within  the  sacred  bounds,  they  are  but 
private  individuals  ;  for  there  it  is  your  duty,  as 
you  well  know,  to  preside,  according  to  the 
divine  decree.  Those  who  humbly  conform  to 
this  law  manifest  that  they  possess  true  religion  ; 
whereas  those  who  contemn  it  are  proud  and 
vainglorious. 

"  I  am  ready  to  render  assistance  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  Pessinus,  provided  that  they  will  pro- 
pitiate the  mother  of  the  gods ;  but  if  they 
neglect  this  duty,  they  will  incur  my  utmost 
displeasure. 


2  Odyss.  xiv.  56. 


V.  17.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


339 


'  I  should  myself  transgress, 
Receiving  here,  and  giving  conduct  hence 
To  one  detested  by  the  gods  as  these.'  ^ 

"  Convince  them,  therefore,  that  if  they  desire 
my  assistance,  they  must  offer  up  suppUcations 
to  the  mother  of  the  gods." 


CHAP.  XVII.  —  IN  ORDER  THAT  HE  MIGHT  NOT  BE 
THOUGHT  TVR.\NNICAL,  JULIAN  PROCEEDS  ART- 
FULLY AGAINST  THE  CHRISTLA.NS.  ABOLITION 
OF  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  CROSS.  HE  MAKES  THE 
SOLDIERY  SACRIFICE,  ALTHOUGH  THEY  WERE 
UmVILLING. 

When  JuHan  acted  and  wrote  in  the  manner 
aforesaid,  he  expected  that  he  would  by  these 
means  easily  induce  his  subjects  to  change 
their  religious  opinions.-  Although  he  earnestly 
desired  to  abolish  the  Christian  religion,  yet  he 
plainly  was  ashamed  to  employ  violent  measures, 
lest  he  should  be  accounted  tyrannical.  He 
used  every  means,  however,  that  could  possibly 
be  devised  to  lead  his  subjects  back  to  pagan- 
ism ;  and  he  was  more  especially  urgent  with 
the  soldiery,  whom  he  sometimes  addressed 
individually  and  sometimes  through  the  medium 
of  their  officers.  To  habituate  them  in  all  things 
to  the  worship  of  the  gods,  he  restored  the 
ancient  form  of  the  standard  of  the  Roman 
armies;'  which,  as  we  have  already  stated,  Con- 
stantine  had,  at  the  command  of  God,  converted 
into  the  sign  of  the  cross.  Julian  also^  caused 
to  be  painted,  in  juxtaposition  with  his  own 
figure,  on  the  public  pictures,  a  representation 
either  of  Jupiter  coming  out  of  heaven  and  pre- 
senting to  him  the  symbols  of  imperial  power,  a 
crown  or  a  purple  robe,  or  else  of  Mars,  or  of 
Mercury,  with  their  eyes  intently  fixed  upon 
him,  as  if  to  express  their  admiration  of  his 
eloquence  and  military  skill.  He  placed  the 
pictures  of  the  gods  in  juxtaposition  with  his 
own,  in  order  that  the  people  might  secretly  be 
led  to  worship  them  under  the  pretext  of  ren- 
dering due  honor  to  him ;  he  abused  ancient 
usages,  and  endeavored  to  conceal  his  purpose 
from  his  subjects.  He  considered  that  if  they 
would  yield  obedience  on  this  point,  they  would 
be  the  more  ready  to  obey  him  on  every  other 
occasion ;  but  that  if  they  ventured  to  refuse 
obedience,  he  would  have  reason  to  punish 
them,  as  infringers  of  the  Roman  customs  and 
offenders  against  the  emperor  and  the  state. 
There  were  but  very  few  (and  the  law  had  its 
course  against  them)  who,  seeing  through  his 
designs,  refused  to  render  the  customary  homage 


1  Odyss.  X.  74. 

2  Soc.  iii    13-,   Ruf.  //.  E.  i.  32;  Greg.  Naz.  cani.  Jul.    i.    66, 
80,  84;   Theodoret,  H.  E.  iii.  16,  17 

3  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cont.  Jul.  i.  66.  <  Id.  80,  81. 


to  his  pictures ;  but  the  multitude,  through 
ignorance  or  simplicity,  conformed  as  usual  to 
the  ancient  regulation,  and  thoughtlessly  paid 
homage  to  his  image.  The  emperor  derived 
but  little  advantage  from  this  artifice ;  yet  he 
did  not  cease  from  his  efforts  to  effect  a  change 
in  religion. 

The  next  machination  to  which  he  had  re- 
course was  less  subtle  and  more  violent  than 
the  former  one  ;  and  the  fortitude  of  many  sol- 
diers attached  to  the  court  was  thereby  tested. 
When  the  stated  day  came  round  for  giving 
money  to  the  troops,'  which  day  generally  fell 
upon  the  anniversary  of  some  festival  among  the 
Romans,  such  as  that  of  the  birth  of  the  em- 
peror, or  the  foundation  of  some  royal  city,  Julian 
reflected  that  soldiers  are  naturally  thoughtless 
and  simple,  and  disposed  to  be  covetous  of 
money,  and  therefore  concluded  that  it  would 
be  a  favorable  opportunity  to  seduce  them  to 
the  worship  of  the  gods.  Accordingly,  as  each 
soldier  approached  to  receive  the  money,  he  was 
commanded  to  offer  sacrifice,  fire  and  incense 
having  been  previously  placed  for  this  purpose 
near  the  emperor,  according  to  an  ancient 
Roman  custom.  Some  of  the  soldiers  had  the 
courage  to  refuse  to  offer  sacrifice  and  receive 
the  gold  ;  others  were  so  habituated  to  the  ob- 
servance of  the  law  and  custom  that  they  con- 
formed to  it,  without  imagining  that  they  were 
committing  sin.  Others,  again,  deluded  by  the 
luster  of  the  gold,  or  compelled  by  fear  and 
consideration  on  account  of  the  test  which  was 
immediately  in  sight,  complied  with  the  pagan 
rite,  and  suffered  themselves  to  fall  into  the 
temptation  from  which  they  ought  to  have  fled. 
It  is  related  that,  as  some  of  them  who  had 
ignorantly  fallen  into  this  sin  were  seated  at 
table,  and  drinking  to  each  other,  one  among 
them  happened  to  m.ention  the  name  of  Christ 
over  the  cups.  Another  of  the  guests  immedi- 
ately exclaimed  :  "  It  is  extraordinary  that  you 
should  call  upon  Christ,  when,  but  a  short  time 
ago,  you  denied  him  for  the  sake  of  the  em- 
peror's gift,  by  throwing  incense  into  the  fire." 
On  hearing  this  observation,  they  all  became 
suddenly  conscious  of  the  sin  they  had  com- 
mitted ;  they  rose  from  table  and  rushed  into  the 
public  streets,  where  they  screamed  and  wept 
and  called  upon  all  men  to  witness  that  they 
were  and  would  remain  Christians,  and  that  they 
had  offered  incense  unawares,  and  with  the  hand 
alone,  and  not  with  the  assent  of  the  judgment. 
They  then  presented  themselves  before  the  em- 
peror, threw  back  his  gold,  and  courageously 
asked  him  to  take  back  his  own  gift,  and  be- 
sought him  to  put  them  to  death,  protesting 
that  they  would  never  renounce  their  sentiments, 

0  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cont.  Jul.  i.  82-84;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iii.  17; 
the  variations. 


340 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


[V.  17. 


whatever  torments  might,  in  consequence  of  the 
sin  committed  by  their  hand,  be  inflicted  on  the 
other  parts  of  their  body  for  the  sake  of  Christ. 
Whatever  displeasure  the  emperor  might  have 
felt  against  them,  he  refrained  from  slaying  them, 
lest  they  should  enjoy  the  honor  of  martyrdom  ; 
he  therefore  merely  deprived  them  of  their  mili- 
tary commission  and  dismissed  them  from  the 
palace. 


CHAP.    XVin.  HE      PROHIBITED      THE      CHRISTIANS 

FROM  THE  MARKETS  AND  FROM  THE  JUDICLAL 
SEATS  AND  FROM  SHARING  IN  GREEK  EDUCA- 
TION. RESISTANCE  OF  BASIL  THE  GREAT,  GREG- 
ORY THE  THEOLOGIAN,  AND  APOLINARIUS  TO 
THIS  DECREE.  THEY  RAPIDLY  TRANSLATE  THE 
SCRIPTURE  INTO  GREEK  MODES  OF  EXPRESSION. 
APOLIXARIUS  AND  GREGORY  NAZIANZEN  DO  THIS 
MORE  THAN  BASIL,  THE  ONE  IN  A  RHETORICAL 
VEIN,  THE  OTHER  IN  EPIC  STYLE  AND  IN  IMITA- 
TION   OF    EVERY    POET. 

Julian  entertained  the  same  sentiments  as 
those  above  described  towards  all  Christians,  as 
he  manifested  whenever  an  opportunity  was 
offered.  Those  who  refused  to  sacrifice  to  the 
gods,  although  perfectly  blameless  in  other  re- 
spects, were  deprived  of  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship,^ and  of  the  privilege  of  participating  in 
assemblies,  and  in  the  forum  ;  and  he  would  not 
allow  them  to  be  judges  or  magistrates,  or  to 
share  in  offices. 

He  forbade  the  children  of  Christians  from 
frequenting  the  public  schools,  and  from  being 
instructed  in  the  writings  of  the  Greek  poets 
and  authors.^  He  entertained  great  resentment 
against  Apolinarius  the  Syrian,  a  man  of  mani- 
fold knowledge  and  philological  attainments, 
against  Basil  and  Gregory,  natives  of  Cappado- 
cia,  the  most  celebrated  orators  of  the  time, 
and  against  other  learned  and  eloquent  men,  of 
whom  some  were  attached  to  the  Nicene  doc- 
trines, and  others  to  the  dogmas  of  Arius.  His 
sole  motive  for  excluding  the  children  of 
Christian  parents  from  instruction  in  the  learn- 
ing of  the  Greeks,  was  because  he  considered 
such  studies  conducive  to  the  acquisition  of 
argumentative  and  persuasive  power.  Apolina- 
rius, therefore,  employed  his  great  learning  and 
ingenuity  in  the  production  of  a  heroic  epic  on 
the  antiquities  of  the  Hebrews  to  the  reign  of 
Saul,  as  a  substitute  for  the  poem  of  Homer. 
He  divided  this  work  into  twenty-four  parts,  to 
each  of  which  he  appended  the  name  of  one  of 
the  letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  according  to 
their  number  and  order.  He  also  wrote  come- 
dies in  imitation  of  Menander,  tragedies  resem- 

1  Juliani  Op.  Ep.  xlii.;  Soc.  iii.  13. 

"^  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cont.  Jul.  i.  101-124;  Riif.  H.  E.  i.  32:  The- 
odoret,  H.  E.  iii.  8. 


bling  those  of  Euripides,  and  odes  on  the  model 
of  Pindar.  In  short,  taking  themes  of  the  entire 
circle  of  knowledge  from  the  Scriptures,  he  pro- 
duced within  a  very  brief  space  of  time,  a  set  of 
works  which  in  manner,  expression,  character, 
and  arrangement  are  well  approved  as  similar  to 
the  Greek  literatures  and  which  were  equal  in 
number  and  in  force.  Were  it  not  for  the  ex- 
treme partiality  with  which  the  productions  of 
antiquity  are  regarded,  I  doubt  not  but  that  the 
writings  of  Apolinarius  would  be  held  in  as 
much  estimation  as  those  of  the  ancients.^ 

The  comprehensiveness  of  his  intellect  is 
more  especially  to  be  admired ;  for  he  excelled 
in  every  branch  of  literature,  whereas  ancient 
writers  were  proficient  only  in  one.  He  wrote 
a  very  remarkable  work  entitled  "  The  Truth  "  * 
against  the  emperor  and  the  pagan  philosophers, 
in  which  he  clearly  proved,  without  any  appeal 
to  the  authority  of  Scripture,  that  they  were  far 
from  having  attained  right  opinions  of  God. 
The  emperor,  for  the  purpose  of  casting  ridicule 
on  works  of  this  nature,  wrote  to  the  bishops  in 
the  following  words  :  "  I  have  read,  I  have  un- 
derstood, and  I  have  condemned."^  To  this 
they  sent  the  following  reply,  "  You  have  read, 
but  you  have  not  understood  ;  for,  had  you  un- 
derstood, you  would  not  have  condemned." 

Some  have  attributed  this  letter  to  Basil,  the 
president  of  the  church  in  Cappadocia,  and 
perhaps  not  without  reason  ;  but  whether  dic- 
tated by  him  or  by  another,  it  fully  displays  the 
magnanimity  and  learning  of  the  writer. 

CHAP.  XIX.  —  WORK  WRIITEN  BY  JULLAN  ENTITLED 
"AVERSION  TO  BEARDS."  DAPHNE  IN  ANTIOCH, 
A  FULL  DESCRIPTION  OF  IT.  TRANSLATION  OF 
THE    REMAINS    OF    BABYLAS,  THE    HOLY    MART\'R. 

Julian,"  having  determined  upon  undertaking 
a  war  against  Persia,  repaired  to  Antioch  in 
Syria.  The  people  loudly  complained,  that, 
although  provisions  were  very  abundant  the 
price  affixed  to  them  was  very  high.  Accord- 
ingly, the  emperor,  from  liberality,  as  I  believe, 
towards  the  people,  reduced  the  price  of  pro-, 
visions  to  so  low  a  scale  that  the  vendors  fled 
the  city. 

A  scarcity  in  consequence  ensued,  for  which 
the  people  blamed  the  emperor ;  and  their  re- 
sentment found  vent  in  ridiculing  the  length  of 
his  beard,  and  the  bulls  which  he  had  had 
stamped  upon  his   coins ;   and  they  satirically 

3  The  question  about  the  nature  of  Christian  culture  has  Socrates 
on  the  side  of  the  humanities,  iii.  16,  where  there  is  an  extended 
argument  in  defense  of  a  return  to  the  study  of  Greek  literature. 
Sozomen  is  somewhat  on  the  fence,  but  inclining  towards  the  oppo- 
site view. 

■*  Apolinarius  (ApoUinaris),  bishop  of  Hierapolis,  also  wrote  a 
treatise  with  the  same  name.  See  Euseb.  H.  E.  iv.  27,  and  Phot. 
Bibl.,  Cod.  145. 

•''  Ep.  77,  formerly  falsely  ascribed  to  Julian. 

«  Soc.  iii.  17,  18:  Ruf.  H.  E.  i.  35;  Philost.  vii.  8;  Theodoret, 
iii.  10;  Am.  Marcel,  xxii.  14.  1-3. 


V.  19.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


341 


remarked,  that  he  upset  the  world  in  the  same 
way  that  his  priests,  when  offering  sacrifice, 
threw  down  the  victims. 

At  first  his  displeasure  was  excited,  and  he 
threatened  to  punish  them  and  prepared  to  de- 
part for  Tarsus.  Afterwards,  however,  he  sup- 
pressed his  feelings  of  indignation,  and  repaid 
their  ridicule  by  words  alone ;  he  composed  a 
very  elegant  work  under  the  title  of  "  Aversion 
to  Beards,"  which  he  sent  to  them.  He  treated 
the  Christians  of  the  city  precisely  in  the  same 
manner  as  at  other  places,  and  endeavored,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  promote  the  extension  of 
paganism. 

I  shall  here  reconnt  some  of  the  details  con- 
nected with  the  tomb  of  Babylas,  the  martyr, 
and  certain  occurrences  which  took  place  about 
this  period  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Daphne. 

Daphne  is  a  suburb  of  Antioch,  and  is  planted 
with  cypresses  and  other  trees,  beneath  which 
all  kinds  of  flowers  flourish  m  their  season.  The 
branches  of  these  trees  are  so  thick  and  inter- 
laced that  they  may  be  said  to  form  a  roof  rather 
than  merely  to  afford  shade,  and  the  rays  of  the 
sun  can  never  pierce  through  them  to  the  soil 
beneath.  It  is  made  delicious  and  exceedingly 
lovely  by  the  richness  and  beauty  of  the  waters, 
the  temperateness  of  the  air,  and  the  breath  of 
friendly  winds.  The  Greeks  invent  the  myth 
that  Daphne,  the  daughter  of  the  river  Ladon, 
was  here  changed  into  a  tree  which  bears  her 
name,  while  she  was  fleeing  from  Arcadia,  to 
evade  the  love  of  Apollo.  The  passion  of  Apollo 
was  not  diminished,  they  say,  by  this  trans- 
formation ;  he  made  a  crown  of  the  leaves  of 
his  beloved  and  embraced  the  tree.  He  after- 
wards often  fixed  his  residence  on  this  spot,  as 
being  dearer  to  him  than  any  other  place. 

Men  of  grave  temperament,  however,  con- 
sidered it  disgraceful  to  approach  this  suburb ; 
for  the  position  and  nature  of  the  place  seemed 
to  excite  voluptuous  feelings  ;  and  the  substance 
of  the  fable  itself  being  erotic,  afforded  a  meas- 
urable impulse  and  redoubled  the  passions 
among  corrupt  youths.  They,  who  furnished 
this  myth  as  an  excuse,  were  greatly  inflamed 
and  gave  way  without  constraint  to  profligate 
deeds,  incapable  of  being  continent  themselves, 
or  of  enduring  the  presence  of  those  who  were 
continent.  Any  one  who  dwelt  at  Daphne  without 
a  mistress  was  regarded  as  callous  and  ungracious, 
and  was  shunned  as  an  abominable  and  abhor- 
rent thing.  The  pagans  likewise  manifested 
great  reverence  for  this  place  on  account  of  a 
very  beautiful  statue  of  the  Daphnic  Apollo 
which  stood  here,  as  also  a  magnificent  and 
costly  temple,  supposed  to  have  been  built  by 
Seleucus,  the  father  of  Antiochus,  who  gave  his 
name  to  the  city  of  Antioch.  Those  who  attach 
credit  to  fables  of  this  kind  believe  that  a  stream 


flows  from  the  fountain  Castalia  which  confers 
the  power  of  predicting  the  future,  and  which  is 
similar  in  its  name  and  powers  to  the  fountain 
of  Delphi.  It  is  related  that  Adrian  here  received 
intimation  of  his  future  greatness,  when  he  was 
but  a  private  individual  ;  and  that  he  dipped  a 
leaf  of  the  laurel  into  the  water  and  found  written 
thereon  an  account  of  his  destiny.  When  he 
became  emperor,  it  is  said,  he  commanded  the 
fountain  to  be  closed,  in  order  that  no  one 
might  be  enabled  to  pry  into  the  knowledge  of 
the  future.  But  I  leave  this  subject  to  those 
who  are  more  accurately  acquainted  with  my- 
thology than  I  am. 

When  Gallus,  the  brother  of  JuHan,  had  been 
declared  Caesar  by  Constantius,  and  had  fixed 
his  residence  at  Antioch,  his  zeal  for  the  Chris- 
tian religion  and  his  veneration  for  the  memory 
of  the  martyrs  determined  him  to  purge  the 
place  of  the  pagan  superstition  and  the  out- 
rages of  profligates.  He  considered  that  the 
readiest  method  of  effecting  this  object  would 
be  to  erect  a  house  of  prayer  in  the  temple  and 
to  transfer  thither  the  tomb  of  Babylas,  the 
martyr,  who  had,  with  great  reputation  to  him- 
self, presided  over  the  church  of  Antioch,  and 
suffered  martyrdom.  It  is  said  that  from  the 
time  of  this  translation,  the  demon  ceased  to 
utter  oracles.  This  silence  was  at  first  attributed 
to  the  neglect  into  which  his  service  was  allowed 
to  fall  and  to  the  omission  of  the  former  cult ; 
but  results  proved  that  it  was  occasioned  solely 
by  the  presence  of  the  holy  martyr.  The  silence 
continued  unbroken  even  when  Julian  was  the 
sole  ruler  of  the  Roman  Empire,  although  liba- 
tions, incense,  and  victims  were  offered  in 
abundance  to  the  demon  ;  for  when  eventually 
the  oracle  itself  spoke  and  indicated  the  cause 
of  its  previous  silence,  the  emperor  himself  en- 
tered the  temple  for  the  purpose  of  consulting 
the  oracle,  and  offering  up  gifts  and  sacrifices 
with  entreaties  to  grant  a  reply.  The  demon 
did  not  openly  admit  that  the  hindrance  was 
occasioned  by  the  tomb  of  Babylas,  the  martyr, 
but  he  stated  that  the  place  was  filled  with  dead 
bodies,  and  that  this  prevented  the  oracle  from 
speaking. 

Although  many  interments  had  taken  place  at 
Daphne,  the  emperor  perceived  that  it  was  the 
presence  of  Babylas,  the  martyr,  alone  which 
had  silenced  the  oracle,  and  he  commanded  his 
tomb  to  be  removed.  The  Christians,  therefore, 
assembled  together  and  conveyed  the  coffin  to 
the  city,  about  forty  stadia  distant,  and  deposited 
it  in  the  place  where  it  is  still  preserved,  and  to 
which  the  name  of  the  martyr  has  been  given. 
It  is  said  that  men  and  women,  young  men 
and  maidens,  old  men  and  children  drew  the 
casket,  and  encouraged  one  another  by  singing 
psalms  as  they  went  along  the  road,  apparently 


342 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V.  19. 


for  the  purpose  of  lightening  their  labor,  but  in 
truth  because  they  were  transported  by  zeal  and 
spirit  for  their  kindred  religious  belief,  which  the 
emperor  had  opposed.  The  best  singers  sang 
first,  and  the  multitude  replied  in  chorus,  and  the 
following  was  the  burden  of  their  song  :  "  Con- 
founded are  all  they  who  worship  graven  images, 
who  boast  themselves  in  idols." 


CH.\P.     XX. IN     CONSEQUENCE     OF     THE     TR.'VNS- 

LATION,  MANY  OF  THE  CHRISTIANS  ARE  ILL- 
TREATED.  THEODORE  THE  CONFESSOR.  TEMPLE 
OF  APOLLO  AT  DAPHNE  DESTROYED  BY  FIRE 
FALLING  FRO.M  HEAVEN. 

The  transaction  above  related  ^  excited  the 
indignation  of  the  emperor  as  much  as  if  an 
insult  had  been  offered  him,  and  he  determined 
vipon  punishing  the  Christians ;  but  Sallust,  a 
praetorian  prefect,  although  a  pagan,  tried  to 
dissuade  him  from  this  measure.  The  em- 
peror, however,  could  not  be  appeased,  and 
Sallust  was  compelled  to  execute  his  mandate, 
and  arrest  and  imprison  many  Christians.  One 
of  the  first  whom  he  arrested  was  a  young 
man  named  Theodore,  who  was  immediately 
stretched  upon  the  rack ;  but  although  his 
flesh  was  lacerated  by  the  application  of  the 
nails,  he  addressed  no  supplication  to  Sallust, 
nor  did  he  implore  a  diminution  of  his  torments  ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  seemed  as  insensible  to  pain 
as  if  he  had  been  merely  a  spectator  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  another,  and  bravely  received  the 
wounds  ;  and  he  sang  the  same  psalm  which  he 
had  joined  in  singing  the  day  before,  to  show 
that  he  did  not  repent  of  the  act  for  which  he 
had  been  condemned.  The  prefect,  struck  with 
admiration  at  the  fortitude  of  the  young  man, 
went  to  the  emperor  and  told  him  that,  unless  he 
would  desist  speedily  from  the  measure  he  had 
undertaken,  he  and  his  party  would  be  exposed 
to  ridicule  while  the  Christians  would  acquire 
more  glory.  This  representation  produced  its 
effect,  and  the  Christians  who  had  been  arrested 
were  set  at  liberty.  It  is  said-  that  Theodore 
was  afterwards  asked  whether  he  had  been 
sensible  of  any  pain  while  on  the  rack ;  and 
that  he  replied  that  he  had  not  been  entirely 
free  from  suffering,  but  had  his  pains  assuaged 
by  the  attentions  of  a  young  man  who  had 
stood  by  him,  and  who  had  wiped  off  the  per- 
spiration with  the  finest  linen  cloth,  and  sup- 
plied him  with  coolest  water  by  which,  he 
eased  the  inflammation  and  refreshed  his  labors. 
I  am  convinced    that  no  man,  whatever   mag- 


1  Ruf.  //.  E.  i.  36;  Soc.  iii.  19;  Theodoret,  //.  B.  iii.  11;  Am. 
Marcel,  xxii.  13. 

''  Rufinus  saw  Theodore  at  Antioch,  and  a.sked  him  this  question, 
Ruf.  i.  36;  and  Soc.  shows  the  source  from  which  he  borrowed  the 
story  by  affirming  that  Rufinus,  author  of  an  ecclesiastical  history 
in  Latin,  had  this  interview  with  Theodore. 


nanimity  he  may  possess,  is  capable,  without  the 
special  assistance  of  Divine  Power,  of  manifest- 
ing   such    entire    indifference    about   the  body. 

The  body  of  the  martyr  Babylas  was,  for  the 
reasons  aforesaid,  removed  to  Daphne,  and  was 
subsequently  conveyed  elsewhere.  Soon  after 
it  had  been  taken  away,  fire  suddenly  fell  upon 
the  temple  of  the  Daphnic  Apollo,  the  roof  and 
the  very  statue  of  the  god  were  burned,  and  the 
naked  walls,  with  the  columns  on  which  the  por- 
tico and  the  back  part  of  the  edifice  had  rested, 
alone  escaped  the  conflagration.^  The  Chris- 
tians believed  that  the  prayers  of  the  martyr  had 
dra\yn  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  the  demon ; 
but  the  pagans  reported  the  Christians  as  having 
set  fire  to  the  place.  This  suspicion  gained 
ground ;  and  the  priest  of  Apollo  was  brought 
before  the  tribunal  of  justice  to  render  up  the 
names  of  those  who  had  dared  the  incendiary 
act ;  but  though  bound  and  subjected  to  the 
most  cruel  tortures,  he  did  not  name  any  one. 

Hence  the  Christians  were  more  fully  con- 
vinced than  before,  that  it  was  not  by  the  deed 
of  man,  but  by  the  wrath  of  God,  that  fire  was 
poured  down  from  heaven  upon  the  temple. 
Such  were  the  occurrences  which  then  took 
place.  The  emperor,  as  I  conjecture,  on  hear- 
ing that  the  calamity  at  Daphne  had  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  martyr  Babylas,  and  on  being 
further  informed  that  the  honored  remains  of 
the  martyrs  were  preserved  in  several  houses  of 
prayer  near  the  temple  of  the  Apollo  Didymus, 
which  is  situated  close  to  the  city  of  Miletus, 
wrote  to  the  governor  of  Caria,  commanding 
him  to  destroy  with  fire  all  such  edifices  as  were 
furnished  with  a  roof  and  an  altar,  and  to  throw 
down  from  their  very  foundations  the  houses  of 
prayer  which  were  incomplete  in  these  respects. 

CHAP.      XXI. OF     THE     STATUE      OF      CHRIST     IN 

PANEAS  WHICH  JULIAN  OVERTHREW  AND  MADE 
VALUELESS  ;  HE  ERECTED  HIS  OWN  SIATUE  ; 
THIS  WAS  OVERTHROWN  BY  A  THUNDER-BOLf 
AND  DESTROYED.  FOUNTAIN  OF  EMMAUS  IN 
W'HICH  CHRIST  WASHED  HIS  FEET.  CONCERN- 
ING THE  TREE  PERSIS,  WHICH  WORSHIPED 
CHRIST  IN  EGYPT,  AND  THE  WONDERS  WROUGHT 
THROUGH    IT. 

Among  so  many  remarkable  events  which 
occurred  during  the  reign  of  Julian,  I' must  not 
omit  to  mention  one  which  affords  a  sign  of  the 
power  of  Christ,  and  proof  of  the  Divine  wrath 
against  the  emperor.'* 

Having  heard  that  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  other- 
wise called  Paneas,  a  city  of  Phoenicia,  there 
was  a  celebrated  statue  of  Christ  which  had 
been  erected  by  a  woman  whom  the  Lord  had 


'  Am.  Marcel,  xxii.  13.  1-3. 

*  Philost.  vii.  3,  who  was  eyewitness. 


V.   22.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


343 


cured  of  a  flow  of  blood,^  Julian  commanded  it  to 
be  taken  down  and  a  statue  of  himself  erected 
in  its  place  ;  but  a  violent  lire  from  heaven  fell 
upon  it  and  broke  off  the  parts  contiguous  to 
the  breast ;  the  head  and  neck  were  thrown 
prostrate,  and  it  was  transfixed  to  the  ground 
with  the  face  downwards  at  the  point  where  the 
fracture  of  the  bust  was ;  and  it  has  stood  in 
that  fashion  from  that  day  until  now,  full  of 
the  rust  of  the  lightning.  The  statue  of  Christ 
was  dragged  around  the  city  and  mutilated  by 
the  pagans ;  but  the  Christians  recovered  the 
fragments,  and  deposited  the  statue  in  the 
church  in  which  it  is  still  preserved.  Eusebius 
relates,  that  at  the  base  of  this  statue  grew  an 
herb  which  was  unknown  to  the  physicians  and 
empirics,  but  was  efficacious  in  the  cure  of  all 
disorders.  It  does  not  appear  a  matter  of  as- 
tonishment to  me,  that,  after  God  had  vouch- 
safed to  dwell  with  men,  he  should  condescend 
to  bestow  benefits  upon  them. 

It  appears  that  innumerable  other  miracles 
were  wrought  in  different  cities  and  villages ; 
accounts  have  been  accurately  preserved  by  the 
inhabitants  of  these  places  only,  because  they 
learned  them  from  ancestral  tradition ;  and  how 
true  this  is,  I  will  at  once  show.  There  is  a  city 
now  called  Nicopolis,  in  Palestine,  which  was 
formerly  only  a  village,  and  which  was  mentioned 
by  the  divine  book  of  the  Gospel  under  the 
name  of  Emmaus.^  The  name  of  Nicoplis  was 
given  to  this  place  by  the  Romans  after  the  con- 
quest of  Jerusalem  and  the  victory  over  the 
Jews.  Just  beyond  the  city  where  three  roads 
meet,  is  the  spot  where  Christ,  after  His  resur- 
rection, said  farewell  to  Cleopas  and  his  compan- 
ion, as  if  he  were  going  to  another  village  ;  and 
here  is  a  heaUng  fountain  in  which  men  and 
other  living  creatures  afflicted  with  different 
diseases  wash  away  their  sufferings ;  for  it  is  said 
that  when  Christ  together  with  His  disciples 
came  from  a  journey  to  this  fountain,  they 
bathed  their  feet  therein,  and,  from  that  time 
the  water  became  a  cure  for  disorders. 

At  Hermopolis,  in  the  Thebais,  is  a  tree  called 
Persis,  of  which  the  branches,  the  leaves,  and  the 
least  portion  of  the  bark,  are  said  to  heal  dis- 
eases, when  touched  by  the  sick ;  for  it  is 
related  by  the  Egyptians  that  when  Joseph  fled 
with  Christ  and  Mary,  the  holy  mother  of  God, 
from  the  wrath  of  Herod,  they  went  to  Hermopo- 
lis ;  when  entering  at  the  gate,  this  largest  tree,  as 
if  not  enduring  the  advent  of  Christ,  inclined  to 
the  ground  and  worshiped  Him.  I  relate  pre- 
cisely what  I  have  heard  from  many  sources 
concerning  this  tree.  I  think  that  this  phenom- 
enon was  a  sign  of  the  presence  of  God  in  the 
city ;  or  perhaps,  as  seems  most  probable,  the 


1  Eus.  //.  £.  vii.  iS 


2  Luke  xxiv.  13. 


tree,  which  had  been  worshiped  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, after  the  pagan  custom,  was  shaken,  be- 
cause the  demon,  who  had  been  an  object  of 
worship,  started  up  at  sight  of  Him  who  was 
manifested  for  purification  from  such  agen- 
cies. It  was  moved  of  its  own  accord ;  for  at 
the  presence  of  Christ  the  idols  of  F^gypt  were 
shaken,  even  as  Isaiah^  the  prophet  had  foretold. 
On  the  expulsion  of  the  demon,  the  tree  was 
permitted  to  remain  as  a  monument  of  what  had 
occurred,  and  was  endued  with  the  property  of 
healing  those  who  believed. 

The  inhabitants  of  Egypt  and  of  Palestine 
testify  to  the  truth  of  these  events,  which  took 
place  among  themselves. 


CHAP.  XXII. FROM  AVERSION  TO   THE    CHRISTIANS, 

JULIAN  GRANTED  PERMISSION  TO  THE  JEWS  TO 
REBUILD  THE  TEMPLE  AT  JERUSALEM  ;  IN  EVERY 
ENDEAVOR  TO  PUT  THEIR  HANDS  TO  THE  WORK, 
FIRE  SPRANG  UPWARD  AND  KILLED  MANY. 
ABOUT  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  CROSS  WHICH  APPEARED 
ON  THE  CLOTHING  OF  THOSE  WHO  HAD  EXERTED 
THEMSELVES   IN   THIS    WORK. 

Though  the  emperor  *  hated  and  opressed  the 
Christians,  he  manifested  benevolence  and  hu- 
manity towards  the  Jews.  He  wrote  ^  to  the 
Jewish  patriarchs  and  leaders,  as  well  as  to  the 
people,  requesting  them  to  pray  for  him,  and 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  empire.  In  taking  this 
step  .he  was  not  actuated,  I  am  convinced,  by 
any  respect  for  their  religion  ;  for  he  was  aware 
that  it  is,  so  to  speak,  the  mother  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  he  knew  that  both  relig- 
ions rest  upon  the  authority  of  the  patriarchs 
and  the  prophets ;  but  he  thought  to  grieve  the 
Christians  by  favoring  the  Jews,  who  are  their 
most  inveterate  enemies.  But  perhaps  he  also 
calculated  upon  persuading  the  Jews  to  embrace 
paganism  and  sacrifices  ;  for  they  were  only  ac- 
quainted with  the  mere  letter  of  Scripture,  and 
could  not,  like  the  Christians  and  a  few  of  the 
wisest  among  the  Hebrews,  discern  the  hidden 
meaning. 

Events  proved  that  this  was  his  real  motive  ; 
for  he  sent  for  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  race 
and  exhorted  them  to  return  to  the  observance 
of  the  laws  of  Moses  and  the  customs  of  their 
fathers.  On  their  replying  that  because  the 
temple  in  Jerusalem  was  overturned,  it  was 
neither  lawful  nor  ancestral  to  do  this  in  another 
place  than  the  metropolis  out  of  which  they  had 
been  cast,  he  gave  them  public  money,  com- 
manded them  to  rebuild  the  temple,  and  to 
practice  the  cult  similar  to  that  of  their  ances- 


'  Ch.  xix.  I. 

*  Ruf.  //.  £.  i.  37-39;  Philost.  vii.  14;  Soc.  iii.  20;  Theodoret, 
//.  E.  iii.  20;  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  coiit.  Jul.  ii.  3,  4;  and  particularly 
Am.  Marcel,  x.xiii.  i.  1-3. 

^  Juliaui  Op.  Ep.  xxv.,  ad  JudaoruTn  nationetn. 


344 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[V.  22. 


tors,  by  sacrificing  after  the  ancient  way.  The 
Jews  entered  upon  the  undertaking,  without  re- 
flecting that,  according  to  the  prediction  of  the 
holy  prophets,  it  could  not  be  accomplished. 
They  sought  for  the  most  skillful  artisans,  col- 
lected materials,  cleared  the  ground,  and  en- 
tered so  earnestly  upon  the  task,  that  even  the 
women  carried  heaps  of  earth,  and  brought  their 
necklaces  and  other  female  ornaments  towards 
defraying  the  expense.  The  emperor,  the  other 
pagans,  and  all  the  Jews,  regarded  every  other 
undertaking  as  secondary  in  importance  to  this. 
Although  the  pagans  were  not  well-disposed 
towards  the  Jews,  yet  they  assisted  them  in  this 
enterprise,  because  they  reckoned  upon  its  ulti- 
mate success,  and  hoped  by  this  means  to  falsify 
the  prophecies  of  Christ.  Besides  this  motive, 
the  Jews  themselves  were  impelled  by  the  con- 
sideration that  the  time  had  arrived  for  rebuild- 
ing their  temple.  When  they  had  removed  the 
ruins  of  the  former  building,  they  dug  up  the 
ground  and  cleared  away  its  foundation ;  it  is 
said  that  on  the  following  day  when  they  were 
about  to  lay  the  first  foundation,  a  great  earth- 
quake occurred,  and  by  the  violent  agitation  of 
the  earth,  stones  were  thrown  up  from  the 
depths,  by  which  those  of  the  Jews  who  were 
engaged  in  the  work  were  wounded,  as  likewise 
those  who  were  merely  looking  on.  The  houses 
and  public  porticos,  near  the  site  of  the  temple, 
in  which  they  had  diverted  themselves,  were  sud- 
denly thrown  down  ;  many  were  caught  thereby, 
some  perished  immediately,  others  were  found 
half  dead  and  mutilated  of  hands  or  legs,  others 
were  injured  in  other  parts  of  the  body.  When 
God  caused  the  earthquake  to  cease,  the  work- 
men who  survived  again  returned  to  their  task, 
partly  because  such  was  the  edict  of  the  em- 
peror, and  partly  because  they  were  themselves 
interested  in  the  undertaking.  Men  often,  in 
endeavoring  to  gratify  their  own  passions,  seek 
what  is  injurious  to  them,  reject  what  would  be 


truly  advantageous,  and  are  deluded  by  the  idea 
that  nothing  is  really  useful  except  what  is 
agreeable  to  them.  When  once  led  astray  by 
this  error,  they  are  no  longer  able  to  act  in  a 
manner  conducive  to  their  own  interests,  or  to 
take  warning  by  the  calamities  which  are  visited 
upon  them. 

The  Jews,  I  believe,  were  just  in  this  state  ; 
for,  instead  of  regarding  this  unexpected  earth- 
quake as  a  manifest  indication  that  God  was 
opposed  to  the  re-erection  of  their  temple,  they 
proceeded  to  recommence  the  work.  But  all 
parties  relate,  that  they  had  scarcely  returned  to 
the  undertaking,  when  fire  burst  suddenly  from 
the  foundations  of  the  temple,  and  consumed 
several  of  the  workmen. 

This  fact  is  fearlessly  stated,  and  believed  by 
all ;  the  only  discrepancy  in  the  narrative  is 
that  some  maintain  that  flame  burst  from  the 
interior  of  the  temple,  as  the  workmen  were 
striving  to  force  an  entrance,  while  others  say 
that  the  fire  proceeded  directly  from  the  earth. 
In  whichever  way  the  phenomenon  might  have 
occurred,  it  is  equally  wonderful.  A  more  tan- 
gible and  still  more  extraordinary  prodigy  en- 
sued ;  suddenly  the  sign  of  the  cross  appeared 
spontaneously  on  the  garments  of  the  persons 
engaged  in  the  undertaking.  These  crosses 
were  disposed  like  stars,  and  appeared  the  work 
of  art.  Many  were  hence  led  to  confess  that 
Christ  is  God,  and  that  the  rebuilding  of  the  tem- 
ple was  not  pleasing  to  Him  ;  others  presented 
themselves  in  the  church,  were  initiated,  and 
besought  Christ,  with  hymns  and  supplications, 
to  pardon  their  transgression.  If  any  one  does 
not  feel  disposed  to  believe  my  narrative,  let 
him  go  and  be  convinced  by  those  who  heard 
the  facts  I  have  related  from  the  eyewitnesses 
of  them,  for  they  are  still  alive.  Let  him  in- 
quire, also,  of  the  Jews  and  pagans  who  left  the 
work  in  an  incomplete  state,  or  who,  to  speak 
more  accurately,  were  able  to  commence  it. 


BOOK    VL 


CHAP.     I. EXPEDITION     OF    JULIAN     INTO     PERSIA; 

HE  WAS  WORSTED  AND  BROKE  OFF  HIS  LIFE 
MISERABLY.  LETLER  WRITTEN  BY  LIBANIUS,  DE- 
SCRIBING   HIS    DEATH. 

I  HAVE  narrated  in  the  preceding  book  the 
occurrences  which  took  place  in  the  Church, 
during  the  reign  of  JuUan.^  This  emperor,  hav- 
ing determined  to  carry  on  tlie  war  with  Persia, 
made  a  rapid  transit  across  tlie  Euphrates  in  the 
beginning  of  spring,  and,  passing  by  Edessa 
from  hatred  to  the  inhabitants,  who  had  long 
professed  Christianity,  he  went  on  to  Carrse, 
where  there  was  a  temple  of  Jupiter,  in  which 
he  offered  up  sacrifice  and  prayer.  He  then 
selected  twenty  thousand  armed  men  from 
among  his  troops,  and  sent  them  towards  the 
Tigris,  in  order  that  they  might  guard  those 
regions,  and  also  be  ready  to  join  him,  in  case 
he  should  require  their  assistance.  He  then 
wrote  to  Arsacius,  king  of  Armenia,  one  of  the 
Roman  allies,  to  bespeak  his  aid  in  the  war. 
In  this  letter  Julian  manifested  the  most  un- 
bounded arrogance ;  he  boasted  of  the  high 
quaUties  which  had,  he  said,  rendered  him 
worthy  of  the  empire,  and  acceptable  to  the 
gods  for  whom  he  cared ;  he  reviled  Con- 
stantius,  his  predecessor,  as  an  effeminate  and 
impious  emperor,  and  threatened  Arsacius  in  a 
grossly  insulting  way ;  and  since  he  understood 
that  he  was  a  Christian,  he  intensified  his  in- 
sults, or  eagerly  and  largely  uttered  unlawful 
blasphemies  against  Christ,  for  he  was  wont  to 
dare  this  in  every  case.  He  told  Arsacius  that 
unless  he  acted  according  to  his  directions,  the 
God  in  whom  he  trusted  would  not  be  able  to 
defend  him  from  his  vengeance.  When  he  con- 
sidered that  all  his  arrangements  had  been  duly 
made,  he  led  his  army  through  Assyria. 

He  took  a  great  many  towns  and  fortresses, 
either  through  treachery  or  by  battle,  and 
thoughtlessly  proceeded  onwards,  without  re- 
flecting that  he  would  have  to  return  by  the 
same  route.  He  pillaged  every  place  he  ap- 
proached, and  pulled  down  or  burnt  the  grana- 
ries and  storehouses.  As  he  was  journeying  up 
the   Euphrates,  he  arrived  at  Ctesiphon,  a  very 

'  Philost.  vii.  15;  Eutroo.  Brev.  hist.  rom.  x.  16;  Eunap.  7^r. 
ii.  13-19;  Am.  Marcel,  xxiii.  and  .\xiv. ;  Riif.  i.  36;  Soc.  iii.  21; 
Greg.  Naz.  Or.  cont.  Jnl.  ii.  8-15;  Zos.  iii.  12-30;  Orosius,  vii.  30. 


large  city,  whither  the  Persian  monarchs  have 
now  transferred  their  residence  from  Babylon. 
The  Tigris  flows  near  this  spot.  As  he  was 
prevented  from  reaching  the  city  with  his  ships, 
by  a  part  of  the  land  which  separated  it  from 
the  river,  he  judged  that  either  he  must  pursue 
his  journey  by  water,  or  quit  his  ships  and  go 
to  Ctesiphon  by  land  \  and  he  interrogated  the 
prisoners  on  the  subject.  Having  ascertained 
from  them  that  there  was  a  canal  which  had 
been  blocked  up  in  the  course  of  time,  he  caused 
it  to  be  cleared  out,  and,  having  thus  effected  a 
communication  between  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Tigris,  he  proceeded  towards  the  city,  his  ships 
floating  along  by  the  side  of  his  army.  But  the 
Persians  appeared  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris 
with  a  formidable  display  of  horse  and  many 
armed  troops,  of  elephants,  and  of  horses ;  and 
Julian  became  conscious  that  his  army  was  be- 
sieged between  two  great  rivers,  and  was  in 
danger  of  perishing,  either  by  remaining  in  its 
present  position,  or  by  retreating  through  the 
cities  and  villages  which  he  had  so  utterly  devas- 
tated that  no  provisions  were  attainable  ;  there- 
fore he  summoned  the  soldiers  to  see  horse-races, 
and  proposed  rewards  to  the  fleetest  racers.  In 
the  meantime  he  commanded  the  officers  of  the 
ships  to  throw  over  the  provisions  and  baggage 
of  the  army,  so  that  the  soldiers,  seeing  them- 
selves in  danger  by  the  want  of  necessaries, 
might  turn  about  boldly  and  fight  their  enemies 
more  desperately.  After  supper  he  sent  for  the 
generals  and  tribunes  and  commanded  the  em- 
barkation of  the  troops.  They  sailed  along  the 
Tigris  during  the  night  and  came  at  once  to 
the  opposite  banks  and  disembarked ;  but  their 
departure  was  perceived  by  some  of  the  Per- 
sians, who  exhorted  one  another  to  oppose  them, 
but  those  still  asleep  the  Romans  readily  over- 
came. 

At  daybreak,  the  two  armies  engaged  in  bat- 
tle ;  and  after  much  bloodshed  on  both  sides, 
the  Romans  returned  by  the  river,  and  encamped 
near  Ctesiphon.  The  emperor,  being  no  longer 
desirous  of  proceeding  further,  burnt  his  vessels, 
as  he  considered  that  they  required  too  many 
soldiers  to  guard  them  ;  and  he  then  commenced 
his  retreat  along  the  Tigris,  which  was  to  his 
left.  The  prisoners,  who  acted  as  guides  to  the 
Romans,  led  them  to  a  fertile  country  where 


346 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  I. 


they  found  abundance  of  provisions.  Soon  after, 
an  old  man  who  had  resolved  to  die  for  the 
liberty  of  Persia,  allowed  himself  to  be  taken 
prisoner,  and  was  brought  before  the  emperor. 
On  being  questioned  as  to  the  route,  and 
seeming  to  speak  the  truth,  he  persuaded  them 
to  follow  him  as  capable  of  transporting  the 
army  very  speedily  to  the  Roman  frontiers.  He 
observed  that  for  the  space  of  three  or  four 
•days'  journey  this  road  would  be  difficult,  and 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  carry  provisions 
during  that  time,  as  the  surrounding  country  was 
sterile.  The  emperor  was  deceived  by  the  dis- 
course of  this  wise  old  man,  and  approved  the 
march  by  this  route.  On  advancing  further, 
after  the  lapse  of  three  days,  they  were  cast 
upon  an  uncultivated  region.  The  old  prisoner 
■was  put  to  torture.  He  confessed  that  he  had 
exposed  himself  voluntarily  to  death  for  the  sake 
of  his  country,  and  was  therefore  prepared  to 
endure  any  sufferings  that  could  be  inflicted  on 
him. 

The  Roman  troops  were  now  worn  out  by  the 
length  of  the  journey  and  the  scarcity  of  provis- 
ions, and  the  Persians  chose  this  moment  to 
attack  them. 

In  the  heat  of  the  conflict  which  ensued,  a 
violent  wind  arose  ;  and  the  sky  and  the  sun  were 
totally  concealed  by  the  clouds,  while  the  air  was 
at  the  same  time  mixed  with  dust.  During  the 
darkness  which  was  thus  produced,  a  horseman, 
riding  at  full  gallop,  directed  his  lance  against 
the  emperor,  and  wounded  him  mortally.  x\fter 
throwing  Julian  from  his  horse,  the  unknown  as- 
sailant secretly  went  away.  Some  conjectured 
that  he  was  a  Persian  ;  others,  that  he  was  a 
Saracen.  There  are  those  who  insist  that  he 
who  struck  the  blow  was  a  Roman  soldier,  who 
was  indignant  at  the  imprudence  and  temerity 
which  the  emperor  had  manifested  in  exposing 
his  army  to  such  peril.  Libanius,^  the  sophist, 
a  native  of  Syria,  the  most  intimate  friend  of 
Julian,  expressed  himself  in  the  following  terms 
concerning  the  person  who  had  committed  the 
deed  :  "  You  desire  to  know  by  whom  the  em- 
peror was  slain.  I  know  not  his  name.  We  have 
a  proof,  however,  that  the  murderer  was  not  one 
of  the  enemies ;  for  no  one  came  forward  to 
claim  the  reward,  although  the  king  of  Persia 
caused  proclamation  to  be  made,  by  a  herald, 
of  the  honors  to  be  awarded  to  him  who  had 
performed  the  deed.  We  are  surely  beholden 
to  the  enemy  for  not  arrogating  to  themselves 
the  glory  of  the  action,  but  for  leaving  it  to  us 
to  seek  the  slayer  among  ourselves. 

"  Those  who  sought  his  death  were  those  who 
lived  in  habitual  transgression  of  the  laws,  and 
who  had   formerly  conspired  against  him,  and 


1  Libanii  Op.  vol.  ii.  p.  614,  ed.  Reisk. 
summary  and  refutation  of  Libanius. 


Cf.  Soc.  ill.  22,  23;  a 


who  therefore  perpetrated  the  deed  as  soon  as 
they  could  find  an  opportunity.  They  were 
impelled  by  the  desire  of  obtaining  a  greater 
degree  of  freedom  from  all  control  than  they 
could  enjoy  under  his  government  ;  and  they 
were,  perhaps,  mainly  stimulated  by  their  indig- 
nation at  the  attachment  of  the  emperor  to  the 
service  of  the  gods,  to  which  they  were  averse." 

CHAP.    II. HE    PERISHED    UNDER    DIVINE    WRATH, 

VISIONS  OF  THE  EMPEROR'S  DEATH  SEEN  BY 
VARIOUS  INDIVIDUALS.  REPLY  OF  THE  CARPEN- 
TER'S SON  ;  JULIAN  TOSSED  HIS  BLOOD  ALOFT 
TO  CHRIST.  CALAMITIES  WHICH  JULL4N  EN- 
TAILED   UPON    THE    ROMANS. 

In  the  document  above  quoted,  Libanius 
clearly  states  that  the  emperor  fell  by  the  hand 
of  a  Christian ;  and  this,  probably,  was  the 
truth.-  It  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the  sol- 
diers who  then  served  in  the  Roman  army  might 
have  conceived  the  idea,  since  Greeks  and  all 
men  until  this  day  have  jiraised  tyrannicides  for 
exposing  themselves  to  death  in  the  cause  of 
liberty,  and  spiritedly  standing  by  their  country, 
their  families,  and  their  friends.  Still  less  is  he 
deserv^ing  of  blame,  who,  for  the  sake  of  God 
and  of  religion,  performed  so  bold  a  deed. 
Beyond  this  I  know  nothing  accurately  concern- 
ing the  men  who  committed  this  murder  besides 
what  I  have  narrated.  All  men,  howe\er,  con- 
cur in  receiving  the  account  which  has  been 
handed  down  to  us,  and  which  evidences  his 
death  to  have  been  the  result  of  Divine  wrath. 
t^  proof  of  this  is  the  Divine  vision  which  one  of 
his  friends  had,  which  I  will  now  proceed  to 
describe.  He  had,  it  is  related,  traveled  into 
Persia,  with  the  intention  of  joining  the  emperor. 
While  on  the  road,  he  found  himself  so  far  from 
any  habitation  that  he  was  obliged,  on  one 
night,  to  sleep  in  a  church.  He  saw,  during 
that  night,  either  in  a  dream  or  a  vision,  all  the 
apostles  and  prophets  assembled  together,  and 
complaining  of  the  injuries  which  the  emperor 
had  inflicted  on  the  Church,  and  consulting  con- 
cerning the  best  measures  to  be  adopted.  After 
much  deliberation  and  embarrassment  two  in- 
dividuals arose  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly, 
desired  the  others  to  be  of  good  cheer,  and  left 
the  company  hastily,  as  if  to  deprive  Julian  of 
the  imperial  power.  He  who  was  the  spec- 
tator of  this  marvel  did  not  attempt  to  pursue 
his  journey,  but  awaited,  in  horrible  suspense, 
the  conclusion  of  this  revelation.  He  laid  him- 
self down  to  sleep  again,  in  the  same  place,  and 
again  he  saw  the  same  assembly ;  the  two  indi- 
viduals who  had  appeared  to  depart  the  pre- 
ceding   night    to   effect   their   purpose   against 

-  Independent  chapter.  Cf.  Ephr.  Syr.  Carmina  adv.  Julia- 
ttitni,  ed.  Overbeck. 


VI.  3-] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


347 


Julian,  suddenly  returned  and   announced   his 
death  to  the  others. 

On  the  same  day  a  vision  was  sent  to  Didy- 
mus,  an  ecclesiastical  philosopher,  who  dwelt  at 
Alexandria ;  and  who,  being  deeply  grieved 
at  the  errors  of  Julian  and  his  persecution  of 
the  churches,  fasted  and  offered  up  supplica- 
tions to  God  continually  on  this  account.  From 
the  effects  of  anxiety  and  want  of  food  during  the 
previous  night,  he  fell  asleep  while  sitting  in  his 
chair.  Then  being,  as  it  Vt^ere,  in  an  ecstasy,  he 
beheld  white  -horses  traversing  the  air,  and  heard 
a  v^oice  saying  to  those  who  were  riding  thereon, 
*'  Go  and  tell  Didymus  that  Julian  has  been  slain 
just  at  this  hour  ;  let  him  communicate  this  intel- 
ligence to  Athanasius,  the  bishop,  and  let  him 
arise  and  eat."  I  have  been  credibly  informed 
that  the  friend  of  Julian  and  the  philosopher 
beheld  those  things.  Results  proved  that  neither 
of  them  were  far  from  having  witnessed  the 
truth.  But  if  these  instances  do  not  suffice  to 
prove  that  the  death  of  Julian  was  the  effect 
of  Divine  wrath  on  account  of  his  persecution  of 
the  Church,  let  the  prediction  of  one  of  the 
ecclesiastics  be  called  to  mind.^  When  Julian 
was  preparing  to  enter  upon  the  war  against 
the  Persians,  he  threatened  that  on  the  termina- 
tion of  the  war  he  would  treat  the  Christians 
with  severity,  and  boasted  that  the  Son  of  the 
Carpenter  would  be  unable  to  aid  them ;  the 
ecclesiastic  above  mentioned  thereupon  re- 
joined, that  the  Son  of  the  Carpenter  was  then 
preparing  him  a  wooden  coffin  in  view  of  his 
death. 

Julian  himself  was  well  aware  whence  the 
mortal  stroke  proceeded,  and  what  was  the  cause 
of  its  infliction ;  for,  it  is  said,  when  he  was 
wounded,  he  took  some  of  the  blood  that  flowed 
from  the  wound,  and  threw  it  up  into  the  air,  as 
if  he  had  seen  Jesus  Christ  appearing,  and 
intended  to  throw  it  at  him,  in  order  to  re- 
proach him  with  his  slaughter.  Others  say 
that  he  was  angry  with  the  sun  because  it  had 
favored  the  Persians,  and  had  not  rescued  him, 
although,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  as- 
tronomers, it  had  presided  at  his  birth  ;  and 
that  it  was  to  express  his  indignation  against 
this  luminary  that  he  took  blood  in  his  hand  and 
flung  it  upwards  in  the  air.- 

I  know  not  whether,  on  the  approach  of  death, 
as  is  wont  to  be  the  case  when  the  soul  is  in  the 
act  of  being  separated  from  the  body  and  when 
it  is  enabled  to  behold  diviner  spectacles  than 
are  allotted  to  men,  and  so  Julian  might  have 
beheld  Christ.  Few  allusions  have  been  made 
to  this  subject,  and  yet  I  dare  not  reject  this 
hypothesis  as  absolutely  false ;  for  God  often 
suffers    still    more   improbable    and  astonishing 


^  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iii.  23  fa  pedagogue^. 
^  Cf.  version  by  Philost.  vii.  15. 


events  to  take  place  in  order  to  prove  that  the 
religion  named  after  -Christ  is  not  sustained  by 
human  energy.  It  is,  however,  very  obvious 
that,  throughout  the  reign  of  this  emperor,  God 
gave  manifest  tokens  of  His  displeasure,  and 
permitted  many  calamities  to  befall  several  of 
the  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire.  He  visited 
the  earth  with  such  fearful  earthquakes,  that  the 
buildings  were  shaken,  and  no  more  safety  could 
be  found  within  the  houses  than  in  the  open 
air.  From  what  I  have  heard,  1  conjecture  that 
it  was  during  the  reign  of  this  emperor,  or,  at 
least,  when  he  occupied  the  second  place  in  the 
government,  that  a  great  calamity  occurred  near 
Alexandria  in  Egypt,''  when  the  sea  receded  and 
again  passed  beyond  its  boundaries  from  the  re- 
flux waves,  and  deluged  a  great  deal  of  the  land, 
so  that  on  the  retreat  of  the  waters,  the  sea-skiffs 
were  found  lodged  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses. 
The  anniversary  of  this  inundation,  which  they 
call  the  birthday  of  an  earthquake,  is  still  com- 
memorated at  Alexandria  by  a  yearly  festival ; 
a  general  illumination  is  made  throughout  the 
city  ;  they  offer  thankful  prayers  to  God,  and 
celebrate  the  day  very  brilliantly  and  piously. 
An  excessive  drought  also  occurred  during  this 
reign ;  the  plants  perished  and  the  air  was  cor- 
rupted \  and  for  want  of  proper  sustenance, 
men  were  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  food 
usually  eaten  by  other  animals. 

The  famine  introduced  peculiar  diseases,  by 
which  many  lives  were  lost.  Such  was  the  state 
of  the  empire  during  the  administration  of 
Julian. 

CHAP.  III. THE  REIGN  OF  JOVIAN;  HE  INTRO- 
DUCED MANY  LAWS  WHICH  HE  CARRIED  OUT  IN 
HIS  GOVERNMENT. 

After  the  decease  of  Julian,  the  government 
of  the  empire  was,  by  the  unanimous  consent 
of  the  troops,  tendered  to  Jovian.*  When  the 
army  was  about  to  proclaim  him  emperor,  he 
announced  himself  to  be  a  Christian  and  refused 
the  sovereignty,  nor  would  he  receive  the  sym- 
bols of  empire  ;  but  when  the  soldiers  discovered 
the  cause  of  his  refusal,  they  loudly  proclaimed 
that  they  were  themselves  Christians. 

The  dangerous  and  disturbed  condition  in 
which  affairs  had  been  left  by  Julian's  strategy, 
and  the  sufferings  of  the  army  from  famine  in 
an  enemy's  country,  compelled  Jovian  to  con- 
clude a  peace  with  the  Persians,  and  to  cede  to 
them  some  territories  which  had  been  formerly 
tributary  to  the  Romans.  Having  learned  from 
experience  that  the  impietv  of  his  predecessor 

3  A  mistake:  it  occurred  under  Valentian  and  Valens.  Am. 
Marcel,  xxvi.  lo.  15-19.  Idatius:  Descr.  Consulwm,  under  a.d. 
385  (July  21). 

*  Soc.  iii  22 ;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  i ;  Philost.  viii.  i,  5.  Cf.  Theodoret, 
iv.  I,  2,  4;  Eutrop.  Brev.  hist.  rom.  x.  17,  18;  Zos.  iii.  30-35; 
Am.  Marcel,  xxv.  5.  4-10. 


348 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  3- 


had  excited  the  wrath  of  God,  and  given  rise  to 
pubHc  calamities,  he  wrote  without  delay  to  the 
governors  of  the  provinces,  directing  that  the 
people  should  assemble  together  without  fear  in 
the  churches,  that  they  should  serve  God  with 
reverence,  and  that  they  should  receive  the 
Christian  faith  as  the  only  true  religion.  He 
restored  to  the  churches  and  the  clergy,  to  the 
widows  and  the  virgins,  the  same  immunities 
and  every  former  dotation  for  the  advantage  and 
honor  of  religion,  which  had  been  granted  by 
Constantine  and  his  sons,  and  afterwards  with- 
drawn by  Julian.  He  commanded  Secundus,^ 
who  was  then  a  praetorian  prefect,  to  constitute 
it  a  capital  crime  to  marry  any  of  the  holy  vir- 
gins, or  even  to  regard  them  with  unchaste 
desires  and  to  carry  them  off. 

He  enacted  this  law-  on  account  of  the 
wickedness  which  had  prevailed  during  the  reign 
of  Julian  ;  for  many  had  taken  wives  from  among 
the  holy  virgins,  and,  either  by  force  or  guile, 
had  completely  corrupted  them  ;  and  thence 
had  proceeded  that  indulgence  of  disgraceful 
lusts  with  impunity,  which  always  occur  when 
religion  is  abused. 

CHAP.       IV. TROUBLES       AGAIN      ARISE       IN      THE 

CHURCHES  ;  SYNOD  OF  ANTIOCH,  IN  WHICH  THE 
NICENE  FAITH  IS  CONFIRMED  ;  THE  POINTS 
WHICH  THIS  IMPORTANT  SYNOD  WROTE  ABOUT 
TO    JOVIAN. 

The  presidents  of  the  churches  now  resumed 
the  agitation  of  doctrinal  questions  and  dis- 
cussions.'^ They  had  remained  quiet  during  the 
reign  of  Julian  when  Christianity  itself  was  en- 
dangered, and  had  unanimously  offered  up  their 
supplications  for  the  mercy  of  God.  It  is  thus 
that  men,  when  attacked  by  foreign  enemies, 
remain  in  accord  among  themselves  ;  but,  when 
external  troubles  are  removed,  then  internal  dis- 
sensions creep  in  ;  this,  however,  is  not  a  proper 
place  for  the  citation  of  the  numerous  examples 
in  governments  and  nations  which  history  affords 
of  this  fact. 

At  this  period  Basil,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  Sil- 
vanus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  Sophronius,  bishop  of 
Pompeiopolis,  and  others  of  their  party  who 
regarded  the  heresy  of  the  Anomians,  so-called, 
with  the  utmost  aversion,  and  received  the  term 
"similar  as  to  substance,"  instead  of  the  term 
"  consubstantial,"  wrote  a  treatise  to  the  em- 
peror ;  and  after  expressing  their  thankfulness  to 
God  for  his  accession  to  the  empire,  besought  him 
to  confirm  the  decrees  issued  at  Ariminum  "and  Se- 


'  This  is  Sallustius,  the  prefectus  prsetorio  of  the  Oriens,  who 
bore  the  name  Secundus. 

-  This  constitution  of  Jovian  is  extant  in  CttJ.  Tlieod.  i.\.  25;  de 
raptii,  vel  iiiatriiiiottw  sanctimonialium  ■^■iyginum  ^'el  I'idiia- 
rn»i,  2. 

3  See.  iii.  24,  25;   Philost.  viii.  5;  Theodoret,  //.  E.  iv.  2,  4. 


leucia,  and  to  annul  what  had  been  established 
merely  by  the  zeal  and  power  of  certain  individuals. 
They  also  entreated  that,  if  division,  which 
existed  on  account  of  the  Synods,  should  still 
prevail  in  the  churches,  the  bishops  from  every 
region  might  be  convened  alone  in  some  place 
indicated  by  the  emperor,  and  not  be  permitted 
to  assemble  elsewhere  and  issue  decrees  at  vari- 
ance with  each  other,  as  had  been  done  during 
the  reign  of  Constantius.  They  added  that  they 
had  not  gone  to  visit  him  at  his  camp,  be- 
cause they  were  fearful  of  being  burdensome 
to  him  ;  but  that  if  he  desired  to  see  them, 
they  would  gladly  repair  to  him,  and  defray  all 
the  expenses  attendant  on  the  journey  them- 
selves. Such  was  the  document  written  to  the 
Emperor  Jovian. 

At  this  juncture  a  council  was  convened  at 
Antioch  in  Syria ;  the  form  of  beHef  established 
by  the  council  of  Nicsa  was  confirmed  ;  and  it 
was  decided  that  the  Son  is  incontrovertibly  of 
the  same  substance  as  the  Father.  Meletius, 
who  then  governed  the  church  of  Antioch ; 
E^usebius,  bishop  of  Samosata  ;  Pelagius,  bishop 
of  Laodicer.  in  Syria ;  Acacius,  bishop  of 
Caesarea  in  Palestine  ;  Irenius,  bishop  of  Gaza ; 
and  Athanasius,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  took  part  in 
this  council. 

On  the  termination  of  the  council  they  ac- 
quainted the  emperor  with  the  transactions  that 
had  taken  place,  by  dispatching  the  following 
letter:*  — 

"To  the  most  religious  and  God-beloved 
Augustus,  our  Sovereign  Jovian,  the  Conqueror, 
from  the  bishops  assembled  from  divers  regions, 
at  Antioch. 

"  We  know,  O  emperor,  well-beloved  of  God, 
that  your  piety  is  fully  intent  upon  maintaining 
peace  and  concord  in  the  Church  ;  neither  are 
we  ignorant  that  you  have  well  received  the 
impress  of  the  chief  point  of  such  unity,  viz., 
the  true  and  orthodox  faith. 

"  Lest,  therefore,  we  should  be  reckoned 
among  those  who  assail  these  doctrines  of  truth, 
we  attest  to  your  piety  that  we  receive  and 
maintain  the  form  of  belief  which  was  anciently 
set  forth  by  the  holy  council  of  Nicaea.  Now, 
although  the  term  '  consubstantial '  appears 
strange  to  some  persons,  yet  it  was  safely  inter- 
preted by  the  Fathers,  and  signifies  that  the  Son 
was  begotten  of  the  substance  of  the  Father. 
This  term  does  not  convey  the  idea  of  unbroken 
generation  ;  neither  does  it  coincide  with  the 
use  which  the  Greeks  make  of  the  word  '  sub- 
stance,' but  it  is  calculated  to  withstand  the 
impious  and  rash  allegation  of  Arius,  that  the 
Son  proceeded  from  what  had  had  no  previous 
existence.     The  Anomians  who  have  just  sprung 

^  From  Sabinus,  according  to  Soc.  iv.  25,  who  also  gives  the  text. 


VI.  6.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


349 


up  have  the  shameless  boldness  to  maintain  this 
word  to  the  grief  of  the  concord  of  the  Church. 
We  subjt)in  to  this  letter  a  copy  of  the  formu- 
lary of  faith  adopted  by  the  bishops  assembled 
at  Nic^ea,  which  we  also  cherish." 

Such  were  the  decisions  formed  by  the  priests 
convened  at  Antioch  ;  and  they  appended  to 
their  letter  a  copy  of  the  Nicene  formulary  of 
faith. 

CH.\P.  V. ATHANASIUS   THE  GREAT  IS  VERY  HIGHLY 

ESTEEMED  BY  THE  E.MPEROR,  AND  RULES  OVER 
THE  CHURCHES  OF  EGYPT.  VISION  OF  ANTONY 
THE  GREAT. 

At  this  period,^  Athanasius,  who  governed  the 
see  of  Alexandria,  and  some  of  his  friends, 
deemed  it  requisite,  as  the  emperor  was  a  Chris- 
tian, to  repair  to  his  court.^  Accordingly  Atha- 
nasius went  to  Antioch,  and  laid  such  matters 
before  the  emperor  as  he  deemed  expedient. 
Others,  however,  say  that  the  emperor  sent  for 
him  in  order  to  consult  him  concerning  the 
affairs  relative  to  religion  and  the  right  tenet. 
When  the  business  of  the  Church  had  as  far  as 
possible  been  transacted,  Athanasius  began  to 
think  of  returning. 

Euzoius,  bishop  of  the  Arian  heresy  in  Antioch, 
endeavored  to  install  Probatius,  a  eunuch  who 
held  the  same  sentiments  as  himself,  in  Alexan- 
dria. The  whole  party  of  Euzoius  conspired 
with  him  to  effect  this  design  ;  and  Lucius,  a 
citizen  of  Alexandria,  who  had  been  ordained 
presbyter  by  George,  endeavored  to  prejudice 
the  emperor  against  Athanasius,  by  representing  ' 
that  he  had  been  accused  of  divers  crimes  and 
had  been  condemned  to  perpetual  banishment 
by  preceding  emperors,  as  the  author  of  the 
dissensions  and  troubles  of  the  Church  concern- 
ing the  Div^ine  Being.  Lucius  likewise  besought 
Jovian  to  appoint  another  bishop  over  the 
church  of  Alexandria.  The  emperor,  since  he 
knew  the  plots  which  had  happened  against 
Athanasius,  attached  no  credit  to  the  calumny, 
and  with  threatening,  commanded  Lucius  to 
retire  quietly ;  he  also  ordered  Probatius  and 
the  other  eunuchs  belonging  to  his  palace,  whom 
he  regarded  as  the  originators  of  these  troubles, 
to  act  more  advisedly.  From  that  period  Jo- 
vian manifested  the  greatest  friendship  towards 
Athanasius,  and  sent  him  back  to  Egypt,  with 
directions  to  govern  the  churches  and  people  of 
that  country  as  he  might  think  fit.  It  is  also 
said  that  he  passed  commendations  on  the 
virtue  of  the  bishop,  on  his  life,  his  intellectual 
endowments,  and   his   eloquence. 

'  A  largely  independent  chapter.    C-f.  Soc.  iii.  24;  Philost.  viii.  6. 

2  This  may  have  a  connection  with  Theodoret,  iv.  2,  3;  Athanas. 
Ep.  ad  Joviamitn  imp.,  where  several  petitions  and  interlocutions 
of  the  Arians  with  Jovian  against  Athanasius  are  given. 

2  The  accusations  made  by  the  Arians,  Lucius  and  Bemicianus. 
See  preceding  reference  to  Ep.  ad  Jovianiim,  4. 


Thus,  after  having  been  exposed  to  opposi- 
tion for  a  long  while,  as  has  been  narrated  in  the 
former  books,  was  the  Nicene  faith  fully  re- 
established under  the  present  government ;  but 
further  embarrassment  awaited  it  within  a  very 
short  period.  For,  as  it  appeared  afterwards, 
the  whole  of  the  prediction  of  Antony  the  Monk 
was  not  fulfilled  by  the  occurrences  which  befell 
the  Church  during  the  reign  of  Constantius ; 
part  thereof  was  not  accomplished  until  the 
reign  of  Valens.  It  is  said  that  before  the  Arians 
got  control  of  the  churches  during  the  reign  of 
Constantius,  Antony  had  a  dream  in  which  he 
saw  mules  kicking  the  altar  with  their  hoofs  and 
overturning  the  holy  table.  On  awakening,  he 
immediately  predicted  that  the  Church  would 
be  troubled  by  the  introduction  of  spurious  and 
mixed  doctrines,  and  by  the  rebellion  of  the 
heterodox.  The  truth  of  this  prediction  was 
evidenced  by  the  events  which  occurred  before 
and  after  the  period  now  under  review. 


CHAP.  VI. DEATH  OF  JOVLAN  ;  THE  LIFE  OF  VALEN- 

TINIAN,  AND  HIS  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  ;  HOW  HE 
WAS  ADVANCED  TO  THE  THRONE  AND  SELECTED 
HIS  BROTHER  VALENS  TO  REIGN  WITH  HIM  ;  THE 
DIFFERENCES    OF    BOTH. 

After  Jovian  had  reigned  about  eight  months, 
he  died  suddenly  at  Dadastana,  a  town  of 
Bithynia,  while  on  his  road  to  Constantinople.* 
Some  say  that  his  death  was  occasioned  by  eat- 
ing too  plentiful  a  supper ;  others  attribute  it  to 
the  dampness  of  the  chamber  in  which  he  slept ; 
for  it  had  been  recently  plastered  with  unslaked 
lime,  and  quantities  of  coals  had  been  burnt  in 
it  during  the  winter  for  a  preventive ;  the  walls 
had  become  damp  and  were  exceedingly  moist. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at  Nicaea  in 
Bithynia,  they  proclaimed  Valentinian  emperor. 
He  was  a  good  man  and  capable  of  holding  the 
reins  of  the  empire.  He  had  not  long  returned 
from  banishment ;  for  it  is  said  that  Julian,  im- 
mediately on  his  accession  to  the  empire,  erased 
the  name  of  Valentinian  from  the  Jovian  legions, 
as  they  were  called,  and  condemned  him  to 
perpetual  banishment,  under  the  pretext  that  he 
had  failed  in  his  duty  of  leading  out  the  soldiers 
under  his  command  against  the  enemy.  The 
true  reason  of  his  condemnation,  however,  was 
the  following :  When  Julian  was  in  Gaul,  he 
went  one  day  to  a  temple  to  offer  incense. 
Valentinian^  accompanied  him,  according  to  an 
ancient  Roman  law,  which  still  prevails,  and 
which  enacted  that  the  leader  of  the  Jovians  and 


^  Philost.  viii.  8:  Soc.  iii.  26;  iv.  i ;  Ruf.  ii.  1,2.  Cf.  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  iv.  5,  6;  Eudo.x.  Brev.  hist.  rom.  x.  18;  Zos.  iii.  35,  36; 
Am.  Marcel,  xxv.  10,  12-17;  Jovian,  xxvi.  1-4,  accession  of  Valen- 
tinian and  choice  of  Valens. 

^  Philost.  vii.  7;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iii.  16. 


350 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    mSTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  6. 


the  Herculeans  (that  is  to  say,  the  legions  of 
soldiers  who  have  received  this  appellation  in 
honor  of  Jupiter  and  of  Hercules)  should  always 
attend  the  emperor  as  his  body-guard.     When 
they  were  about  to  enter  the  temple,  the  priest, 
in  accordance  with  the  pagan  custom,  sprinkled 
water  upon  them  with  the  branch  of  a  tree.     A 
drop    fell   upon   the    robe    of  Valentinian ;    he 
scarcely  could   restrain    himself,   for  he  was  a 
Christian,  and  he  rebuked   his  asperser ;   it  is 
even  said  that   he    cut  off,  in  view  of  the  em- 
peror, the  portion  of  the  garment  on  which  the 
water  had  fallen,  and  flung  it  from  him.      From 
that   moment  Julian   entertained   inimical  feel- 
ings against  him,  and  soon  after  banished  him 
to  MeUtine  in  Armenia,  under  the  plea  of  mis- 
conduct in  military  affairs  ;  for  he  would  not  have 
religion  regarded  as  the  cause  of  the  decree,  lest 
Valentinian  should  be  accounted  a  martyr  or  a 
confessor.     Julian    treated   other  Christians,  as 
we  have  already  stated,  in   the  same  manner; 
for,  as  was  said  before,  he  perceived  that  to  sub- 
ject them  to  hazards  only  added  to  their  repu- 
tation, and  tended  to  the   consolidation  of  their 
religion.     As  soon  as  Jovian  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  Valentinian  was  recalled  from  banishment 
to  Nicsea ;  but  the  death  of  the  emperor  in  the 
meandme  took   place,  and  Valentinian,  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  troops  and  those  who 
held  the  chief  positions  in  the  government,  was 
appointed  his  successor.     When  he  was  invested 
with  the  symbols  of  imperial  power,  the  soldiers 
cried  out  that  it  was   necessary  to   elect   some 
one  to  share  the  burden  of  government.     To 
this  proposition,  Valentinian  made  the  following 
reply  :  •'  It  depended  on  you  alone,  O  soldiers, 
to  proclaim  me  emperor  ;  but  now  that  you  have 
elected  me,  it  depends  not  upon  you,  but  upon 
me,  to  perform  what  you  demand.  Remain  quiet, 
as  subjects  ought  to  do,  and  leave  me  to  act  as 
an  emperor  in  attending  to  the  pubhc  affairs." 

Not  long  after  this  refusal  to  comply  with  the 
demand  of  the  soldiery,  he  repaired  to  Constan- 
tinople, and  proclaimed  his  brother  emperor. 
He  gave  him  the  East  as  his  share  of  the  empire, 
and  reserved  to  himself  the  regions  along  the 
Western  Ocean,  from  lUyria  to  the  furthest  coasts 
of  Libya.  Both  the  brothers  were  Christians,  but 
they  differed  in  opinion  and  disposition.  For 
Valens,  when  he  was  baptized,  employed  Eudoxius 
as  his  initiator,  and  was  zealously  attached  to  the 
doctrines  of  Arius,  and  would  readily  have  com- 
pelled all  mankind  by  force  to  yield  to  them. 
Valentinian,  on  the  other  hand,  maintained  the 
faith  of  the  council  of  Nicjea,  and  favored  those 
who  upheld  the  same  sentiments,  without  molest- 
ing those  who  entertained  other  opinions. 

CH.\P.      VTI.  TROUBLES      AGAIN      ARISE      IN      THE 

CHURCHES,    AND    THE    SYNOD    OE     LAMPSACUS     IS 


HELD.  THE  ARL^NS  WHO  SUPPORTED  EUDOXIUS 
PREVAIL  AND  EJECT  THE  ORTHODOX  FROM  THE 
CHURCHES.  AMONG  THE  EJECTED  IS  MELETIUS 
OF   ANTIOCH. 

When  Valentinian  was  journeying  from  Con- 
stantinople to  Rome,^  he  had  to  pass  through 
Thrace  ;  and  the  bishops  of  Hellespontus  and 
of  Bithynia,  with  others,  who  maintained  that 
the  Son  is  consubstantial  with  the  Father,  dis- 
patched Hypatian,  bishop  of  Heraclea  in  Pe- 
rinthus,  to  meet  him,  and  to  request  permission 
to  assemble  themselves  together  for  deliberation 
on  questions  of  doctrine. 

When  Hypatian  had  delivered  the  message 
with  which  he  was  intrusted,  Valentinian  made 
the  following  reply  :  "  I  am  but  one  of  the  laity, 
and  have  therefore  no  right  to  interfere  in  these 
transactions  ;  let  the  priests,  to  whom  such  mat- 
ters appertain,  assemble  where  they  please." 
On  receiving  this  answer  through  Hypatian, 
their  deputy,  the  bishops  assembled  at  Lamp- 
sacus. 

After  having  conferred  together  for  the  space 
of  two  months,  they  annulled  all  that  had  been 
decreed  at  Constandnople,  through  the  machi- 
nations of  the  partisans  of  Eudoxius  and  Acacius. 
They  likewise  declared  null  and  void  the  formu- 
lary of  faith  which  had  been  circulated  under 
the  false  assertion  that  it  was  the  compilation  of 
the  Western  bishops,  and  to  which  the  signatures 
of  many  bishops  had  been  obtained,  by  the 
promise  that  the  dogma  of  dissimilarity  as  to 
substance  should  be  condemned,  —  a  promise 
which  had  never  been  performed. 

They  decreed  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Son 
being  in  substance  like  unto  the  Father,  should 
have  the  ascendancy;  for  they  said  that  it  was 
necessary  to  resort  to  the  use  of  the  term  "  like  " 
as  indicative  of  the  hypostases  of  the  Godhead. 
They  agreed  that  the  form  of  belief  which  had 
been  confessed  at  Seleucia,  and  set  forth  at  the 
dedication  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  should  be 
maintained  by  all  the  churches. 

They  directed  that  all  the  bishops  who  had 
been  deposed  by  those  who  hold  that  the  Son  is 
dissimilar  from  the  Father,  should  forthwith  be 
reinstated  in  their  sees,  as  having  been  un- 
jusdy  ejected  from  their  churches.  They  declared 
that  if  "any  wished  to  bring  accusations  against 
them,  they  would  be  permitted  to  do  so,  but 
under  the  penalty  of  incurring  the  same  punish- 
ment as  that  due  to  the  alleged  crime,  should 
the  accusation  prove  to  be  false.  The  orthodox 
bishops  of  the  i^rovince  and  of  the  neighboring 
countries  were  to  preside  as  judges,  and  to 
assemble  in  the  church,  with  the  witnesses  who 
were  to  make  the  depositions. 

After   making    these    decisions,    the   bishops 

>  Soc.  iv.  2,  4.     Soz.  is  much  fuller;   probably  from  Sabinus. 


VI.  9-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


351 


summoned  the  partisans  of  Eudoxius,  and  ex- 
horted them  to  repentance  ;  but  as  they  would 
give  no  heed  to  these  remonstrances,  the  decrees 
enacted  by  the  council  were  sent  to  all  the 
churches.  Judging  that  Eudoxius  would  be 
likely  to  endeavor  to  persuade  the  emperor  to 
side  with  him,  and  would  calumniate  them,  they 
determined  to  be  beforehand  with  him,  and  to 
send  an  account  of  their  proceedings  in  Lamp- 
sacus  to  the  court. 

Their  deputies  met  the  Emperor  Valens  as  he 
was  returning  from  Heraclea  to  Thrace,  where 
he  had  been  traveling  in  company  with  his 
brother,  who  had  gone  on  to  Old  Rome. 

Eudoxius,  however,  had  previously  gained 
over  the  emperor  and  his  courtiers  to  his  own 
sentiments  ;  so  that  when  the  deputies  of  the 
council  of  Lampsacus  presented  themselves 
before  Valens,  he  merely  exhorted  them  not  to 
be  at  variance  with  Eudoxius.  The  deputies 
replied  by  reminding  him  of  the  artifices  to 
which  Eudoxius  had  resorted  at  Constantinople, 
and  of  his  machinations  to  annul  the  decrees  of 
the  council  of  Seleucia ;  and  these  representa- 
tions kindled  the  wrath  of  Valens  to  such  a 
pitch,  that  he  condemned  the  deputies  to  ban- 
ishment, and  made  over  the  churches  to  the 
partisans  of  Eudoxius.  He  then  passed  over 
into  Syria,  for  he  feared  lest  the  Persians  should 
break  the  truce  which  they  had  concluded  with 
Jovian  for  thirty  years.  On  finding,  however, 
that  the  Persians  were  not  disposed  to  insurrec- 
tion, he  fixed  his  residence  at  Antioch.  He 
sent  Meletius,  the  bishop,  into  banishment,  but 
spared  Paul,  because  he  admired  the  sanctity  of 
his  life.  Those  who  were  not  in  communion  with 
Euzoius  were  either  ejected  from  the  churches, 
or  maltreated  and  harassed  in  some  other  form. 


CHAP.  VIII. REVOLT   AND   EXTRAORDINARY    DEATH 

OF  PROCOPIUS.  ELEUSIUS,  BISHOP  OF  CYZICUS, 
AND  EUNOMIUS,  THE  HERETIC.  EUNOiMIUS  SUC- 
CEEDS   ELEUSIUS. 

It  is  probable  that  a  severe  persecution  might 
have  ensued  at  this  juncture,  had  not  Procopius 
commenced  a  civil  war.^  As  he  began  to  play 
the  tyrant  at  Constantinople,  he  soon  collected 
a  large  army,  and  marched  against  Valens. 

The  latter  quitted  Syria,  and  met  Procopius 
near  Nacolia,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  and  captured 
him  alive  through  the  treachery  of  Agelon  and 
Gomarius,  two  of  his  generals. 

Valens  put  him  and  his  betrayers  to  a  cruel 
death  ;  and  although  it  is  said  that  he  had  sworn 
to  show  favor  to  the  two  generals,  he  caused 
them  to  be  sawn  asunder. 

1  Soc.  iv.  5-7;  Philost.  ix.  5;  Eunap.  Fr.  i.  5;  ii.  28;  Am. 
Marcel,  xxvi.  5-10;  Zos.  iv.  4-8. 


He  commanded  Procopius  to  be  fastened  by 
the  legs  to  two  trees  which  had  been  bent  to 
the  ground,  and  he  allowed  these  to  spring  up  ; 
when  the  trees  were  left  to  resume  their  natural 
position,  the  victim  was  torn  in  twain. 

On  the  termination  of  this  war,  Valens  retired 
to  Nicsea,  and  finding  himself  in  possession  of 
profound  tranciuillity,  he  again  began  to  molest 
those  who  differed  from  him  in  opinion  concern- 
ing the  Divine  nature. 

His  anger  was  unbounded  against  the  bishops 
of  the  council  of  Lampsacus,  because  they  had 
condemned  the  Arian  bishops  and  the  formu- 
lary of  faith  set  forth  at  Ariminum. 

While  under  the  influence  of  these  resentful 
feelings,  he  summoned  Eleusius  from  Syria,  and 
having  called  together  a  Synod  of  bishops  who 
held  his  own  sentiments,  he  endeavored  to  com- 
pel him  to  assent  to  their  doctrines.  Eleu- 
sius at  first  manfully  refused  compliance.  But 
afterwards,  from  the  dread  of  exile  and  de- 
privation of  his  property,  as  was  threatened 
by  the  emperor,  he  yielded  to  the  mandate. 
He  soon  repented  of  his  weakness,  and  on  his 
return  to  Cyzicus  he  made  a  public  confession 
of  his  fault  in  the  church,  and  urged  the  people 
to  choose  another  bishop,  for  he  said  that  he 
could  not  discharge  the  duties  of  a  priesthood 
after  having  been  a  traitor  to  his  own  doctrine. 
The  citizens  respected  his  conduct  and  were 
especially  well-disposed  to  him,  so  that  they  did 
not  choose  to  have  another  bishop.  Eudoxius, 
president  of  the  xArians  in  Constantinople,  how- 
ever, ordained  Eunomius  as  bishop  of  Cyzicus ; 
for  he  expected  that  by  his  great  powers  of 
eloquence  Eunomius  would  easily  draw  the 
people  of  Cyzicus  over  to  his  own  sentiments. 
On  his  arrival  at  that  city  he  expelled  Eleusius, 
for  he  was  furnished  with  an  imperial  edict  to 
that  effect,  and  took  possession  of  the  churches 
himself. 

The   followers   of  Eleusius   built  a  house  of 
prayer  without  the  walls  of  the  city,  and  here 
they  held  their  assemblies.     I  shall  soon  again 
have   occasion  to  revert  to  Eunomius  and  the 
heresy  which  bears  his  name. 

CHAP.  IX. SUFFERINGS  OF  THOSE  \VHO  MAIN- 
TAINED THE  NICENE  FAITH.  AGELIUS,  THE 
RULER    OF   THE    NOVATI.-VNS. 

The  Christians  who  represented  the  Nicene 
doctrines  and  the  followers  of  the  Novatian 
views  ^  were  treated  with  equal  severity  in  the 
city  of  Constantinople. 

They  were  all  ultimately  expelled  from  the 
city ;  and  the  churches  of  the  Novatians  were 
closed  by  order  of  the  emperor.  The  other 
party  had  no  churches  to  be  closed,  having  been 

2  Soc.  iv.  9,  the  source. 


352 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  9. 


deprived  of  them  all  during  the  reign  of  Con- 
stantius. 

At  this  period,  AgeHus  who,  from  the  time  of 
Constantius,  had  gov-erned  the  cliurch  of  the 
Novatians  at  Constantinople,  was  condemned  to 
banishment.  It  is  said  that  he  was  especially 
remarkable  for  his  course  of  life  according  to 
the  ecclesiastical  laws.  With  respect  to  his 
mode  of  life,  he  had  attained  to  the  highest 
degree  of  philosophy,  namely,  freedom  from 
worldly  possessions  ;  this  was  evidenced  by  his 
daily  conduct ;  he  had  but  one  tunic,  and  always 
walked  barefooted.  Not  long  after  his  banish- 
ment, he  was  recalled,  received  the  churches 
under  him,  and  boldly  convened  churches 
through  the  influence  of  Marcian,  a  man  of  ex- 
traordinary virtue  and  eloquence,  who  had 
formerly  been  enrolled  among  the  troops  of  the 
palace,  but  at  this  period  was  a  presbyter  of 
the  Nov^atian  heresy,  and  the  teacher  of  grammar 
to  Anastasia  and  Carosa,'  the  daughters  of  the 
emperor.  There  are  still  baths  at  Constantinople 
which  bear  the  names  of  these  princesses.  It 
was  for  the  sake  of  Marcian  alone  that  the 
privilege  above-mentioned  was  conceded  to  the 
Novatians. 


CHAP.  X. CONCERNING  VALENTINIAN  THE  YOUNGER 

AND  GRATIAN.  PERSECUTION  UNDER  VALENS. 
THE  HOMOOUSIANS,  BEING  OPPRESSED  BY  THE 
ARIANS  AND  MACEDONIANS,  SEND  AN  EMBASSY  TO 
ROME.- 

About  this  period,  a  son  was  born  to  Valen- 
tinian  in  the  West,  to  whom  the  emperor  gave 
his  own  name.  Not  long  after,  he  proclaimed 
his  son  Gratian  emperor ;  this  prince  was  born 
before  his  father  held  the  government. 

In  the  meantime,  although  hailstones  of  ex- 
traordinary magnitude  fell  in  various  places, 
and  although  many  cities,  particularly  Nicaea  in 
Bithynia,  were  shaken  by  earthquakes,  yet 
Valens,  the  emperor,  and  F^udoxius,  the  bishop, 
paused  not  in  their  career,  but  continued  to 
persecute  all  Christians  who  differed  from  them 
in  opinion.  They  succeeded  to  the  utmost  of 
their  expectations  in  their  machinations  against 
those  who  adhered  to  the  Nicene  doctrines  ;  for 
throughout  the  greater  time  of  Valens'  rule, 
particularly  in  Thrace,  Bithynia,  and  the  Helles- 
pont, and  still  further  beyond,  these  Christians 
had  neither  churches  nor  priests.  Valens  and 
Eudoxius  then  directed  their  resentment  against 

1  According  to  Am.  Marcel,  x.xvi.  6,  14,  the  Anastasian  baths 
were  so  called  after  a  sister  of  Constantine.  But  Soz.  supposes  that 
there  were  baths  in  his  day  named  after  the  sisters,  not  the  one, 
but  both.  Soc.  says  only  Anastasia.  Cf.  Idatius,  Desc.  Coss.  s. 
'^■D.  375-  His  cons,  thermae  Carosianae  dedicatac  sunt  agente  prae- 
fecto  V.  C.  Vendalonis  Magno. 

2  Valesius  remarks  that  the  title  of  this  chapter  is  incorrect,  and 
that  it  was  the  .Macedonians,  and  not  the  orthodox  Christians,  who 
sent  the  embassy  to  Rome. 


the  Macedonians,  who  were  more  in  number 
than  the  Christians  above  mentioned  in  that 
region,  and  persecuted  them  without  measure. 

The  Macedonians,  in  apprehension  of  further 
sufferings,  sent  deputies  to  various  cities,  and 
finally  agreed  to  have  recourse  to  Valentinian 
and  to  the  bishop  of  Rome  rather  than  share  in 
the  faith  of  Eudo.xius  and  Valens  and  their 
followers  ;  and  when  this  seemed  favorable  for 
execution,  they  selected  three  of  their  own  num- 
ber, —  Eustathius,  bishop  of  Sebaste ;  Silvanus, 
bishop  of  Tarsus ;  and  Theophilus,  bishop  of 
Castabalis,  —  and  sent  them  to  the  Emperor 
Valentinian  ;  they  likewise  intrusted  them  with 
a  letter,  addressed  to  Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome, 
and  to  the  other  priests  of  the  West,  in  which 
they  entreated  them  as  prelates  who  had  adhered 
to  the  faith  approved  and  confirmed  by  the 
apostles,  and  who  before  others  ought  to  watch 
over  religion,  to  receive  their  deputies  with  all 
confirmation,  and  to  confer  with  them  about 
what  should  be  done  in  the  interval  until  the 
affairs  of  the  Church  could  be  approvedly  set  in 
order. 

When  the  deputies  arrived  in  Italy,  they  found 
that  the  emperor  was  in  Gaul,  engaged  in  war 
against  the  barbarians.  As  they  considered  that 
it  would  be  perilous  to  visit  the  seat  of  war  in 
Gaul,  they  delivered  their  letter  to  Liberius.^ 
After  having  conferred  with  him  concerning 
the  objects  of  their  embassy,  they  condemned 
Arius  and  those  who  held  and  taught  his  doc- 
trines ;  they  renounced  all  heresies  opposed  to 
the  faith  established  at  Nicaea ;  and  received  the 
term  "  consubstantial,"  as  being  a  word  that 
conveys  the  same  signification  as  the  expression 
"  like  in  substance."  When  they  had  presented 
a  confession  of  faith,  analogous  to  the  above,  to 
Liberius,  he  received  them  into  communion  with 
himself,  and  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  the  East, 
commending  the  orthodoxy  of  their  faith,  and 
detailing  what  had  passed  in  the  conference  he 
had  held  with  them.  The  confession  of  faith 
made  by  Eustathius  and  his  companions  was  as 
follows  :  — 


CHAP.  XI. THE  CONFESSION  OF  EUSTATHIUS,  SILVA- 
NUS, AND  THEOPHILUS,  THE  DEPUTIES  OF  THE 
MACEDONIANS,  TO  LIBERIUS,  BISHOP  OF  ROME. 

"To  Liberius,  our  Lord  and  Brother,  and 
Fellow-minister  —  E^ustathius,  Silvanus,  and  The- 
ophilus send  greeting  in  the  Lord.'' 

"On  account  of  the  mad  opinions  of  the 
heretics  who  do  not  cease  to  keep  on  sowing 
scandals  for  the  Catholic  churches,  we  who  nul- 


'  Soc.  iv.  10,  II,  12,  from  whom  Soz.  seems  to  have  compressed. 
■*  Soc.  iv.  12.     Soz.  has  only  half  of  the  document  with  a  number 
of  variations. 


VI.   12.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


353 


lify  their  every  attack  confess  the  Synod  which  was 
held  at  Lampsacus,  tlie  one  at  Smyrna  and  the 
councils  held  in  other  places,  by  the  orthodox 
bishops.  We  have  furnished  letters  and  sent  on  an 
embassy  to  your  Goodness,  as  likewise  to  all  the 
other  bishops  of  Italy  and  of  the  West,  to  con- 
firm and  preserve  the  Catholic  faith,  which  was 
established  at  the  holy  council  of  Nicsea,  by  the 
blessed  Constantine  and  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  God-fearing  fathers. 

"  This  remains,  by  an  unmixed  and  immovable 
settlement,  until  now,  and  will  remain  perpetually  ; 
in  which  the  term  '  consubstantial '  is  fixed  in  all 
holiness  and  piety  in  testimony  against  the  per- 
verseness  of  Arius.  We  confess,  each  with  his 
own  hand,  that  we  with  the  aforesaid  have  always 
held  this  same  faith,  that  we  still  hold  it,  and 
that  we  shall  adhere  to  it  to  the  last.  We 
condemn  Arius,  his  impious  dogmas,  and  his  dis- 
ciples. We  also  condemn  the  heresies  of  Patro- 
pasianus,'  of  Photinus,  of  Marcellus,  of  Paul  of 
Samosata,  and  all  who  maintain  such  doctrines 
themselves.  We  anathematize  all  heresies  op- 
posed to  the  aforesaid  faith  established  by  the 
saintly  fathers  at  Nictea.  ^Ve  anathematize  Arius 
especially,  and  condemn  all  such  decrees  as  were 
enacted  at  Ariminum,  in  opposition  to  the  afore- 
said faith  established  by  the  holy  council  of 
Nicaea.  We  were  formerly  deluded  by  the  guile 
and  perjury  of  certain  parties,  and  subscribed 
to  these  decrees  when  they  were  transmitted  to 
Constantinople  from  Nic?ea,  a  city  of  Thrace." 

After  this  confession  they  subjoined  a  copy 
of  the  entire  formulary  of  Nicaea  to  their  own 
creed,  and,  having  received  from  Liberius  a 
written  account  of  all  that  they  had  transacted, 
they  sailed  to  Sicily. 

CH.A.P.    XII. COUNCILS    OF    SICILY    AND    OF    TYANA. 

THE  SYNOD  WHICH  WAS  EXPECTED  TO  BE  HELD 
IN  CILICLA.  IS  DISSOLVED  BY  VALENS.  THE  PER- 
SECUTION AT  THAT  TIME.  ATHANASIUS  THE  GREAT 
FLEES  AGAIN,  AND  IS  IN  CONCEALMENT  ;  BY  THE 
LETTER  OF  VALENS  HE  REAPPEARS,  AND  GOVERNS 
THE  CHURCHES  IN  EGYPT. 

A  COUNCIL  was  convened  at  Sicily ;  ^  and  after 
the  same  doctrines  had  been  confirmed  as  those 
set  forth  in  the  confession  of  the  deputies,  the 
assembly  was  dissolved. 

At  the  same  time,  a  council  was  held  at  Tyana ; 
and  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia, 
Athanasius,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  Pelagius,  bishop 
of  Laodicea,  Zeno,  bishop  of  Tyre,  Paul,  bishop 
of  Emesa,  Otreus,  bishop  of  Melitene,  and 
Gregory,  bishop  of  Nazianzen,  were  present 
with   many   others,  who,   during   the   reign   of 

^  A  curious  blunder. 

^  Soc.  iv.  12,  13,  20.  Soz.  has  much  more  acts  and  details. 
Sabinus  is  probably  a  chief  source,  though  not  the  only  one.  Soc. 
iv,  12,  at  end. 


Jovian,  had  assembled  at  Antioch,  and  deter- 
mined to  maintain  the  doctrine  of  the  Son  being 
consubstantial  with  the  Father.  The  letters  of 
Liberius  and  the  Western  bishops  were  read  at 
this  council.  These  letters  afforded  high  satis- 
faction to  the  members  of  the  council ;  and  they 
wrote  to  all  the  churches,  desiring  them  to  peruse 
the  decrees  of  the  bishops  in  Asia,-  and  the  doc- 
uments written  by  Liberius  and  the  bishops  of 
Italy,  of  Africa,  of  Gaul,  and  of  Sicily,  which 
had  been  intrusted  to  the  deputies  of  the  council 
of  Lampsacus.  They  urged  them  to  reflect  on 
the  great  number  of  persons  by  whom  these 
documents  had  been  drawn  up,  and  who  were 
far  more  in  number  than  the  members  of  the 
council  of  Ariminum,  and  exhorted  them  to  be 
of  one  mind,  and  to  enter  into  communion  with 
them,  to  signify  the  same  by  writing,  and  finally 
to  assemble  together  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia  before 
the  end  of  the  spring.  On  a  fixed  date  which 
they  prescribed,  they  urged  one  another  to  con- 
vene. On  the  approach  of  the  appointed  day, 
when  the  Synod  was  on  the  point  of  assembling 
at  Tarsus,  about  thirty-four  of  the  Asiatic  bishops 
came  together  in  Caria,  in  the  province  of  Asia, 
commended  the  design  of  establishing  uniformity 
of  belief  in  the  Church,  but  objected  to  the  term 
"  consubstantial,"  and  insisted  that  the  formula- 
ries of  faith  set  forth  by  the  councils  of  Antioch 
and  Seleucia,  and  maintained  by  Lucian,  the 
martyr,  and  by  many  of  their  predecessors, 
with  dangers  and  tensions,  ought  to  obtain  the 
ascendancy  over  all  others. 

The  emperor,  at  the  instigation  of  Eudoxius, 
prevented  by  letter  the  coungil  from  being  con- 
vened in  Cilicia,  and  even  prohibited  it  under 
severe  penalties.  He  also  wrote  to  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  provinces,  commanding  them  to 
eject  all  bishops  from  their  churches  who  had 
been  banished  by  Constantine^  and  who  had 
again  taken  up  their  priesthood  under  the  Em- 
peror Julian.  On  account  of  this  order,  those 
who  were  at  the  head  of  the  government  of 
Egypt  were  anxious  to  deprive  Athanasius  of  his 
bishopric  and  expel  him  from  the  city ;  for  no 
light  punishment  was  inserted  in  the  imperial 
letters ;  for  unless  the  injunctions  were  fulfilled, 
all  the  magistrates  equally,  and  the  soldiers  under 
them,  and  counselors  were  condemned  to  the 
payment  of  much  money  and  also  threatened 
with  bodily  maltreatment.'' 

The  majority  of  Christians  of  the  city,  how- 
ever, assembled  and  besought  the  governor 
not  to  banish  Athanasius  without  further  con- 
sideration of  the  terms  of  the  imperial  letter, 
which  merely  specified  all  bishops  who  had  been 


2  Text  reads  ava  ri)v  '\<Tiav;  it  is  wrong  to  substitute  hvcruv. 

^  Obviously  an  error  in  the  text,  for  Constantius.  See  below, 
where  the  name  is  given  correctly. 

■•  Cf.  Chronicon,  prefacing  the  Festal  letters  of  Athan.  from 
A.D.  365  on. 


354 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HI-STORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.   12. 


banished  by  Constantius  and  recalled  by  Julian ; 
and  it  was  manifest  that  Athanasius  was  not  of 
this  number,  inasmuch  as  he  had  been  recalled 
by  Constantius  and  had  resumed  his  bishopric  ; 
but  Julian,  at  the  very  time  that  all  the  other 
bishops  had  been  recalled,  persecuted  him,  and 
finally  Jovian  recalled  him.  The  governor  was 
by  no  means  convinced  by  these  arguments  : 
nevertheless,  he  restrained  himself  and  did  not 
give  way  to  the  use  of  force.  The  people  ran 
together  from  every  quarter ;  there  was  much 
commotion  and  perturbation  throughout  the 
city ;  an  insurrection  was  expected ;  he  there- 
fore advised  the  emperor  of  the  facts  and  allowed 
the  bishop  to  remain  in  the  city.  Some  days 
afterwards,  when  the  popular  excitement  had 
seemingly  abated,  Athanasius  secretly  quitted 
the  city  at  dusk,  and  concealed  himself  some- 
where. The  very  same  night,  the  governor  of 
Egypt  and  the  military  chief  took  possession 
of  the  church  in  which  Athanasius  generally 
dwelt,  and  sought  him  in  every  part  of  the  edi- 
fice, and  even  on  the  roof,  but  in  vain ;  for  they 
had  calculated  upon  seizing  the  moment  when 
the  popular  commotion  had  partially  subsided, 
and  when  the  whole  city  was  wrapt  in  sleep,  to 
execute  the  mandate  of  the  emperor,  and  to 
transport  Athanasius  quietly  from  the  city. 

Not  to  have  found  Athanasius  naturally  ex- 
cited universal  astonishment.  Some  attributed 
his  escape  to  a  special  revelation  from  above  ; 
others  to  the  advice  of  some  of  his  followers ; 
both  had  the  same  result ;  but  more  than  human 
prudence  seems  to  have  been  requisite  to  fore- 
see and  to  avoid  such  a  plot.  Some  say,  that 
as  soon  as  the  people  gave  indications  of  being 
disposed  to  sedition,  he  concealed  himself  among 
the  tombs  of  his  ancestors,  being  apprehensive 
lest  he  should  be  regarded  as  the  cause  of  any 
disturbances  that  might  ensue  ;  and  that  he  after- 
wards retreated  to  some  other  place  of  conceal- 
ment. 

The  Emperor  Valens,  soon  after,  wrote  to 
grant  permission  for  him  to  return  and  hold  his 
church.  It  is  very  doubtful,  whether,  in  making 
this  concession,  Valens  acted  according  to  his 
own  inclination.  I  rather  imagine  that,  on  re- 
flecting on  the  esteem  in  which  Athanasius  was 
universally  held,  he  feared  to  excite  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Emperor  Valentinian,  who  was 
well-known  to  be  attached  to  the  Nicene  doc- 
trines ;  or  perhaps  he  was  apprehensive  of  a 
commotion  on  the  part  of  the  many  admirers  of 
the  bishop,  lest  some  innovation  might  injure  the 
public  affairs. 

I  also  beheve  that  the  Arian  presidents  did 
not,  on  this  occasion,  plead  very  vehemently 
against  Athanasius ;  for  they  considered  that,  if 
he  were  ejected  from  the  city,  he  would  proba- 
bly traduce   them    to  the    emperors   and    then 


would  have  an  occasion  for  conference  with 
respect  to  them,  and  might  possibly  succeed  in 
persuading  Valens  to  adopt  his  own  sentiments, 
and  in  arousing  the  anger  of  the  hke-minded 
Valentinian  against  themselves. 

They  were  greatly  troubled  by  the  evidences 
of  the  virtue  and  courage  of  Athanasius,  which 
had  been  afforded  by  the  events  which  had 
transpired  during  the  reign  of  Constantius.  He 
had,  in  fact,  so  skilfully  evaded  the  plots  of  his 
enemies,  that  they  had  been  constrained  to  con- 
sent to  his  reinstallation  in  the  government  of 
the  churches  of  Egypt ;  and  yet  he  could  scarcely 
be  induced  to  return  from  Italy,  although  letters 
had  been  dispatched  by  Constantius  to  that 
effect. 

I  am  convinced  that  it  was  solely  from  these 
reasons  that  Athanasius  was  not  expelled  from 
his  church  like  the  other  bishops,  who  were 
subjected  to  as  cruel  a  persecution  as  ever  was 
inflicted  by  pagans. 

Those  who  would  not  change  their  doctrinal 
tenets  were  banished ;  their  houses  of  prayer 
were  taken  from  them,  and  placed  in  the  pos- 
session of  those  who  held  opposite  sentiments. 
Egypt  alone  was,  during  the  hfe  of  Athanasius, 
exempted  from  this  persecution. 

CHAP.      XIII. DEMOPHILUS,      AN     ARIAN,      BECAME 

BISHOP  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE  AFTER  EUDOXIUS. 
THE  PIOUS  ELECT  EVAGRIUS.  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 
PERSECUTION   WHICH   ENSUED. 

About  this  time  the  Emperor  Valens  went  to 
Antioch  on  the  Orontes  ;  while  he  was  on  his 
journey  Eudoxius  died,  after  having  governed 
the  churches  of  Constantinople  during  the  space 
of  eleven  years.^  Demophilus  was  immediately 
ordained  as  his  successor  by  the  Arian  bishops. 
The  followers  of  the  Nicene  doctrines,  believing 
that  the  course  of  events  was  in  their  power, 
elected  Evagrius  as  their  bishop.  He  had  been 
ordained  by  Eustathius,  who  had  formerly  gov- 
erned the  church  of  Antioch  in  Syria,  and  who 
having  been  recalled  from  banishment  by  Jovian, 
lived  in  a  private  manner  at  Constantinople,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  instruction  of  those  who 
held  his  sentiments,  exhorting  them  to  perse- 
verance in  their  view  of  the  Divine  Being.  The 
Arian  heretics  were  stirred  to  revolt,  and  com- 
menced a  violent  persecution  against  those  who 
had  participated  in  the  ordination  of  Evagrius. 
The  Emperor  Valens,  who  was  then  at  Nicome- 
dia,  on  being  apprised  of  the  occurrences  that 
had  taken  place  in  Constantinople  since  the 
death  of  Eudoxius,  was  fearful  lest  any  interest 
of  the  city  should  suffer  by  sedition,  and  there- 
fore sent  thither  as  many  troops  as  he  thought 
requisite  to  preserve  tranquillity. 

'  Soc.  iv.  13-15;  Philost.  ix.  4-10. 


VI.  1 6.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


355 


Eustathius  was  arrested  by  his  command  and 
banished  to  Bizya,  a  city  of  'I'hrace,  and  Eva- 
grius  was  exiled  to  some  other  region.  And 
such  was  the  manner  of  this  event. 

CHAP.  XIV. ACCOUNT  OF  THE  EIGHTY  PIOUS  DELE- 
GATES IN  NICOMEDIA,  WHOM  VALENS  BURNED 
WITH    THE  VESSEL    IN    MID-SEA. 

The  Arians,  as  is  customary  with  the  prosper- 
ous, because  more  insolent/  persecuted  unmer- 
cifully all  Christians  whose  religious  sentiments 
were  opposed  to  their  own. 

These  Christians  being  exposed  to  bodily 
injuries,  and  betrayed  to  magistrates  and  prisons, 
and  finding  themselves  moreover  gradually  im- 
poverished by  the  frequent  fines,  were  at  length 
compelled  to  appeal  for  redress  to  the  emperor. 
Although  exceedingly  angry,  the  emperor  did 
not  openly  manifest  any  wrath,  but  secretly  com- 
manded the  prefect  to  seize  and  slay  the  whole 
deputation.  But  the  prefect,  being  apprehensive 
that  a  whole  popular  insurrection  would  be 
excited  if  he  were  to  put  so  many  good  and 
religious  men  to  death  without  any  of  the  forms 
of  justice,  pretended  that  they  were  to  be  sent 
into  exile,  and  under  this  pretext  compelled 
them  to  embark  on  board  a  ship,  to  which  they 
assented  with  the  most  perfect  resignation. 
When  they  had  sailed  to  about  the  center  of 
the  bay,  which  was  called  Astacius,  the  sailors, 
according  to  the  orders  they  had  received,,  set 
fire  to  the  vessel  and  leaped  into  the  tender. 
A  wind  arising,  the  ship  was  blown  along  to 
Dacibiza,  a  place  on  the  sea-coast  of  Bithynia ; 
but  no  sooner  had  it  neared  the  shore,  than  it 
was  utterlv.  consumed  with  all  the  men  on  board. 


CfLA.P.    XV. DISPUTES    BETWEEN    EUSEBIUS,    BISHOP 

OF  C.^SAREA,  AND  BASIL  THE  GREAT.  HENCE 
THE  ARIANS  TOOK  COURAGE  AND  CAME  TO 
C^SAREA,    AND    WERE    REPULSED. 

When  Valens  quitted  Nicomedia,  he  went  on 
to  Antioch ;  -  and  in  passing  through  Cappa- 
docia  he  did  all  in  his  power,  according  to  cus- 
tom, to  injure  the  orthodox  and  to  deliver  up 
the  churches  to  the  Arians.  He  thought  to  ac- 
complish his  designs  the  more  easily  on  account 
of  a  dispute  ^  which  was  then  pending  between 
Basil  and  Eusebius,  who  then  governed  the 
church  of  Caesarea.  This  dissension  had  been 
the  cause  of  Basil's  departing  from  Pontus, 
where  he  lived  conjointly  with  some  monks  who 
pursued  the  philosophy.  The  people  and  some 
of  the    most    powerful    and   the  wisest  men  in 

1  Soc.  iv.  i6.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iv.  24. 
^  Independent  chapter. 

3  Concerning  this  difference,  see  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  xliii.  27-37,  '" 
praise  of  Basil. 


the  city  began  to  regard  Eusebius  with  suspicion, 
particularly  as  they  considered  him  the  cause  of 
the  withdrawal  of  one  who  was  equally  cele- 
brated for  his  piety  and  his  eloquence ;  and 
they  accordingly  began  to  plan  a  secession  and 
the  holding  of  sei)arate  church.  In  the  mean- 
time Basil,  fearing  to  be  a  source  of  further 
trouble  to  the  Church,  which  was  already  rent 
by  the  dissensions  of  heretics,  remained  in  re- 
tirement in  the  monasteries  at  Pontus.  The 
emperor  and  the  bishops  of  the  Arian  heresy, 
who  were  always  attached  to  his  suite,  were 
more  inspirited  in  their  designs  by  the  absence 
of  Basil  and  the  hatred  of  the  people  towards 
Eusebius.  But  the  event  was  contrary  to  their 
judgment.  On  the  first  intelligence  of  the  in- 
tention of  the  emperor  to  pass  through  Cap- 
padocia,  Basil  quitted  Pontus  and  returned  to 
Caesarea,  where  he  effected  a  reconciliation  with 
Eusebius,  and  by  his  eloquence  he  opportunely 
aided  the  Church.  The  projects  of  Valens  were 
thus  defeated,  and  he  returned  with  his  bishops 
without  having  accomplished  any  of  his  designs. 


CHAP.  XVI. BASIL    BECOMES    BISHOP    OF    C/ESAREA 

AFTER    EUSEBIUS;     HIS    BOLDNESS     TOWARDS   THE 
EMPEROR  AND  THE  PREFECT. 

Some  time  after,  the  emperor  again  visited 
Cappadocia,  and  found  that  Basil  was  adminis- 
tering the  churches  there  after  the  death  of 
Eusebius.'*  He  thought  of  expelling  him,  but 
was  unwillingly  restrained  from  his  intention. 
It  is  said  that  the  night  after  he  had  formed  his 
plans  his  wife  was  disturbed  by  a  frightful  dream, 
and  that  his  only  son  Galates  was  cut  off  by  a 
rapid  disease.  The  death  of  this  son  was  uni- 
versally attributed  to  the  vengeance  of  God  as  a 
punishment  of  his  parents  for  the  machinations 
that  had  been  carried  on  against  Basil.  Valens 
himself  was  of  this  opinion,  and,  after  the  death 
of  his  son,  offered  no  further  molestation  to  the 
bishop. 

When  the  prince  was  sinking  under  the 
disease,  and  at  the  point  of  death,  the  emperor 
sent  for  Basil  and  requested  him  to  pray  to  God 
for  his  son's  recovery.  For  as  soon  as  Valens 
had  arrived  at  Caesarea,  the  prefect  had  sent 
for  Basil  and  commanded  him  to  embrace 
the  religious  sentiments  of  the  emperor,  menac- 
ing him  with  death  in  case  of  non-compliance. 
Basil  replied  that  it  would  be  great  gain  to  him  and 
the  grant  of  the  highest  favor  to  be  delivered  as 
quickly  as  possible  from  the  bondage  of  the  body. 
The  prefect  gave  him  the  rest  of  the  day  and 
the  approaching  night  for  deliberation,  and 
advised    him    not    to    rush    imprudently    into 

■•  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  xliii.  i,\-'iT<  Greg.  Nyss.  contra  Eunomium, 
ii.  290-295;  Ruf.  ii.  9;  Soc.  iv.  26.     Cf.  Theodoret,  iv.  19. 


356 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  1 6. 


obvious  danger,  but  that  he  should  come  on  the 
day  after  and  declare  his  opinion.  "  I  do  not 
require  to  deliberate,"  replied  Basil.  "  My 
determination  will  be  the  same  to-morrow  as  it 
is  to-day ;  for  since  I  am  a  creature  I  can  never 
be  induced  to  worship  that  which  is  similar  to 
myself  and  worship  it  as  God ;  neither  will  I 
conform  to  your  religion,  nor  to  that  of  the 
emperor.  Although  your  distinction  may  be 
great,  and  although  you  have  the  honor  of  rul- 
ing no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  empire,  yet 
I  ought  not  on  these  accounts  to  seek  to  please 
men,  and,  at  the  same  time,  belittle  that  Divine 
faith  which  neither  loss  of  goods,  nor  exile,  nor 
condemnation  to  death  would  ever  impel  me  to 
betray.  Inflictions  of  this  nature  have  never 
excited  in  my  mind  one  pang  of  sorrow.  I 
possess  nothing  but  a  cloak  and  a  few  books. 
I  dwell  on  the  earth  as  a  traveler.  The  body 
through  its  weakness  would  have  the  better  of 
all  sensation  and  torture  after  the  first  blow." 

The  prefect  admired  the  courage  evinced  in 
this  bold  reply,  and  communicated  the  circum- 
stance to  the  emperor.  On  the  festival  of  the 
Epiphany,  the  emperor  repaired  to  the  church, 
with  the  rulers  and  his  guards,  presented  gifts  at 
the  holy  table,  and  held  a  conference  with  Basil, 
whose  wisdom  and  whose  order  and  arrangement 
in  the  conduct  of  the  priesthood  and  the  church 
elicited  his  praise. 

Not  long  after,  however,  the  calumny  of  his 
enemies  prevailed,  and  Basil  was  condemned  to 
banishment.  The  night  for  the  execution  of  the 
edict  was  at  hand  ;  the  son  of  the  emperor  sud- 
denly fell  ill  with  a  pressing  and  dangerous  fever. 
The  father  prostrated  himself  on  the  earth  and 
wept  over  the  son  who  was  still  alive,  and  not 
knowing  what  other  measures  to  take  towards 
effecting  the  recovery  of  his  son,  he  dispatched 
some  of  his  attendants  to  Basil  to  come  and  visit 
the  prostrate  child  ;  because  he  himself  feared 
to  summon  the  bishop,  on  account  of  the  injury 
just  inflicted  upon  him.  Immediately  on  the 
arrival  of  Basil,  the  boy  began  to  rally ;  so  that 
many  maintain  that  his  recovery  would  have 
been  complete,  had  not  some  heretics  been 
summoned  to  pray  with  Basil  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  boy.  It  is  said  that  the  prefect, 
likewise,  fell  ill ;  but  that  on  his  repentance,  and 
on  prayer  being  offered  to  God,  he  was  restored 
to  health.  The  instances  above  adduced  are 
quite  inadequate  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  won- 
derful endowments  of  Basil ;  his  extreme  ad- 
diction to  the  philosophic  life  and  astonishing 
powers  of  eloquence  attracted  great  celebrity. 

CHAP.  XVII. FRIENDSHIP  OF  BASIL  AND  OF  GREG- 
ORY, THE  THEOLOGIAN  ;  BEING  PEERS  IN  WISDOM, 
THEY  DEFEND  THE  NICENE  DOCTRINES. 

Basil  and  Gregory  were  contemporaries,  and 


they  were  recognized  to  be  equally  intent,  so  to 
speak,  upon  the  cultivation  of  the  virtues.^ 
They- had  both  studied  in  their  youth  at  Athens, 
under  Himerius  and  Proaeresius,  the  most  ap- 
proved sophists  of  the  age  ;  and  afterwards  at 
Antioch,  under  Libanius,  the  Syrian.  But  as 
they  subsequently  conceived  a  contempt  for 
sophistry  and  the  study  of  the  law,  they  deter- 
mined to  study  philosophy  according  to  the  law 
of  the  Church.  After  having  spent  some  time 
in  the  pursuit  of  the  sciences,  taught  by  pagan 
philosophers,  they  entered  upon  the  study  of 
the  commentaries  which  Origen  and  the  best 
approved  authors  who  lived  before  and  after  his 
time,  have  written  in  explanation  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures. 

They  rendered  great  assistance  to  those  who, 
hke  themselves,  maintained  the  Nicene  doc- 
trines, for  they  manfully  opposed  the  dogmas 
of  the  Arians,  proving  that  these  heretics  did 
not  rightly  understand  either  the  data  upon 
which  they  proceeded,  nor  the  opinions  of  Ori- 
gen, upon  which  they  mainly  depended.  These 
two  holy  men  divided  the  perils  of  their  under- 
taking, either  by  mutual  agreement,  or,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  by  lot.  The  cities  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Pontus  fell  to  the  lot  of  Basil ;  and 
here  he  founded"  numerous  monasteries,  and,  by 
teaching  the  people,  he  persuaded  them  to  hold 
like  views  with  himself.  After  the  death  of  his 
father,  Gregory  acted  as  bishop  of  the  small  city 
of  Nazianzus,^  but  resided  on  that  account  in  a 
variety  of  places,  and  especially  at  Constantino- 
ple., Not  long  after  he  was  appointed  by  the 
vote  of  many  priests  to  act  as  president  of  the 
people  there  ;  for  there  was  then  neither  bishop 
nor  church  in  Constantinople,  and  the  doctrines 
of  the  council  of  Nicaea  were  almost  extinct. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  —  THE  PERSECUTION  WHICH  OCCURRED 
AT  ANTIOCH,  ON  THE  ORONTES.  THE  PLAGE  OF 
PRAYER  IN  EDESSA,  CALLED  AFTER  THE  APOSTLE 
THOMAS  ;  THE  ASSEMBLY  THERE,  AND  CONFES- 
SION   OF   THE    INHABITANTS    OF    EDESSA. 

The  emperor  went  to  Antioch,  and  entirely 
ejected  from  the  churches  of  that  city  and  of 
the  neighboring  cities  all  those  who  adhered  to 
the  Nicene  doctrines;''  moreov'er,  he  oppressed 
them  with  manifold  punishments ;  as  some 
affirm,  he  commanded  many  to  be  put  to  death 
in  various  ways,  and  caused  others  to  be  cast 
into  the  river  Orontes.  Having  heard  that  there 
was  a  magnificent  oratory  at  Edessa,  named  after 

'  Chrysostom,  de  Sacerdotio,  i.  1-7. 

-  Soc.  iv.  26;   Ruf.  ii.  9.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iv.  30. 

^  He  had  been  coadjutor  bishop  during  his  father's  lifetime. 

■*  Ruf.  ii.  5;  Soc.  iv.  17,  18.  Soz.  resembles  Soc.  in  both  inci- 
dents. Soc.  resembles  Ruf.  in  the  Edessa  story;  neither  mention 
the  prefect's  name,  as  does  Soz.  Philost.  ix.  11;  Theodoret,  H.  E. 
iv.  17. 


VI.  20.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


39 


the  Apostle  Thomas,  he  went  to  see  it.  He  be- 
held the  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  assem- 
bled for  worship  in  the  plain  before  the  walls  of 
the  city ;  for  there,  too,  they  had  been  deprived 
of  their  houses  of  prayer.  It  is  said  that  the 
emperor  reproached  the  prefect  thoroughly  and 
struck  him  on  the  jaw  with  his  fist  for  having 
permitted  these  congregations  contrary  to  his 
edict.  Modestus  (for  this  was  the  name  of  the 
prefect),  although  he  was  himself  a  heretic, 
secredy  warned  the  people  of  Edessa  not  to 
meet  for  prayer  on  the  accustomed  spot  the 
next  day ;  for  he  had  received  orders  from  the 
emperor  to  punish  all  who  should  be  seized.  He 
uttered  such  threats  with  the  forethought  that 
none,  or  at  least  but  a  few,  would  incur  danger, 
and  with  the  desire  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the 
monarch.  But  the  people  of  Edessa,  totally  dis- 
regarding the  threat,  ran  together  with  more 
than  their  customary  zeal,  and  filled  the  usual 
place  of  meeting. 

Modestus,  on  being  apprised  of  their  proceed- 
ings, was  undecided  as  to  what  measures  ought 
to  be  adopted,  and  repaired  in  embarrassment 
to  the  plain  with  the  throng.  A  woman,  leading 
a  child  by  the  hand,  and  trailing  her  mantle  in  a 
way  unbefitting  the  decency  of  women,  forced 
her  v/av  through  the  files  of  the  soldiers  who 
were  conducted  by  the  prefect,  as  if  bent  upon 
some  affair  of  importance.  Modestus  remarked 
her  conduct,  ordered  her  to  be  arrested,  and 
summoned  her  into  his  presence,  to  inquire  the 
cause  of  her  running.  She  replied  that  she  was 
hastening  to  the  plain  where  the  members  of 
the  Catholic  Church  were  assembled.  "  Know 
you  not,"  replied  Modestus,  "that  the  prefect 
is  on  his  way  thither  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
demning to  death  all  who  are  found  on  the 
spot?"  "I  have  heard  so,"  repHed  she,  "  and 
this  is  the  very  reason  of  my  haste  ;  for  I  am 
fearful  of  arriving  too  late,  and  thus  losing  the 
honor  of  martyrdom  for  God."  The  governor 
having  asked  her  why  she  took  her  child  with 
her,  she  replied,  "  In  order  that  he  may  share 
in  the  common  suffering,  and  pardcipate  in  the 
same  reward."  Modestus,  struck  with  astonish- 
ment at  the  courage  of  this  woman,  went  to  the 
emperor,  and,  acquainting  him  with  what  had 
occurred,  persuaded  him  not  to  carry  out  a 
design  which  he  showed  to  be  disgraceful  and 
disastrous.  Thus  was  the  Christian  faith  con- 
fessed by  the  whole  city  of  Edessa. 


CHAP.    XIX. DEATH    OF   THE    GREAT   ATH.4NASIUS  J 

THE  ELEVATION  OF  LUCIUS,  WHO  WAS  ARUN- 
MINDED,  TO  THE  SEE  ;  THE  NUMEROUS  CALAMI- 
TIES HE  BROUGHT  UPON  THE  CHURCHES  IN  EGYPT  ; 
PETER,  WHO  SERVED  AFTER  ATH.\XASIUS,  PASSED 
OVER   TO    R0:\IE. 


Athanasius,  bishop  of  the  church  of  Alexan- 
dria, died  about  this  period,  after  having  com- 
pleted his  high-priesthood  in  about  forty-six 
years.'  The  Arians  having  received  early  intel- 
ligence of  his  death,  Euzoius,  president  of  the 
Arians  at  Antioch,  and  Magnus,  the  chief  treas- 
urer, were  sent  by  the  emperor,  and  lost  no  time 
in  seizing  and  imprisoning  Peter,  whom  Atha- 
nasius had  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  the 
bishopric ;  and  they  forthwith  transferred  the 
government  of  the  church  to  Eucius. 

Hence  those  in  Egypt  suffered  more  griev- 
ously than  those  in  other  places,  and  misfortunes 
piled  upon  misfortunes  oppressed  the  members 
of  the  Catholic  Church  ;  for  as  soon  as  Lucius 
settled  in  Alexandria,  he  attempted  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  churches  ;  he  met  with  opposition 
from  the  people,  and  the  clergy  and  hoi}'  virgins 
were  accused  as  originators  of  the  sedition. 
Some  made  their  escape  as  if  the  city  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  an  enemy ;  others  were 
seized  and  imprisoned.  Some  of  the  prisoners 
were  afterwards  dragged  from  the  dungeons 
to  be  torn  with  hooks  and  thongs,  while  others 
were  burned  by  means  of  flaming  torches.  It 
seemed  wonderful  how  they  could  possibly  sur- 
vive the  tortures  to  which  they  were  subjected. 
Banishment  or  even  death  itself  would  have 
been  preferable  to  such  sufferings.  Peter, 
the  bishop,  made  his  escape  from  prison ;  and 
embarking  on  board  a  ship,  proceeded  to 
Rome,  the  bishop  of  which  church  held  the 
same  sentiments  as  himself.  Thus  the  Arians, 
although  not  many  in  number,  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  churches.  At  the  same  time,  an 
edict  was  issued  by  the  emperor,  enacting  that 
as  many  of  the  followers  of  the  Nicene  doc- 
trines should  be  ejected  from  Alexandria  and 
the  rest  of  Egypt,  as  might  be  directed  by 
Lucius.  Euzoius,  having  thus  accomplished  all 
his  designs,  returned  to  Antioch. 

CHAP.  XX. PERSECUTION  OF  THE  EGVPTUN  MJNKS, 

AND  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  ST.  ANTONY.  THEY 
\VERE  ENCLOSED  IN  A  CERTAIN  ISLAND  ON  AC- 
COL-NT  OF  THEIR  ORTHODOXY;  THE  MIRACLES 
WHICH   THEY   WROUGHT. 

Lucius  went  with  the  general  of  the  soldiers 
in  Egypt,  against  the  monks  in  the  desert;-  for 
he  imagined  that  if  he  could  overcome  their  op- 
position by   interrupting  the  tranquillity  which 

1  Ruf.  ii.  3;  Soc.  iv.  20-22.  In  c.  22  he  mentions  a  letter  of 
Peter  to  the  churches,  giving  an  account  of  the  persecutions;  and 
that  Sabinus  records  none  of  these  things.  Cf.  Theodoret,  //.  £. 
iv.  20-22.  In  c.  22  a  part  of  Peter's  letter  is  given.  Hieron.  de 
vir.  Must.  Ixxxvii.:  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  xxi.  in  laudem  Magni  Atha- 
nasii  episcopi  A  lexattdrini. 

-  Ruf.  ii.  3,  4;  Soc.  iv.  22,  24;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iv.  21,  22; 
Chronicon  prceviiini  to  the  Vestal  letters,  from  a.d.  367  to  373, 
and  Chronicon  acephaluin,  15-19;  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  xxv.  11-14, 
xxxiv.  3;  CoJ.  Theod.  xvi.  i,  2;  Pamata,  12,  de  seipso  et  di 
episcopis. 

( 


358 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  20. 


they  loved,  he  would  meet  with  fewer  obstacles 
in  drawing  over  to  his  party  the  Christians  who 
inhabited  the  cities.  The  monasteries  of  this 
country  were  governed  by  several  individuals  of 
eminent  sanctity,  who  were  strenuously  opposed 
to  the  heresy  of  Arius.  The  people,  who  were 
neither  willing  nor  competent  to  enter  upon  the 
investigation  of  doctrinal  questions,  received 
their  opinions  from  them,  and  thought  with 
them  ;  for  they  were  persuaded  that  men  whose 
virtue  was  manifested  by  their  deeds  were  in 
possession  of  truth.  We  have  heard  that  the 
leaders  of  these  Egyptian  ascetics  were  two  men 
of  the  name  of  Macarius,  of  whom  mention  has 
already  been  made,^  Pambo  and  Heraclides,  and 
other  disciples  of  Antony. 

On  reflecting  that  the  Arians  could  never  suc- 
ceed in  establishing  an  ascendency  over  the 
Catholic  Church,  unless  the  monks  could  be 
drawn  over  to  their  party,  Lucius  determined  to 
have  recourse  to  force  to  compel  the  monks  to 
side  with  him,  since  he  was  unable  to  persuade 
them.  But  here  again  his  scheme  failed ;  for 
the  monks  were  prepared  to  subject  their  necks 
to  the  sword  rather  than  to  swerve  from  the 
Nicene  doctrines.  It  is  related  that,  at  the  very 
time  that  the  soldiers  were  about  to  attack  them, 
a  man  whose  limbs  were  withered  and  who  was 
unable  to  stand  on  his  feet  was  carried  to  them ; 
and  that  when  they  had  anointed  him  with 
oil,  and  commanded  him  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  whom  Lucius  persecuted,  to  arise  and 
go  to  his  house,  he  suddenly  became  whole. 
This  miraculous  cure  openly  manifested  the 
necessity  of  adopting  the  sentiments  of  those  to 
whom  God  himself  had  testified  as  possessing 
the  truth,  while  Lucius  was  condemned,  in  that 
God  heard  their  prayers  and  had  healed  the  sick. 

But  the  plotters  against  the  monks  were  not  led 
to  repentance  by  this  miracle  ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  arrested  these  holy  men  by  night,  and  con- 
veyed them  to  an  island  of  Egypt,  concealed  in 
the  swamps.  The  inhabitants  of  this  island  had 
never  heard  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  were 
devoted  to  the  service  of  demons  :  the  island 
contained  a  temple  of  great  anticjuity  which  was 
held  in  great  reverence.  It  is  said  that  when 
the  monks  landed  on  the  island,  the  daughter 
of  the  priest,  who  was  possessed  of  a  devil, 
went  to  them.  The  girl  ran  screaming  towards 
them ;  and  the  people  of  the  island,  astonished 
at  her  sudden  and  strange  conduct,  followed. 
When  she  drew  near  the  ship  in  which  were 
the  holy  messengers,  she  flung  herself  pleadingly 
upon  the  ground,  and  exclaimed  supplicatingly 
in  a  loud  voice,  "  Wherefore  are  you  come  to  us, 
O  servants  of  the  great  God  ?  for  we  have  long 
dwelt  in  this  island  as   our  residence ;  we  have 

*  In  iii.  14;  Pallad.  H.  L.  xix.,  xx. 


troubled  no  one.  Unknown  to  men,  we  have 
concealed  ourselves  here,  and  are  everywhere 
surrounded  by  these  marshes.  If,  however,  it 
please  you,  accept  our  possessions,  and  fix  your 
abode  here  ;  we  will  quit  the  island." 

Such  were  her  utterances.  Macarius  and  his 
companions  rebuked  the  demon,  and  the  girl 
became  sane.  Her  father  and  all  her  house, 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  island,  immediately 
embraced  Christianity,  and  after  demolishing 
their  temple,  they  transformed  it  into  a  church. 
On  these  occurrences  being  reported  at  Alexan- 
dria, Lucius  was  overcome  with  immoderate 
grief;  and,  fearing  lest  he  should  incur  the  hatred 
of  his  own  partisans,  and  be  accused  of  warring 
against  God,  and  not  against  man,  he  sent  secret 
orders  for  Macarius  and  his  companions  to  be 
re-conveyed  to  their  own  dwellings  in  the  wil- 
derness. Thus  did  Lucius  occasion  troubles 
and  commotions  in  Egypt. 

About  the  same  period,  Didymus  the  philoso- 
pher and  several  other  illustrious  men  acquired 
great  renown.  Struck  by  their  virtue,  and  by 
that  of  the  monks,  the  people  followed  their 
doctrines  and  opposed  those  of  the  partisans  of 
Lucius. 

The  Arians,  though  not  so  strong  in  point  of 
numbers  as  the  other  party,  grievously  perse- 
cuted the  church  of  Egypt. 

CHAP.    XXI. LIST    OF   THE    PLACES  IN    WHICH    THE 

NICENE  DOCTRINES  WERE  REPRESENTED  ;  FAITH 
MANIFESTED  BY  THE  SCYTHIANS  ;  VETRANIO,  THE 
LEADER  OF  THIS  RACE. 

Arianism  met  with  similar  opposition  at  the 
same  period  in  Osroene  ;  but  in  the  Cappado- 
cias.  Providence  allotted  such  a  divine  and  most 
educated  pair  of  men,  —  Basil,  the  bishop  of 
Caesarea  in  that  country,  and  Gregory,  bishop 
of  Nazianzen.-  Syria  and  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces, and  more  especially  the  city  of  Antioch, 
were  plunged  into  confusion  and  disorder ;  for  the 
Arians  were  very  numerous  in  these  parts,  and 
had  possession  of  the  churches.  The  members 
of  the  Catholic  Church  were  not,  howev^er,  few 
in  number.  They  were  called  Eustathians  and 
Paulinists,  and  were  under  the  guidance  of  Pauli- 
nus  and  Meletius,  as  has  been  before  stated.  It 
was  through  their  instrumentality  that  the  church 
of  Antioch  was  preserved  from  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  Arians,  and  enabled  to  resist  the 
zeal  of  the  emperor  and  of  those  in  power  about 
him.  Indeed,  it  appears  that  in  all  the  churches 
which  were  governed  by  brave  men,  the  people 
did  not  deviate  from  their  former  opinions. 

It  is  said  that  this  was  the  cause  of  the  firm- 
ness with  which  the  Scythians  adhered  to  their 

2  This  is  an  independent  chapter.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iv.  35. 


VI.  230 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


359 


faith.  There  are  in  this  country  a  great  num- 
ber of  cities,  villages,  and  fortresses.  The 
metropolis  is  called  Tomi ;  it  is  a  large  and 
populous  city,  and  lies  on  the  sea-shore  to  the 
left  of  one  sailing  to  the  sea,  called  the  Euxine. 

According  to  an  ancient  custom  which  still 
prevails,  all  the  churches  of  the  whole  country 
are  under  the  sway  of  one  bishop.^ 

Vetranio  ruled  over  these  churches  at  the 
period  that  the  emperor  visited  Tomi.  Valens 
repaired  to  the  church,  and  strove,  according  to 
his  usual  custom,  to  gain  over  the  bishop  to  the 
heresy  of  Arius  ;  but  this  latter  manfully  op- 
posed his  arguments,  and  after  a  courageous 
defense  of  the  Nicene  doctrines,  quitted  the 
emperor  and  proceeded  to  another  church, 
whither  he  was  followed  by  the  people.  Al- 
most the  entire  city  had  crowded  to  see  the 
emperor,  for  they  expected  that  something  ex- 
traordinary would  result  from  this  interview  with 
the  bishop. 

Valens  was  extremely  offended  at  being  left 
alone  in  the  church  with  his  attendants,  and  in 
resentment,  condemned  Vetranio  to  banishment. 
Not  long  after,  however,  he  recalled  him,  be- 
cause, I  believe,  he  apprehended  an  insurrection  ; 
for  the  Scythians  were  offended  at  the  absence 
of  their  bishop. 

He  well  knew  that  the  Scythians  were  a  cour- 
ageous nation,  and  that  their  country,  by  the 
position  of  its  places,  possessed  many  natural 
advantages  which  rendered  it  necessary  to  the 
Roman  Empire,  for  it  served  as  a  barrier  to 
ward  off  the  barbarians. 

Thus  was  the  intention  of  the  ruler  openly 
frustrated  by  Vetranio.  The  Scythians  them- 
selves testify  that  he  was  good  in  all  other  re- 
spects and  eminent  for  the  virtue  of  his  hfe. 

The  resentment  of  the  emperor  was  visited 
upon  all  the  clergy  except  those  of  the  Western 
churches  ;  for  Valentinian,  who  reigned  over  the 
Western  regions,  was  an  admirer  of  the  Nicene 
doctrines,  and  was  imbued  with  so  much  rever- 
ence for  religion,  that  he  never  imposed  any 
commands  upon  the  priests,  nor  ever  attempted 
to  introduce  any  alteration  for  better  or  for 
worse  in  ecclesiastical  regulations.  Although 
he  had  become  one  of  the  best  of  emperors, 
and  had  shown  his  capacity  to  rule  affairs,  he 
considered  that  ecclesiastical  matters  were 
beyond  the  range  of  his  jurisdiction. 

CHAP.    XXII.  AT     TRAT     TIME,    THE    DOCTRINE    OF 

THE  HOLY  GHOST  WAS  AGITATED,  AND  IT  WAS 
DECIDED  THAT  HE  IS  TO  BE  CONSIDERED  CON- 
SUBSTANTIAL    WITH    THE    FATHER    AND    THE    SON. 

A    QUESTION    was    renewed   at   this   juncture 

'  Sozomen  repeats  this  below,  in  vii.  19,  where  he  recounts  the 
various  local  customs  prevailing  in  the  ecclesiastical  system. 


which  had  previously  excited  much  inquiry  and 
now  more  ;  namely,  whether  the  Holy  (Ihost  is 
or  is  not  to  be  considered  consubstantial  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son.- 

Many  contentions  and  debates  ensued  on 
this  sul)ject,  similar  to  those  which  had  been 
held  concerning  the  nature  of  God  the  Word. 
Those  who  asserted  that  the  Son  is  dissimilar 
from  the  Father,  and  those  who  insisted  that  He 
is  similar  in  substance  to  the  Father,  came  to 
one  common  opinion  concerning  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  for  both  parties  maintained  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  differs  in  substance,  and  that  He  is 
but  the  Minister  and  the  third  in  point  of  order, 
honor,  and  substance.  Those,  on  the  contrary, 
who  believed  that  the  Son  is  consubstantial  with 
the  Father,  held  also  the  same  view  about  the 
Spirit.  This  doctrine  was  nobly  maintained  in 
Syria  by  Apolinarius,  bishop  of  Laodicea ;  in 
Egypt  by  Athanasius,^  the  bishop ;  and  in 
Cappadocia  and  in  the  churches  of  Pontus  by 
Basil*  and  Gregory .■^  The  bishop  of  Rome,  on 
learning  that  this  question  was  agitated  with 
great  acrimony,  and  that  it  of  course  was  aug- 
mented daily  by  controversies,  wrote  to  the 
churches  of  the  East  and  urged  them  to  receive 
the  doctrine  upheld  by  the  Western  clergy ; 
namely,  that  the  three  Persons  of  the  Trinity 
are  of  the  same  substance  and  of  equal  dignity. 
The  question  having  been  thus  decided  by  the 
Roman  churches,  peace  was  restored,  and  the 
inquiry  appeared  to  have  an  end. 

CHAP.     XXIII. DEATH     OF      LIBERIUS,     BISHOP     OF 

ROME.  HE  IS  SUCCEEDED  BY  DAMASUS  AND 
SYRICIUS.®  ORTHODOX  DOCTRINES  PREVAIL  EVERY- 
WHERE THROUGHOUT  THE  WEST,  EXCEPT  AT 
MILAN,  WHERE  AUXENTIUS  IS  THE  HIGH-PRIEST. 
SYNOD  HELD  AT  ROME,  BY  WHICH  AUXENTIUS  IS 
DEPOSED  ;  THE  DEFINITION  WHICH  IT  SENT  BY 
LETTER. 

About  this  period  Liberius  died,'  and  Damasus 
succeeded  to  the  see  of  Rome.^  A  deacon 
named  Ursicius,  who  had  obtained  some  votes 
in  his  favor,  but  could  not  endure  the  defeat, 
therefore  caused  himself  to  be  clandestinely 
ordained  by  some  bishops  of  little  note,  and 
endeavored  to  create  a  division  among  the 
people  and  to  hold  a  separate  church.  He 
succeeded  in  effecting  this  division,  and  some 
of  the  people  respected  him  as  bishop,  while 
the  rest  adhered  to  Damasus.       This  gave  rise 


-  This  chapter  seems  curiously  out  of  place  after  the  history  of 
the  Macedonians  and  that  of  the  Synod  of  Alexandria.     Cf.  Soc.  ii. 

'3  Atlian.  Epfi.  i.,  iii.,  iv.,  ad  Serapionem,  contra  illos  qui  blasphe- 
mant  et  dicunt  spiritum  sanctum  rem  creatam  esse. 

*  Bas.  adv.  Entwmium,  iii.,  v.;   Lib.  de  Spiritii  Sancto. 
•'  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  x.xxi.,  xxxiv.,  xli. 

•^  For  Ursicius. 

'  A.D.  366,  Sept.  24. 

*  Soc.  iv.  29;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  10.     Soz.  omits  the  name  of  the 
prefect. 


36o 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  23. 


to  much  contention  and  revolt  among  the 
people,  which  at  length  proceeded  to  the  evil 
of  wounds  and  murder.  The  prefect  of  Rome 
was  obliged  to  interfere,  and  to  punish  many  of 
the  people  and  of  the  clergy;  and  he  put  an 
end  to  the  attempt  of  Ursicius.^ 

With  respect  to  doctrine,  however,  no  dissen- 
sion arose  either  at  Rome  or  in  any  other  of  the 
Western  churches.  The  people  unanimously 
adhered  to  the  form  of  belief  established  at 
Nicaea,  and  regarded  the  three  persons  of  the 
Trinity  as  equal  in  dignity  and  in  power. 

Auxentius  and  his  followers  differed  from  the 
others  in  opinion ;  he  was  then  president  of  the 
church  in  Milan,  and,  in  conjunction  with  a  few 
partisans,  was  intent  upon  the  introduction  of 
innovations,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Arian 
dogma  of  the  dissimilarity  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  according  to  the  inquiry  which  had 
last  spnnig  up,  in  opposition  to  the  unanimous 
agreement  of  the  Western  priests.  The  bishops 
of  Gaul  and  of  Venetia  having  reported  that 
similar  attempts  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the 
Church  were  being  made  by  others  among  them, 
the  bishops  of  several  provinces  assembled  not 
long  after  at  Rome,  and  decreed  that  Auxentius 
and  those  who  held  his  sentiments  should  be 
aliens  from  their  communion.  They  confirmed 
the  traditional  faith  established  by  the  council 
of  Nicsea,  and  annulled  all  the  decrees  that  had 
been  issued  at  Ariminum  contrary  to  that  faith, 
under  the  plea  that  these  decrees  had  not  re- 
ceived the  assent  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  nor  of 
other  bishops  who  agreed  with  them,  and  that 
many  who  had  been  present  at  the  Synod,  had 
disapproved  of  the  enactments  there  made  by 
them.  That  such  was  the  decision  really  formed 
by  the  Synod  is  testified  by  the  epistle-  ad- 
dressed by  Damasus,  the  Roman  bishop,  and 
the  rest  of  the  assembly,  to  the  bishops  of  Illy- 
ria.     It  is  as  follows  :  ^  — 

"  Damasus,  Valerius,*  and  the  other  bishops 
of  the  holy  assembly  convened  at  Rome  to  the 
dearly  beloved  brethren  settled  in  lUyria,  greet- 
ing in  the  Lord. 

"  We  believe  that  you  uphold  and  teach  to  the 
people  our  holy  faith,  which  is  founded  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  apostles.  This  foith  differs  in 
no  respect  from  that  defined  by  the  Fathers  ; 
neither  is  it  allowable  for  the  priests  of  God, 
whose  right  it  is  to  instruct  the  wise,  to  have 
any  other  thought.  We  have,  however,  been 
informed  by  some  of  our  brethren  of  Gaul  and 
of  Venice,  that  certain  individuals  are  bent  upon 
the  introduction  of  heresy. 

"All  bishops  should  diligently  guard  against 

^  Cf.  Am.  Marcel,  xxvii.  3.  12-15. 

2  This  epistle  is  first  given  by  Soz. ;  it  is  repeated  in  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  ii.  22.     The  Synod  was  held  A.n.  369. 

3  All  these  prefatory  details  are  unique  with  Soz. 

*  He  was  bishop  of  Aquileia.     Theodoret  calls  him  Valerianus, 


this  evil,  lest  some  of  their  flock  should  be  led 
by  inexperience,  and  others  by  simplicity,  to 
oppose  the  proper  interpretations. 

"  Those  who  devise  strange  doctrines  ought 
not  to  be  followed ;  but  the  opinions  of  our 
fathers  ought  to  be  retained,  whatever  may  be 
the  diversity  of  judgment  around  us. 

"  Hence  Auxentius,  bishop  of  Milan,  has  been 
pubHcly  declared  to  be  condemned  pre-eminently 
in  this  matter.  It  is  right,  therefore,  that  all  the 
teachers  of  the  Roman  world  should  be  of  one 
mind,  and  not  pollute  the  faith  by  divers  con- 
flicting doctrines. 

"  For  when  the  malice  of  the  heretics  first 
began  to  m.ature  itself,  as  the  blasphemy  of  the 
Arians  has  even  now  done,  —  may  it  be  far 
from  us,  —  our  fathers  to  the  number  of  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  elect,  after  making  an 
investigation  in  Nicjea,  erected  the  wall  against 
the  weapons  of  the  devil,  and  repelled  the  deadly 
poison  by  this  antidote. 

"  This  antidote  consists  in  the  belief,  that  the 
Father  and  the  Son  have  one  Godhead,  one 
virtue,  and  one  substance  (xPW"-)-  It  is  also 
requisite  to  believe  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  of 
the  same  hypostasis.  We  have  decreed  that 
those  who  hold  any  other  doctrines  are  to  be 
aliens  from  our  communion. 

"  Some  have  decreed  to  discolor  this  saving 
definition  and  adorable  view ;  but  in  the  very 
beginning,  some  of  the  persons  who  made  the 
innovation  at  the  council  of  Ariminum,  or  who 
were  compelled  to  vote  for  the  change,  have 
since,  in  some  measure,  made  amends  by  con- 
fessing that  they  were  deceived  by  certain  spe- 
cious arguments,  which  did  not  appear  to  them 
to  be  contrary  to  the  principles  laid  down  by 
our  fathers  at  Nicjea.  The  number  of  individ- 
uals congregated  at  the  council  of  Ariminum 
proves  nothing  in  prejudice  of  orthodox  doc- 
trines ;  for  the  council  was  held  without  the 
sanction  of  the  bishops  at  Rome,  whose  opinion, 
before  that  of  all  others,  ought  to  have  been 
received,  and  without  the  assent  either  of  Vin- 
centius,  who  during  a  very  long  series  of  years 
guarded  the  episcopate  without  spot,  or  of  many 
other  bishops  who  agreed  with  those  last  men- 
tioned. 

"  Besides,  as  has  been  before  stated,  those  very 
persons  who  seemed  inclined  to  something  illu- 
sory, testified  their  disapprobation  of  their  own 
proceedings  as  soon  as  they  made  use  of  a 
better  judgment.  Therefore  your  purity  must 
see  that  this  alone  is  the  faith  which  was  estab- 
lished at  Nic?ea  upon  the  authority  of  the  apos- 
tles, and  which  must  ever  be  retained  inviolate, 
and  that  all  bishops,  whether  of  the  East,  or  of 
the  West,  who  profess  the  Catholic  religion, 
ought  to  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  in  commun- 
ion with  us.     We  believe  that  it  will  not  be  long 


VI.  250 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


361 


before  those  who  maintain  other  sentiments  will 
be  excluded  from  communion,  and  deprived  of 
the  name  and  dignity  of  bishop  ;  so  that  the 
people  who  are  now  oppressed  by  the  yoke  of 
those  pernicious  and  deceitful  principles,  may 
have  liberty  to  breathe.  For  it  is  not  in  the 
power  of  these  bishops  to  rectify  the  error  of 
the  people,  inasmuch  as  they  are  themselves 
held  by  error.  Let,  therefore,  the  opinion  of 
your  honor  also  be  in  accord  with  all  the  priests 
of  God,  in  which  we  believe  you  to  be  holy  and 
firm.  That  we  ought  so  to  believe  along  with 
you  will  be  proved  by  the  exchange  of  letters 
with  your  love." 

CHAP.  XXIV.  CONCERNING   ST.   AMBROSE  AND    HIS 

ELEVATION  TO  THE  HIGH  PRIESTHOOD  ;  HOW 
HE  PERSUADED  THE  PEOPLE  TO  PRACTICE  PIETY. 
THE    NOVATIAN3  OF  PHRYGLA  AND   THE  PASSOVER. 

The  clergy  of  the  West  having  thus  antici- 
pated the  designs  of  those  who  sought  to  intro- 
duce innovations  among  them,'  carefully  con- 
tinued to  preserve  the  inviolability  of  the  faith 
which  had  from  the  beginning  been  handed 
down  to  them.  With  the  solitary  exception  of 
Auxentius  and  his  partisans,  there  were  no  indi- 
viduals among  them  who  entertained  heterodox 
opinions.  Auxentius,  however,  did  not  live  long 
after  this  period.  At  his  death  a  sedition  arose 
among  the  people  concerning  the  choice  of  a 
bishop  for  the  church  of  Milan,  and  the  city  was 
in  danger.  Those  who  had  aspired  to  the  bish- 
opric, and  been  defeated  in  their  expectations, 
were  loud  in  their  menaces,  as  is  usual  in  such 
commotions. 

Ambrosius,  who  was  then  the  governor  of  the 
province,  being  fearful  of  the  movement  of  the 
people,  went  to  the  church,  and  exhorted 
the  people  to  cease  from  contention,  to  remem- 
ber the  laws,  and  to  re-establish  concord  and  the 
prosperity  which  springs  from  peace.  Before  he 
had  ceased  speaking,  all  his  auditors  at  once 
suppressed  the  angry  feelings  by  which  they  had 
been  mutually  agitated  against  each  other,  and 
directed  the  vote  of  the  bishopric  upon  him,  as 
a  fulfillment  of  his  counsel  to  harmony.  They 
exhorted  him  to  be  baptized,  for  he  was  still 
uninitiated,  and  begged  him  to  receive  the 
priesthood.  After  he  had  refused  and  dechned, 
and  unfeignedly  fled  the  business,  the  people 
still  insisted,  and  declared  that  the  contention 
would  never  be  appeased  unless  he  would  ac- 
cede to  their  wishes  ;  and  at  length  intelligence 
of  these  transactions  was  conveyed  to  the  court. 
It  is  said  that  the  Emperor  Valentinian  prayed, 
and  returned  thanks  to  God  that  the  very  man 
whom   he    had   appointed   governor  had   been 


6,7. 


1  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  11;  Soc.  iv.  28,  30.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iv. 


chosen  to  fill  a  priestly  office.  When  he  was 
informed  of  the  earnest  desires  of  the  people 
and  the  refusal  of  Ambrosius,  he  inferred  that 
events  had  been  so  ordered  by  God  for  the  pur- 
pose of  restoring  peace  to  the  church  of  Milan, 
and  commanded  that  Ambrosius  should  be  or- 
dained as  quickly  as  possible.-  He  was  initiated 
and  ordained  at  the  same  time,  and  forthwith 
proceeded  to  bring  the  church  under  his  sway 
to  unanimity  of  opinion  concerning  the  Divine 
nature  ;  for,  while  under  the  guidance  of  Auxen- 
tius, it  had  long  been  rent  by  dissensions  on  this 
subject.  We  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to 
speak  of  the  conduct  of  Ambrosius  after  his 
ordination,  and  of  the  courageous  and  holy  man- 
ner in  which  he  discharged  the  functions  of  the 
priesthood. 

About  this  period,  the  Novatians  of  Phrygia, 
contrary  to  their  ancient  custom,  began  to  cele- 
brate the  festival  of  the  Passover  on  the  same 
day  as  the  Jews.  Novatius,  the  originator  of 
their  heresy,  refused  to  receive  those  who  re- 
pented of  their  sins  into  communion,  and  it  was 
in  this  respect  alone  that  he  innovated  upon  the 
established  doctrine.  But  he  and  those  who 
succeeded  him  celebrated  the  feast  of  the  Pass- 
over after  the  vernal  equinox,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  Roman  church.  Some  Novatian 
bishops,  however,  assembled  about  this  time  at 
Pazi,  a  town  of  Phrygia,  near  the  source  of  the 
river  Sangarus,  and  agreeing  not  to  follow,  in 
this  point  of  discipHne,  the  practice  of  those  who 
differed  in  doctrine  from  them,  established  a 
new  law ;  they  determined  upon  keeping  the 
feast  of  unleavened  bread,  and  upon  celebrating 
the  Passover  on  the  same  days  as  the  Jews. 
Agelius,  the  bishop  of  the  Novatians  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  bishops  of  the  Novatians  at 
Nicaea,  Nicomedia,  and  Cotyseum,  a  noted  city 
of  Phrygia,  did  not  take  part  in  this  Synod, 
although  the  Novatians  consider  them  to  be 
lords  and  colophons,  so  to  speak,  of  the  trans- 
actions affecting  their  heresy  and  their  churches. 
How  for  this  reason,  these  innovators  advanced 
into  divergence,  and  having  cut  themselves  off, 
formed  a  separate  church,  I  will  speak  of  at  the 
right  time. 

CHAP.   XXV. CONCERNING     APOLINARIUS  :     FATHER 

AND  SON  OF  THAT  NAME.  VITALUNUS,  THE 
PRESBYTER.  ON  BEING  DISLODGED  FROM  ONE 
KIND    OF    HERESY,    THEY    INCLINE   TO    OTHERS. 

About  this  period,  Apolinarius  openly  de- 
vised a  heresy,  to  which  his  name  has  since 
been  given."  He  induced  many  persons  to 
secede  from  the  Church,  and  formed  separate 


2  A.D.  374,  December. 

3  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  20;   Soc.  ii.  46,  iii.  16.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v, 
3,  4.     Soz.  has  much  independent  material. 


362 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  25. 


assemblies.  Vitalius,  a  presbyter  of  Antioch, 
and  one  of  the  priests  of  Meletius,  concurred 
with  him  in  the  confirmation  of  his  pecuUar 
opinion.  In  other  respects,  Vitalius  was  con- 
spicuous in  life  and  conduct,  and  was  zealous 
in  watching  over  those  committed  to  his  pastoral 
superintendence  ;  hence  he  was  greatly  revered 
by  the  people.  He  seceded  from  communion 
with  Meletius,  joined  Apolinarius  and  presided 
over  those  at  Antioch  who  had  embraced  the 
same  opinions ;  by  the  sanctity  of  his  life  he 
attracted  a  great  number  of  followers,  who  are 
still  called  Vitalians  by  the  citizens  of  Antioch. 
It  is  said  he  was  led  to  secede  from  the  Church 
from  resentment  at  the  contempt  that  was  mani- 
fested towards  him  by  Flavian,  then  one  of  his 
fellow-presbyters,  but  who  was  afterwards  raised 
to  the  bishopric  of  Antioch.  Flavian  having 
prevented  him  from  holding  his  customary 
interview  with  the  bishop,  he  fancied  him- 
self despised  and  entered  into  communion 
with  Apolinarius,  and  held  him  as  his  friend. 
From  that  period  the  members  of  this  sect 
have  formed  separate  churches  in  various 
cities,  under  their  own  bishops,  and  have 
€stabhshed  laws  differing  from  those  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  Besides  the  customary  sacred 
order,  they  sang  some  metrical  songs  com- 
posed by  Apolinarius ;  for,  in  addition  to  his 
other  learning  he  was  a  poet,  and  skilled  in  a 
great  variety  of  meters,  and  by  their  sweetness 
he  induced  many  to  cleave  to  him.  Men  sang 
his  strains  at  convivial  meetings  and  at  their 
daily  labor,  and  women  sang  them  while  en- 
gaged at  the  loom.  But,  whether  his  tender 
poems  were  adapted  for  holidays,  festivals,  or 
other  occasions,  they  were  all  alike  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  God.  Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome, 
and  Peter,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  were  the  first 
to  learn  that  the  heresy  was  creeping  among  the 
people,  and  at  a  council  held  at  Rome  ^  they 
voted  it  to  be  foreign  to  the  Catholic  Church. 
It  is  said  that  it  was  as  much  from  narrowness  of 
mind  as  from  any  other  cause  that  Apolinarius 
made  an  innovation  in  doctrine.  For  when 
Athanasius,  who  administered  the  church  of 
Alexandria,  was  on  his  road  back  to  Egypt  from 
the  place  whither  he  had  been  banished  by  Con- 
stantine,  he  had  to  pass  through  Laodicea,  and 
that  while  in  that  city  he  formed  an  intimacy 
with  Apolinarius,  which  terminated  in  the  strict- 
est friendship.  As,  however,  the  heterodox  con- 
sidered it  disgraceful  to  hold  communion  with 
Athanasius,  George,  the  bishop  of  the  Arians  in 
that  city,  ejected  Apolinarius  in  a  very  insulting 
manner  from  the  church,  under  the  plea  that  he 
had  received  Athanasius  contrary  to  the  canons 
and  holy  laws.  The  bishop  did  not  rest  here,  but 

'  Held  A.D.  377  (Rade),  374  (Hefele).     The  letters  of  Damasus, 
"  Illud  sane  miramur,""  non  nobis  quidquam,"  refer  to  this  subject. 


reproached  him  with  crimes  which  he  had  com- 
mitted and  repented  of  at  a  remote  period.  For 
when  Theodotus,  the  predecessor  of  George,  reg- 
ulated the  church  of  Laodicea,  Epiphanius,  the 
sophist,  recited  a  hymn  which  he  had  composed 
in  honor  of  Dionysus.  Apolinarius,  who  was  then 
a  youth  and  a  pupil  of  Epiphanius,  went  to  hear 
the  recitation,  accompanied  by  his  father,  whose 
name  also  was  Apolinarius,  and  who  was  a  noted 
grammarian.  After  the  exordium,  Epiphanius, 
according  to  the  custom  always  observed  at  the 
public  recitation  of  hymns,  directed  the  unini- 
tiated and  the  profane  to  go  out  of  doors.  But 
neither  Apolinarius  the  youngpr  nor  the  elder, 
nor,  indeed,  any  of  the  Christians  who  were 
present,  left  the  audience.  When  Theodotus,  the 
bishop,  heard  that  they  had  been  present  during 
the  recitation,  he  was  exceedingly  displeased ; 
he,  however,  pardoned  the  laymen  who  had 
committed  this  error,  after  they  had  received  a 
moderate  reproof.  With  respect  to  Apolinarius, 
father  and  son,  he  convicted  them  both  publicly 
of  their  sin,  and  ejected  them  from  the  church  ; 
for  they  both  belonged  to  the  clergy,  the  father 
being  a  presbyter,  and  the  son  a  reader  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  After  some  time  had  elapsed, 
and  when  the  father  and  son  had  evinced  by 
tears  and  fasting  a  degree  of  repentance  ade- 
quate to  their  transgression,  Theodotus  restored 
them  to  their  offices  in  the  church.  When  George 
received  the  same  bishopric,  he  excommuni- 
cated Apolinarius,  and  treated  him  as  alien  to 
the  Church  on  account  of  his  having,  as  before 
stated,  received  Athanasius  into  communion.  It 
is  said  that  Apolinarius  besought  him  repeatedly 
to  restore  him  to  communion,  but  that  he  was 
inexorable.  Apolinarius,  overcome  with  grief, 
disturbed  the  Church,  and  by  innovations  in 
doctrines  introduced  the  aforesaid  heresy;-  and 
he  thought  by  means  of  his  eloquence  to  revenge 
himself  on  his  enemy  by  proving  that  George 
had  deposed  one  who  was  more  deeply  ac- 
quainted with  the  Sacred  Scriptures  than  him- 
self. Thus  do  the  private  animosities  of  the 
clergy  from  time  to  time  greatly  injure  the 
Church,  and  divide  religion  into  many  heresies. 
And  this  is  a  proof;  for  had  George,  like  Theo- 
dotus, received  Apolinarius  on  his  repentance 
into  communion,  I  believe  that  we  should  never 
have  heard  of  the  heresy  that  bears  his  name. 
Men  are  prone,  when  loaded  with  opprobrium 
and  contempt,  to  resort  to  rivalries  and  innova- 
tions ;  whereas  when  treated  with  justice,  they 
become  moderate,  and  remain  in  the  same  posi- 
tion. 

CHAP.  XXVI. EUNOMIUS  AND  HIS  TEACHER  AETIUS, 

THEIR    AFFAIRS    AND     DOCTRINES.        THEY    WERE 

2  Athan.  Totniis  ad  Antinch.  7,  8;   Ep.  ad  Epictetiim  ;   De  in- 
carnatioite  Doiiiiui  nostri  Jesii  Christi  contra  Apollinarium, 


VI.  26.]  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


363 


THE  FIRST  WHO  BROACHED   ONE   IMMERSION   FOR 
THE  BAPTISM. 

About  this  time,  Eunomius,^  who  had  held  the 
church  in  Cyzicus  in  place  of  Eleusius,  and  who 
presided  over  the  Arian  heresy,  devised  another 
heresy  besides  this,  which  some  have  called  by 
his  name,  but  which  is  sometimes  denominated 
the  Anomian  heresy.    Some  assert  that  Eunomius 
was  the  first  who  ventured  to  maintain  that  divine 
baptism  ought  to  be  performed  by  one  immer- 
sion, and  to  corrupt,  in  this  manner,  the  apos- 
tolical tradition  which  has  been  carefully  handed 
down  to  the  present  day.      He  invented,  it  is 
said,  a  mode  of  discipline  contrary  to  that  of 
the  Church,  and  disguised  the  innovation  under 
gravity  and  greater  severity.     He  was  an  artist 
in  words  and  contentions,  and  delighted  in  argu- 
ments.    The  generality  of  those  who  entertain 
his  sentiments  have  the  same  predilections.   They 
do  not  applaud  a  good  course  of  life  or  manner, 
or  mercy  towards  the  needy,  unless  exhibited 
by  persons  of  their  own  sect,  so  much  as  skill 
in  disputation  and  the  power  of  triumphing  in 
debates.      Persons   possessed  of  these   accom- 
phshments  are  accounted  pious  above  all  others 
among   them.      Others    assert,   I  believe  more 
truthfully,  that  Theophronius,  a  native  of  Cap- 
padocia,  and   Eutychius,    both   zealous   propa- 
gators of  this  heresy,  seceded  from  communion 
with    Eunomius    during    the    succeeding    reign, 
and    innovated    about    the   other   doctrines   of 
Eunomius  and  about  the  divine  baptism.     They 
asserted  that  baptism  ought  not  to  be  admin- 
istered in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  but  in  the 
name  of  the  death  of  Christ.      It  appears  that 
Eunomius   broached    no    new   opinion   on   the 
subject,    but   was    from    the    beginning    firmly 
attached     to     the     sentiments    of    Arius,    and 
remained  so.     After  his  elevation  to  the  bishop- 
ric   of    Cyzicus,    he    was    accused    by   his    own 
clergy   of  introducing   innovations   in  doctrine. 
Eudoxius,  ruler  of  the  Arian  heresy  at  Constan- 
tinople, summoned  him  and  obliged  him  to  give 
an  account  of  his  doctrines  to  the  people  ;  find- 
ing, however,  no  fault  in  him,  Eudoxius  exhorted 
him  to  return  to  Cyzicus.     Eunomius,  however, 
repUed,  that  he  could  not  remain  with  people 
who  regarded  him  with  suspicion  ;  and,  it  is  said, 
seized  the  opportunity  for  secession,  although 
it  seems  that,  in  taking  this  step  he  was  really 
actuated  by  the  resentment  he  felt  at  the  refusal 
which  Aetius,  his  teacher,  had  met  with,  of  being 
received    into    communion.      Eunomius,   it   is 
added,  dwelt  with  Aetius,  and  never   deviated 
from   his   original   sentiments.      Such   are   the 


1  Philost.  many  sections,  especially  from  vi.  to  x.  4;  he  says  m 
iii.  21,  that  he  had  written  an  encomium  of  Eunomius.  Soc.  iv.  7. 
13,  V.  24.  The  many  opinions  gathered  up  by  Soz.  were  probably 
contributed  by  Sabinus.  There  is  more  original  judgrnent  in  this 
chapter  than  in  any  other.  Cf.  the  great  treatises  of  Basil  and  Greg. 
Nyssa  against  Eunomius. 


conflicting  accounts  of  various  individuals  ;  some 
narrate  the  circumstances  in  one  way,  and  some 
in   another.     But  whether  it  was  iMinomius,  or 
any  other  person,  who   first  made  these  innova- 
tions upon  the  tradition  of  baptism,  it  seems  to 
me    that    such    innovators,    whoever    they    may 
have  been,  were  alone  in  danger,  according  to 
their  own  representation,   of  quitting    this    life 
without  having  received  the  divine  baptism ;  for 
if,  after  they   had   been   baptized   according   to 
the   mode   recommended    from    the    beginning, 
they  found  it  impossible  to  rebaptize  themselves, 
it    must    be    admitted    that    they   introduced   a 
practice  to  which  they  had  not  themselves  sub- 
mitted,  and   thus   undertook   to    administer   to 
others  what  had  never  been  administered  to  them 
by  themselves  nor  by  others.     Thus,  after  having 
laid   down   the    dogma   by   some    non-existent 
principle  and  private  assumption,  they  proceeded 
to  bestow  upon  others  what  they  had  not  them- 
selves received.     The  absurdity  of  this  assump- 
tion is  manifest  from  their  own  confession ;  for 
they  admit  that  the  uninitiated  have  not  the 
power  to  baptize    others.     Now,   according  to 
their  opinion,  he  who  has  not  been  baptized  in 
conformity  with  their  tradition  is  unbaptized  as 
one  not  properly  initiated,  and  they  confirm  this 
opinion    by    their   pracdce,    inasmuch    as    they 
rebaptize  all  those  who  join  their  sect,  ahhough 
previously  initiated  according  to  the  tradition  of 
the  Catholic  Church.     These   varying   dogmas 
are  the  sources  of  innumerable  troubles  to  relig- 
ion ;    and    many  are  deterred  from  embracing 
Christianity  by  the  diversity  of  opinion  which 
prevails  in  matters  of  doctrine. 

The  disputes  daily  became  stronger,  and,  as 
in  the  beginning  of  heresies,  they  grew  ;  for  they 
had  leaders  who  were  not  deficient  in  zeal  or 
power  of  words;  indeed,  it  appears  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  Catholic  Church  would  have 
been  subverted  by  this  heresy,  had  it  not  found 
opponents  in  Basil  and  Gregory,  the  Cappado- 
cians.  The  reign  of  Theodosius  began  a  little 
while  after  ;  he  banished  the  founders  of  heretical 
sects  from  the  populous  parts  of  the  empire  to 
the  more  desert  regions. 

But,  lest  those  who  read  my  history  should  be 
ignorant  of  the  precise  nature  of  the  two  heresies 
to  which  I  have  more  especially  alluded,  I  think 
it  necessary  to  state  that  Aetius,  the  Syrian,  was 
the  originator  of  the  heresy  usually  attributed  to 
Eunomius  ;  and  that,  like  Arius,  he  maintained 
that  the  Son  is  dissimilar  from  the  Father,  that  He 
is  a  created  being,  and  was  created  out  of  what  had 
no  previous  existence.  Those  who  held  these 
views  were  formerly  called  Aetians  ;  but  after- 
wards, during  the  reign  of  Constantius,  when,  as 
we  have  stated,  some  parties  maintained  that  the 
Son  is  consubstantial  with  the  Father,  and  others 
that  He  is.  like  in  substance  to  the  Father,  and 


364 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  26. 


when  the  council  of  Ariminum  had  decreed  that 
the  Son  is  only  to  be  considered  like  unto  the 
Father,  Aetius  was  condemned  to  banishment, 
as  guilty  of  impiety  and  blasphemy  against  God. 
For  some  time  subsequently  his  heresy  seemed 
to  have  been  suppressed  ;  for  neither  any  other 
man  of  note,  nor  even  Eunomius,  ventured  openly 
upon  undertaking  its  defense.  But  when  Eu- 
nomius was  raised  to  the  church  of  Cyzicus  in 
place  of  Eleusius,  he  could  no  longer  quietly 
restrain  himself,  and  in  open  debate  he  brought 
forwafd  again  the  tenets  of  Aetius.  Hence,  as 
it  often  happens  that  the  names  of  the  original 
founders  of  heretical  sects  pass  into  oblivion,  the 
followers  of  Eunomius  were  designated  by  his 
own  name,  although  he  merely  renewed  the  her- 
esy of  Aetius,  and  promulgated  it  with  greater 
boldness  than  was  done  by  him  who  first  handed 
it  down. 

CHAP.  XXVII. ACCOUNT    GIVEN,   BY    GREGORY    THE 

THEOLOGIAN,  OF  APOLINARIUS  AND  EUNOMIUS, 
IN  A  LETTER  TO  NECTARIUS.  THEIR  HERESY 
WAS  DISTINGUISHED  BY  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE 
MONKS  WHO  WERE  THEN  LIVING,  FOR  THE  HERESY 
OF  THESE  TWO   HELD  NEARLY  THE  ENTIRE  EAST. 

It  is  obvious  that  Eunomius  and  Aetius  held 
the  same  opinions.  In  several  passages  of  his 
writings,  Eunomius  boasts  and  frequently  testi- 
fies that  Aetius  was  his  instructor.  Gregory, 
bishop  of  Nazianzen,  speaks  in  the  following 
terms  of  Apolinarius  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
Nectarius,  the  leader  of  the  church  in  Constan- 
tinople :  ^  "  Eunomius,  who  is  a  constant  source 
of  trouble  among  us,  is  not  content  with  being 
a  burden  to  us  himself,  but  would  consider  him- 
self to  blame  if  he  did  not  strive  to  drag  every 
one  with  him  to  the  destruction  whither  he  is 
hastening.  Such  conduct,  however,  may  be  tol- 
erated in  some  degree.  The  most  grievous  cal- 
amity against  which  the  Church  has  now  to 
struggle  arises  from  the  audacity  of  the  Apoli- 
narians.  I  know  not  how  your  Holiness  could 
have  agreed  that  they  should  be  as  free  to  hold 
meetings  as  we  ourselves.  You  have  been  fully 
instructed  by  the  grace  of  God,  in  the  Divine 
mysteries,  and  not  only  understand  the  defense 
of  the  Word  of  God,  but  also  whatever  inno- 
vations have  been  made  by  heretics  against  the 
sound  faith  ;  yet  it  may  not  be  amiss  for  your 
revered  Excellency  to  hear  from  our  narrowness, 
that  a  book  written  by  Apolinarius  has  fallen 
into  my  hands,  in  which  the  proposition  sur- 
passes all  forms  of  heretical  pravity.  He  affirms 
that  the  flesh  assumed  for  the  transformation  of 
our  nature,  under  the  dispensation  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God  was  not  acquired  for  this 

*  Greg.  Naz.  £p.  ccii.,  quoted  in  part. 


end  ;  but  that  this  carnal  nature  existed  in  the 
Son  from  the  beginning.  He  substantiates  this 
evil  hypothesis  by  a  misappUcation  of  the  fol- 
lowing words  of  Scripture  :  '  No  man  hath 
ascended  up  into  heaven.'-  He  alleges  from 
this  text,  that  Christ  was  the  Son  of  man 
before  He  descended  from  heaven,  and  that 
when  He  did  descend.  He  brought  with  Him 
His  own  flesh  which  He  had  already  possessed 
in  heaven  which  was  before  the  ages  and  essen- 
tially united.  He  also  states  another  apostolic 
saying :  '  The  second  man  is  from  heaven.'  ® 
He,  moreover,  maintains  that  the  man  who 
came  down  from  heaven  was  destitute  of  intel- 
lect (vovs),  but  that  the  Deity  of  the  only  be- 
gotten Son  fulfilled  the  nature  of  intellect,  and 
constituted  the  third  part  of  the  human  com- 
pound. The  body  and  soul  (4'vx^)  formed  two 
parts,  as  in  other  men,  but  there  was  no  intellect, 
but  the  Word  of  God  filled  the  place  of  intel- 
lect. Nor  does  this  end  the  awful  spectacle ; 
for  the  most  grievous  point  of  the  heresy  is, 
that  he  asserts  that  the  only-begotten  God, 
the  Judge  of  all  men,  the  Giver  of  life,  and 
the  Destroyer  of  death,  is  Himself  subject  to 
death  ;  that  He  suffered  in  His  own  Godhead, 
and  that  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  in  the 
third  day,  the  Godhead  also  was  raised  from 
the  dead  with  the  body ;  and  that  it  was  raised 
again  from  the  dead  by  the  Father.  It  would 
take  too  long  to  recount  all  the  other  ex- 
travagant doctrines  propounded  by  these  her- 
etics." What  I  have  said  may,  I  think,  suffice 
to  show  the  nature  of  the  sentiments  maintained 
by  Apolinarius  and  Eunomius.  If  any  one  de- 
sire more  detailed  information,  I  can  only  refer 
him  to  the  works  on  the  subject  written  either 
by  them  or  by  others  concerning  these  men.  I 
do  not  profess  easily  to  understand  or  to  ex- 
pound these  matters,  as  it  seems  to  me  the  fact 
that  these  dogmas  did  not  prevail  and  make 
further  advance  is  to  be  attributed,  in  addition 
to  the  causes  mentioned,  especially  to  the 
monks  of  that  period  ;  for  all  those  philosophers 
in  Syria,  Cappadocia,  and  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces, were  sincerely  attached  to  the  Nicene 
faith.  The  eastern  regions,  however,  from  Cih- 
cia  to  Phoenicia,  were  endangered  by  the  heresy 
of  Apolinarius.  The  heresy  of  Eunomius  was 
spread  from  Cilicia  and  the  mountains  of  Tau- 
rus as  far  as  the  Hellespont  and  Constantinople. 
These  two  heretics  found  it  easy  to  attract  to 
their  respective  parties  the  persons  among 
whom  they  dwelt,  and  those  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. But  the  same  fate  awaited  them  that  had 
been  experienced  by  the  Arians  ;  for  the  people 
admired  the  monks  who  manifested  their  virtue 
by  works  and  believed  that  they  held  right  opin- 


-  John  iii.  13. 


1  Cor.  XV.  47. 


VI.  29-] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


365 


ions,  while  they  turned  away  from  those  who 
held  other  opinions,  as  impious  and  as  holding 
spurious  doctrines.  In  the  same  way  the  Egyp- 
tians were  led  by  the  monks  to  oppose  the 
Arians. 

CHAP.  XXVIII.  OF  THE  HOLY  MEN  WHO  FLOUR- 
ISHED AT  THIS  PERIOD  IN  EGYPT.  JOHN,  OR, 
AMON,^  BENUS,  THEONAS,  COPRES,  HELLES, 
EUAS,  APELLES,  ISIDORE,  SERAPION,  DIOSCORUS, 
AND   EULOGIUS. 

As  this  period  was  distinguished  by  many 
holy  men,-  who  devoted  themselves  to  a  life  of 
philosophy,  it  seems  requisite  to  -give  some 
account  of  them,  for  in  that  time  there  flourished 
a  very  great  abundance  of  men  beloved  of  God. 
There  was  not,  it  appears,  a  more  celebrated 
man  in  Egypt  than  John.  He  had  received 
from  God  the  power  of  discerning  the  future 
and  the  most  hidden  things  as  clearly  as  the 
ancient  prophets,  and  he  had,  moreover,  the 
gift  of  healing  those  who  suffered  with  incurable 
afflictions  and  diseases.  Or  was  another  emi- 
nent man  of  this  period ;  he  had  lived  in  soli- 
tude from  his  earliest  youth,  occupying  himself 
continually  in  singing  the  praises  of  God.  He 
subsisted  on  herbs  and  roots,  and  his  drink  was 
water,  when  he  could  find  it.  In  his  old  age  he 
went,  by  the  command  of  God,  to  Thebais, 
where  he  presided  over  several  monasteries,  nor 
was  he  without  part  in  divine  works.  By  means 
of  prayer  alone  he  expelled  diseases  and  devils. 
He  knew  nothing  of  letters,  nor  did  he  need 
books  to  support  his  memory ;  for  whatever  he 
received  into  his  mind  was  never  afterwards 
forgotten. 

Ammon,  the  leader  of  the  monks  called 
Tabennesiotians,  dwelt  in  the  same  region,  and 
was  followed  by  about  three  thousand  disciples. 
Benus  and  Theonas  likewise  presided  over 
monastic  orders,  and  possessed  the  gift  of  fore- 
knowledge and  of  prophecy.  It  is  said  that 
though  Theonas  was  versed  in  all  the  learning 
of  the  Egyptians,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Romans, 
he  practiced  silence  for  the  space  of  thirty  years. 
Benus  was  never  seen  to  manifest  any  signs  of 
anger,  and  never  heard  to  swear,  or  to  utter  a 
false,  a  vain,  a  rash,  or  a  useless  word. 

Copres,  Helles,  and  Elias  also  flourished  at 
this  period.  It  is  said  that  Copres  had.  received 
from  God  the  power  of  healing  sickness  and 
divers  diseases,  and  of  overcoming  demons. 
Helles  had  from  his  youth  upwards  been  trained 
in  the  monastic  life,  and  he  wrought  many 
wonderful  works.  He  could  carry  fire  in  his 
bosom  without  burning  his  clothes.     He  excited 

1  Ammon  in  the  text. 

-  This  chapter  is  probably  built  on  Timothy,  bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria's collection;  see  next  chapter.  Cf.  Ruf.  //.  .1/.,  with  whose 
order  it  agrees  better  than  with  the  series  in  Palladius,  N.  L.;  cf. 
Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  8. 


his  fellow-monks  to  the  practice  of  virtue  by 
representing  that  with  a  good  conduct,  the 
display  of  miracles  would  follow.  Elias,  who 
practiced  philosophy  near  the  city  of  Antinoiis, 
was  at  this  period  about  a  hundred  and  ten 
years  of  age ;  before  this  he  said  he  had  passed 
seventy  years  alone  in  the  desert.  Notwith- 
standing his  advanced  age,  he  was  unremitting 
in  the  practice  of  fasting  and  courageous 
discipline. 

Apelles  flourished  at  the  same  period,  and 
performed  numerous  miracles  in  the  Egyptian 
monasteries,  near  the  city  of  Acoris.  He  at  one 
time  worked  as  a  smith,  for  this  was  his  trade ; 
and  one  night  the  devil  undertook  to  tempt  him 
to  incontinence,  by  appearing  before  him  in  the 
form  of  a  beautiful  woman  ;  Apelles,  however, 
seized  the  iron  which  was  heating  in  the  furnace, 
and  burnt  the  face  of  the  devil,  who  screamed 
like  a  wild  bird  and  ran  away. 

Isidore,  Serapion,  and  Dioscorus,  at  this 
period,  were  among  the  most  celebrated  fathers 
of  the  monks.  Isidore  caused  his  monastery  to 
be  closed,  so  that  no  one  could  obtain  egress 
or  ingress,  and  supplied  the  wants  of  those 
within  the  walls.  Serapion  lived  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Arsenoites,  and  had  about  a  thousand 
monks  under  his  guidance.  He  taught  all  to 
earn  their  provisions  by  their  labors  and  to  pro- 
vide for  others  who  were  poor.  During  harvest- 
time  they  busied  themselves  in  reaping  for  pay ; 
they  set  aside  sufficient  corn  for  their  own  use, 
and  shared  it  with  the  rest  of  the  monks.  Dios- 
corus had  not  more  than  a  hundred  disciples ; 
he  was  a  presbyter,  and  applied  himself  with 
great  exactness  to  the  duties  of  his  priesthood ; 
he  examined  and  carefully  questioned  those  who 
presented  themselves  as  candidates  for  participa- 
tion in  the  holy  mysteries,  so  that  they  might 
purify  their  minds  and  not  be  without  a  con- 
sciousness of  any  evil  they  might  have  com- 
mitted. The  presbyter  Eulogius  was  still  more 
scrupulous  in  the  dispensation  of  the  Divine 
mysteries.  It  is  said  that,  when  he  was  officiat- 
ing in  the  priestly  office,  he  could  discern  what 
was  in  the  minds  of  those  who  came  to  him,  so 
that  he  could  clearly  detect  sin,  and  the  secret 
thoughts  of  each  one  of  his  audience.  He  ex- 
cluded from  the  altar  all  who  had  perpetrated 
crime  or  formed  e\al  resolutions,  and  publicly 
convicted  them  of  sin ;  but,  on  their  purifying 
themselves  by  repentance,  he  again  received 
them  into  communion. 


CHAP.  XXIX. CONCERNING  THE  MONKS  OF  THE- 
BAIS :  APOLLOS,  DOROTHEUS  J  CONCERNING  PIAM- 
MON,  JOHN,  MARK,  MACARIUS,  APOLLODORUS, 
MOSES,  PAUL,  WHO  WAS  IN  FERJtM,  PACHO, 
STEPHEN,  AND  PIOR. 


366 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  2g. 


Apollos  flourished  about  the  same  period  in 
Thebais.  He  early  devoted  himself  to  a  life  of 
philosophy  ;  and  after  having  passed  forty  years 
in  the  desert,  he  shut  himself  up,  by  the  com- 
mand of  God,  in  a  cave  formed  at  the  foot  of 
a  mountain,  near  a  very  populous  district.  By 
the  multitude  of  his  miracles,  he  soon  became 
distinguished,  and  was  the  head  of  many  monks  ; 
for  he  directed  them  profitably  by  his  instruc- 
tions. Timothy,  who  conducted  the  church  of 
Alexandria,  has  given  us  a  history  of  his  method 
of  discipline  and  of  what  divine  and  marvelous 
deeds  he  was  a  worker ;  he  also  narrates  the 
lives  of  other  approved  monks,  many  of  whom 
I  have  mentioned.^ 

In  that  time  many  good  monks,  to  the  number 
of  about  two  thousand,  preached  philosophy  in 
the  neigliborhood  of  Alexandria ;  some  in  a 
district  called  the  Hermitage,  and  others  more 
towards  Mareotis  and  Libya.  Dorotheus,  a 
native  of  Thebes,  was  among  the  most  celebrated 
of  these  monks.  He  spent  the  day  in  collecting 
stones  upon  the  seashore,  which  he  used  in 
erecting  cells  to  be  given  to  those  who  were 
unable  to  build  them.  During  the  night,  he 
employed  himself  in  weaving  baskets  of  palm 
leaves;  and  these  he  sold,  to  obtain  the  means 
of  subsistence.  He  ate  six  ounces  of  bread 
with  a  few  vegetables  daily,  and  drank  nothing 
but  water.  Having  accustomed  himself  to  this 
extreme  abstinence  from  his  youth,  he  continued 
to  observe  it  in  old  age.  He  was  never  seen  to 
recline  on  a  mat  or  a  bed,  nor  even  to  place  his 
limbs  in  an  easy  attitude,  or  willingly  to  surrender 
himself  to  sleep.  Sometimes,  from  natural  lassi- 
tude, his  eyes  would  involuntarily  close  when  he 
was  at  his  daily  labor  or  his  meals ;  and  when 
nodding  during  his  eating,  the  food  would  fall 
from  his  mouth.  One  day,  being  utterly  over- 
come by  drowsiness,  he  fell  down  on  the  mat ; 
he  was  displeased  at  finding  himself  in  this 
position,  and  said,  in  an  undertone  of  voice,  "  If 
angels  are  persuaded  to  sleep,  you  will  persuade 
also  the  zealous."  Perhaps  he  might  have  said 
this  to  himself,  or  perhaps  to  the  demon  who 
had  become  an  impediment  to  his  zealous  exer- 
cises. He  was  once  asked  by  a  person  who 
came  to  him  while  he  was  exhausting  himself, 
why  he  destroyed  his  body.  "  Hecause  it  de- 
stroys me,"  was  his  reply. 

Piammon  and  John  presided  over  two  cele- 
brated Egyptian  monasteries  near  Diolcus. 
They  were  presbyters  who  discharged  their 
priesthood  very  carefully  and  reverently.  It  is 
said  that  one  day,  when  Piammon  was  officiating 
as  priest,  he  beheld  an  angel  standing  near  the 


1  Here  we  learn  that  Timothy  furnished  the  storehouse  for  this 
monastic  biography.  The  stories  of  this  chai)ter  are  probably  also 
borrowed  from  him,  at  least  in  part.  There  is  a  more  conspicuous 
divergence  from  I'alladius  and  Rufinus. 


holy  table  and  writing  down  in  a  book  the  names 
of  the  monks  who  were  present,  while  he  erased 
the  names  of  those  who  were  absent.  John  had 
received  from  God  such  power  over  sufferings 
and  diseases,  that  he  healed  the  gouty  and 
restored  the  paralytic. 

A  very  old  man,  named  Benjamin,  was  prac- 
ticing philosophy  very  brilliantly  about  this 
period,  in  the  desert  near  Scetis.  God  had  be- 
stowed upon  him  the  power  of  relieving  the  sick 
of  every  disease  without  medicine,  by  the  touch 
only  of  his  hand,  or  by  means  of  a  little  oil  con- 
secrated by  prayer.  The  story  is,  that  he  was 
attacked  by  a  dropsy,  and  his  body  was  swollen 
to  such  a  size  that  it  became  necessary,  in  order 
to  carry  him  from  his  cell,  to  enlarge  the  door. 
As  his  malady  would  not  admit  of  his  lying  in  a 
recumbent  posture,  he  remained,  during  eight 
months,  seated  on  a  very  large  skin,  and  con- 
tinued to  heal  the  sick,  without  regretting  that 
his  own  recovery  was  not  effected.  He  com- 
forted those  who  came  to  visit  him,  and  requested 
them  to  pray  for  his  soul ;  adding  that  he  cared 
little  for  his  body,  for  it  had  been  of  no  service 
to  him  when  in  health,  and  could  not,  now  that 
it  was  diseased,  be  of  any  injury  to  him. 

About  the  same  time  the  celebrated  Mark, 
Marcarius  the  younger,  Apollonius,  and  Moses, 
an  Egyptian,  dwelt  at  Scetis.  It  is  said  that 
Mark  was,  from  his  youth  upwards,  distinguished 
by  extreme  mildness  and  prudence  ;  he  com- 
mitted the  Sacred  Scriptures  to  memory,  and 
manifested  such  eminent  piety  that  Macarius 
himself,  the  presbyter  of  Celliae,"  declared  that 
he  had  never  given  to  him  what  priests  present 
to  the  initiated  at  the  holy  table,  but  that  an 
angel  administered  it  to  him  whose  hand  up  to 
the  forearm  he  declares  himself  to  have  seen. 

Macarius  had  received  from  God  the  power  of 
dispelling  demons.  A  murder  which  he  had 
unintentionally  committed  was  the  original  cause 
of  his  embracing  a  life  of  philosophy.  He  was 
a  shepherd,  and  led  his  flock  to  graze  on  the 
banks  of  Lake  Mareotis,  when  in  sport  he  slew 
one  of  his  companions.  Fearful  of  being  de- 
livered up  to  justice,  he  fled  to  the  desert. 
Here  he  concealed  himself  during  three  years, 
and  afterwards  erected  a  small  dwelling  on  the 
spot,  in  which  he  dwelt  twenty-five  years.  He 
was  accustomed  to  say  that  he  owed  much  to 
the  calamity  that  had*  befallen  him  in  early  fife, 
and  even  called  the  unintentional  murder  he  had 
committed  a  salutary  deed,  inasmuch  as  it  had 
been  the  cause  of  his  embracing  philosophy 
and  a  blessed  mode  of  life. 

Apollonius,  after  passing  his  life  in  the  pur- 
suits of  commerce,  retired  in  his  old  age  to 
Scetis.      On  reflecting  that  he  was  too  old  to 


-  Ruf.  H.  M.  22;  the  place  was  thus  named  from  the  number  of 
cells  located  there. 


VI.  29.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


367 


learn  writing  or  any  other  art,  he  purchased  with 
his  own  money  a  supply  of  every  kind  of  drug, 
and  of  food  suited  for  the  sick,  some  of  which 
he  carried  until  the  ninth  hour  to  the  door  of 
every  monastery,  for  the  relief  of  those  who  were 
suffering  from  disease.  Finding  this  practice 
advantageous  to  himself,  he  adopted  this  mode 
of  life ;  and  when  he  felt  death  approaching  he 
delivered  his  drugs  to  one  whom  he  exhorted 
to  go  and  do  as  he  had  done. 

Moses  was  originally  a  slave,  but  was  driven 
from  his  master's  house  on  account  of  his  im- 
morality. He  joined  some  robbers,  and  became 
leader  of  the  band.  After  having  perpetrated 
many  evil  deeds  and  dared  some  murders,  by 
some  sudden  conversion  he  embraced  the  mo- 
nastic life,  and  attained  the  highest  point  of  phil- 
osophy. As  the  healthful  and  vigorous  habit  of 
body  which  had  been  induced  by  his  former 
avocations  acted  as  a  stimulus  to  his  imagination 
and  excited  a  desire  for  pleasure,  he  resorted  to 
every  possible  means  of  macerating  his  body  ; 
thus,  he  subsisted  on  a  little  bread  without 
cooked  food,  subjected  himself  to  severe  labor, 
and  prayed  fifty  times  daily ;  he  prayed  stand- 
ing, without  bending  his  knees  or  closing  his 
eyes  in  sleep.  He  sometimes  went  during  the 
night  to  the  cells  of  the  monks  and  secretly 
filled  their  pitchers  with  water,  and  this  was  very 
laborious,  for  he  had  sometimes  to  go  ten,  some- 
times twenty,  and  sometimes  thirty  and  more, 
stadia  in  quest  of  water.  Notwithstanding  all 
his  efforts  to  macerate  his  body,  it  was  long 
before  he  could  subdue  his  natural  vigor  of 
constitution.  It  is  reported  that  robbers  once 
broke  into  the  dwelling  where  he  was  practicing 
philosophy ;  he  seized  and  bound  them,  threw 
the  four  men  across  his  shoulders,  and  bore 
them  to  the  church,  that  the  monks  who  were 
there  assembled  might  deal  with  them  as  they 
thought  fit,  for  he  did  not  consider  himself  au- 
thorized to  punish  any  one.  For  they  say  so  sud- 
den a  conversion  from  vice  to  virtue  was  never 
before  witnessed,  nor  such  rapid  attainments  in 
monastical  philosophy.  Hence  God  rendered 
him  an  object  of  dread  to  the  demons,  and  he 
was  ordained  presbyter  over  the  monks  at  Sce- 
tis.  After  a  life  spent  in  this  manner,  he  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five,  leaving  behind  him 
numerous  eminent  disciples. 

Paul,  Pachon,  Stephen,  and  Moses,  of  whom 
the  two  latter  were  Libyans,  and  Pior,  who  was 
an  Egyptian,  flourished  during  this  reign.  Paul 
dwelt  at  Ferme,  a  mountain  of  Scetis,  and  pre- 
sided over  five  hundred  ascetics.  He  did  not 
labor  with  his  hands,  neither  did  he  receive  alms 
of  any  one,  except  such  food  as  was  necessary 
for  his  subsistence.  He  did  nothing  but  pray, 
and  daily  offered  up  to  God  three  hundred  pray- 
ers.    He  placed  three  hundred  pebbles  in  his 


bosom,  for  fear  of  omitting  any  of  these  prayers  ; 
and,  at  the  conclusion  of  each,  he  took  away 
one  of  the  pebbles.  When  there  were  no  peb- 
bles remaining,  he  knew  that  he  had  gone  through 
the  whole  course  of  his  prescribed  prayers. 

Pachon  also  flourished  during  this  period  at 
Scetis.  He  followed  this  career  from  youth  to 
extreme  old  age,  without  ever  being  found  un- 
manly in  self-control  by  the  appetites  of  the 
body,  the  passions  of  the  soul,  or  a  demon,  — 
in  short,  in  all  those  things  which  the  philosopher 
should  conquer. 

Stephen  dwelt  at  Mareotis  near  Marmarica. 
.During  sixty  years,  through  exactness,  he  attained 
the  perfection  of  asceticism,  became  very  noted 
as  a  monk,  and  was  intimate  with  Antony  the 
Great.  He  was  very  mild  and  prudent,  and  his 
usual  style  of  conversation  was  sweet  and  profit- 
able, and  well  calculated  to  comfort  the  souls  of 
the  afflicted,  to  transform  them  into  good  spirits, 
if  even  they  had  previously  been  depressed  by 
griefs  which  seemed  necessary.  He  behaved 
similarly  about  his  own  afflictions.  He  was 
troubled  with  a  severe  and  incurable  ulcer,  and 
surgeons  were  employed  to  operate  upon  the  dis- 
eased members.  During  the  operation  Stephen 
employed  himself  in  weaving  palm  leaves,  and 
exhorted  those  who  were  around  him  not  to 
concern  themselves  about  his  sufferings.  He 
told  them  to  have  no  other  thought  than  that 
God  does  nothing  but  for  our  good,  and  that 
his  affliction  would  tend  to  his  real  welfare,  inas- 
much as  it  would  perhaps  atone  for  his  sins,  it 
being  better  to  be  judged  in  this  life  than  in  the 
life  to  come. 

Moses  was  celebrated  for  his  meekness,  his 
love,  and  his  power  of  healing  of  sufferings  by 
prayer.  Pior  determined,  from  his  youth,  to 
devote  himself  to  a  life  of  philosophy ;  and, 
with  this  view,  quitted  his  father's  house  after 
having  made  a  vow  that  he  would  never  again 
look  upon  any  of  his  relations.  After  fifty  years 
had  expired,  one  of  his  sisters  heard  that  he  was 
still  alive,  and  she  was  so  transported  with  joy 
at  this  unexpected  intelligence,  that  she  could 
not  rest  till  she  had  seen  him.  The  bishop  of 
the  place  where  she  resided  was  so  affected  by 
the  groans  and  tears  of  the  aged  woman,  that  he 
wrote  to  the  leaders  of  the  monks  in  the  desert 
of  Scetis,  desiring  them  to  send  Pior  to  him. 
The  superiors  accordingly  directed  him  to  repair 
to  the  city  of  his  birth,  and  he  could  not  say 
nay,  for  disobedience  was  regarded  as  unlawful 
by  the  monks  of  Egypt,  and  I  think  also  by 
other  monks.  He  went  with  another  monk  to 
the  door  of  his  father's  house,  and  caused  him- 
self to  be  announced.  When  he  heard  the  door 
being  opened,  he  closed  his  eyes,  and  calling  his 
sister  by  name,  he  said  to  her,  ''  I  am  Pior,  your 
brother;  look  at  me  as  much  as  you  please." 


368 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  29. 


His  sister  was  delighted  beyond  measure  at 
again  beholding  him,  and  returned  thanks  to 
God.  He  prayed  at  the  door  where  he  stood, 
and  then  returned  to  the  place  where  he  lived ; 
there  he  dug  a  well,  and  found  that  the  water 
was  bitter,  but  he  persevered  in  the  use  of  it  till 
his  death.  Then  the  height  to  which  he  had 
carried  his  self-denial  was  known ;  for  after  he 
died,  several  attempted  to  practice  philosophy 
in  the  place  where  he  had  dwelt,  but  found  it 
impossible  to  remain  there.  I  am  convinced 
that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  principles  of  philos- 
ophy which  he  had  espoused,  he  could  easily 
have  changed  the  water  to  a  sweet  taste  by 
prayer ;  for  he  caused  water  to  flow  in  a  spot 
where  none  had  existed  previously.  It  is  said 
that  some  monks,  under  the  guidance  of  Moses, 
undertook  to  dig  a  well,  but  the  expected  vein 
did  not  appear,  nor  did  any  depth  yield  the 
water,  and  they  were  about  to  abandon  the  task, 
when,  about  midday,  Pior  joined  them  ;  he  first 
embraced  them,  and  then  rebuked  their  want  of 
faith  and  littleness  of  soul ;  he  then  descended 
into  the  pit  they  had  excavated ;  and,  after  en- 
gaging in  prayer,  struck  the  ground  thrice  with 
a  rod.  A  spring  of  water  soon  after  rose  to  the 
surface,  and  filled  the  whole  excavation.  After 
prayer,  Pior  departed ;  and  though  the  monks 
urged  him  to  break  his  fast  with  them,  he  re- 
fused, alleging  that  he  had  not  been  sent  to 
them  for  that  purpose,  but  merely  in  order  to 
perform  the  act  he  had  effected.^ 


CHAP.  XXX.  —  MONKS  OF  SCETIS  :  ORIGEN,  DIDYMUS, 
CRONION,  ORSISIUS,  PUTUBATUS,  ARSION,  SERA- 
PION,  AMMON,  EUSEBIUS,  AND  DIOSCORUS,  THE 
BRETHREN  WHO  ARE  CALLED  LONG,  AND  EVAGRIUS 
THE  PHILOSOPHER. 

At  this  period,  Origen,  one  of  the  disciples  of 
Antony  the  Great,  was  still  living  at  a  great  age, 
in  the  monasteries  of  Scetis.^  Also,  Didymus, 
and  Cronion,  who  was  about  one  hundred  and 
ten  years  of  age,  Arsisius  the  Great,  Putuba- 
tus,  Arsion,  and  Serapion,  all  of  whom  had 
been  contemporary  with  Antony  the  Great. 
They  had  grown  old  in  the  exercise  of  philoso- 
phy, and  were  at  this  period  presiding  over  the 
monasteries.  There  were  some  holy  men  among 
them  who  were  young  and  middle  aged,  but  who 
were  celebrated  for  their  excellent  and  good 
qualities.  Among  these  were  Ammonius,  Euse- 
bius,  and  Dioscorus.  They  were  brothers,  but 
on  account  of  their  height  of  stature  were  called 
the  "Long  Brothers."'''     It  is  said  that  Ammon 

'  See  another  story  of  Pior  in  Soc.  iv.  23. 

2  This  chapter  may  have  its  basis  in  the  collection  of  Timothy. 
Cf.  P.illadius,  H.  L.,  for  some  of  the  biographies. 
•^  Cf.  viii.  12  sqq. 


attained  the  summit  of  philosophy,  and  conse- 
quently overcame  the  love  of  ease  and  pleasure. 
He  was  very  studious,  and  had  read  the  works 
of  Origen,  of  Didymus,  and  of  other  ecclesias- 
tical writers.  From  his  youth  to  the  day  of  his 
death  he  never  tasted  anything,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  bread,  that  had  been  prepared  by  means 
of  fire.  He  was  once  chosen  to  be  ordained 
bishop  ;  and  after  urging  every  argument  that 
could  be  devised  in  rejection  of  the  honor,  but 
in  vain,  he  cut  off  one  of  his  ears,  and  said  to 
those  who  had  come  for  him,  "Go  away.  Hence- 
forward the  priestly  law  forbids  my  ordination, 
for  the  person  of  a  priest  should  be  perfect." 
Those  who  had  been  sent  for  him  accordingly 
departed  ;  but,  on  ascertaining  that  the  Church 
does  not  observe  the  Jewish  law  in  requiring  a 
priest  to  be  perfect  in  all  his  members,  but  merely 
requires  him  to  be  irreprehensible  in  point  of 
morals,  they  returned  to  Ammon,  and  endeav- 
ored to  take  him  by  force.  He  protested  to 
them  that,  if  they  attempted  any  violence  against 
him,  he  would  cut  out  his  tongue  ;  and,  terrified 
at  this  menace,  they  immediately  took  their 
departure.  Ammon  was  ever  after  surnamed 
Parotes.  Some  time  afterwards,  during  the  en- 
suing reign,  the  wise  Evagrius  formed  an  inti- 
macy with  him.  Evagrius'*  was  a  wise  man, 
powerful  in  thought  and  in  word,  and  skillful  in 
discerning  the  arguments  which  led  to  virtue 
and  to  vice,  and  capable  in  urging  others  to 
imitate  the  one,  and  to  eschew  the  other.  His 
eloquence  is  fully  attested  by  the  works  he  has 
left  behind  him.''^  With  respect  to  his  moral 
character,  it  is  said  that  he  was  totally  free  from 
all  pride  or  superciliousness,  so  that  he  was  not 
elated  when  just  commendations  were  awarded 
him,  nor  displeased  when  unjust  reproaches  were 
brought  against  him.  He  was  a  citizen  of  Iberia, 
near  the  Euxine.  He  had  philosophized  and 
studied  the  Sacred  Scriptures  under  Gregory, 
bishop  of  Nazianzen,  and  had  filled  the  office 
of  archdeacon  when  Gregory  administered  the 
church  in  Constantinople.  He  was  handsome 
in  person,  and  careful  in  his  mode  of  attire ; 
and  hence  an  acquaintanceship  he  had  formed 
with  a  certain  lady  excited  the  jealousy  of  her 
husband,  who  plotted  his  death.  While  the  plot 
was  about  being  carried  forward  into  deed,  God 
sent  him  while  sleeping,  a  fearful  and  saving 
vision  in  a  dream.  It  appeared  to  him  that  he 
had  been  arrested  in  the  act  of  committing  some 
crime,  and  that  he  was  bound  hand  and  foot  in 
irons.  As  he  was  being  led  before  the  magis- 
trates to  receive  the  sentence  of  condemnation, 
a  man  who  held  in  his  hand  the  book  of  the 
Holy  Gospels  addressed  him,  and  promised  to 
deliver  him  from  his  bonds,  and  confirmed  this 


*  Cf.  also  Soc.  iv.  23. 


6  PGM.  xl. 


VI.  32.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


369 


with  an  oath,  provided  he  would  quit  the  city. 
Evagrius  touched  the  book,  and  made  oath  that 
he  would  do  so.  Immediately  his  chains  ap- 
peared to  fall  off,  and  he  awoke.  He  was  con- 
vinced by  this  divine  dream,  and  fled  the  danger. 
He  resolved  upon  devoting  himself  to  a  life  of 
asceticism,  and  proceeded  from  Constantinople 
to  Jerusalem.  Some  time  after  he  went  to  visit 
the  philosophers  of  Scetis,  and  gladly  deter- 
mined to  live  there. 

CHAP.  XXXI.  —  CONCERNING  THE  MONKS  OF  NITRLA, 
AND  THE  MONASTERIES  CALLED  CELLS  ;  ABOUT 
THE  ONE  IN  RHINOCORURA  ;  ABOUT  MEL.-^S, 
DIONi'SIUS,    AND    SOLON. 

They  call  this  place  Nitria.  It  is  inhabited 
by  a  great  number  of  persons  devoted  to  a  life 
of  philosophy,  and  derives  its  name  from  its 
vicinity  to  a  village  in  which  nitre  is  gathered. 
It  contains  about  fifty  monasteries,  built  toler- 
ably near  to  each  other,  some  of  which  are  in- 
habited by  monks  who  live  together  in  society, 
and  others  by  monks  who  have  adopted  a  soli- 
tary mode  of  existence.  More  in  the  interior 
of  the  desert,  about  seventy  stadia  from  this 
locality,  is  another  place  called  Cellia,^  through- 
out which  numerous  little  dwellings  are  dis- 
persed hither  and  thither,  and  hence  its  name  ; 
but  at  such  a  distance  that  those  who  dwell  in 
them  can  neither  see  nor  hear  each  other.  They 
assemble  together  on  the  first  and  last  days  of 
each  week ;  and  if  any  monk  happen  to  be 
absent,  it  is  evident  that  he  has  been  left  be- 
hind involuntarily,  having  been  hindered  by  suf- 
fering some  disease  ;  they  do  not  all  go  im- 
mediately to  see  and  nurse  him,  but  each  one 
in  turn  at  different  times,  and  bearing  what- 
ever each  has  suitable  for  disease.  Except  for 
such  a  cause,  they  seldom  converse  together, 
unless,  indeed,  there  be  one  among  them  capable 
of  communicating  further  knowledge  concerning 
God  and  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  Those  who 
dwell  in  the  cells  are  those  who  have  attained 
the  summit  of  philosophy,  and  who  are  there- 
fore able  to  regulate  their  own  conduct,  to  live 
alone,  and  are  separated  from  the  others  for  the 
sake  of  quietude.  This  is  what  I  had  briefly  to 
state  concerning  Scetis  and  its  philosophers. 
Some  one  would  probably  censure  my  writing 
as  prolix,  were  I  to  enter  into  further  details 
concerning  their  mode  of  life  ;  for  they  have 
established  individual  courses  of  life,  labors, 
customs,  exercises,  abstinence,  and  time,  divided 
naturally  according  to  the  age  of  the  individual. 

Rhinocorura  was  also  celebrated  at  this  period, 
an  account  of  the  holy  men,  not  from  abroad, 
but  who   were    natives    of  the   place.     I    have 

1  See  above,  note  on  c.  29.  For  Nitria  and  Cellia,  see  Ruf. 
H.  M.  21,  22;  Pallad.  H.  L.  69. 


heard  ^  that  the  most  eminent  philosophers 
among  them  were  Melas,  who  then  administered 
the  church  of  the  country  ;  Dionysius,  who  pre- 
sided over  a  monastery  situated  to  the  north  of 
the  city ;  and  Solon,  the  brother  and  successor 
to  the  bishopric  of  Melas.  It  is  said  that  when 
the  decree  for  the  ejection  of  all  priests  opposed 
to  Arianism  was  issued,  the  officers  appointed 
to  apprehend  Melas  found  him  engaged  as  the 
lowest  servant,  in  trimming  the  lights  of  the 
church,  with  a  girdle  soiled  with  oil  on  his  cloak, 
and  carrying  the  wicks.  When  they  asked  him 
for  the  bishop,  he  replied  that  he  was  within, 
and  that  he  would  conduct  them  to  him.  As 
they  were  fatigued  with  their  journey,  he  led  them 
to  the  episcopal  dwelling,  made  them  sit  down 
at  table,  and  gave  them  to  eat  of  such  things  as 
he  had.  After  the  repast,  he  supplied  them 
with  water  to  wash  their  hands  ;  for  he  served 
the  guests,  and  then  told  them  who  he  was. 
Amazed  at  his  conduct,  they  confessed  the 
mission  on  which  they  had  arrived  ;  but  from 
respect  to  him,  gave  him  full  hberty  to  go  where- 
ever  he  would.  He,  however,  replied  that  he 
would  not  shrink  from  the  sufferings  to  which 
the  other  bishops  who  maintained  the  same 
sentiments  as  himself  were  exposed,  and  that 
he  was  willing  to  go  into  exile.  Having  phil- 
osophized from  his  youth,  he  had  exercised  him- 
self in  all  the  monastic  virtues. 

Solon  quitted  the  pursuits  of  commerce  to 
embrace  a  monastic  life,  a  measure  which  tended 
greatly  to  his  welfare  ;  for  under  the  instmction 
of  his  brother  and  other  ascetics,  he  progressed 
rapidly  in  piety  towards  God,  and  in  goodness 
towards  his  neighbor.  The  church  of  Rhino- 
corura having  been  thus,  from  the  beginning, 
under  the  guidance  of  such  exemplary  bishops, 
never  afterwards  swerved  from  their  precepts, 
and  produced  good  men.  The  clergy  of  this 
church  dwell  in  one  house,  sit  at  the  same  table, 
and  have  everything  in  common. 

chap.  XXXII.  —  MONKS  OF  PALESTINE  :  HESYCAS, 
EPIPHANIUS,  WHO  WAS  AFTERWARDS  IN  CYPRUS, 
AJNIMONIUS,  AND  SILVANUS. 

Many  monastical  institutions  flourished  in  Pal- 
estine.'' Many  of  those  whom  I  enumerated 
under  the  reign  of  Constantius  were  still  culti- 
vating the  science.  They  and  their  associates 
attained  the  summit  of  philosophical  perfection, 
and  added  still  greater  reputation  to  their  mon- 
asteries ;  and  among  them  Hesycas,''  a  companion 
of  Hilarion,  and  Epiphanius,  afterwards  bishop 
of  Salamis  in  Cyprus,  deserve  to  be  particularly 
noticed.     Hesycas  devoted  himself  to  a  life  of 

-  This  is  independent. 

3  This  chapter  is  probably  derived  from  local  Palestinian  biogra- 
phies familiar  to  him  as  a  native. 
*  Hesychius,  Hieron.  Vit.  Hil. 


370 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  32. 


philosophy  in  the  same  locahty  where  his  master 
had  formerly  resided ;  and  Epiphanius '  fixed 
his  abode  near  the  village  of  Besauduc,  which 
was  his  birthplace,  in  the  government  of  JEleu- 
theropolis.  Having  been  instructed  from  his 
youth  by  the  most  celebrated  ascetics,  and  hav- 
ing on  this  account  passed  the  most  of  his  time 
in  Egypt,  Epiphanius  became  most  celebrated 
in  Egypt  and  Palestine  by  his  attainments  in 
monastic  philosophy,  and  was  chosen  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Cyprus  to  act  as  bishop  of  the 
metropolis  of  their  island.  Hence  he  is,  I 
think,  the  most  revered  man  under  the  whole 
heaven,  so  to  speak ;  for  he  fulfilled  his  priest- 
hood in  the  concourse  of  a  large  city  and  in  a 
seaport ;  and  when  he  threw  himself  into  civil 
affairs,  he  conducted  them  with  so  much  virtue 
that  he  became  known  in  a  little  while  to  all 
citizens  and  every  variety  of  foreigner  ;  to  some, 
because  they  had  seen  the  man  himself,  and  had 
experience  of  his  manner  of  living  ;  and  to  x)th- 
ers,  who  had  learned  it  from  these  spectators. 
Before  he  went  to  Cyprus,  he  resided  for  some 
time,  during  the  present  reign,  in  Palestine. 

At  the  same  period  in  the  monasteries,  Sala- 
mines,  Phuscon,  Malachion,  and  Crispion,  four 
brethren,  were  highly  distinguished  :  they  prac- 
ticed philosophy  near  Betheha,  a  village  of 
Gaza  ;  they  were  of  a  resident  noble  family,  and 
had  been  instructed  in  philosophy  by  Hilarion. 
It  is  related  that  the  brothers  were  once  jour- 
neying homewards,  when  Malachion  was  sudden- 
ly snatched  away  and  became  invisible  ;  soon 
afterwards,  however,  he  reappeared  and  con- 
tinued the  journey  with  his  brothers.  He  did 
not  long  survive  this  occurrence,  but  died  in  the 
flower  of  his  youth.  He  was  not  behind  men 
of  advanced  age  in  the  philosophy  of  virtuous 
life  and  of  piety. 

Ammonius  lived  at  a  distance  of  ten  stadia 
from  those  last  mentioned  ;  he  dwelt  near  Caph- 
arcobra,  the  place  of  his  birth,  a  town  of  Gaza. 
He  was  very  exact  and  courageous  in  carrying 
through  asceticism.  I  think  that  Silvanus,  a 
native  of  Palestine,  to  whom,  on  account  of  his 
high  virtue,  an  angel  was  once  seen  to  minister, 
practiced  philosophy  about  the  same  time  in 
Egypt.  Then  he  lived  at  Mount  Sinai,  and 
afterwards  founded  at  Gerari,  in  the  wady,  a 
very  extensive  and  most  noted  coenobium  for 
many  good  men,  over  which  the  excellent  Zach- 
arias  subsequently  presided. 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  —  MONKS  OF  SYRIA  AND  PERSIA  : 
BATTHEUS,  EUSEBIUS,  BARGES,  HALAS,  ABBO,  LAZA- 
RUS, ABDALEUS,  ZENO,  HELIODORUS,  EUSEBIUS  OF 
CARR.'E,  PROTOGENES,  AND  AONES. 


'  See  in  books  vii.  27  and  viii.  14. 


Let  us  pass  thence  to  Syria  and  Persia,"  the 
parts  adjacent  to  Syria.  We  shall  find  that  the 
monks  of  these  countries  emulated  those  of 
Egypt  in  the  practice  of  philosophy.  Battheus, 
Eusebius,  Barges,  Halas,  Abbos,  Lazarus,  who 
attained  the  episcopal  dignity,  Abdaleus,  Zeno, 
and  Heliodorus,  flourished  in  Nisibis,  near  the 
mountain  called  Sigoron.  When  they  first  en- 
tered upon  the  philosophic  career,  they  were 
denominated  shepherds,  because  they  had  no 
houses,  ate  neither  bread  nor  meat,  and  drank 
no  wine  ;  but  dwelt  constantly  on  the  mountains, 
and  passed  their  time  in  praising  God  by  prayers 
and  hymns,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Church. 
At  the  usual  hours  of  meals,  they  each  took  a 
sickle,  and  went  to  the  mountain  to  cut  some 
grass  on  the  mountains,  as  though  they  were 
flocks  in  pasture ;  and  this  sen-ed  for  their 
repast.  Such  was  their  course  of  philosophy. 
Eusebius  voluntarily  shut  himself  up  in  a  cell  to- 
philosophize,  near  Carrae.^  Protogenes  dwelt  in 
the  same  locality,  and  ruled  the  church  there- 
after Vitus  who  was  then  bishop.  This  is  the 
celebrated  Vitus  of  whom  they  say  that  when 
the  Emperor  Constantine  first  saw  him,  he  con- 
fessed that  God  had  frequently  shown  this  man 
in  appearances  to  him  and  enjoined  him  to  obey 
implicitly  what  he  should  say.  Aones  had  a 
monastery  in  Phadana  ;  this  was  the  spot  where 
Jacob,  the  grandson  of  Abraham,  on  his  journey 
from  Palestine,  met  the  damsel  whom  he  after- 
wards married,  and  where  he  rolled  away  the 
stone,  that  her  flock  might  drink  of  the  water  of 
the  well.  It  is  said  that  Aones  was  the  first  who 
introduced  the  life  apart  from  all  men,  and  the 
severe  philosophy  into  Syria,  just  as  it  was  first 
introduced  by  Antony  into  Egypt. 


CHAP.      XXXIV. MONKS      OF      EDESSA  :      JULIANUS,. 

EPHRADI  SVRUS,  BARUS,  AND  EULOGIUS  ;  FURTHER,. 
THE  MONKS  OF  COiLE-SYRIA  :  VALENTINUS, 
THEODORE,  MEROSAS,  BASSUS,  BASSONIUS  ;  AND 
THE  HOLY  IMEN  OF  GALATIA  AND  CAPPADOCIA,. 
AND  ELSEWHERE  ;  WHY  THOSE  SAINTS  UNTIL  RE- 
CENTLY WERE  LONG-LIVED. 

Gaddanas  and  Azizus  dwelt  with  Aones,  and 
emulated  his  virtues.'*  Ephraim  the  Syrian,  who 
was  an  historian,  and  has  been  noticed  ^  in  our 
own  recital  of  events  under  the  reign  of  Con- 
stantius,  was  the  most  renowned  philosopher  in 
this  time,  together  with  Julian,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Edessa  and  its  adjacent  regions.  Par- 
ses ^  and  Eulogius  were  both,  at  a  later  period 
than  that  to  which  we  are  referring,  ordained 

-  Again,  presumably,  from  Syrian  biographies.  Theodoret, //.  .ff. 
iv.  28,  has  but  one  identical  name;  and  the  same  is  true  of  his  His- 
toria  Religiosa.  Battheus,  Halas,  and  Heliodorus  are  repeated  in 
the  following  chapter. 

3  Cf.  Basil,  Ep.  cclv.  ^  See  above,  iii.  14,  16. 

*  From  Syrian  biographies.  «  Basil,  Ep.  cclxvii. 


VI.  35-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


371 


bishops,  but  not  of  any  city ;  for  the  title  was 
merely  an  honorary  one,  conferred  on  them  as  a 
compensation  for  their  excellent  conduct ;  and 
they  were  ordained  in  their  own  monasteries. 
Lazarus,  to  whom  we  have  already  alluded,  was 
ordained  bishop  in  the  same  manner.  Such  were 
the  most  celebrated  philosophers  of  asceticism 
who  flourished  in  Syria,  Persia,  and  the  neigh- 
boring countries,  so  far,  at  least,  as  I  have  been 
able  to  ascertain.  The  course  common  to  all, 
so  to  speak,  consisted  in  diligent  attention  to 
the  state  of  the  soul,  which  by  means  of  fasting, 
prayer,  and  hymns  to  God,  they  kept  in  constant 
preparation  to  quit  the  things  of  this  world. 
They  devoted  the  greater  part  of  their  time  to 
these  holy  exercises,  and  they  wholly  despised 
worldly  possessions,  temporal  affairs,  and  the  ease 
and  adornment  of  the  body.  Some  of  the  monks 
carried  their  self-denial  to  an  extraordinary 
height.  Battheus,  for  instance,  by  excessive  ab- 
stinence and  fasting,  had  worms  crawl  from  his 
teeth ;  Halas,  again,  had  not  tasted  bread  for 
eighty  years ;  and  Heliodorus  passed  many 
nights  without  yielding  to  sleep,  and  added 
thereto  seven  days  of  fasting. 

Although  Coele-S3^ria  and  Upper  Syria,  with 
the  exception  of  the  city  of  Antioch,  was  slowly 
converted  to  Christianity,  it  was  not  lacking  in 
ecclesiastical  philosophers,  whose  conduct  ap- 
peared the  more  heroic  from  their  having  to 
encounter  the  enmity  and  hatred  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  place.  And  they  nobly  refrained 
from  resistance,  or  resorting  to  the  law,  but 
spiritedly  endured  the  insults  and  blows  inflicted 
by  the  pagans.  Such,  I  found,  was  the  course 
pursued  by  Valentian,  who,  according  to  some 
accounts,  was  born  at  Emesa,  but  according  to 
others,  at  Arethusa.  Another  individual  of  the 
same  name  distinguished  himself  by  similar  con- 
duct, as  likewise  Theodore.  Both  were  from  Titti, 
which  is  of  the  nome  of  the  Apameans  ;  not  less 
distinguished  were  Marosas,  a  native  of  Nechilis, 
Bassus,  Bassones,  and  Paul.  This  latter  was  from 
the  village  of  Telmison.  He  founded  many  com- 
munities in  many  places,  and  introduced  the 
method  essential  to  the  knowledge  of  philosophy, 
and  finally  estabhshed  the  greatest  and  most  dis- 
tinguished community  of  monks  in  a  place  called 
Jugatum.  Here,  after  a  long  and  honorable  life,  he 
died,  and  was  interred.  Some  of  the  monks  who 
have  practiced  philosophy  in  a  distinguished 
and  divine  way  have  survived  to  our  own  days ; 
indeed,  most  of  those  to  whom  allusion  has  been 
made  enjoyed  a  very  long  term  of  existence  ;  and 
I  am  convinced  that  God  added  to  the  length 
of  their  days  for  the  express  purpose  of  further- 
ing the  interests  of  religion.  They  were  instru- 
mental in  leading  nearly  the  whole  Syrian  nation, 
and  most  of  the  Persians  and  Saracens,  to  the 
proper  religion,  and  caused  them  to  cease  from 


paganism.  After  beginning  the  monastic  phil- 
osophy there,  they  brought  forward  many  like 
themselves. 

I  suppose  that  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  and  the 
neighboring  provinces  contained  many  other 
ecclesiastical  philosophers  at  that  time,  for  these 
regions  formerly  had  zealously  embraced  our 
doctrine.  These  monks,  for  the  most  part,  dwelt 
in  communities  in  cities  and  villages,  for  they 
did  not  habituate  themselves  to  the  tradition  of 
their  predecessors.  The  severity  of  the  winter, 
which  is  always  a  natural  feature  of  that  country, 
would  probably  make  a  hermit  life  impracticable. 
Leontius  and  Prapidius  were,  I  understand,  the 
most  celebrated  of  these  monks.  The  former 
afterwards  administered  the  church  of  Ancyra, 
and  the  latter,  a  man  of  very  advanced  age,  per- 
formed the  episcopal  functions  in  several  vil- 
lages. He  also  presided  over  the  Basileias,  the 
most  celebrated  hospice  for  the  poor.  It  was 
established  by  Basil,  bishop  of  C^esarea,  from 
whom  it  received  its  name  in  the  beginning,  and 
retains  it  until  to-day. 

CHAP.  XXXV. — THE  WOODEN  TRIPOD  AND  THE 
SUCCESSION  OF  THE  EMPEROR,  THROUGH  A 
KNOWLEDGE  OF  ITS  LETTERS.  DESTRUCTION  OF 
THE  PHILOSOPHERS  ;    ASTRONOMY. 

Such  is  the  information  which  I  have  been 
enabled  to  collect  concerning  the  ecclesiastical 
philosophers  of  that  time.  As  to  the  pagans, 
they  were  nearly  all  exterminated  about  the 
period  to  which  we  have  been  referring.^  Some 
among  them,  who  were  reputed  to  excel  in 
philosophy,  and  who  viewed  with  extreme  dis- 
pleasure the  progress  of  the  Christian  rehgion, 
were  devising  who  would  be  the  successor  of 
Valens  on  the  throne  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
resorted  to  every  variety  of  mantic  art  for  the 
purpose  of  attaining  this  insight  into  futurity. 
After  various  incantations,  they  constnicted  a 
tripod  of  laurel  wood,  and  they  wound  up  with 
the  invocations  and  words  to  which  they  are 
accustomed ;  so  that  the  name  of  the  emperor 
might  be  shown  by  the  collection  of  letters 
which  were  indicated,  letter  by  letter,  through 
the  machinery  of  the  tripod  and  the  prophecy. 
They  were  gaping  with  open  mouth  for 
Theodore,  a  man  who  held  a  distinguished 
military  appointment  in  the  palace.  He  was  a 
pagan  and  a  learned  man.  The  disposition  of 
the  letters,  coming  as  far  as  the  delta  of  his 
name,  deceived  the  philosophers.  They  hence 
expected  that  Theodore  would  very  soon  be  the 
emperor.  When  their  undertaking  was  informed 
upon,  Valens  was  as  unbearably  incensed,  as  if 
a  conspiracy  had  been  formed  against  his  safety. 

1  Philost.  ix.  15:  Eunap. /"^a^;«.  ii.  32,  33;  Am.  MarceL  xxix.  i. 
29-44;  Zos.  iv.  13;   Soc.  iv.  19. 


372 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  35- 


Therefore  all  were  arrested  ;  Theodore  and  the 
constructors  of  the  tripod  were  commanded  to 
be  put  to  death,  some  with  fire,  others  with  the 
sword.  Likewise  for  the  same  reason  the  most 
brilliant  philosophers  of  the  empire  were  slain ; 
since  the  wrath  of  the  emperor  was  unchecked, 
the  death  penalty  advanced  even  to  those  who 
were  not  philosophers,  but  who  wore  garments 
similar  to  theirs  ;  hence  those  who  applied  them- 
selves to  other  pursuits  would  not  clothe  them- 
selves witli  the  crocotium  or  tribonium,  on 
account  of  the  suspicion  and  fear  of  danger,  so 
that  they  might  not  seem  to  be  pursuing  magic 
and  sorcery.  I  do  not  in  the  least  think  that  the 
emperor  will  be  more  blamed  by  right-thinking 
people  for  such  wrath  and  cruelty  than  the  phil- 
osophers, for  their  rashness  and  their  unphilo- 
sophical  undertaking.  Tlie  emperor,  absurdly 
supposing  that  he  could  put  his  successor  to 
death,  spared  neither  those  who  had  prophesied 
nor  the  subject  of  their  prophecy,  as  they  say  he 
did  not  spare  those  who  bore  the  same  name  of 
Theodore,  —  and  some  were  men  of  distinction, 
—  whether  they  were  precisely  the  same  or  similar 
in  beginning  with  9  and  ending  with  8.  The 
philosophers,  on  the  other  hand,  acted  as  if  the 
deposition  and  restoration  of  emperors  had 
depended  solely  on  them ;  for  if  the  imperial 
succession  was  to  be  considered  dependent  on 
the  arrangement  of  the  stars,  what  was  requisite 
but  to  await  the  accession  of  the  future  emperor, 
whoever  he  might  be?  or  if  the  succession  was 
regarded  as  dependent  on  the  will  of  God, 
what  right  had  man  to  meddle  ?  For  it  is  not 
the  function  of  human  foreknowledge  or  zeal  to 
understand  God's  thought ;  nor  if  it  were  right, 
would  it  be  well  for  men,  even  if  they  be  the 
wisest  of  all,  to  think  that  they  can  plan  better 
than  God.  If  it  were  merely  from  rash  curi- 
osity to  discern  the  things  of  futurity  that  they 
showed  such  lack  of  judgment  as  to  be  ready  to 
be  caught  in  danger,  and  to  despise  the  laws 
anciently  established  among  the  Romans,  and  at 
a  time  when  it  was  not  dangerous  to  conduct 
pagan  worship  and  to  sacrifice ;  in  this  they 
thought  differently  from  Socrates ;  for  when 
unjustly  condemned  to  drink  poison,  he  refused 
to  save  himself  by  violating  the  laws  in  which  he 
had  been  born  and  educated,  nor  would  he  escape 
from  prison,  although  it  was  in  his  power  to  do  so. 

CHAP.     XXXVI.  EXPEDITION     AGAINST     THE     SAR- 

MATIANS  ;  DEATH  OF  VALENTINIAN  IN  ROME  ; 
VALENTINIAN  THE  YOUNGER  PROCLAIMED  ;  PER- 
SECUTION OF  THE  PRIESTS  ;  ORATION  OF  THE 
PHILOSOPHER  THEMISTIUS,  ON  .ACCOUNT  OF  WHICH 
VALENS  WAS  DISPOSED  TO  TREAT  THOSE  WHO 
DIFFERED     FROM    HIM    MORE    HUMANELY.* 

Such  subjects  as  the  above,  however,  are  best 


left  to  the  examination  and  decision  of  individ- 
ual judgment. 

The  Sarmatians  ^  having  invaded  the  western 
parts  of  the  empire,  Valentinian  levied  an  army 
to  oppose  them.  As  soon,  however,  as  they 
heard  of  the  number  and  strength  of  the  troops 
raised  against  them,  they  sent  an  embassy  to 
solicit  peace.  When  the  ambassadors  were  ush- 
ered into  the  presence  of  Valentinian,  he  asked 
them  whether  all  the  Sarmatians  were  similar  to 
them.  On  their  replying  that  the  principal  men 
of  the  nation  had  been  selected  to  form  the  em- 
bassy, the  emperor  exclaimed,  in  great  fury,  "  A 
terrible  thing  do  our  subjects  endure,  and  a 
calamity  is  surrounding  the  Roman  government, 
if  the  Sarmatians,  a  barbarous  race,  of  whom 
these  are  your  best  men,  do  not  love  to  abide 
by  themselves,  but  are  emboldened  to  invade 
my  government,  and  presume  to  make  war  at  all 
against  the  Romans."  He  spoke  in  this  strain 
for  some  time  in  a  very  high  pitch  of  voice,  and 
his  rage  was  so  violent  and  so  unbounded,  that 
at  length  he  burst  simultaneously  a  blood-vessel 
and  an  artery.  He  lost,  in  consequence,  a  great 
quantity  of  blood,  and  expired  soon  after  in  a 
fortress  of  Gaul.-  He  was  about  fifty-four  years 
of  age,  and  had,  during  thirteen  years,  guided 
the  reins  of  government  with  good  results  and 
much  distinction.  Six  days  after  his  death  his 
youngest  son,  who  bore  the  same  name  as  him- 
self, was  proclaimed  emperor  by  the  soldiers  ; 
and  soon  afterwards  Valens  and  Gratian,  his 
brother,  formally  assented  to  this  election, 
although  they  were  at  first  irritated  at  the  sol- 
diers having  transferred  the  symbols  of  govern- 
ment to  him  without  their  previous  consent. 
During  this  period  Valens  had  fixed  his  resi- 
dence at  Antioch  in  Syria,  and  became  more 
hostile  to  those  who  differed  from  him  in  opin- 
ion concerning  the  divine  nature,  and  he  vexed 
them  more  severely  and  persecuted  them.  The 
philosopher  Themistius  pronounced  an  oration 
in  his  presence,  in  which  he  admonished  him 
that  he  ought  not  to  wonder  at  the  dissension 
concerning  ecclesiastical  doctrines,  for  it  was 
more  moderate  and  less  than  among  the  pagans, 
for  the  opinions  among  them  are  multiform ; 
and  that,  in  the  number  of  dogmas  leading  to 
perpetual  disputes,  necessarily  the  difference 
about  them  makes  more  contentions  and  discus- 
sions ;  and  accordingly  it  might  probably  be 
pleasing  to  God  not  to  be  so  easily  known,  and  to 
have  a  divergence  of  opinion,  so  that  each  might 
fear  Him  the  rather,  since  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  Him  is  so  unattainable.  And  in  the  at- 
tempt to  summarize  this  vastness,  one  would  tend 
to  conclude  how  great  He  is  and  how  good  He  is.^ 


1  Soc.  iv.  31,  32;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  12;  Philost.  ix.  16. 
^  Am.  Marcel.  .\.\x.  6,  1-4;  Zos.  iv.  17;  Orosiiis,  vii.  32. 
3  The  extant  oration,  xii.,  on  this  theme  was  addressed  to  Valens 
at  an  earlier  date. 


VI.  37-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


?>7Z 


CHAP.  XXXVII.  —  CONCERNING  THE  BARBARIANS  BE- 
YOND THE  DANUBE,  WHO  WERE  DRIVEN  OUT  BY 
THE  HUNS,  AND  ADVANCED  TO  THE  ROMANS,  AND 
THEIR  CONVERSION  TO  CHRISTIANITY  ;  ULPHILAS 
AND  ATHANARICHUS  ;  OCCURRENCES  BETWEEN 
THEM  ;   WHENCE  THE  GOTHS  RECEIVED  ARIANISM. 

This  remarkable  oration  of  Themistius  dis- 
posed the  emperor  to  be  somewhat  more 
humane,  and  the  punishments  became  in  con- 
sequence less  severe  than  before.  He  would 
not  have  wholly  withdrawn  his  wrath  from  the 
priests  unless  the  anxieties  of  public  affairs  had 
supervened,  and  not  permitted  him  to  pursue 
them  further.^  For  the  Goths,  who  inhabited 
the  regions  beyond  the  Ister,  and  had  conquered 
other  barbarians,  having  been  vanquished  and 
driven  from  their  country  by  the  Huns,  had 
passed  over  into  the  Roman  boundaries.  The 
Hun's,  it  is  said,  were  unknown  to  the  Thracians 
of  the  Ister  ancl  the  Goths  before  this  period ; 
for  though  they  were  dwelling  secretly  near  to 
one  another,  a  lake  of  vast  extent  was  between 
them,  and  the  inhabitants  on  each  side  of  the 
lake  respectively  imagined  that  their  own  coun- 
try was  situated  at  the  extremity  of  the  earth, 
and  that  there  was  nothing  beyond  them  but 
the  sea  and  water.  It  so  happened,  however, 
that  an  ox,  tormented  by  insects,  plunged  into 
the  lake,  and  was  pursued  by  the  herdsman ; 
who,  perceiving  for  the  first  time  that  the  oppo- 
site bank  was  inhabited,  made  known  the  circum- 
stance to  his  fellow-tribesmen.  Some,  however, 
relate  that  a  stag  was  fleeing,  and  showed  some  of 
the  hunters  who  were  of  the  race  of  the  Huns  the 
way  which  was  concealed  superficially  by  the 
water.  On  arriving  at  the  opposite  bank,  the  hunt- 
ers were  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  country,  the 
serenity  of  the  air,  and  the  adaptedness  for  cul- 
tivation ;  and  they  reported  what  they  had  seen 
to  their  king.  The  Huns  then  made  an  attempt 
to  attack  the  Goths  with  a  few  soldiers  ;  but  they 
afterwards  raised  a  powerful  army,  conquered 
the  Goths  in  battle,  and  took  possession  of  their 
whole  country.  The  vanquished  nation,  being 
pursued  by  their  enemies,  crossed  over  into  the 
Roman  territories.  They  passed  over  the  river, 
and  dispatched  an  embassy  to  the  emperor, 
assuring  him  of  their  co-operation  in  any  war- 
fare in  which  he  might  engage,  provided  that 
he  would  assign  a  portion  of  land  for  them  to 
inhabit.  Ulphilas,  the  bishop  of  the  nation, 
was  the  chief  of  the  embassy.  The  object  of 
his  embassy  was  fully  accomplished,  and  the 
Goths  were  permitted  to  take  up  their  abode 
in  Thrace.  Soon  after  contentions  broke  out 
among  them,   which  led  to  their  division   into 


1  Soc.  iv.  32-35;  Philost.  ii.  5,  ix.  16,  17.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E. 
iv.  37;  Eunap.  Fr.  i.  s.  6,  "■  34".  Am.  Marcel,  parts  of  xxvii.,  xxx., 
xxxi. ;   Zos.  iv.  10  sqq. 


two  parts,  one  of  which  was  headed  by  Atha- 
naric,  and  the  other  by  Phritigernes.  They  took 
up  arms  against  each  other,  and  Phritigernes 
was  vanquished,  and  implored  the  assistance 
of  the  Romans.  The  emperor  having  com- 
manded the  troops  in  Thrace  to  assist  and  to 
ally  with  him,  a  second  battle  was  fought,  and 
Athanaric  and  his  party  were  put  to  flight.  In 
acknowledgment  of  the  timely  succor  afforded 
by  Valens,  and  in  proof  of  his  fidelity  to  the 
Romans,  Phritigernes  embraced  the  religion  of 
the  emperor,  and  persuaded  the  barbarians  over 
whom  he  ruled  to  follow  his  example.  It  does 
not,  however,  appear  to  me  that  this  is  the  only 
reason  that  can  be  advanced  to  account  for  the 
Goths  having  retained,  even  to  the  present  day, 
the  tenets  of  Arianism.  For  Ulphilas,  their 
bishop,  originally  held  no  opinions  at  variance 
with  those  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  for  during 
the  reign  of  Constantius,  though  he  took  part, 
as  I  am  convinced,  from  thoughtlessness,  at 
the  council  of  Constantinople,  in  conjunction 
with  Eudoxius  and  Acacius,  yet  he  did  not 
swerve  from  the  doctrines  of  the  Nicsan  coun- 
cil. He  afterwards,  it  appears,  returned  to 
Constantinople,  and,  it  is  said,  entered  into  dis- 
putations on  doctrinal  topics  with  the  chiefs  of 
the  Arian  faction ;  and  they  promised  to  lay  his 
requests  before  the  emperor,  and  forward  the 
object  of  his  embassy,  if  he  would  conform  to 
their  opinions.  Compelled  by  the  urgency  of 
the  occasion,  or,  possibly,  thinking  that  it  was 
better  to  hold  such  views  concerning  the  Divine 
nature,  Ulphilas  entered  into  communion  with 
the  Arians,  and  separated  himself  and  his  whole 
nation  from  all  connection  with  the  Catholic 
Church.  For  as  he  had  instructed  the  Goths  in 
the  elements  of  rehgion,  and  through  him  they 
shared  in  a  gentler  mode  of  life,  they  placed 
the  most  implicit  confidence  in  his  directions, 
and  were  firmly  convinced  that  he  could  neither 
do  nor  say  anything  that  was  evil.  He  had,  in 
fact,  given  many  signal  proofs  of  the  greatness 
of  his  virtue.  He  had  exposed  himself  to 
innumerable  perils  in  defense  of  the  faith, 
during  the  period  that  the  aforesaid  barbarians 
were  given  to  pagan  worship.  He  taught  them 
the  use  of  letters,  and  translated  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  into  their  own  language.  It  was  on 
this  account,  that  the  barbarians  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ister  followed  the  tenets  of  Arius.  At  the 
same  period,  there  were  many  of  the  subjects  of 
Phritigernes  who  testified  to  Christ,  and  were 
martyred.  Athanaric  resented  that  his  subjects 
had  become  Christian  under  the  persuasion  of 
Ulphilas  ;  and  because  they  had  abandoned  the 
cult  of  their  fathers,  he  subjected  many  indi- 
viduals to  many  punishments ;  some  he  put  to 
death  after  they  had  been  dragged  before  tribu- 
nals and  had  nobly  confessed  the  doctrine,  and 


374 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  37- 


Others  were  slain  without  being  permitted  to 
utter  a  single  word  in  their  own  defense.  It  is 
said  that  the  officers  appointed  by  Athanaric 
to  execute  his  cruel  mandates,  caused  a  statue 
•to  be  constructed,  which  they  placed  on  a 
•chariot,  and  had  it  conveyed  to  the  tents  of 
those  who  were  suspected  of  having  embraced 
Christianity,  and  who  were  therefore  commanded 
to  worship  the  statue  and  offer  sacrifice  ;  if  they 
refused  to  do  so,  the  men  and  the  tents  were 
burnt  together.  But  I  have  heard  that  an  out- 
rage of  still  greater  atrocity  was  perpetrated  at 
this  period.  Many  refused  to  -obey  those  who 
were  compelling  them  by  force  to  sacrifice. 
Among  them  were  men  and  women  ;  of  the  latter 
some  were  leading  their  httle  children,  others 
were  nourishing  their  new-born  infants  at  the 
breast ;  they  fled  to  their  church,  which  was 
a  tent.  The  pagans  set  fire  to  it,  and  all  were 
destroyed. 

The  Goths  were  not  long  in  making  peace 
among  themselves  ;  and  in  unreasonable  excite- 
ment, they  then  began  to  ravage  Thrace  and  to 
pillage  the  cities  and  villages.  Valens,  on  in- 
quiry, learned  by  experiment  how  great  a  mis- 
take he  had  made  ;  for  he  had  calculated  that 
the  Goths  would  always  be  useful  to  the  empire 
and  formidable  to  its  enemies,  and  had  there- 
fore neglected  the  reinforcement  of  the  Roman 
ranks.  He  had  taken  gold  from  the  cities  and 
villages  under  the  Romans,  instead  of  the  usual 
complement  of  men  for  the  military  service. 
On  his  expectation  being  thus  frustrated,  he 
quitted  Antioch  and  hastened  to  Constantinople. 
Hence  the  persecution  which  he  had  been  car- 
rying on  against  Christians  differing  in  opinion 
from  himself,  had  a  truce.  Euzoius,  president 
of  the  Arians,  died,  and  Dorotheus  was  proposed 
for  his  government. 


CHAP.    XXXVIII.  CONCERNING    MANIA,     THE     PHY- 

LARCH  OF  THE  SARACENS.  WHEN  THE  TREATY 
WITH  THE  ROMANS  WAS  DISSOLVED,  MOSES, 
THEIR  BISHOP,  WHO  HAD  BEEN  ORDAINED  BY 
THE  CHRISTIANS,  RENEWED  I'l'.  NARRATIVE 
CONCERNING  THE  ISHMAELITES  AND  THE  SARA- 
CENS, AND  THEIR  GOODS  ;  AND  HOW  THEY 
BEGAN  TO  BE  CHRISTUNIZED  THROUGH  ZOCO- 
MUS,   THEIR   PHYLARCH. 

About  this  period  the  king  of  the  Saracens 
died,^  and  the  peace  which  had  previously  ex- 
isted between  that  nation  and  the  Romans  was 
dissolved.  Mania,-  the  widow  of  the  late  mon- 
arch, after  attaining  to  the  government  of  her 
race,  led  her  troops  into  Phoenicia   and    Pales- 


'  Ruf.  H.  E.  11.  6:  Soc.  iv.  36.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  iv.  23: 
yet  Soz.  has  original  detail  in  the  story  of  Mania,  and  appends  the 
story  of  Zocomus.  *  Otherwise  called  Mavia. 


tine,  as  far  as  the  regions  of  Egypt  lying  to  the 
left  of  those  who  sail  towards  the  source  of  the 
Nile,  and  which  are  generally  denominated  Ara- 
bia. This  war  was  by  no  means  a  contemptible 
one,  although  conducted  by  a  woman.  The 
Romans,  it  is  said,  considered  it  so  arduous  and 
so  perilous,  that  the  general  of  the  Phoenician 
troops  applied  for  assistance  to  the  general  of 
the  entire  cavalry  and  infantry  of  the  East. 
This  latter  ridiculed  the  summons,  and  under- 
took to  give  battle  alone.  He  accordingly  at- 
tacked Mania,  who  commanded  her  own  troops 
in  person  j  and  he  was  rescued  with  difficulty 
by  the  general  of  the  troops  of  Palestine  and 
Phoenicia.  Perceiving  the  extremity  of  the  dan- 
ger, this  general  deemed  it  unnecessary  to  obey 
the  orders  he  had  received  to  keep  aloof  from 
the  combat ;  he  therefore  rushed  upon  the  bar- 
barians, and  furnished  his  superior  an  opportu- 
nity for  safe  retreat,  while  he  himself  yielded 
ground  and  shot  at  those  who  fled,  and  beat  off 
with  his  arrows  the  enemies  who  were  pressing 
upon  him.  This  occurrence  is  still  held  in  re- 
membrance among  the  people  of  the  country, 
and  is  celebrated  in  songs  by  the  Saracens. 

As  the  war  was  still  pursued  with  vigor,  the 
Romans  found  it  necessary  to  send  an  embassy 
to  Mania  to  solicit  peace.  It  is  said  that  she 
refused  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  em- 
bassy, unless  consent  were  given  for  the  ordina- 
tion of  a  certain  man  named  Moses,  who  prac- 
ticed philosophy  in  a  neighboring  desert,  as 
bishop  over  her  subjects.  This  Moses  was  a 
man  of  virtuous  life,  and  noted  for  performing 
the  divine  and  miraculous  signs.  On  these  con- 
ditions being  announced  to  the  emperor,  the 
chiefs  of  the  army  were  commanded  to  seize 
Moses,  and  conduct  him  to  Lucius.  The  monk 
exclaimed,  in  the  presence  of  the  rulers  and  the 
assembled  people,  "  I  am  not  worthy  of  the 
honor  of  bearing  the  name  and  dignity  of  chief 
priest  ;  but  if,  notwithstanding  my  unworthiness 
God  destines  me  to  this  office,  I  take  Him  to 
witness  who  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
that  I  will  not  be  ordained  by  the  imposition  of 
the  hands  of  Lucius,  which  are  defiled  with  the 
blood  of  holy  men."  Lucius  immediately  re- 
joined, "  If  you  are  unacquainted  with  the 
nature  of  my  creed,  you  do  wrong  in  judging 
me  before  you  are  in  possession  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case.  If  you  have  been 
prejudiced  by  the  calumnies  that  have  been  cir- 
culated against  me,  at  least  allow  me  to  declare 
to  you  what  are  my  sentiments  ;  and  do  you  be 
the  judge  of  them."  "Your  creed  is  already 
well  known  to  me,"  replied  Moses;  "and  its 
nature  is  testified  by  bishops,  presbyters,  and 
deacons,  who  are  suffering  grievously  in  exile, 
and  the  mines.  It  is  clear  that  your  sentiments 
are   opposed  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  to  all 


VI.  40.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


;75 


orthodox  doctrines  concerning  the  Godhead."  ^ 
Having    again   protested,    upon    oath,    that   he 
would    not    receive    ordination    from    them,    he 
went  to  the  Saracens.     He  reconciled  them  to 
the  Romans,  and  converted  many  to  Christianity, 
and  passed    his    life    among    them  as  a  priest, 
although  he  found  few  who  shared  in  his  belief. 
This  is  the  tribe  which  took  its  origin  and  had 
its  name  from  Ishmael,   the   son  of   Abraham  ; 
and  the  ancients  called   them   Ishmaelites  after 
their  progenitor.     As  their  mother  Hagar  was  a 
slave,  they  afterwards,  to  conceal  the  opprobrium 
of  their  origin,  assumed  the  name  of  Saracens, 
as  if  they  were  descended   from  Sara,  the  wife 
■of    Abraham.      Such   being    their    origin,    they 
practice  circumcision  like  the  Jews,  refrain  from 
the  use  of  pork,  and  observe  many  other  Jewish 
rites  and  customs.     If,  indeed,  they  deviate  in 
any  respect  from  the  observances  of  that  nation, 
it  must  be  ascribed  to  the  lapse  of  time,  and  to 
their  intercourse  with  the   neighboring    nations. 
Moses,  who  lived  many  centuries  after  Abraham, 
only  legislated  for  those  whom  he    led    out   of 
Egypt.     The    inhabitants    of    the     neighboring 
countries,  being  strongly  addicted   to   supersti- 
tion, probably  soon  corrupted  the  laws  imposed 
upon  them   by  their  forefather    Ishmael.     The 
ancient  Hebrews  had  their  community  life  under 
this  law  only,  using  therefore  unwritten  customs, 
before  the  Mosaic   legislation.      These    people 
-certainly  served  the  same  gods  as  the  neighbor- 
ing nations,  honoring  and  naming  them  similarly, 
so  that  by  this  likeness  with  their  forefathers  in 
religion,  there  is  evidenced  their  departure  from 
the  laws  of  their  forefathers.     xAs  is  usual,  in  the 
lapse    of  time,  their  ancient   customs    fell    into 
oblivion,  and  other  practices   gradually  got  the 
precedence  among  them.     Some  of  their  tribe 
afterwards  happening  to  come   in   contact  with 
the  Jews,  gathered  from  them  the  facts  of  their 
true  origin,  returned  to  their   kinsmen,  and  in- 
clined to  the  Hebrew  customs  and  laws.     From 
that  time  on,  until  now,  many  of  them  regulate 
their  lives    according    to    the    Jewish    precepts. 
Some  of  the  Saracens  were  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity not  long  before  the  present  reign.     They 
shared  in  the  faith  of  Christ  by  intercourse  with 
the  priests  and  monks  who  dwelt  near  them,  and 
practiced  philosophy  in  the  neighboring  deserts, 
and  who  were  distinguished  by  the  excellence  of 
their  life,  and  by  their  miraculous  works.     It  is 
said  that  a  whole  tribe,  and  Zocomus,  their  chief, 
were    converted   to    Christianity   and   baptized 
about  this  period,  under  the  following  circum- 
stances :  Zocomus  was  childless,  and  went  to  a 
certain  monk  of  great  celebrity  to  complain  to 
him  of  this  calamity ;  for  among  the  Saracens, 
and  I  believe    other   barbarian   nations,  it   was 


1  See  above,  vi.  19,  20. 


accounted  of  great  importance  to  have  children. 
The  monk  desired  Zocomus  to  be  of  good  cheer, 
engaged  in  prayer  on  his  behalf,  and  sent  him 
away  with  the  promise  that  if  he  would  believe 
in  Christ,  he  would  have  a  son.  When  this 
promise  was  confirmed  by  God,  and  when  a  son 
was  born  to  him,  Zocomus  was  initiated,  and  all  his 
subjects  with  him.  l^'rom  that  period  this  tribe 
was  peculiarly  fortunate,  and  became  strong  in 
point  of  number,  and  formidable  to  the  I'ersians 
as  well  as  to  the  other  Saracens.  Such  are  the 
details  that  I  have  been  enabled  to  collect  con- 
cerning the  conversion  of  the  Saracens  and  their 
first  bishop. 

CHAP.    XXXIX. PETER,    HAVING    RETURNED    FROM 

ROIME,  REGAINS  THE  CHURCHES  OF  EGYPT,  AFTER 
LUCIUS  HAD  GIVEN  WAY  ;  EXPEDITION  OF  VALENS 
INTO    THE   WEST   AGAINST   THE    SCYTHIANS. 

Those  in  every  city  who  maintained  the  Nicene 
doctrine  now  began  to  take  courage,  and  more 
particularly  the  inhabitants  of  Alexandria  in 
Egypt.  Peter  -  had  returned  thither  from  Rome 
with  a  letter  from  Damasus,  confirmatory  of  the 
tenets  of  Nicsea  and  of  his  own  ordination ; 
and  he  was  installed  in  the  government  of  the 
churches  in  the  place  of  Lucius,  who  sailed 
away  to  Constantinople  after  his  eviction.  The 
Emperor  Valens  very  naturally  was  so  distracted 
by  other  affairs,  that  he  had  no  leisure  to  attend 
to  these  transactions.  He  had  no  sooner  arrived 
at  Constantinople  than  he  incurred  the  suspicion 
and  hatred  of  the  people.  The  barbarians  were 
pillaging  Thrace,  and  were  even  advancing  to 
the  very  suburbs,  and  attempted  to  make  an 
assault  on  the  very  walls,  with  no  one  to  hinder 
them.  The  city  was  indignant  at  this  inertness  ; 
and  the  people  even  charged  the  emperor  with 
being  a  party  to  their  attack,  because  he  did 
not  sally  forth,  but  delayed  offering  battle.  At 
length,  when  he  was  present  at  the  sports  of  the 
Hippodrome,  the  people  openly  and  loudly  ac- 
cused him  of  neglecting  the  affairs  of  the  state, 
and  demanded  arms  that  they  might  fight  in 
their  own  defense.  Valens,  offended  at  these 
reproaches,  immediately  undertook  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  barbarians ;  but  he  threatened 
to  punish  the  insolence  of  the  people  on  his 
return,  and  also  to  take  vengeance  on  them  for 
having  formerly  supported  the  tyrant  Procopius. 

CHAP.     XL.  —  SAINT     ISAAC,  THE     MONK,    PREDICTS 

THE    DE.ATH    OF  VALENS.  VALENS   IN  HIS  FLIGHT 

ENTERS  A  CHAFF- HOUSE,  IS  CONSUMED,  AND  SO 
YIELDS   UP    HIS    LIFE. 

When  Valens  was  on  the  point  of  departing 


2  Soc.  iv.  37,  38;  Eunap.  Fr.  i.  6;  Am.  Marcel,  xxxi.  11.  1-5; 
Zos.  iv.  22-24. 


Zl^ 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


[VI.  40. 


from  Constantinople/  Isaac,  a  monk  of  great 
virtue,  who  feared  no  danger  in  the  cause  of 
God,  presented  himself  before  him,  and  ad- 
dressed him  in  the  following  words :  *'  Give 
back,  O  emperor,  to  the  orthodox,  and  to  those 
who  maintain  the  Nicene  doctrines,  the  churches 
of  which  you  have  deprived  them,  and  the  vic- 
tory will  be  yours."  The  emperor  was  offended 
at  this  act  of  boldness,  and  commanded  that 
Isaac  should  be  arrested  and  kept  in  chains 
until  his  return,  when  he  meant  to  bring  him  to 
justice  for  his  temerity.  Isaac,  however,  replied, 
"You  will  not  return  unless  you  restore  the 
churches."  And  so  in  fact  it  came  to  pass.  For 
when  Valens  marched  out  with  his  army,  the 
Goths  retreated  while  pursued.  In  his  advances 
he  passed  by  Thrace,  and  came  to  Adrianople. 
When  at  not  great  distance  from  the  barbarians, 
he  found  them  encamped  in  a  secure  position ; 
and  yet  he  had  the  rashness  to  attack  them 
before  he  had  arranged  his  own  legions  in  proper 
order.  His  cavalry  was  dispersed,  his  infantry 
compelled  to  retreat ;  and,  pursued  by  the  ene- 


'  Philost.  ix.  17;  Soc.  iv.  38;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  13.  Cf.  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  iv.  31-36;  Eunap.  Fr.  i.  6;  ii.  40,  41;  Am.  Marcel,  xxxi.  11- 
14;  Zos.  iv.  24.     Soz.  has  wrought  with  some  other  material  as  well. 


my,  he  dismounted  from  his  horse,  and  with  a 
few  attendants  entered  into  a  small  house  or 
tower,  where  he  secreted  himself.  The  barba- 
rians were  in  full  pursuit,  and  went  beyond  the 
tower,  not  suspecting  that  he  had  selected  it  for 
his  place  of  concealment.  As  the  last  detach- 
ment of  the  barbarians  was  passing  by  the  tower, 
the  attendants  of  the  emperor  let  fly  a  volley  of 
arrows  from  their  covert,  which  immediately  led 
to  the  exclamation  that  Valens  was  concealed 
within  the  building.  Those  who  were  a  little 
in  advance  heard  this  exclamation,  and  made 
known  the  news  with  a  shout  to  those  compan- 
ions who  were  in  advance  of  them  ;  and  thus 
the  news  was  conveyed  till  it  reached  the  de- 
tachments which  were  foremost  in  the  pursuit. 
They  returned,  and  encompassed  the  tower. 
They  collected  vast  quantities  of  wood  from  the 
country  around,  which  they  piled  up  against  the. 
tower,  and  finally  set  fire  to  the  mass.  A  wind 
which  had  happened  to  arise  favored  the  prog- 
ress of  the  conflagration  ;  and  in  a  short  period 
the  tower,  with  all  that  it  contained,  including 
the  emperor  and  his  attendants,  was  utterly 
destroyed.  Valens  was  fifty  years  of  age.  He 
had  reigned  thirteen  years  conjointly  with  his 
brother,  and  three  by  himself 


BOOK    VII. 


CHAP.  I.  —  WHEN  THE  ROMANS  ARE  PRESSED  BY 
THE  BARBARMNS,  IMAVLA.  SENDS  ASSIST.ANCE,  AND 
SOME  OF  THE  POPULACE  EFFECT  A  VICTORY. 
GRATIAN  COMMANDS  EACH  TO  BELIEVE  AS  HE 
WISHES. 

Such  was  the  fate  of  Valens.  The  barbarians/ 
flushed  with  victory,  overran  Thrace,  and  ad- 
vanced to  the  gates  of  Constantinople.  In  this 
emergency,  a  few  of  the  confederate  Saracens 
sent  by  Mavia,  together  with  many  of  the  popu- 
lace, were  of  great  service.  It  is  reported  that 
Dominica,  wife  of  Valens,  furnished  money  out 
of  the  public  treasury,  and  some  of  the  people, 
after  hastily  arming  themselves,  attacked  the 
barbarians,  and  drove  them  from  the  city. 

Gratian,  who  at  this  period  reigned  conjointly 
with  his  brother  over  the  whole  Roman  Empire, 
disapproved  of  the  late  persecution  that  had 
been  carried  on  to  check  the  diversity  in  religious 
creeds,  and  recalled  all  those  who  had  been 
banished  on  account  of  their  religion.  He  also 
enacted  a  law  by  which  it  was  decreed  that 
every  individual  should  be  freely  permitted  the 
exercise  of  his  own  religion,  and  should  be 
allowed  to  hold  assembhes,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Manichgeans  and  the  followers  of  Photinus 
and  Eunomius.- 

chap.  II.  —  GRATLVN  ELECTS  THEODOSIUS  OF  SPAIN 
TO      REIGN      WITH      HIM.  ARL-VNISM      PREVAILS 

THROUGHOUT  THE  EASTERN  CHURCHES  EXCEPT 
THAT  OF  JERUSALEM.  COUNCIL  OF  ANTIOCH. 
THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  THE 
CHURCHES. 

On  reflecting  that,  while  it  was  indispensably 
requisite  to  check  the  incursions  of  the  barba- 
rians of  the  Ister  in  Illyria  and  Thrace,  his 
presence  was  equally  necessary  in  Gaul  to  repel 
the  inroads  of  the  Alemanni,  Gratian  associated 
Theodosius  ^  with  himself  at  Sirmich,  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  empire.  Theodosius  belonged 
to  an  illustrious  family  of  the  Pyrenees  in  Iberia, 
and  had  acquired  so  much  renown  in  war,  that 
before  he  was  raised  to  the  imperial  power,  he 


1  Soc.  V.  I,  2;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  13.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  i,  2; 
Eunap.  Fragm.  i.  6. 

-  Cod.  Tyj^-iit/.  xvi,  V.  388.  5-16;  thelegislationfrom  A. D.  379-388. 

3  Soc.  V.  2-4;  Philost.  ix.  17;  'R.wi.H.E.  ii.  14.  Cf.  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  V.  5-7.  Soz.  has  other  material;  Zos.  iv.  24.  Cf.  Eunap. 
Fragm.  ii.  42,  for  an  opposite  view  of  Theodosius. 


was  universally  considered  capable  of  guiding 
the  reins  of  the  empire. 

At  this  period  all  the  churches  of  the  East, 
with  the  exception  of  that  of  Jerusalem,  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  Arians.  The  Macedonians 
differed  but  little  in  opinion  from  those  who 
maintained  the  doctrine  of  Nicgea,  and  held 
intercourse  and  communion  with  them  in  all 
the  cities ;  and  this  had  been  more  especially 
the  case  with  the  Macedonians  of  Constantino- 
ple, ever  since  their  reconciliation  with  Liberius. 
But  after  the  enactment  of  Gratian's  law,  some 
bishops  of  the  Macedonian  heresy  took  courage 
and  repossessed  the  churches  from  which  they 
had  been  ejected  by  Valens.  They  assembled 
together  at  Antioch  in  Caria,  and  protested  that 
the  Son  is  not  to  be  declared  "  consubstantial  " 
with  the  Father,  but  only  like  unto  Him  in  sub- 
stance. From  that  period,  many  of  the  Macedo- 
nians seceded  from  the  others,  and  held  separate 
churches  ;  while  others,  condemning  this  oppo- 
sition and  contentiousness  of  those  who  had 
made  these  decisions,  united  themselves  still 
more  firmly  with  the  followers  of  the  Nicene 
doctrines. 

Many  of  the  bishops  who  had  been  banished 
by  Valens,  and  who  were  recalled  about  this 
period  in  consequence  of  the  law  of  Gratian, 
manifested  no  ambition  to  be  restored  to  the 
highest  offices  of  the  Church  ;  but  they  preferred 
the  unity  of  the  people,  and  therefore  begged  the 
Arian  bishops  to  retain  the  posts  they  occupied, 
and  not  to  rend  by  dissension  the  Church,  which 
had  been  transmitted  by  God  and  the  apostles 
as  one,  but  which  contentiousness  and  ambition 
for  precedence  had  divided  into  many  parts. 
Eulalius,  bishop  of  Amasia  in  Pontus,  was  one 
of  those  who  pursued  this  course  of  conduct. 
It  is  said  that  when  he  returned  from  exile,  he 
found  that  his  church  was  presided  over  by  an 
Arian  bishop,  and  that  scarcely  fifty  inhabitants 
of  the  city  had  submitted  to  the  control  of  this 
new  bishop.  Eulalius,  desiring  unity  above  all 
other  considerations,  offered  to  take  part  with 
the  Arian  bishop  in  the  government  of  the 
church,  and  expressly  agreed  to  allow  him  the 
precedence.  But  as  the  Arian  would  not  comply 
with  this  proposition,  it  was  not  long  before  he 
found  himself  deserted  by  the  few  who  had  fol- 
lowed him,  and  who  went  over  to  the  other  party. 


3/8 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII. 


CHAP.    III. CONCERNING    ST.    MELETIUS    AND   PAU- 

LINUS,    BISHOP    OF   ANTIOCH.      THEIR    0.\TH     RE- 
SPECTING  THE    EPISCOPAL   SEE. 

In  consequence  of  this  law,  Meletius  returned 
about  this  period  to  Antioch  in  Syria ;  and  his 
presence  gave  rise  to  great  contention  among 
the  people.^     Paulinus,  whom  Valens,  from  ven- 
eration for  his  piety,  had  not  ventured  to  banish, 
was  still  alive.     The  partisans  of  Meletius,  there- 
fore,  proposed   his   association   with   Paulinus, 
who   condemned    the   ordination   of   Meletius, 
because  it  had  been  conferred  by  Arian  bishops  ; 
and  yet  the  supporters  of  Meletius  went  forward 
by  force  into  the  work  they  had  devised  ;  for 
they  were   not  few  in  number,  and  so  placed 
iNIeletius  on  the  episcopal  throne  in  one  of  the 
suburban  churches.     The  mutual  animosity  of 
the  two  parties  increased,  and  sedition  was  ex- 
pected, had  not  a  remarkable  plan  for  the  resto- 
ration of  concord  prevailed.     For  it  seemed  best, 
to  take  oaths  from  those  who  were  considered 
elegible,  or  who  were  expected  to  occupy  the 
episcopal  see  of  that  place.    Of  these  there  were 
five  besides  Flavian.     These  promised  that  they 
would  neither  strive  for,  nor  accept  the  episco- 
pate  should   an   ordination   take    place    among 
them  during  the  life  of  Paulinus  and  Meletius, 
and  that  in  the  event  of  the  decease  of  either  of 
these  great  men,  the  other  alone  should  suc- 
ceed to  the  bishopric.     On  their  ratifying  this 
promise    with    oaths,   unanimity   was    restored 
among   almost   all   the   people ;   a  few  of  the 
Luciferites  still  diverged  because  Meletius  had 
been  ordained  by  heretics.     On  the  termination 
of  this   contest,   Meletius   proceeded   to   Con- 
stantinople, where  many  other  bishops  had  as- 
sembled together  to  deliberate  on  the  necessity 
of  translating   Gregory  from  the   bishopric   of 
Nazianzen  to  that  of  this  city. 

CHAP.  IV.  —  REIGN  OF  THEODOSIUS  THE  GREAT; 
HE  WAS  INITIATED  INTO  DIVINE  BAPITSM  BY 
ASCHOLIUS,  BISHOP  OF  THESSALONICA.  THE  LET- 
TERS HE  ADDRESSED  TO  THOSE  WHO  DID  NOT 
HOLD  THE  DEFINITION  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  NICE. 

As  Gaul  was  about  this  period  infested  by 
the  incursions  of  the  Alemanni,-  Gratian  re- 
turned to  his  paternal  dominions,  which  he  had 
reserved  for  himself  and  his  brother,  when  he 
bestowed  the  government  of  Illyria  and  of  the 
Eastern  provinces  upon  Theodosius.  He  ef- 
fected his  purpose  with  regard  to  the  barbarians  ; 
an;'  Theodosius  was  equally  successful  against 
the  tribes  from  the  banks  of  the  Ister ;  he  de- 
feated them,  compelled  them  to  sue  for  peace, 
and,  after  accepting  hostages  from  them,  pro- 

1  Soc.  V.  5;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  21;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  3. 

2  Soc.  V.  6;  Philost.  ix.  19.  Independent  points  by  Soz.  Cf. 
Zos.  iv.  25-27;  cf.  Eunap.  Fragm.  i.  7,  ii.  43-46. 


ceeded  to  Thessalonica.     He  fell  ill  while  in  this 
city,  and  after  receiving  instruction  from  Ascho- 
lius,  the  bishop,  he  was  initiated,  and  was  soon 
after  restored  to  health.     The  parents  of  Theo- 
dosius were  Christians,  and  were  attached  to  the 
Nicene  doctrines ;  he  was  pleased  with  Ascho- 
lius,  who  maintained   the   same   doctrines,  and 
was,  in  a  word,  endowed  with   every  virtue  of 
the  priesthood.      He   also    rejoiced   at  finding 
that  the  Arian  heresy  had  not  been  participated 
in   by    Illyria.^      He    inquired    concerning   the 
religious  sentiments  which  were  prevalent  in  the 
other  provinces,  and   ascertained  that,  as  far  as 
Macedonia,^  all  the  churches  were  like  minded, 
and  all  held  that  equal  homage  ought  to  be  ren- 
dered to  God  the  Word,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
as  to  God  the  Father  ;  but  that  towards  the  East, 
and  particularly  at  Constantinople,  the  people 
were  divided  into  many  different  heresies.     Re- 
flecting that  it  would  be  better  to  propound  his 
own  religious  views  to  his  subjects,  so  as  not  to 
appear  to  be  using    force  by  commanding  the 
unwilling   subject    to    worship    contrary   to   his 
judgment,  Theodosius  enacted  a  law  at  Thessa- 
lonica, which  he  caused  to  be  published  at  Con- 
stantinople, well  knowing  that  the  rescript  would 
speedily  become  public  to  all  the  other  cities,  if 
issued  from  that  city,  which  is  as  a  citadel  of  the 
whole  empire.     He  made  known  by  this  law  his 
intention  of  leading  all  his  subjects  to  the  recep- 
tion of  that  faith  which  Peter,  the  chief  of  the 
apostles,  had,  from  the  beginning,  preached  to 
the  Romans,  and  which  was  professed  by  Dama- 
sus,  bishop  of  Rome,  and   by  Peter,  bishop  of 
Alexandria.      He    enacted '"    that    the    title    of 
"  Catholic  Church  "  should  be  exclusively  con- 
fined to  those  who  rendered  equal  homage  to 
the  Three  Persons  of  the  Trinity,  and  that  those 
individuals  who   entertained   opposite  opinions 
should   be  treated    as   heretics,  regarded  with 
contempt,  and  delivered  over  to  punishment. 

CHAP.    V, GREGORY,    THE  THEOLOGLVN,    RECEIVES 

FROM  THEODOSIUS  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE 
CHURCHES.  EXPULSION  OF  DEMOPHILUS,  AND 
OF  ALL  WHO  DENY  THAT  THE  SON  IS  "  CON- 
SUBSTANTIAL ''    WITH    THE    FATHER. 

Soon  after  the  enactment  of  this  law,  Theo- 
dosius went  to  Constantinople."  The  Arians, 
under  the  guidance  of  Demophilus,  still  retained 
possession  of  the  churches.  Gregory  of  Nazi- 
anzen presided  over  those  who  maintain  the 
"  consubstantiality "    of  the    Holy  Trinity,  and 

3  The  same  testimony  is  given  by  Basil,  in  his  letter  to  Valeria- 
nus,  bishop  of  Illyria,  Ep.  xci.,  and  in  the  letter  to  the  Neo-Caesa- 
reans,  Ep.  cciv.  . 

••  This  is  also  plain  from  the  acts  of  the  council  of  Aquileia,  a.d. 
381.     Hard.  vol.  i. 

I"'  Cod.  Theod.  xvi.,  under  "  de  Fide  Catholica"  2. 

<■'  Soc.  V.  6;  Philost.  ix.  19;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  8;  Marcelhnus 
Comes,  Chronicon,  s.  a.d.  380. 


VII.  6.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


379 


assembled  them  together  in  a  Httle  dweUing, 
which  had  been  altered  into  the  form  of  a  house 
of  prayer,  by  those  who  held  the  same  opinions 
and  had  a  like  form  of  worship.  It  subsequently 
became  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  in  the  city, 
and  is  so  now,  not  only  for  the  beauty  and  num- 
ber of  its  structures,  but  also  for  the  advantages 
accruing  to  it  from  the  visible  manifestations  of 
God.  For  the  power  of  God  was  there  mani- 
fested, and  was  helpful  both  in  waking  visions 
and  in  dreams,  often  for  the  relief  of  many  dis- 
eases and  for  those  afflicted  by  some  sudden 
transmutation  in  their  affairs.  The  power  was 
accredited  to  Mary,  the  Mother  of  God,  the  holy 
virgin,  for  she  does  manifest  herself  in  this  way. 
The  name  of  Anastasia  was  given  to  this  church, 
because,  as  I  believe,  the  Nicene  doctrines  which 
were  fallen  into  disuse  in  Constantinople,  and, 
so  to  speak,  buried  by  reason  of  the  power  of  the 
heterodox,  arose  from  the  dead  and  were  again 
quickened  through  the  discourses  of  Gregory ; 
or,  as  I  have  heard,  some  affirm  with  assurance 
that  one  day,  when  the  people  were  met  together 
for  worship  in  this  edifice,  a  pregnant  woman 
fell  from  the  highest  gallery,  and  was  found  dead 
on  the  spot ;  but  that,  at  the  prayer  of  the  whole 
congregation,  she  was  restored  to  life,  and  she 
and  the  infant  were  saved.  On  account  of  the 
occurrence  of  this  divine  marvel,  the  place,  as 
some  assert,  obtained  its  name. 

The  emperor  sent  to  command  Demophilus 
to  conform  to  the  doctrines  of  Nicsea,  and  to 
lead  the  people  to  embrace  the  same  sentiments, 
or  else  to  vacate  the  churches.  Demophilus 
assembled  the  people,  acquainted  them  with  the 
imperial  edict,  and  informed  them  that  it  was 
his  intention  to  hold  a  church  the  next  day  with- 
out the  walls  of  the  city,  in  accordance,  he  said, 
with  the  Divine  law,  which  commands  us  when 
we  are  persecuted  in  one  city  to  "  flee  unto 
another."^  From  that  day  he  always  held 
church  without  the  city  with  Lucius,  who  was 
formerly  the  bishop  of  the  Arians  at  Alexandria  ; 
and  who,  after  having  been  expelled,  as  above 
related,  from  that  city,  fled  to  Constantinople 
and  fixed  his  residence  there.  When  Demophi- 
lus and  his  followers  had  quitted  the  church,  the 
emperor  entered  therein  and  engaged  in  prayer  ; 
and  from  that  period  those  who  maintained  the 
consubstantiality  of  the  Holy  Trinity  held  pos- 
session of  the  houses  of  prayer.  These  events 
occurred  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  consulate  of 
Gratian,  and  in  the  first  of  that  of  Theodosius, 
and  after  the  churches  had  been  during  forty 
years  in  the  hands  of  the  Arians. 

CHAP.  VI. CONCERNING  THE  ARIANS  ;  AND  FUR- 
THER, THE  SUCCESS  OF  EUNOMIUS.  BOLDNESS 
OF   ST.    AJMPHILOCHIUS    TOWARD   THE    EMPEROR. 

1  Matt.  X.  23. 


The  Arians,  who  were  still  very  strong  in 
point  of  numbers,^  and  who,  through  the  pro- 
tection formerly  granted  by  C'onstantius  and 
Valens,  were  still  convening  without  fear,  and 
discoursing  publicly  concerning  God  and  the 
Divine  nature,  now  determined  upon  making  an 
attempt  to  gain  over  the  emperor  to  their  party, 
through  the  intervention  of  individuals  of  their 
sect  who  held  appointments  at  court ;  and  they 
entertained  hopes  of  succeeding  in  this  project, 
as  well  as  they  had  succeeded  iu  the  case  of 
Constantius.  These  machinations  excited  great 
anxiety  and  fear  among  the  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church  ;  but  the  chief  cause  of  their 
apprehension  was  the  reasoning  power  of  Euno- 
mius.  It  appears  that,  during  the  reign  of 
Valens,  Eunomius  had  some  dispute  with  his 
own  clergy  at  Cyzicus,  and  had  in  consequence 
seceded  from  the  Arians,  and  retired  to  Bithynia, 
near  Constantinople.  Here  multitudes  resorted 
to  him ;  some  also  gathered  from  different  quar- 
ters, a  few  with  the  design  of  testing  his  princi- 
ples, and  others  merely  from  the  desire  of  listen- 
ing to  his  discourses.  His  reputation  reached  the 
ears  of  the  emperor,  who  would  gladly  have  held 
a  conference  with  him.  But  the  Empress  Flacilla^ 
studiously  prevented  an  interview  from  taking 
place  between  them  ;  for  she  was  the  most  faithful 
guard  of  the  Nicene  doctrines,  and  feared  least 
Eunomius  might,  by  his  powers  of  disputation, 
induce  a  change  in  the  sentiments  of  the  emperor. 

In  the  meantime,  while  these  intrigues  were 
being  carried  on  by  each  party,  it  is  said  that 
the  bishops  then  residing  in  Constantinople  went 
to  the  emperor,  to  render  him  the  customary 
salutations.  An  old  priest  from  a  city  of  little 
note,'*  and  who  was  simple  and  unworldly,  yet 
well  instructed  in  Divine  subjects,  formed  one 
of  this  party.  The  rest  saluted  the  emperor 
with  uncovered  head  and  very  reverently.  The 
aged  priest  greeted  him  in  the  same  form  ;  but, 
instead  of  rendering  equal  honor  to  the  prince, 
who  was  seated  beside  his  father,  the  old  priest 
approached  him,  patted  him  familiarly,  and 
called  him  his  dear  child.  The  emperor  was 
incensed  and  enraged  at  the  indignity  offered 
to  his  son,  in  that  he  had  not  been  accorded 
like  honor ;  and  conmianded  that  the  old  man 
should  be  thrust  from  his  presence  with  violence. 
While  being  pushed  away,  hither  and  thither, 
however,  the  old  priest  turned  around  and  ex- 
claimed, "  Reflect,  O  emperor,  on  the  wrath  of 
the  Heavenly  Father  against  those  who  do  not 
honor  His  Son  as  Himself,  and  who  have  the 
audacity  to  assert  that  the  Son  is  inferior  to  the 

-  Independent  chapter.     Cf.  Philost.  ix.  13,  14. 

'  She  was  the  first,  and  not  the  second,  wife  of  Theodosius,  and 
the  mother  of  Arcadius  and  Honorius.  Her  funeral  panegyric  was 
delivered  bv  Gregory  of  Nyssa  (vol.  iii.  877),  as  well  as  that  of  her 
daughter  Piilcheria.  {id.  863).     Cf.  Philost.  x.  7  (Placidia). 

••  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  16,  refers  this  incident  to  Amphilochius, 
bishop  of  Iconium  and  Nicephorus  follows  him,  xii.  9. 


38o 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  6. 


Father."  The  emperor  felt  the  force  of  this 
observation,  recalled  the  priest,  apologized  to 
him  for  what  had  occurred,  and  confessed  that 
he  had  spoken  the  truth.  The  emperor  was 
henceforward  less  disposed  to  hold  intercourse 
with  heretics,  and  he  prohibited  contests  and 
assemblies  in  the  markets.  He  made  it  danger- 
ous to  hold  discussions  of  this  kind  about  the 
substance  and  nature  of  God,  by  enacting  a  law, 
and  defining  the  punishments  in  this  matter.^ 

CHAP.  VII. CONCERNING  THE  SECOND  HOLY  GEN- 
ERAL COUNCIL,  AND  THE  PLACE  AND  CAUSE  OF 
ITS  CONVENTION.  ABDICATION  OF  GREGORY  THE 
THEOLOGL^N. 

The  emperor  soon  after  convened  a  council 
of  orthodox  bishops,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
firming the  decrees  of  Nicgea,  and  of  electing 
a  bishop  to  the  vacant  see  of  Constantinople.- 
He  likewise  summoned  the  Macedonians  to  this 
assembly ;  for  as  their  doctrines  differed  but 
little  from  those  of  the  Catholic  Church,  he 
judged  that  it  would  be  easy  to  effect  a  reunion 
with  them.  About  a  hundred  and  fifty  bishops 
who  maintained  the  consubstantiality  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  were  present  at  this  council,  as 
likewise  thirty-six  of  the  Macedonian  bishops, 
chiefly  from  the  cities  of  the  Hellespont ;  of 
whom  the  principal  were  Eleusius,  bishop  of 
Cyzicus,  and  Marcian,  bishop  of  Lampsacus. 
The  other  party  was  under  the  guidance  of  Tim- 
othy, who  had  succeeded  his  brother  Peter  in 
the  see  of  Alexandria ;  of  Meletius,  bishop  of 
Antioch,  who  had  repaired  to  Constantinople  a 
short  time  previously,  on  account  of  the  election 
of  Gregory,  and  of  Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
who  had  at  this  period  renounced  the  tenets  of 
the  Macedonians  which  he  previously  held. 
Ascholius,  bishop  of  Thessalonica,  Diodorus, 
bishop  of  Tarsus,  and  Acacius,  bishop  of  Berea, 
were  also  present  at  the  council.  These  latter 
unanimously  maintained  the  decrees  of  Nicaea, 
and  urged  Eleusius  and  his  partisans  to  conform 
to  these  sentiments,  reminding  them,  at  the 
same  time,  of  the  embassy  they  had  formerly 
deputed  to  Liberius,  and  of  the  confession  they 
conveyed  to  him  through  the  medium  of  Eus- 
tathius,  Silvanus,  and  Theophilus,  as  has  been 
narrated.  The  Macedonians,  however,  declared 
openly  that  they  would  never  admit  the  Son  to 
be  of  the  same  substance  as  the  Father,  what- 
ever confession  they  might  formerly  have  made 
to  Liberius,  and  immediately  withdrew.  They 
then  wTote  to  those  of  their  adherents  in  every 
city,  exhorting  them  not  to  conform  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Nicaea. 

^  Cod.  Theod.  xvi.  iv.  De  his,  gui  super  religione  conten- 
dunt,  2. 

2  Soc.  V.  7,  8;  cf.  Theodoret,  //.  E.  v.  7,  8;  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  19; 
Marcell.  Chron.  s.  a.d.  381. 


The  bishops  who  remained  at  Constantinople 
now  turned  their  attention  to  the  election  of  a 
prelate  to  the  see  of  that  city.  It  is  said  that 
the  emperor,  from  profound  admiration  of  the 
sanctity  and  eloquence  of  Gregory,  judged  that 
he  was  worthy  of  this  bishopric,  and  that,  from 
reverence  of  his  virtue,  the  greater  number  of 
the  Synod  was  of  the  same  opinion.  Gregory 
at  first  consented  to  accept  the  presidency  of 
the  church  of  Constantinople  ;  but  afterwards, 
on  ascertaining  that  some  of  the  bishops,  par- 
ticularly those  of  Egpyt,  objected  to  the  elec- 
tion, he  withdrew  his  consent.  For  my  part, 
this  wisest  of  men  is  worthy  of  admiration,  not 
only  for  universal  quahfications,  but  not  the  least 
for  his  conduct  under  the  present  circumstances. 
His  eloquence  did  not  inspire  him  with  pride, 
nor  did  vainglory  lead  him  to  desire  the  con- 
trol of  a  church,  which  he  had  received  when 
it  was  no  longer  in  danger.  He  surrendered 
his  appointment  to  the  bishops  when  it  was 
required  of  him,  and  never  complained  of 
his  many  labors,  or  of  the  dangers  he  had  in- 
curred in  the  suppression  of  heresies.  Had  he 
retained  possession  of  the  bishopric  of  Con- 
stantinople, it  would  have  been  no  detriment  to 
the  interests  of  any  individual,  as  another  bishop 
had  been  appointed  in  his  stead  at  Nazianzen. 
But  the  council,  in  strict  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  the  fathers  and  ecclesiastical  order,  withdrew 
from  him,  with  his  own  acquiescence,  the  de- 
posit which  had  been  confided  to  him,  without 
making  an  exception  in  favor  of  so  eminent  a 
man.  The  emperor  and  the  priests  therefore 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  another  bishop, 
which  they  regarded  as  the  most  important 
affair  then  requiring  attention  ;  and  the  emperor 
was  urgent  that  diligent  investigations  might  be 
instituted,  so  that  the  most  excellent  and  best 
individual  might  be  intrusted  with  the  high- 
priesthood  of  the  great  and  royal  city.  The 
council,  however,  was  divided  in  sentiment ;  for 
each  of  the  members  desired  to  see  one  of  his 
own  friends  ordained  over  the  church. 

CHAP.     VIII. ELECTION     OF     NECTARIUS     TO     THE 

SEE    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE  ;    HIS    BIRTHPLACE  AND 
EDUCATION. 

A  CERTAIN  man  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  of  the 
illustrious  order  of  senator,  was  at  this  period 
residing  at  Constantinople.^  Being  about  to 
return  to  his  own  country,  he  called  upon  Dio- 
dorus, bishop  of  Tarsus,  to  inquire  whether  he 
had  any  letters  to  send  by  him.  Diodorus  was 
fully  intent  upon  the  ordination,  which  was  the 
subject  then  engrossing  universal  attention  of 
the  men.  He  had  no  sooner  seen  Nectarius 
than  he  considered  him  worthy  of  the  bishopric, 

3  Soc.  V.  8 ;  cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  8;  Marcell.  s.  a.d.  381.  Soz. 
is  entirely  independent. 


VII.  9-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


381 


and  straightway  determined  this  in  his  own  mind 
as  he  reflected  on  the  venerable  age  of  the  man, 
his  form  so  befitting  a  priest,  and  the  suavity  of 
his  manners.  He  conducted  him,  as  if  upon 
some  other  business,  to  the  bishop  of  Antioch, 
and  requested  him  to  use  his  influence  to  pro- 
cure this  election.  The  bishop  of  Antioch  de- 
rided this  request,  for  the  names  of  the  most 
eminent  men  had  already  been  proposed  for 
consideration.  He,  however,  called  Nectarius 
to  him,  and  desired  him  to  remain  for  a  short 
time  with  him.  Some  time  after,  the  emperor 
commanded  the  priests  to  draw  up  a  list  of  the 
names  of  those  whom  they  thought  worthy  of 
the  ordination,  reserving  to  himself  the  right  of 
choosing  any  one  of  those  whose  names  were 
thus  submitted  to  him.  All  the  bishops  complied 
with  this  mandate  ;  and,  among  the  others,  the 
bishop  of  Antioch  wrote  down  the  names  of 
those  whom  he  proposed  as  candidates  for  the 
bishopric,  and,  at  the  end  of  his  list,  from  con- 
sideration for  Diodorus,  he  inserted  the  name  of 
Nectarius.  The  emperor  read  the  list  of  those 
inscribed  and  stopped  at  the  name  of  Nectarius 
at  the  end  of  the  document,  on  which  he  placed 
his  finger,  and  seemed  for  some  time  lost  in  re- 
flection ;  ran  it  up  to  the  beginning,  and  again 
went  through  the  whole,  and  chose  Nectarius. 
This  nomination  excited  great  astonishment, 
and  all  the  people  were  anxious  to  ascertain  who 
Nectarius  was,  his  manner  of  life,  and  birthplace. 
When  they  heard  that  he  had  not  been  initiated, 
their  amazement  was  increased  at  the  decision 
of  the  emperor.  I  believe  that  Diodorus  him- 
self was  not  aware  that  Nectarius  had  not  been 
baptized ;  for,  had  he  been  acquainted  with  this 
fact,  he  would  not  have  ventured  to  give  his 
vote  for  the  priesthood  to  one  uninitiated.  It 
appears  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  on  perceiv- 
ing that  Nectarius  was  of  advanced  age,  he  took 
it  for  granted  that  he  had  been  initiated  long 
previously.  But  these  events  did  not  take  place 
without  the  interposition  of  God.  For  when 
the  emperor  was  informed  that  Nectarius  had 
not  been  initiated,  he  remained  of  the  same 
opinion,  although  opposed  by  many  priests. 
When  at  last,  consent  had  been  given  to  the  im- 
perial mandate,  Nectarius  was  initiated,  and 
while  yet  clad  in  his  initiatory  robes,  was  pro- 
claimed bishop  of  Constantinople  by  the  unani- 
mous voice  of  the  Synod.  Many  have  conjec- 
tured that  the  emperor  was  led  to  make  this 
election  by  a  Divine  revelation.  I  shall  not  de- 
cide whether  this  conjecture  be  true  or  false ; 
but  I  feel  convinced,  when  I  reflect  on  the  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  attending  this  ordina- 
tion, that  the  events  were  not  brought  about  with- 
out the  Divine  strength ;  and  that  God  led  this 
mild  and  virtuous  and  excellent  man  into  the 
priesthood.     Such  are  the  details  which  I  have 


been  able  to  ascertain  concerning  the  ordination 
of  Nectarius. 


CHAP.  IX.  —  DECREES  OF  THE  SECOND  GENERAL 


COUNCIL. 


MAXIMUS,  THE  CYNICAL  PHILOSOPHER. 


After  these  transactions,  Nectarius  and  the 
other  priests  assembled  together,'  and  decreed 
that  the  faith  established  by  the  council  of  Nicaea 
should  remain  dominant,  and  that  all  heresies 
should  be  condemned  ;  that  the  churches  every- 
where should  be  governed  according  to  the 
ancient  canons  ;  that  each  bishop  should  remain 
in  his  own  church,  and  not  go  elsewhere  under 
any  light  pretext ;  or,  without  invitation,  performiX 
ordinations  in  which  he  had  no  right  to  inter- 
fere, as  had  frequently  been  the  case  in  the 
CathoHc  Church  during  the  times  of  persecu- 
tion. They  likewise  decreed  that  the  affairs  of 
each  church  should  be  subjected  to  the  investi- 
gation and  control  of  a  council  of  the  province  ; 
and  that  the  bishop  of  Constantinople  should 
rank  next  in  point  of  precedence  to  the  bishop 
of  Rome,  as  occupying  the  see  of  New  Rome ; 
for  Constantinople  was  not  only  already  favored 
with  this  appellation,  but  was  also  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  many  privileges,  —  such  as  a  senate  of 
its  own,  and  the  division  of  the  citizens  into 
ranks  and  orders;  it  was  also  governed  by  its 
own  magistrates,  and  possessed  contracts,  laws, 
and  immunities  in  equal  degree  with  those  of 
Rome  in  Italy. 

The  council  also  decreed  that  Maximus  had 
not  been  nor  was  now  a  bishop  ;  and  that  those 
individuals  whom  he  had  ordained  were  not  of 
the  clergy ;  and  that  all  that  had  been  done  by 
him,  or  in  his  name,  was  null  and  void.  Max- 
imus was  a  native  of  Alexandria,  and,  by  profes- 
sion, a  cynical  philosopher.  He  was  zealously 
attached  to  the  Nicene  doctrines,  and  had  been 
secretly  ordained  bishop  of  Constantinople  by 
bishops  who  had  assembled  in  that  city  from 
Egypt. 

Such  were  the  decrees  of  the  council.  They 
were  confirmed  by  the  emperor,  who  enacted^ 
that  the  faith  established  at  Nicaea  should  be 
dominant,  and  that  the  churches  everywhere 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
acknowledged  one  and  the  same  Godhead  in 
the  hypostasis  of  three  Persons  of  equal  honor 
and  of  equal  power ;  namely,  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  designate  them 
still  more  precisely,  the  emperor  declared  that 
he  referred  to  those  who  held  communion  with 
Nectarius,  at  Constantinople,  and  with  Timothy, 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  in  Egypt ;  in  the  churches 
of  the  East  with  Diodorus,  bishop  of  Tarsus, 

1  Soc.  V.  8;  cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  8,  9.  The  latter  chapter 
gives  the  text  of  the  letter  of  this  Synod  to  the  Synod  of  Rome. 
Soz.  is  here  independent. 

2  Cod.  Theod.  xvi.  3. 


382 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  9. 


and  in  Syria  with  Pelagius,  bishop  of  Laodicea, 
and  in  Asia  with  Amphilochius,  president  of  the 
churches  in  Iconium  ;  to  those  in  the  cities  by 
the  Pontus,  from  Bithynia  to  Armenia,  who  held 
communion  with  Helladius,  bishop  of  the  church 
of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia  ;  with  Gregory,  bishop 
of  Nyssa ;  and  with  Otreinus,  bishop  of  MeU- 
tine ;  and  to  the  cities  of  Thrace  and  Scythia, 
who  held  communion  with  Terentius,  bishop  of 
Tomi,  and  with  Martyrius,  bishop  of  IMarcian- 
opolis.  The  emperor  was  personally  acquainted 
with  all  these  bishops,  and  had  ascertained  that 
they  governed  their  respective  churches  wisely 
and  piously.  After  these  transactions,  the 
council  was  dissolved,  and  each  of  the  bishops 
returned  homewards. 

CHAP.     X. CONCERNING     MARTi^RIUS     OF     CILICIA. 

TRANSLATION  OF  THE   REMAINS  OF   ST.  PAUL   THE 
CONFESSOR,  AND  OF  MELETIUS,  BISHOP  OF  ANTIOCH. 

Nectarius  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
routine  of  sacerdotal  ceremonies  under  the  in- 
struction of  Cyriacus,^  bishop  of  Adana,  whom 
he  had  requested  Diodorus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  to 
leave  with  him  for  a  short  period.  Nectarius 
also  retained  several  other  Cilicians  with  him, 
amongst  whom  was  Martyrius,  his  physician,  who 
had  been  a  witness  of  the  irregularities  of  his 
youth.  Nectarius  was  desirous  of  ordaining  him 
deacon  ;  but  Martyrius  refused  the  honor  under 
the  plea  of  his  own  unworthiness  of  such  a  divine 
service,  and  called  upon  Nectarius  himself  to 
witness  as  to  the  course  of  his  past  life.  To  this 
Nectarius  replied  as  follows  :  "  Although  I  am 
now  a  priest,  do  you  not  know  that  my  past 
career  was  a  more  guilty  one  than  yours,  inas- 
much as  you  were  but  an  instrument  in  my 
numerous  profligacies  ?  "  "  But  you,  O  blessed 
one,"  replied  Martyrius,  "  were  cleansed  by  bap- 
tism, and  were  then  accounted  worthy  of  the 
priesthood.  Both  these  ordinances  are  appointed 
by  the  Divine  law  for  purification  from  sin,  and 
it  seems  to  me  that  you  now  differ  in  no  respect 
from  a  new-born  infant ;  but  I  long  ago  received 
holy  baptism,  and  have .  since  continued  in  the 
same  abusive  course."  It  was  under  this  plea 
that  he  excused  himself  from  receiving  ordina- 
tion ;  and  I  commend  the  man  for  his  refusal, 
and  therefore  would  give  him  a  part  in  my 
history. 

The  Emperor  Theodosius,  on  being  informed 
of  various  events  connected  with  Paul,"  formerly 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  caused  his  body  to  be 
removed  to  the  church  erected  by  Macedonius, 
his  enemy,  and  buried  there.  This  temple  is  a 
spacious  and  most  distinguished  edifice,  and  is 
still  named  after  Paul.      Hence   many  persons 

'  Most  of  this  chapter  is  independent  with  Soz. 
'  Soc.  V.  9.     Soz.  IS  independent. 


who  are  ignorant  of  the  facts  of  the  case,  par- 
ticularly women  and  the  mass  of  the  people,  im- 
agine that  Paul,  the  apostle,  is  interred  therein. 
The  remains  of  Meletius  were  at  the  same  time 
conveyed  to  Antioch,  and  deposited  near  the 
tomb  of  Babylas  the  martyr.  It  is  said  that 
through  every  public  way,  by  the  command  of 
the  emperor,  the  relics  were  received  within  the 
walls  in  every  city,  contrary  to  Roman  custom, 
and  were  honored  with  singing  of  psalms  an- 
tiphonally  in  such  places,  until  they  were  trans- 
ferred to  Antioch. 


CHAP.  XI. ORDINATION  OF  FIAVIAN  AS    BISHOP   OF 

ANTIOCH,     AND     SUBSEQUENT     OCCURRENCES      ON 
ACCOUNT    OF   THE    OATH. 

After  the  pompous  interment  of  the  remains 
of  Meletius,  Flavian  was  ordained  in  his  stead, 
and  that,  too,  in  direct  violation  of  the  oath  he 
had  taken ;  ^  for  Paulinus  was  still  alive.  This 
gave  rise  to  fresh  troubles  in  the  church  of 
Antioch.  Many  persons  refused  to  maintain 
communion  with  Flavian,  and  held  their  church 
apart  with  Paulinus.  Even  the  priests  differed 
among  themselves  on  this  subject.  The  Egyp- 
tians, Arabians,  and  Cypriots  were  indignant  at 
the  injustice  that  had  been  manifested  towards 
Paulinus.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Syrians,  the 
Palestinians,  the  Phoenicians,  and  the  greater 
part  of  Armenia,  Cappadocia,  Galatia,  and 
Pontus,  sided  with  Flavian.  The  bishop  of 
Rome,  and  all  the  Western  priests,  regarded  the 
conduct  of  Flavian  with  the  utmost  displeasure. 
They  addressed  the  customary  epistles,  called 
synodical,  to  Paulinus  as  bishop  of  Antioch,  and 
took  no  notice  of  Flavian.  They  also  withdrew 
from  communion  with  Diodorus,  bishop  of 
Tarsus,  and  Acacius,  bishop  of  Berea,  because 
they  had  ordained  Flavian.^  To  take  further 
cognizance  of  the  affair,  the  Western  bishops  and 
the  Emperor  Gratian  wrote  to  the  bishops  of  the 
East,  and  summoned  them  to  attend  a  council 
in  the  West. 


CHAP.    XII. PROJECT    OF    THEODOSIUS    TO    UNIFY 

ALL  THE  HERESIES.  THE  PROPOSITIONS  MADE  BY 
AGELIUS  AND  SISINIUS,  THE  NOVATIANS.  AT  AN- 
OTHER SYNOD,  THE  EMPEROR  RECEIVED  THOSE 
ONLY  WHO  REPRESENT  CONSUBSTANTIALITY  ; 
THOSE  WHO  HELD  A  DIFFERENT  VIEW  HE  EJECTED 
FROM   THE   CHURCHES. 

Although  all  the  houses  of  prayer  were  at 
this  period  in  the  possession  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  many  troubles  occurred  in  various  parts 

^  Soc.  V.  9;  cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  23. 

*  Ambrose,  and  other  bishops  of  Italy,  convened  in  an  undesig- 
nated Synod,  condemned  Nectarius,  both  for  his  part  in  this  pro- 
cedure and  also  as  improperly  ordained.     Hard.  i.  c.  844. 


VII.  13.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


383 


of  the  empire,  instigated  by  the  Arians.^  The 
Emperor  Theodosius,  therefore,  soon  after  the 
council  above  mentioned,  again  summoned 
together  the  presidents  of  the  sects  which  were 
flourishing,  in  order  that  they  might  either  bring 
others  to  their  own  state  of  conviction  on  dis- 
puted topics,  or  be  convinced  themselves  ;  for 
he  imagined  that  all  would  be  brought  to  oneness 
of  opinion,  if  a  free  discussion  were  entered 
into,  concerning  ambiguous  points  of  doctrine. 
The  council,  therefore,  was  convened.  This 
occurred  in  the  year  of  the  second  consulate  of 
Merobaudes,  and  the  first  of  Saturninus,  and  at 
the  same  period  that  Arcadius  was  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  government  of  the  empire. 
Theodosius  sent  for  Nectarius,  consulted  with 
him  concerning  the  coming  Synod,  and  com- 
manded him  to  introduce  the  discussion  of  all 
questions  which  had  given  rise  to  heresies,  so 
that  the  church  of  the  believers  in  Christ  might 
be  one,  and  might  agree  on  the  doctrine  accord- 
ing to  which  piety  ought  to  be  observed.  When 
Nectarius  returned  home,  feeling  anxious  about 
the  affair  confided  to  him,  he  made  known  the 
mandate  of  the  emperor  to  Agelius,  the  president 
of  the  church  of  the  Novatians,  who  held  the 
same  religious  sentiments  as  himself.  Agelius 
proved  the  virtue  of  his  life  by  works,  but  was 
unaccustomed  to  the  finesse  and  deception  of 
words  ;  he  therefore  proposed  as  a  substitute,  one 
of  his  readers,  by  name  Sisinius,  Avho  afterwards 
succeeded  him  as  bishop,  a  man  who  could  see 
what  was  practical,  and  could  debate,  if  that 
were  necessary.  Sisinius  possessed  powers  of 
intellect  and  of  expression ;  he  had  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  interpretation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  profane 
and  with  ecclesiastical  literature.  He  proposed 
that  all  disputation  with  the  heterodox,  as  being 
a  fruitful  source  of  contention  and  war,  should 
be  avoided ;  but  recommended  that  inquiries 
should  rather  be  instituted,  as  to  whether  the 
heretics  admitted  the  testimony  of  the  expositors 
and  teachers  of  the  sacred  words,  who  lived 
before  the  Church  was  rent  in  division.  "If 
they  reject  the  testimony  of  these  great  men," 
said  he,  "  they  will  be  condemned  by  their  own 
followers ;  but  if  they  admit  their  authority  as 
being  adequate  to  resolve  ambiguous  points  of 
doctrine,  we  will  produce  their  books."  For 
Sisinius  was  well  aware  that,  as  the  ancients  rec- 
ognized the  Son  to  be  eternal  like  the  Father,  they 
had  never  presumed  to  assert  that  He  had  had 
an  origin  from  some  beginning.  This  suggestion 
received  the  approbation  of  Nectarius,  and  after- 
wards of  the  emperor ;  and  investigations  were 
set  on  foot  as  to  the  opinions  entertained  by 
heretics  concerning  the  ancient  interpreters  of 

1  Soc.  V.  10,  from  whom  Soz.  borrows  his  facts. 


Scripture.  As  it  was  found  that  the  heretics  pro- 
fessed to  hold  these  early  writers  in  great  admi- 
ration, the  emperor  asked  them  openly  whether 
they  would  defer  to  the  authority  of  the  afore- 
said on  controverted  topics,  and  test  their  own 
doctrines  by  the  sentiments  propounded  in  those 
works.  This  proposition  excited  great  conten- 
tion among  the  leaders  of  the  various  heretical 
sects,  for  they  did  not  all  hold  the  same  view 
about  the  books  of  the  ancients  ;  the  emperor 
knew  that  they  were  convicted  by  the  debates 
over  their  own  words  alone,  and  withdrew  the 
proposition.  He  blamed  them  for  their  opinion, 
and  commanded  each  party  to  draw  up  a  writ- 
ten exposition  of  its  own  creed.  On  the  day 
appointed  for  the  presentation  of  these  docu- 
ments, Nectarius  and  Agelius  appeared  at  the 
palace,  as  representatives  of  those  who  maintain 
the  consubstantiality  of  the  Holy  Trinity  ;  Demo- 
philus,  the  Arian  president,  came  forward  as  the 
deputy  of  the  Arians  ;  Eunomius  represented  the 
Eunomians ;  and  Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus, 
appeared  for  the  sectarians  denominated  Mace- 
donians. The  emperor,  after  receiving  their 
formularies,  expressed  himself  in  favor  of  that 
one  alone  in  which  consubstantiality  of  the  Trin- 
ity was  recognized,  and  destroyed  the  others. 
The  interests  of  the  Novatians  were  not  affected 
by  this  transaction,  for  they  held  the  same  doc- 
trines as  the  Catholic  Church  concerning  the 
Divine  nature.  The  members  of  the  other  sects 
were  indignant  with  the  priests  for  having  en- 
tered into  unwise  disputations  in  the  presence  of 
the  emperor.  Many  renounced  their  former 
opinions,  and  embraced  the  authorized  form  of  re- 
ligion. The  emperor  enacted  a  law,  prohibiting 
heretics  from  holding  churches,  from  giving  pub- 
lic instructions  in  the  faith,  and  from  conferring 
ordination  on  bishops  or  others.^'  Some  of  the 
heterodox  were  expelled  from  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages, while  others  were  disgraced  and  deprived 
of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  other  subjects  of 
the  empire.  Great  as  were  the  punishments 
adjudged  by  the  laws  against  heretics,  they  were 
not  always  carried  into  execution,  for  the  empe- 
ror had  no  desire  to  persecute  his  subjects  ;  he 
only  desired  to  enforce  uniformity  of  view  about 
God  through  the  medium  of  intimidation.  Those 
who  voluntarily  renounced  heretical  opinions  re- 
ceived commendation  from  him. 


CHAP.  XIII. MAXIMUS  THE  TYR.\NT.       CONCERNING 

THE  OCCURRENCES  BETWEEN  THE  EMPRESS  JUS- 
TINA  AND  ST.  AMBROSE.  THE  EMPEROR  GRATIAN 
WAS  KILLED  BY  GUILE.  VALENTINUN  AND  HIS 
MOTHER   FLED  TO  THEODOSIUS  IN  THESSALONICA. 

As  the  Emperor  Gratian  was  at  this  period 


2  Cod.  Theod.  xvi.  5,  15. 


384 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  13. 


occupied  with  a  war  against  the  Alaraanni/  Max- 
imus  quitted  Britain,  with  the  design  of  usurping 
the  imperial  power.  Valentinian  was  then  resid- 
ing in  Italy,  but  as  he  was  a  minor,  the  affairs 
of  state  were  transacted  by  Probus,  a  praetorian 
prefect,  who  had  formerly  been  consul. 

Justina,  the  mother  of  the  emperor,  having 
espoused  the  Arian  heresy,  persecuted  Ambrose, 
bishop  of  Milan,  and  disquieted  the  churches 
by  her  efforts  to  introduce  alterations  in  the 
Nicene  doctrines,  and  to  obtain  the  predomi- 
nance of  the  form  of  belief  set  forth  at  Arimi- 
num.  She  was  incensed  against  Ambrose  because 
he  strenuously  opposed  her  attempts  at  innova- 
tion, and  she  represented  to  her  son  that  he  had 
insulted  her.  Valentinian  believed  this  calumny, 
and,  determined  to  avenge  the  supposed  wrongs 
of  his  mother,  he  sent  a  party  of  soldiers  against 
the  church.  On  their  reaching  the  temple,  they 
forced  their  way  into  the  interior,  arrested  Am- 
brose, and  were  about  to  lead  him  into  exile  at 
that  very  moment,  Avhen  the  people  assembled 
in  crowds  at  the  church,  and  evinced  a  resolu- 
tion to  die  rather  than  submit  to  the  banishment 
of  their  priest.  Justina  was  still  further  incensed 
at  this  occurrence  ;  and  with  a  view  of  enforcing 
her  project  by  law,  she  sent  for  Menivolus,-  one 
of  the  legal  secretaries,  and  commanded  him  to 
draw  up,  as  quickly  as  possible,  an  edict  confirm- 
atory- of  the  decrees  of  Ariminum.  Menivolus, 
being  firmly  attached  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
refused  to  write  the  document,  and  the  empress 
tried  to  bribe  him  by  promises  of  greater  honors. 
He  still,  however,  refused  compliance,  and,  tear- 
ing off  his  belt,  he  threw  it  at  the  feet  of  Justina, 
and  declared  that  he  would  neither  retain  his 
present  office,  nor  accept  of  promotion,  as  the 
reward  of  impiety.  As  he  remained  firm  in  his 
refusal,  others  were  intrusted  with  the  compila- 
tion of  the  law.  By  this  law,  all  who  conformed 
to  the  doctrines  set  forth  at  Ariminum  and  rati- 
fied at  Constantinople  were  exhorted  to  convene 
boldly ;  and  it  was  enacted  that  death  should 
be  the  punishment  of  those  who  should  hinder 
or  be  running  counter  to  this  law  of  the  emperor. 

While  the  mother  of  the  emperor  was  plan- 
ning the  means  of  carrying  this  cruel  law  into 
execution,  intelligence  was  brought  of  the  mur- 
der of  Gratian,  through  the  treachery  of  Andra- 
gathius,  the  general  of  Maximus.  Andragathius 
obtained  possession  of  the  imperial  chariot,  and 
sent  word  to  the  emperor  that  his  consort  was 
traveling  towards  his  camp.  Gratian,  who  was 
but  recently  married  and  youthful,  as  well  as 
passionately  attached  to  his  wife,  hastened  in- 
cautiously across  the  river,  and  in  his  anxiety  to 
meet  her  fell  without  forethought  into  the  hands 

1  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  14-16;  Philost.  x.  3,7;  Soc.  v.  11.     Cf.  The- 
odoret,  H.  E.  v.  12,  13;   Eunap.  Fragm.  ii.  48;  Zos.  iv.  42,  43. 
-  In  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  16,  Benevolus. 


of  Andragathius  ;  he  was  seized,  and,  in  a  little 
while,  put  to  death.  He  was  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  had  reigned  fifteen 
years.  This  calamity  quieted  Justina's  wrath 
against  Ambrose. 

Maximus,  in  the  meantime,  raised  a  large  army 
of  Britons,  neighboring  Gauls,  Celts,  and  other 
nations,  and  marched  into  Italy.  The  pretext 
which  he  advanced  for  this  measure  was,  that 
he  desired  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  inno- 
vations in  the  ancient  form  of  religion  and  of 
ecclesiastical  order  ;  but  he  was  in  reality  actu- 
ated by  the  desire  of  dispelling  any  suspicion 
that  might  have  been  excited  as  to  his  aspirations 
after  tyranny.  He  was  watching  and  intriguing 
for  the  imperial  rule  in  such  a  way  that  it  might 
appear  as  if  he  had  acquired  the  Roman  gov- 
ernment by  law,  and  not  by  force.  Valentin- 
ian was  compelled  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  to  recognize  the  symbols  of  his  rule  ;  but 
soon  after,  in  fear  of  suffering,  fled  with  his 
mother  Justina,  and  Probus,  the  praetorian  pre- 
fect in  Italy,  to  Thessalonica. 

CHAP.    XIV.  BIRTH     OF     HONORIUS.      THEODOSIUS 

LEAVES  ARCADIUS  AT  CONSTANTINOPLE,  AND 
PROCEEDS  TO  ITALY.  SUCCESSION  OF  THE  NO- 
VATIAN  AND  OTHER  PATRIARCHS.  AUDACITY  OF 
THE  ARL4NS.  THEODOSIUS,  AFTER  DESTROYING 
THE  TYRANT,  CELEBRATES  A  MAGNIFICENT  TRI- 
UMPH   IN    ROME. 

While  Theodosius  was  making  preparations 
for  a  war  against  Maximus,  his  son  Honorius 
was  born.^  On  the  completion  of  these  warlike 
preparations,  he  left  his  son  Arcadius  to  govern 
at  Constantinople,  and  proceeded  to  Thessa- 
lonica, where  he  received  Valentinian.  He  re- 
fused either  to  dismiss  openly,  or  to  give  audi- 
ence to  the  embassy  sent  by  Maximus,  but 
continued  his  journey  at  the  head  of  his  troops 
towards  Italy. 

About  this  period,  Agelius,  bishop  of  the 
Novatians  at  Constantinople,  feeling  his  end  ap- 
proaching, nominated  Sisinius,  one  of  the  pres- 
byters of  his  church,  as  his  successor.  The 
people,  however,  murmured  that  the  preference 
had  not  rather  been  given  to  Marcian,  who  was 
noted  on  account  of  his  piety,  and  Agelius 
therefore  ordained  him,  and  addressed  the  peo- 
ple who  were  assembled  in  the  church  in  the 
following  words  :  "  After  me  you  shall  have  Mar- 
cian for  your  bishop,  and  after  him,  Sisinius." 
Agelius  died  soon  after  he  had  uttered  these 
words.  He  had  governed  his  church  forty 
years  with  the  greatest  approbation  from  his  own 
heretical  party  ;  and  some  assert  that  during  the 
times  of  Pagan  persecution,  he  had  openly  con- 
fessed the  name  of  Christ. 

'  Soc.  V.  12-14,  21,  is  the  main  source  for  Soz.  Cf.  Ruf.  H.  E. 
ii.  17;  Philost.  .\.  8,  9,  11;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  15;    Zos.  iv.  45-47. 


VII.  15.]  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


585 


Not  long  after  Timothy  and  Cyril  died ;  The- 
ophilus  succeeded  to  the  see  of  Alexandria,  and 
John  to  that  of  Jerusalem.  Demophilus,  leader 
of  the  Arians  at  Constantinople,  likewise  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Aiarinus  of  Thrace  ;  but 
he  was  superseded  by  Dorotheus,  who  soon 
after  arrived  from  Antioch  in  Syria,  and  who 
was  considered  by  his  sect  to  be  better  qualified 
for  the  office  than  Marinus. 

Theodosius,  having  in  the  meantime  entered 
Italy,  various  conflicting  reports  were  spread  as 
to  the  success  of  his  arms.  It  was  rumored 
among  the  Arians  that  the  greater  part  of  his 
army  had  been  cut  to  pieces  in  battle,  and  that 
he  himself  had  been  captured  by  the  tyrant ; 
and  assuming  this  report  to  be  true,  these  sec- 
tarians became  bold  and  ran  to  the  house  of 
Nectarius  and  set  it  on  fire,  from  indignation  at 
the  power  which  the  bishop  had  obtained  over 
the  churches.  The  emperor,  however,  carried 
out  his  purpose  in  the  war,  for  the  soldiers  of 
Maximus,  impelled  by  fear  of  the  preparations 
against  them,  or  treachery,  seized  and  slew  the 
tyrant.  Andragathius,  the  murderer  of  Gratian, 
no  sooner  heard  of  the  death  of  Maximus,  than 
he  leaped  into  the  river  with  his  armor,  and 
perished.  The  war  having  been  thus  termi- 
nated, and  the  death  of  Gratian  avenged,  Theo- 
dosius, accompanied  by  Valentinian,  celebrated 
a  triumph  in  Rome,  and  restored  order  in  the 
churches  of  Italy,  for  the  Empress  Justinawas 
dead. 


CHAP.    XV.  FLAVIAN   AND     EVAGRIUS,    BISHOPS    OF 

ANTIOCH.  THE  EVENTS  AT  ALEXANDRLA.  UPON 
THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  DIONYSUS. 
THE  SERAPEUM  AND  THE  OTHER  IDOLATROUS 
TEMPLES    WHICH    WERE    DESTROYED. 

Paulinus,^  bishop  of  Antioch,  died  about  this 
period,  and  those  who  had  been  convened  into 
a  church  with  him  persisted  in  their  aversion  to 
Flavian,  although  his  religious  sentiments  were 
precisely  the  same  as  their  own,  because  he  had 
violated  the  oath  he  had  formerly  made  to 
Meletius.  They,  therefore,  elected  Evagrius  as 
their  bishop.  Evagrius  did  not  long  survive  this 
appointment,  and  although  Flavian  prevented 
the  election  of  another  bishop,  those  who  had 
seceded  from  communion  with  him,  still  contin- 
ued to  hold  their  assemblies  apart. 

About  this  period,  the  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
to  whom  the  temple  of  Dionysus  had,  at  his  own 
request,  been  granted  by  the  emperor,  converted 
the  edifice  into  a  church.  The  statues  were 
removed,  the  adyta  were  exposed ;  and,  in  order 
to  cast  contumely  on  the  pagan  mysteries,  he 
made  a  procession  for  the  display  of  these  ob- 

1  Soc.  V.  15-17;  Ruf.  ii.  H.  E.  ii.  21-24;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v. 
21-23;  many  independent  points  in  Soz. 


jects  ;  the  phalli,  and  whatever  other  object  had 
been  concealed  in  the  adyta  which  really  was, 
or  seemed  to  be,  ridiculous,  he  made  a  public 
exhibition  of.  The  pagans,  amazed  at  so  unex- 
pected an  exposure,  could  not  suffer  it  in  silerce, 
but  conspired  together  to  attack  the  Christians. 
They  killed  many  of  the  Christians,  wounded 
others,  and  seized  the  Serapion,  a  temple  which 
was  conspicuous  for  beauty  and  vastness  and 
which  was  seated  on  an  eminence.  This  they  con- 
verted into  a  temporary  citadel  ;  and  hither  they 
conveyed  many  of  the  Christians,  put  them  to 
the  torture,  and  compelled  them  to  offer  sacri- 
fice. Those  who  refused  compliance  were 
crucified,  had  both  legs  broken,  or  were  put  to 
death  in  some  cruel  manner.  When  the  sedi- 
tion had  prevailed  for  some  time,  the  rulers 
came  and  urged  the  people  to  remember  the 
laws,  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  to  give  up  the 
Serapion.  There  came  then  Romanus,  the  gen- 
eral of  the  military  legions  in  Egpyt ;  and  Eva- 
grius was  the  prefect  of  Alexandria.^  As  their 
efforts,  however,  to  reduce  the  people  to  sub- 
mission were  utterly  in  vain,  they  made  known 
what  had  transpired  to  the  emperor.  Those 
who  had  shut  themselves  up  in  the  Serapion 
prepared  a  more  spirited  resistance,  from  fear  of 
the  punishment  that  they  knew  would  await  their 
audacious  proceedings,  and  they  were  further 
instigated  to  revolt  by  the  inflammatory  dis- 
courses of  a  man  named  Olympius,  attired  in 
the  garments  of  a  philosopher,  who  told  them 
that  they  ought  to  die  rather  than  neglect  the 
gods  of  their  fathers.  Perceiving  that  they 
were  greatly  dispirited  by  the  destruction  of  the 
idolatrous  statues,  he  assured  them  that  such  a 
circumstance  did  not  warrant  their  renouncing 
their  religion  ;  for  that  the  statues  were  com- 
posed of  corruptible  materials,  and  were  mere 
pictures,  and  therefore  would  disappear  ;  whereas, 
the  powers  which  had  dwelt  within  them,  had 
flown  to  heaven.  By  such  representations  as 
these,  he  retained  the  multitude  with  him  in  the 
Serapion. 

When  the  emperor  was  informed  of  these 
occurrences,  he  declared  that  the  Christians  who 
had  been  slain  were  blessed,  inasmuch  as  they 
had  been  admitted  to  the  honor  of  martyrdom, 
and  had  suffered  in  defense  of  the  faith.  He 
offered  free  pardon^  to  those  who  had  slain 
them,  hoping  that  by  this  act  of  clemency  they 
would  be  the  more  readily  induced  to  embrace 
Christianity  ;  and  he  commanded  the  demolition 
of  the  temples  in  Alexandria  which  had  been 
the  cause  of  the  popular   sedition.     It  is  said 


2  Cod.  Theod.  xvi.  10,  11. 

3  The  opinion  of  St.  Augustine  {Ep.  158,  ad  Marcell.)  is  here 
quoted  by  Valesius:  "lest  the  sufferings  of  the  servants  of  God, 
which  ought  to  be  held  in  esteem  in  the  Church,  be  defiled  by  the 
blood  of  their  enemies."  See,  also,  below,  the  death  of  Marcellus 
of  Apamea. 


i86 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN.  [vii.  15. 


that,  when  this  imperial  edict  was  read  in  pub- 
lic,  the  Christians  uttered  loud  shouts    of  joy, 
because  the  emperor  laid  the  odium  of  what  had 
occurred    upon  the  pagans.     The   people  who 
were  guarding  the  Serapion  were  so  terrified  at 
hearing  these  shouts,  that  they  took    to  flight, 
and   the   Christians  immediately   obtained  pos- 
session of  the  spot,  which    they  have  retained 
ever  since.     I  have  been  informed  that,  on  the 
night     preceding     this     occurrence,     Olympius 
heard  the  voice  of  one  singing  hallelujah  in  the 
Serapion.     The  doors  were  shut  and  everything 
was  still ;  and  as  he  could  see  no  one,  but  could 
only  hear  the  voice  of  the  singer,  he  at  once 
understood  what  the  sign  signified  ;  and  unknown 
to  any  one  he  quitted  the  Serapion  and  embarked 
for  Italy.     It  is  said  that  when  the  temple  was 
being  demolished,  some  stones  were  found,  on 
which  were  hieroglyphic  characters  in  the  form 
of  a    cross,  which  on  being    submitted   to  the 
inspection  of  the  learned,  were  interpreted  as 
signifying  the  Hfe  to  come.^     These  characters 
led  to  the  conversion  of  several  of  the  pagans, 
as  did  likewise  other  inscriptions  found  in  the 
same  place,  and  which  contained  predictions  of 
the  destruction  of  the  temple.     It  was  thus  that 
the  Serapion  was  taken,  and,  a  litde  while  after, 
converted  into  a  church ;  it  received  the  name 
of  the  Emperor  Arcadius. 

There  were  still  pagans  in  many  cities,  who 
contended  zealously  in  behalf  of  their  temples ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  inhabitants   of  Petraea  and 
of  Areopolis,  in  Arabia ;  of  Raphi  and  Gaza,  in 
Palestine ;  of  Heriopolis  in  Phcenicia ;   and  of 
Apamea,  on  the  river  Axius,  in  Syria.     I  have 
been  informed  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  last- 
named  city  often  armed  the  men  of  Galilee  and 
the  peasants    of  Lebanon  in   defense   of  their 
temples ;  and    that   at   last,  they   even   carried 
their   audacity   to    such  a  height,  as  to   slay  a 
bishop    named    Marcellus.      This    bishop   had 
commanded  the  demolidon  of  all  the  temples 
in  the  city  and  villages,  under  the  supposition 
that  it  would  not  be  easy  otherwise  for  them  to 
be  converted  from  their  former  religion.     Hav- 
ing heard  that  there  was  a  very  spacious  temple 
at  Aulon,  a  district  of  Apamea,  he  repaired  thither 
with   a    body    of   soldiers   and    gladiators.     He 
stationed  himself  at  a  distance  from  the  scene 
of  conflict,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  arrows ;  for 
he  was  afflicted  with  the  gout,  and  was  unable 
to  fight,  to  pursue,  or  to  flee.     Whilst  the  soldiers 
and    gladiators    were    engaged    in   the    assault 
against   the    temple,  some   pagans,    discovering 
that  he  was  alone,  hastened  to  the  place  where 
he  was  separated  from  the  combat ;  they  arose 
suddenly  and  seized  him,  and  burnt  him  alive. 
The    perpetrators  of  this  deed  were  not  then 


'  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  29;  Soc.  V.  17. 


known,  but,  in  course  of  time,  they  were  de- 
tected, and  the  sons  of  Marcellus  determined 
upon  avenging  his  death.  The  council  of  the 
province,  however,  prohibited  them  from  exe- 
cuting this  design,  and  declared  that  it  was  not 
just  that  the  relatives  or  friends  of  Marcellus 
should  seek  to  avenge  his  death;  when  they 
should  rather  return  thanks  to  God  for  having 
accounted  him  worthy  to  die  in  such  a  cause. 

CHAP.    XVI. IN    WHAT    MANNER,  AND    FROM   WHAT 

CAUSE,  THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  PRESBYTER,  AP- 
POINTED TO  PRESIDE  OVER  THE  IMPOSITION  OF 
PENANCE,  WERE  ABOLISHED.  DISSERT.VTION  ON 
THE  MODE  OF  IMPOSING  PENANCE. 

Nectarius,  about  this   period,  abolished  the 
ofiice  of  the  presbyter  whose  duty  it  was  to  pre- 
side over  the  imposition  of  penance ;  and  this 
is  the  first  instance  of  the  suppression  of  this 
office  in  the  Church.-      This  example  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  bishops  of  every  region.     Various 
accounts   have    been   given    of  the   nature,  the 
origin,  and    the    cause  of  the  abolition  of  this 
office.     I  shall  state  my  own  views  on  the  sub- 
ject.    Impeccability  is  a  Divine    attribute,  and 
belongs  not  to  human  nature  ;  therefore  God  has 
decreed  that  pardon  should  be  extended  to  the 
penitent,  even  after  many  transgressions.     As  in 
supplicating  for  pardon,  it  is  requisite  to  confess 
the  sin,  it  seems  probable  that  the  priests,  from 
the  beginning,  considered  it  irksome  to  make  this 
confession  in  public,  before  the  whole  assembly 
of   the   people.      They   therefore   appointed  a 
presbyter,  of  the  utmost  sanctity,  and  the  most 
undoubted  prudence,  to  act  on  these  occasions  ; 
the  penitents  went  to  him,  and  confessed  their 
transgressions  ;  and  it  was  his  office  to  indicate 
the  kind  of  penance  adapted  to  each  sin,  and 
then  when  satisfaction  had  been  made,  to  pro- 
nounce  absolution.     As   the    custom    of  doing 
penance  never  gained  ground  among  the  Nova- 
tians,  regulations  of  this  nature  were  of  course  un- 
necessary among  them  ;  but  the  custom  prevailed 
among  all  other  heretics,  and  prevails  even  to 
the  present  day.    It  is  observed  with  great  rigor 
by  the  Western  churches,^  particularly  at  Rome, 
where  there  is  a  place  appropriated  to  the  recep- 
tion of  penitents,  in  which  spot  they  stand  and    ^ 
mourn  until  the  completion  of  the  services,  for  it    1 
is  not  lawful  for  them  to  take  part  in  the  myste- 
ries ;  then  they  cast  themselves,  with  groans  and 
lamentations,    prostrate    on    the   ground.      The 
bishop  conducts  the  ceremony,  sheds  tears,  and 
prostrates  himself  in  like   manner  ;  and  all  the 
people  burst  into  tears,  and  groan  aloud.     After- 
wards, the  bishop  rises  first  from  the  ground,  and 
raises  up  the  others  ;  he  offers  up  prayer  on  be- 

-  Soc.  V.  19;  yet  Soz.'s  account  and  setting  is  different. 
•■'  The  Western  Church  preserved  the  earlier  discipline. 


VII.  17.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


387 


half  of  the  penitents,  and  then  dismisses  them. 
Each  of  the  penitents  subjects  himself  in  private 
to  voluntary  suffering,  either  by  fastings,  by  ab- 
staining from  the  bath  or  from  divers  kinds  of 
meats,  or  by  other  prescribed  means,  until  a 
certain  period  appointed  by  the  bishop.  When 
the  time  arrives,  he  is  made  free  from  the  con- 
sequences of  his  sin,  and  assembles  at  the 
church  with  the  people.  The  Roman  priests 
have  carefully  observed  this  custom  from  the 
beginning  to  the  present  time.  In  the  church 
at  Constantinople,  a  presb}-ter  was  always  ap- 
pointed to  preside  over  the  penitents,  until  a 
lady  of  the  nobility  made  a  deposition  to  the 
effect,  that  when  she  resorted  as  a  penitent  to 
the  presbyter,  to  fast  and  offer  supplications  to 
God,  and  tarried  for  that  purpose,  in  the  church, 
a  rape  had  been  committed  on  her  person  by 
the  deacon.  Great  displeasure  was  manifested 
by  the  people  when  this  occurrence  was  made 
known  to  them,  on  account  of  the  discredit  that 
would  result  to  the  church  ;  and  the  priests,  in 
particular,  were  thereby  greatly  scandalized. 
Nectarius,  after  much  hesitation  as  to  what 
means  ought  to  be  adopted,  deposed  the  dea- 
con ;  and,  at  the  advice  of  certain  persons,  who 
urged  the  necessity  of  leaving  each  individual  to 
examine  himself  before  participating  in  the 
sacred  mysteries,  he  abohshed  the  office  of  the 
presbyter  presiding  over  penance.  From  that 
period,  therefore,  the  performance  of  penance 
fell  into  disuse  ;  and  it  seems  to  me,  that  extreme 
laxity  of  principle  was  thus  substituted  for  the 
severity  and  rigor  of  antiquity.  Under  the  an- 
cient system,  I  think,  offences  were  of  rarer 
occurrence ;  for  people  were  deterred  from  their 
commission,  by  the  dread  of  confessing  them, 
and  of  exposing  them  to  the  scrutiny  of  a  severe 
judge.  I  believe  it  was  from  similar  considera- 
tions, that  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  who  was 
always  zealous  in  promoting  the  glory  of  the 
Church,  issued  a  law,^  enacting  that  women 
should  not  be  admitted  into  the  ministry,  unless 
they  had  had  children,  and  were  upwards  of 
sixty  years  of  age,  according  to  the  precept  of 
the  Apostle  Paul.-  By  this  law  it  was  also  de- 
creed, that  women  who  had  shaved  their  heads 
should  be  ejected  from  the  churches ;  and  that 
the  bishop  by  whom  such  women  were  admitted 
should  be  deposed  from  the  bishopric. 

CHAP.  XVII. B.ANISHMENT  OF  EUNOMIUS  BY  THEO- 
DOSIUS THE  GREAT.  THEOPHRONIUS,  HIS  SUC- 
CESSOR ;  OF  EUTYCHUS,  AND  OF  DOROTHEUS, 
AND  THEIR  HERESIES  ;  OF  THOSE  CALLED  PSATHV- 
RLANS  ;  DIVISION  OF  THE  ARL^NS  INTO  DIFFER- 
ENT PARTIES  ;  THOSE  IN  CONST.'^TINOPLE  WERE 
;M0RE    LIMITED. 

^   Cod.  Theod.  xvi.  2.  27. 

-  I  Tim.  V.  9.     Cf.  change  in  Justinian,  Novell.  123.  13. 


Such  subjects  as  the  above,  however,  are  best 
left  to  the  decision  of  individual  judgment. 

The  emperor,  about  this  period,  condemned 
Eunomius  to  banishment.'  This  heretic  had 
fixed  his  residence  in  the  suburbs  of  Constan- 
tinople, and  held  frequent  churches  in  private 
houses,  where  he  read  his  own  writings.  He  in- 
duced many  to  embrace  his  sentiments,  so  that 
the  sectarians,  who  were  named  after  him,  be- 
came very  numerous.  He  died  not  long  after 
his  banishment,  and  was  interred  at  Dacora, 
his  birthplace,  a  village  of  Cappadocia,  situated 
near  Mount  Argeus,  in  the  territory  of  Caesarea. 
Theophronius,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Cappa- 
docia, and  who  had  been  his  disciple,  continued 
to  promulgate  his  doctrines.  Having  gotten 
a  smattering,  through  the  writings  of  Aristotle, 
he  composed  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  the 
syllogisms  in  them,  which  he  entitled  "  Exercises 
for  the  Mind."  But  he  afterwards  engaged,  I 
have  understood,  in  many  unprofitable  dis- 
putations, and  soon  ceased  to  confine  himself  to 
the  doctrines  of  his  master.  But  being  eager 
for  new  things,  he  endeavored  to  prove,  from 
the  terms  which  are  placed  in  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures, that  though  God  foreknows  that  which  is 
not,  and  knows  that  which  is,  and  remembers 
what  has  happened,  he  does  not  always  have 
that  knowledge  in  the  same  manner  with  re- 
spect to  the  future  and  present,  and  changes  his 
knowledge  of  the  past.  As  this  hypothesis  ap- 
peared positively  absurd  to  the  Eunomiarrs^,  they 
excommunicated  him  from  their  church  ;  and 
he  constituted  himself  the  leader  of  a  new  sect, 
called,  after  his  name,  Theophronians.  Not 
long  after,  Eutychus,  one  of  the  Eunomians, 
originated  another  sect  in  Constantinople,  to 
which  his  own  name  was  given.  For  the  question 
had  been  proposed,  as  to  whether  the  Son  of 
God  is  or  is  not  acquainted  with  the  last  hour ; 
and  for  its  solution,  the  words  of  the  evangelist 
were  quoted,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  the  day 
and  hour  are  known  only  to  the  Father.* 
Eutychus,  however,  contended  that  this  knowl- 
edge belongs  also  to  the  Son,  inasmuch  as  He 
has  received  all  things  from  the  Father.  The 
Eunomian  presidents,  having  condemned  this 
opinion,  he  seceded  from  communion  with  them, 
and  went  to  join  Eunomius  in  his  place  of  ban- 
ishment. A  deacon,  and  some  other  individuals, 
who  had  been  dispatched  from  Constantinople 
to  accuse  Eutychus,  and,  if  necessary,  to  oppose 
him  in  argument,  arrived  first  at  the  place  of 
destination.  When  Eunomius  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  object  of  their  journey,  he 
expressed  himself  in  favor  of  the  sentiments 
propounded  by  Eutychus ;  and,  on  his  arrival, 
prayed  with  him,  although  it  was  not  lawful  to 


^  Soc.  V.  2o,  23,  24;  Philost.  X.  6.     Soz.  has  some  independent 
points.  *  Matt.  xxiv.  36. 


i88 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  17. 


pray  with  any  one  who  travels  unprovided  with 
letters  written  in  sacred  characters,  attesting  his 
being  in  communion.  Eunomius  died  soon 
after  this  contention  ;  and  the  Eunomian  presi- 
dent, at  Constantinople,  refused  to  receive 
Eutychus  into  communion  ;  for  he  antagonized 
him  from  jealousy  because  he  was  not  even  of 
clerical  rank,  and  because  he  could  not  answer 
his  arguments,  and  did  not  find  it  possible  to 
solve  his  problems.  Eutychus,  therefore,  sepa- 
rated those  who  had  espoused  his  sentiments  into 
a  personal  heresy.  Many  assert  that  he  and 
Theophronius  were  the  first  who  propounded  the 
peculiar  views  entertained  by  the  Eunomians 
concerning  divine  baptism.  The  above  is  a 
brief  account  of  such  details  as  I  have  been  able 
to  give  in  order  to  afford  a  succinct  knowledge  of 
the  causes  which  led  the  Eunomians  to  be  divided 
among  themselves.  I  should  be  prolix  were  I 
to  enter  into  further  particulars ;  and,  indeed, 
the  subject  would  be  by  no  means  an  easy  one 
to  me,  since  I  have  no  such  dialectic  skill. 

The  following  question  was,  in  the  meantime, 
agitated  among  the  Arians  of  Constantinople  : 
Prior  to  the  existence  of  the  Son  (whom  they 
regard  as  having  proceeded  out  of  nothing) ,  is 
God  to  be  termed  the  Father  ?  Dorotheas,  who 
had  been  summoned  from  Antioch  to  rule  over 
them  in  the  place  of  Marinus,  was  of  opinion 
that  God  could  not  have  been  called  the  Father 
prior  to  the  existence  of  the  Son,  because  the 
name  of  Father  has  a  necessary  connection  with 
that  of  Son.  Marinus,  on  the  other  hand,  main- 
tained that  the  Father  was  the  Father,  even  when 
the  Son  existed  not ;  and  he  advanced  this  opin- 
ion either  from  conviction,  or  else  from  the 
desire  of  contention,  and  from  jealousy  at  the 
preference  that  had  been  shown  to  Dorotheus  in 
the  Church.  The  Arians  were  thus  divided  into 
two  parties ;  Dorotheus  and  his  followers  re- 
tained possession  of  the  houses  of  prayer,  while 
Marinus,  and  those  who  seceded  with  him, 
erected  new  edifices  in  which  to  hold  their 
own  churches.  The  name  "  Psathyrians  "  and 
"  Goths  "  were  given  to  the  partisans  of  Marinus  ; 
Psathyrians,  because  Theoctistus,  a  certain  cake- 
vender  {\pa6vpo-ira)\r]?)  was  a  zealous  advocate 
of  their  opinions  ;  and  Goths,  because  their  sen- 
timents were  approved  by  Selinus,  bishop  of  that 
nation.  Almost  all  these  barbarians  followed 
the  instructions  of  Selinus,  and  they  gathered  in 
churches  with  the  followers  of  Marinus.  The 
Goths  were  drawn  to  Selinus  particularly  because 
he  had  formerly  been  the  secretary  of  Ulphilas, 
and  had  succeeded  him  as  bishop.  He  was 
capable  of  teaching  in  their  churches,  not  only 
in  the  vernacular,  but  also  in  the  Greek  language. 

Soon  after  a  contest  for  precedency  arose 
between  Marinus  and  Agapius,  whom  Marinus 
himself  had  ordained  bishop  over  the  Arians  at 


Ephesus ;  and  in  the  quarrel  which  ensued,  the 
Goths  took  the  part  of  Agapius.  It  is  said  that 
many  of  the  Arian  clergy  of  that  city  were  so 
much  irritated  through  the  ambition  displayed  by 
these  two  bishops,  that  they  communed  with  the 
Catholic  Church.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the 
division  of  the  Arians  into  two  factions,  —  a 
division  which  still  subsists  ;  so  that,  in  every 
city,  they  have  separate  churches.  The  Arians 
at  Constantinople,  however,  after  a  separation 
of  thirty-five  years,  were  reconciled  to  each 
other  by  Plinthas,  formerly  a  consul,^  general 
of  the  cavalry  and  infantry,  a  man  possessed  of 
great  influence  at  court.  To  prevent  the  revival 
of  the  former  dissensions  among  them,  the  ques- 
tion which  had  been  the  cause  of  the  division 
was  forbidden  to  be  mooted.  And  these  occur- 
rences took  place  later. 


CHAP.     XVIII. ANOTHER     HERESY,    THAT     OF     THE 

SABBATIANS,  IS  ORIGINATED  BY  THE  NOVATIANS. 
THEIR  SYNOD  IN  SANGARUS.  ACCOUNT  IN  GREATER 
DETAIL  OF  THE  EASTER  FESTIVAL. 

A  DIVISION  arose  during  the  same  reign  among 
the  Novatians "  concerning  the  celebration  of  the 
festival  of  Easter,  and  from  this  dispute  origi- 
nated another,  called  the  Sabbatian.  Sabbatius, 
who,  with  Theoctistus  and  Macarius,  had  been 
ordained  presbyter  by  Marcian,  adopted  the 
opinion  of  the  co-pfesbyters,  who  had  been  con- 
vened at  Pazoucoma  ^  during  the  reign  of  Valens, 
and  maintained  that  the  feast  of  the  Passover 
(Easter)  ought  to  be  celebrated  by  Christians 
as  by  Jews.  He  seceded  from  the  Church  at 
first  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  greater  aus- 
terity, for  he  professed  to  adopt  a  very  austere 
mode  of  Ufe.  He  also  declared  that  one  motive 
of  his  secession  was,  that  many  persons  who 
participated  in  the  mysteries  appeared  to  him 
to  be  unworthy  of  the  honor.  \Vhen,  however, 
his  design  of  introducing  innovations  was  de- 
tected, Marcian  expressed  his  regret  at  having 
ordained  him,  and,  it  is  said,  was  often  heard  to 
exclaim  that  he  would  rather  have  laid  his  hands 
upon  thorns  than  upon  the  head  of  Sabbatius. 
Perceiving  that  the  people  of  his  diocese  were 
being  rent  into  two  factions,  Marcian  summoned 
all  the  bishops  of  his  own  persuasion  to  San- 
garus,  a  town  of  Bithynia,  near  the  seashore, 
not  far  from  the  city  of  Helenopolis.  When 
they  had  assembled,  they  summoned  Sabbatius, 
and  asked  him  to  state  the  cause  of  his  griev- 
ance ;  and  as  he  merely  complained  of  the 
diversity  prevaihng  in  regard  to  the  feast,  they 
suspected  that  he  made  this  a  pretext  to  dis- 
guise his  love  of  precedency,  and   made   him 

'  He  held  the  consulate  with  Monaxius,  a.d.  419. 
-  Soc.  V.  21,  22.     Soz.  has  independent  material. 
3  Ua^oiiKui/aj);   Soc.  ey  Ilafo)  kmhy). 


VII.  19.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


389 


declare  upon  oath  that  he  would  never  accept 
the  episcopal  office.  When  he  had  taken  the 
required  oath,  all  were  of  the  same  opinion, 
and  they  voted  to  hold  the  church  together,  for 
the  difference  prevailing  in  the  celebration  of 
the  Paschal  feast  ought  by  no  means  to  be  made 
an  occasion  for  separation  from  communion ; 
and  they  decided  that  each  individual  should  be 
at  liberty  to  observe  the  feast  according  to  his 
own  judgment.  They  enacted  a  canon  on  the 
subject,  which  they  styled  the  "  Indifferent  {uSid- 
<j£>opos)  Canon."  Such  were  the  transactions  of 
the  assembly  at  Sangarus.  From  that  period 
Sabbatius  adhered  to  the  usage  of  the  Jews ; 
and  unless  all  happened  to  observe  the  feast  at 
the  same  time,  he  fasted,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom, but  in  advance,  and  celebrated  the  Passover 
with  the  usual  prescriptions  by  himself.  He 
passed  the  Saturday,  from  the  evening  to  the 
appointed  time,  in  watching  and  in  offering  up 
the  prescribed  prayers ;  and  on  the  following 
day  he  assembled  with  the  multitude,  and  par- 
took of  the  mysteries.  This  mode  of  observing 
the  feast  was  at  first  unnoticed  by  the  people  ; 
but  as,  in  process  of  time,  it  began  to  attract 
observation,  and  to  become  more  generally 
known,  he  found  a  great  many  imitators,  par- 
ticularly in  Phrygia  and  Galatia,  to  whom  this 
celebration  of  the  feast  became  a  national  cus- 
tom. Eventually  he  openly  seceded  from  com- 
munion, and  became  the  bishop  of  those  who 
had  espoused  his  sentiments,  as  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  show  in  the  proper  place. 

I  am,  for  my  own  part,  astonished  that  Sabba- 
tius and  his  followers  attempted  to  introduce  this 
innovation.  The  ancient  Hebrews,  as  is  related 
by  Eusebius,'  on  the  testimony  of  Philo,  Josephus, 
Aristobulus,  and  several  others,  offered  the  sacri- 
fices after  the  vernal  equinox,  when  the  sun  is  in 
the  first  sign  of  the  zodiac,  called  by  the  Greeks 
the  Ram,  and  when  the  moon  is  in  the  opposite 
quarter  of  the  heavens,  and  in  the  fourteenth  day 
of  her  age.  Even  the  Novatians  themselves,  who 
have  studied  the  subject  with  some  accuracy,  de- 
clare that  the  founder  of  their  heresy  and  his 
first  disciples  did  not  follow  this  custom,  which 
was  introduced  for  the  first  time  by  those  who 
assembled  at  Pazoucoma  ;  and  that^at  old  Rome 
the  members  of  this  sect  still  observe  the  same 
practice  as  the  Romans,  who  have  not  deviated 
from  their  original  usage  in  this  particular,  the 
custom  having  been  handed  down  to  them  by 
the  holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul.  Further,  the 
Samaritans,  who  are  scrupulous  observers  of  the 
laws  of  Moses,  never  celebrate  this  festival  till 
the  first-fruits  have  reached  maturity  ;  they  say 
it  is,  in  the  law,  called  the  Feast  of  First-Fruits, 
and   before    these   appear,  it   is   not   lawful   to 

1  Eus.  //.  E.  vii.  32.     Extracts  from  the  canons  of  Anatolius. 


observe  the  feast ;  and,  therefore,  necessarily  the 
vernal  equinox  must  precede.  Hence  arises 
my  astonishment  that  those  who  profess  to 
adopt  the  Jewish  custom  in  the  celebration  of 
this  feast,  do  not  conform  to  the  ancient  practice 
of  the  Jews.  With  the  exception  of  the  people 
above  mentioned,  and  the  Quartodecimani  of 
Asia,  all  heresies,  I  believe,  celebrate  the  Pass- 
over in  the  same  manner  as  the  Romans  and 
the  Egyptians.  The  Quartodecimani  are  so 
called  because  thev  observe  this  festival,  like 
the  Jews,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon, 
and  hence  their  name.  The  Novatians  observe 
the  day  of  the  resurrection.  They  follow  the 
custom  of  the  Jews  and  the  Quartodecimani, 
except  when  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon 
falls  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  in  which 
case  they  celebrate  the  feast  so  many  days  after 
the  Jews,  as  there  are  intervening  days  between 
the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon  and  the  follow- 
ing Lord's  day.  The  Montanists,  who  are 
called  Pepuzites  and  Phrygians,  celebrate  the 
Passover  according  to  a  strange  fashion  which 
they  introduced.  They  blame  those  who  regu- 
late the  time  of  observing  the  feast  according  to 
the  course  of  the  moon,  and  affirm  that  it  is 
right  to  attend  exclusively  to  the  cycles  of  the 
sun.  They  reckon  each  month  to  consist  of 
thirty  days,  and  account  the  day  after  the  vernal 
equinox  as  the  first  day  of  the  year,  which, 
according  to  the  Roman  method  of  computa- 
tion, would  be  called  the  ninth  day  before  the 
calends  of  April.  It  was  on  this  day,  they  say, 
that  the  two  great  luminaries  appointed  for  the 
indication  of  times  and  of  years  were  created. 
This  they  prove  by  the  fact  that  every  eight 
years  the  sun  and  the  moon  meet  together  in 
the  same  point  of  the  heavens.  The  moon's 
cycle  of  eight  years  is  accomplished  in  ninety- 
nine  months,  and  in  two  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  twenty-two  days ;  and  during  that  time 
there  are  eight  revolutions  made  by  the  sun, 
each  comprising  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
days,  and  the  fourth  part  of  a  day.  For  they 
compute  the  day  of  the  creation  of  the  sun, 
mentioned  in  Sacred  Writ,  to  have  been  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  moon,  occurring  after  the 
ninth  day  before  the  calends  of  the  month  of 
April,  and  answering  to  the  eighth  day  prior  to 
ides  of  the  same  month.  They  always  celebrate 
the  Passover  on  this  day,  when  it  falls  on  the 
day  of  the  resurrection  ;  otherwise  they  celebrate 
it  on  the  following  Lord's  day;  for  it  is  written 
according  to  their  assertion  that  the  feast  may 
be  held  on  any  day  between  the  fourteenth  and 
twenty-first. 

CHAP.  XIX. A  LIST  WORTHY    OF    STUDY,  GIVEN    BY 

THE    HISTORIAN,  OF    CUSTOMS   AMONG   DIFFERENT 
N.4.TI0XS    AND    CHURCHES. 


390 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  19. 


We  have  now  described  the  various  usages 
that  prevailed  in  the  celebration  of  the  Passover.' 
It  appears  to  me  that  Victor,  bishop  of  Rome, 
and  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  came  to  a  very 
wise  decision  on  the  controversy  that  had  arisen 
between  them."  For  as  the  bishops  of  the  West 
did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  dishonor  the  tra- 
dition handed  down  to  them  by  Peter  and  by 
Paul,  and  as,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Asiatic 
bishops  persisted  in  following  the  rules  laid  down 
by  John  the  evangelist,  they  unanimously  agreed 
to  continue  in  the  observance  of  the  festival 
according  to  their  respective  customs,  without 
separation  from  communion  with  each  other. 
They  faithfully  and  justly  assumed,  that  those 
who  accorded  in  the  essentials  of  worship  ought 
not  to  separate  from  one  another  on  account 
of  customs.  For  exactly  similar  traditions  on 
every  point  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  churches, 
even  though  they  hold  the  same  opinions.  There 
are,  for  instance,  many  cities  in  Scythia,  and  yet 
they  all  have  but  one  bishop ;  whereas,  in  other 
nations  a  bishop  serves  as  priest  even  over  a 
village,  as  I  have  myself  observed  in  x\rabia,  and 
in  Cyprus,  and  among  the  Novatians  and  Mon- 
tanists  of  Phrygia.  Again,  there  are  even  now 
but  seven  deacons  at  Rome,  answering  precisely 
to  the  number  ordained  by  the  apostles,  of  whom 
Stephen  was  the  first  martyr ;  whereas,  in  other 
churches,  the  number  of  deacons  is  a  matter  of 
indifference.  At  Rome  hallelujah  is  sung  once 
annually,  namely,  on  the  first  day  of  the  festival 
of  the  Passover ;  so  that  it  is  a  common  thing 
among  the  Romans  to  swear  by  the  fact  of  hear- 
ing or  singing  this  hymn.  In  that  city  the  peo- 
ple are  not  taught  by  the  bishop,  nor  by  any 
one  in  the  Church.  At  Alexandria  the  bishop 
of  the  city  alone  teaches  the  people,  and  it  is 
said  that  this  custom  has  prevailed  there  ever 
since  the  days  of  Arius,  who,  though  but  a  pres- 
byter, broached  a  new  doctrine.  Another  strange 
custom  also  prevails  at  Alexandria  which  I  have 
never  witnessed  nor  heard  of  elsewhere,  and  this 
is,  that  when  the  Gospel  is  read  the  bishop  does 
not  rise  from  his  seat.  The  archdeacon  alone 
reads  the  Gospel  in  this  city,  whereas  in  some 
places  it  is  read  by  the  deacons,  and  in  many 
churches  only  by  the  priests ;  while  on  noted 
days  it  is  read  by  the  bishops,  as,  for  instance, 
at  Constantinople,  on  the  first  day  of  the  festival 
of  the  resurrection."  In  some  churches  the  in- 
terval called  Quadragesima,  which  occurs  before 
this  festival,  and  is  devoted  by  the  people  to 
fasting,  is  made  to  consist  of  six  weeks ;   and 


1  Soc.  V.  22.     Soz.  has  much  new  matter  of  his  own. 

5  Eus.  //.  E.  iv.  14  (from  Irenaeus).  Not  Victor,  but  Anicetus: 
the  conflict  of  Victor  was  with  Polycrates,  bishop  of  Ephesus.  FJus. 
H.  E.  V.  24. 

3  Nicephorus  (xii.  34)  declares  that  this  custom  lasted  down  to 
his  own  day;  and  that  it  was  practiced  also  on  the  ist  of  January,  as 
well  as  at  Easter. 


this  is  the  case  in  Illyria  and  the  Western  regions, 
in  Libya,  throughout  Egypt,  and  in  Palestine ; 
whereas  it  is  made  to  comprise  seven  weeks  at 
Constantinople,  and  in  the  neighboring  provinces 
as  far  as  Phoenicia.  In  some  churches  the  peo- 
ple fast  three  alternate  weeks,  during  the  space 
of  six  or  seven  weeks,  whereas  in  others  they 
fast  continuously  during  the  three  weeks  imme- 
diately preceding  the  festival.  Some  people,  as 
the  Montanists,  only  fast  two  weeks.  Assem- 
blies are  not  held  in  all  churcheB  on  the  same 
time  or  manner.  The  people  of  Constantinople, 
and  almost  everywhere,  assemble  together  on 
the  Sabbath,  as  well  as  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  which  custom  is  never  observed  at  Rome 
or  at  Alexandria.  There  are  several  cities  and 
villages  in  Egypt  where,  contrary  to  the  usage 
established  elsewhere,  the  people  meet  together 
on  Sabbath  evenings,  and,  although  they  have 
dined  previously,  partake  of  the  mysteries.  The 
same  prayers  and  psalms  are  not  recited  nor 
the  same  lections  read  on  the  same  occasions 
in  all  churches.  Thus  the  book  entitled  "  The 
Apocalypse  of  Peter,"  which  was  considered 
altogether  spurious  by  the  ancients,  is  still  read 
in  some  of  the  churches  of  Palestine,  on  the  day 
of  preparation,  when  the  people  obser\^e  a  fast 
in  memory  of  the  passion  of  the  Saviour.  So  the 
work  entitled  "The  Apocalypse  of  the  Apostle 
Paul,"  though  unrecognized  by  the  ancients,  is 
still  esteemed  by  most  of  the  monks.  Some 
persons  affirm  that  the  book  was  found  during 
this  reign,  by  Divine  revelation,  in  a  marble  box, 
buried  beneath  the  soil  in  the  house  of  Paul  at 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  I  have  been  informed  that 
this  report  is  false  by  Cilix,  a  presbyter  of  the 
church  in  Tarsus,  a  man  of  very  advanced  age, 
as  is  indicated  by  his  gray  hairs,  who  says  that 
no  such  occurrence  is  known  among  them,  and 
wonders  if  the  heretics  did  not  invent  the  story. 
What  I  have  said  upon  this  subject  must  now 
suffice.  Many  other  customs  are  still  to  be  ob- 
served in  cities  and  villages ;  and  those  who 
have  been  brought  up  in  their  observance  would, 
from  respect  to  the  great  men  who  instituted 
and  perpetuated  these  customs,  consider  it  wrong 
to  abolish  them.  Similar  motives  must  be  at- 
tributed to  those  who  observe  different  practices 
in  the  celebration  of  the  feast  which  has  led  us 
into  this  long  digression. 


CHAP.  XX.  —  EXTENSION  OF  OUR  DOCTRINES,  AND 
COMPLETE  DEMOLITION  OF  IDOLATROUS  TEMPLES. 
INUNDATION    OF   THE    NILE. 

While  the  heretics  were  disrupted  among  them- 
selves, the  Catholic  Church  increased  more  and 
more  by  many  accessions  from  the  heterodox, 
on  account  of  the  dissensions  among  them  and 


VII.   21.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


391 


especially  from  multitudes  of  pagans.^  The 
emperor  having  observed  that  the  practice  of 
idolatry  had  been  greatly  promoted  by  the 
facility  of  constant  ingress  and  egress  to  and 
from  the  temple,  directed  the  entrances  of  all 
temples  to  be  closed ;  and  eventually  he  com- 
manded the  demolition  of  many  of  these  edi- 
fices.- When  the  pagans  found  themselves 
deprived  of  their  own  houses  of  prayer,  they 
began  to  frequent  our  churches  ;  for  they  did 
not  dare  to  offer  sacrifices  after  the  pagan  form 
in  secret,  for  it  was  dangerous,  since  the  sacri- 
fice was  under  the  penalty  of  death  and  of 
confiscation  of  property. 

It  is  said  that  the  river  of  Egypt  did  not 
overflow  its  banks  this  year  at  the  proper  season  ; 
and  that  the  Egyptians  angrily  ascribed  this 
circumstance  to  the  prohibition  of  sacrifices  to 
it,  according  to  the  ancestral  law.  The  governor 
of  the  province,  apprehensive  lest  the  general 
discontent  should  terminate  in  sedition,  sent  a 
message  to  the  emperor  on  the  subject.  But 
the  emperor,  far  from  attaching  more  importance 
to  the  temporary  fertility  produced  by  the  Nile, 
than  to  the  fidelity  he  owed  to  God  and  the  inter- 
ests of  religion,  replied  as  follows  :  "  Let  that 
river  cease  to  flow,  if  enchantments  are  requisite 
to  insure  the  regularity  of  its  course  ;  or  if  it 
delights  in  sacrifices,  or  if  blood  must  be  mingled 
with  the  waters  that  derive  their  source  from 
the  paradise  of  God."  Soon  afterwards,  the 
Nile  overflowed  its  banks  with  such  violence, 
that  the  highest  eminences  were  submerged. 
When  it  reached  the  farthest  limit  and  almost 
had  attained  the  fullest  measure,  the  water  did 
not  the  less  press  upward,  so  that  the  Egyptians 
were  thrown  into  the  contrary  fear.  The  dread 
was  lest  the  city  of  Alexandria  and  part  of  Libya 
should  be  submerged.  The  pagans  of  Alexan- 
dria, irritated  at  this  unexpected  occurrence, 
exclaimed  in  derision  at  the  public  theatres, 
that  the  river^  like  an  old  man  or  fool,  could 
not  moderate  its  proceedings.  Many  of  the 
Egpytians  were  hence  induced  to  abandon  the 
superstitions  of  their  forefathers,  and  embrace 
Christianity.  These  incidents  are  given  as  I 
have  learned  them. 

CH.\P.  XXI.  —  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  HONORED  HEAD 
OF  THE  FORERUNNER  OF  OUR  LORD,  AND  THE 
EVENTS   ABOUT    IT. 

About  this  time  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist, 
which  Herodias  had  asked  of  Herod  the  te- 
trarch,  was  removed  to  Constantinople.^  It  is 
said  that  it  was  discovered  by  some  monks  of 
the  Macedonian  heresy,  who  originally  dwelt  at 


1  Independent  chapter.  Cf.  Ruf.  //.  E.  ii.  19;  Theodoret,  H.  E. 
V.  21 ;  Zos.  iv.  28,  29.  2  Cod.  Tlieod.  xvi.  10,  12. 

3  An  independent  chapter.  Cf.  Philost.  vii.  4;  Theodoret, //.  £■. 
iii.  7;   Marceil.  Chron.  a.d.  453;   Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  28. 


Constantinople,  and  afterwards  fixed  their  abode 
in  Cilicia.  Mardonius,  the  first  eunuch  of  the 
palace,  made  known  this  discovery  at  court, 
during  the  preceding  reign  ;  and  Valens  com- 
manded that  the  relic  should  be  removed  to 
Constantinople.  The  officers  appointed  to 
carry  it  thither,  placed  it  in  a  public  chariot, 
and  proceeded  with  it  as  far  as  Pantichium,  a 
district  in  the  territory  of  Chalcedon.  Here  the 
mules  of  the  chariot  suddenly  stopped ;  and 
neither  the  application  of  the  lash,  nor  the 
threats  of  the  hostlers,  could  induce  them  to 
advance  further.  So  extraordinary  an  event  was 
considered  by  all,  and  even  by  the  'emperor 
himself,  to  be  of  God ;  and  the  holy  head  was 
therefore  deposited  at  Cosilaos,  a  village  in  the 
neighborhood,  which  belonged  to  Mardonius. 
Soon  after,  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  impelled 
by  an  impulse  from  God,  or  from  the  prophet, 
repaired  to  the  village.  He  determined  upon 
removing  the  remains  of  the  Baptist,  and  it  is 
said  met  with  no  opposition,  except  from  a  holy 
virgin,  Matrona,  who  had  been  the  servant  and 
guardian  of  the  relic.  He  laid  aside  all  authority 
and  force,  and  after  many  entreaties,  extorted  a 
reluctant  consent  from  her  to  remove  the  head  ; 
for  she  bore  in  mind  what  had  occurred  at  the 
period  when  Valens  commanded  its  removal. 
The  emperor  placed  it,  with  the  box  in  which  it 
was  encased,  in  his  purple  robe,  and  conveyed 
it  to  a  place  called  Hebdomos,  in  the  suburbs 
of  Constantinople,  where  he  erected  a  spacious 
and  magnificent  temple.  The  woman  who  had 
been  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  relic  could 
not  be  persuaded  by  the  emperor  to  renounce 
her  religious  sentiments,  although  he  had  re- 
course to  entreaty  and  promises ;  for  she  was, 
it  appears,  of  the  Macedonian  heresy.  A  pres- 
byter of  the  same  tendency,  named  Vincent,  who 
also  took  charge  of  the  cofiin  of  the  prophet, 
and  performed  the  sacerdotal  functions  over  it, 
followed  the  religious  opinions  of  the  emperor, 
and  entered  into  communion  with  the  CathoHc 
Church.  He  had  taken  an  oath,  as  the  INIace- 
donians  affirm,  never  to  swerve  from  their  doc- 
trines ;  but  he  afterwards  openly  declared  that,  if 
the  Baptist  would  follow  the  emperor,  he  also 
would  enter  into  communion  with  him  and  be 
separated.  He  was  a  Persian,  and  had  left  his 
country  in  company  with  a  relative  named  Addas, 
during  the  reign  of  Constantius,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  persecution  which  the  Christians  were  then 
suffering  in  Persia.  On  his  arrival  in  the  Roman 
territories,  he  was  placed  in  the  ranks  of  the 
clergy,  and  advanced  to  the  office  of  presbyter. 
Addas  married  and  rendered  great  service  to  the 
Church.  He  left  a  son  named  Auxentius,  who 
was  noted  for  his  very  faithful  piety,  his  zeal  for 
his  friends,  the  moderation  of  his  life,  his  love 
of  letters,  and  the  greatness  of  his  attainments 


392 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.   21. 


in  pagan  and  ecclesiastical  literature.  He  was 
modest  and  retiring  in  deportment,  although 
admitted  to  familiarity  with  the  emperor  and 
the  courtiers,  and  possessed  of  a  very  illustrious 
appointment.  His  memory  is  still  revered  by 
the  monks  and  zealous  men,  who  were  all  ac- 
quainted with  him.  The  woman  who  had  been 
entrusted  with  the  relic  remained  during  the 
rest  of  her  life  at  Cosilaos.  She  was  greatly  dis- 
tinguished by  her  piety  and  wisdom,  and  in- 
structed many  holy  virgins ;  and  I  have  been 
assured  that  many  still  survive  who  reflect  the 
honorable  character  which  was  the  result  of 
training  under  Matrona. 


CHAP,       XXII.  DEATH       OF       VALENTINIAN      THE 

YOUNGER,  EMPEROR  IN  ROME,  THROUGH  STRAN- 
GLING. THE  TYRANT  EUGENIUS.  PROPHECY  OF 
JOHN,  THE    MONK    OF   THEBAIS. 

While  Theodosius  was  thus  occupied  in  the 
wise  and  peaceful  government  of  his  subjects  in 
the  East,  and  in  the  service  of  God,  intelligence 
was  brought  that  Valentinian  had  been  strangled.^ 
Some  say  that  he  was  put  to  death  by  the 
eunuchs  of  the  bedchamber,  at  the  solicitation  of 
Arbogastes,  a  military  chief,  and  of  certain 
courtiers,  who  were  displeased  because  the 
young  prince  had  begun  to  walk  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  father,  concerning  the  government,  and 
contrary  to  the  opinions  approved  by  them. 
Others  assert,  however,  that  Valentinian  com- 
mitted the  fatal  deed  with  his  own  hands, 
because  he  found  himself  impeded  in  attempt- 
ing deeds  which  are  not  lawful  in  one  of  his 
years ;  and  on  this  account  he  did  not  deem  it 
worth  while  to  live  ;  for  although  an  emperor, 
he  was  not  allowed  to  do  what  he  wished.  It  is 
said  that  the  boy  was  noble  in  person,  and 
excellent  in  royal  manners  ;  and  that,  had  he 
lived  to  the  age  of  manhood,  he  would  have 
shown  himself  worthy  of  holding  the  reins  of 
empire,  and  would  have  surpassed  his  father  in 
magnanimity  and  justice.  But  though  endowed 
with  these  promising  qualities,  he  died  in  the 
manner  above  related. 

A  certain  man  named  Eugenius,  who  was  by 
no  means  sincere  in  his  professions  of  Christian- 
ity, aspired  to  sovereignty,  and  assumed  the 
symbols  of  imperial  power.  He  was  hoping  to 
succeed  in  the  attempt  safely ;  for  he  was  led  by 
the  predictions  of  individuals  who  professed  to 
foresee  the  future,  by  the  examination  of  the 
entrails  and  livers  of  animals  and  the  course  of 
the  stars.  Men  of  the  highest  rank  among  the 
Romans  were  addicted  to  these  superstitions. 
Flavian,  then  a  prsetorian  prefect,  a  learned 
man,  and  one  who  appeared  to  have  an  aptitude 

1  Ruf.  H.  E.  ii.  31-33,  the  source;  Philost.  xi.  i,  2;  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  \.  24;  Soc.  V.  25;  Zos.  iv.  S3,  54;  Oros.  vii.  35. 


for  politics,  was  noted  for  being  conversant  with 
every  means  of  foretelling  the  future.  He  per- 
suaded Eugenius  to  take  up  arms  by  assuring 
him  that  he  was  destined  for  the  throne,  that  his 
warlike  undertakings  would  be  .crowned  with 
victory,  and  that  the  Christian  religion  would  be 
abolished.  Deceived  by  these  flattering  repre- 
sentations, Eugenius  raised  an  army  and  took 
possession  of  the  gates  into  Italy,  as  the  Romans 
call  the  Julian  Alps,  an  elevated  and  precipitous 
range  of  mountains  ;  these  he  seized  beforehand 
and  fortified,  for  they  had  but  one  path  in  the 
narrows,  and  were  shut  in  on  each  side  by  preci- 
pices and  the  loftiest  mountains.  Theodosius 
was  perplexed  as  to  whether  he  ought  to  await 
the  issue  of  the  war,  or  whether  it  would  be  bet- 
ter in  the  first  place  to  attack  Eugenius  ;  and  in 
this  dilemma,  he  determined  to  consult  John,  a 
monk  of  Thebai's,  who,  as  I  have  before  stated, 
was  celebrated  for  his  knowledge  of  the  future. 
He  therefore  sent  Eutropius,  a  eunuch  of  the 
palace,  and  of  tried  fidelity,  to  Egypt,  with 
orders  to  bring  John,  if  possible,  to  court ;  but, 
in  case  of  his  refusal,  to  learn  what  ought  to  be 
done.  When  he  came  to  John,  the  monk  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  go  to  the  emperor,  but  he 
sent  word  by  Eutropius  that  the  war  would  ter- 
minate in  favor  of  Theodosius,  and  that  the 
tyrant  would  be  slain  ;  but  that,  after  the  vic- 
tory, Theodosius  himself  would  die  in  Italy. 
The  truth  of  both  of  these  predictions  was  con- 
firmed by  events. 


CHAP.  XXIII. EXACTION  OF  TRIBUTE    IN   ANTIOCH, 

AND  DEMOLITION  OF  THE  STATUES  OF  THE  EM- 
PEROR. EMBASSY  HEADED  BY  FLAVIAN  THE 
CHIEF   PRIEST. 

In  this  time,  on  account  of  the  necessities  of 
war,  it  seemed  best  to  the  officials  whose  con- 
cern it  was,  to  impose  more  than  the  customary 
taxes  ;  for  this  reason  the  populace  of  Antioch 
in  Syria  revolted  ; '  the  statues  of  the  emperor 
and  empress  were  thrown  down  and  dragged  by 
ropes  through  the  city,  and,  as  is  usual  on  such 
occasions,  the  enraged  multitude  uttered  every 
insulting  epithet  that  passion  could  suggest. 
The  emperor  determined  to  avenge  this  insult 
by  the  death  of  many  of  the  citizens  of  Antioch  ; 
the  people  were  struck  dumb  at  the  mere  an- 
nouncement ;  the  rage  of  the  citizens  had  sub- 
sided, and  had  given  place  to  repentance  ;  and, 
as  if  already  subjected  to  the  threatened  punish- 
ment, they  abandoned  themselves  to  groans  and 
tears,  and  supplicated  Ciod  to  turn  away  the 
anger  of  the  emperor,  and  made  use  of  some 
threnodic  hymns  for  their  litanies.  They  deputed 


^  Soz.  is  again  independent.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  20; 
Chrysost.  Honiilia,  x.\i.,  de  Statuis  ad  populum  Antiochenunt 
habitie. 


VII.  25-] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


\93 


Flavian,  their  bishop,  to  go  on  an  embassy  to 
Theodosius  ;  but  on  his  arrival,  finding  that  the 
resentment  of  the  emperor  at  what  had  occurred 
was  unabated,  he  had  recourse  to  the  following 
artifice.  He  caused  some  young  men  accustomed 
to  sing  at  the  table  of  the  emperor  to  utter  these 
hymns  with  the  litanies  of  the  Antiochans.  It 
is  said  that  the  humanity  of  the  emperor  was 
excited  :  he  was  overcome  by  pity  at  once  ;  his' 
wrath  was  subdued,  and  as  his  heart  yearned 
over  the  city,  he  shed  tears  on  the  cup  which  he 
held  in  his  hand.  It  is  reported  that,  on  the 
night  before  the  sedition  occurred,  a  spectre  was 
seen  in  the  form  of  a  woman  of  prodigious  height 
and  terrible  aspect,  pacing  through  the  streets  of 
the  city,  lashing  the  air  with  an  ill-sounding  whip, 
similar  to  that  which  is  used  in  goading  on  the 
beasts  brought  forward  at  the  public  theatres. 
It  might  have  been  inferred  that  the  sedition 
was  excited  by  the  agency  of  some  evil  and 
malicious  demon.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that 
much  bloodshed  would  have  ensued,  had  not 
the  wrath  of  the  emperor  been  stayed  by  his 
respect  for  this  sacerdotal  entreaty. 

CHAP.    XXn\ VICTORY    OF    THEODOSIUS    THE    EM- 
PEROR  OVER   EUGENIUS. 

When  he  had  completed  his  preparations  for 
war,^  Theodosius  declared  his  younger  son  Hono- 
rius  emperor,  and  leaving  him  to  reign  at  Con- 
stantinople conjointly  with  Arcadius,  who  had 
previously  been  appointed  emperor,  he  departed 
from  the  East  to  the  West  at  the  head  of  his 
troops.  His  army  consisted  not  only  of  Roman 
soldiers,  but  of  bands  of  barbarians  from  the 
banks  of  the  Ister.  It  is  said  that  when  he  left 
Constantinople,  he  came  to  the  seventh  mile- 
stone, and  went  to  pray  to  God  in  the  church 
which  he  had  erected  in  honor  of  John  the 
Baptist ;  and  in  his  name  prayed  that  success 
might  attend  the  Roman  arms,  and  besought 
the  Baptist  himself  to  aid  him.  After  offering 
up  these  prayers  he  proceeded  towards  Italy, 
crossed  the  Alps,  and  took  the  first  guard- 
posts.  On  descending  from  the  heights  of  these 
mountains,  he  perceived  a  plain  before  him  cov- 
ered with  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  became  at 
the  same  time  aware  that  some  of  the  enemy's 
troops  were  lying  in  ambush  behind  him,  among 
the  recesses  of  the  mountains.  The  advance 
guard  of  his  army  attacked  the  infantry  stationed 
in  the  plain,  and  a  desperate  and  very  doubtful 
conflict  ensued.  Further,  when  the  army  sur- 
rounded him,  he  considered  that  he  had  come 
into  the  power  of  men,  and  could  not  be  saved 
even  by  those  who  would  desire  to  do  so,  since 


^  Soz.  has  his  account  from  an  independent  source.  Cf.  Ruf. 
H.E.  ii.  33;  Philost.  xi.  2;  Soc.  v.  25;  Theodoret,  j^.  £■.  v.  24; 
Zos.  iv.  55-58;  Olymp.  Fr.  19. 


those  who  had  been  posted  in  his  rear  were  seiz- 
ing the  heights  ;  he  fell  prone  upon  the  earth,  and 
prayed  with  tears,  and  Cod  instantly  answered 
him ;  for  the  officers  of  the  troops  stationed  in 
ambush  on  the  height  sent  to  offer  him  their 
services  as  his  allies,  provided  that  he  would 
assign  them  honorable  posts  in  his  army.  As 
he  had  neither  paper  nor  ink  within  reach,  he 
took  up  some  tablets,  and  wrote  on  them  the 
high  and  befitting  appointments  he  would  confer 
upon  them,  provided  that  they  would  fulfill  their 
promise  to  him.  Under  these  conditions  they 
advanced  to  the  emperor.  The  issue  did  not 
yet  incline  to  either  side,  but  the  battle  was  still 
evenly  balanced  in  the  plain,  when  a  tremendous 
wind  descended  into  the  face  of  the  enemy.  It 
was  such  an  one  as  we  have  never  before  re- 
corded, and  broke  up  the  ranks  of  the  enemies. 
The  arrows  and  darts  which  were  sent  against 
the  Romans,  as  if  projected  by  the  opposing 
ranks,  were  turned  upon  the  bodies  of  those  who 
had  cast  them  ;  and  their  shields  were  wrenched, 
from  their  hands,  and  whirled  against  them  with 
filth  and  dust.  Standing  thus  exposed,  in  a 
defenseless  condition,  to  the  weapons  of  the 
Romans,  many  of  them  perished,  while  the  few 
who  attempted  to  effect  an  escape  were  soon 
captured.  Eugenius  threw  himself  at  the  feet 
of  the  emperor,  and  implored  him  to  spare  his 
life  ;  but  while  in  the  act  of  offering  up  these 
entreaties,  a  soldier  struck  off  his  head.  Arbo- 
gastes  fled  after  the  battle,  and  fell  by  his  own 
hands.  It  is  said  that  while  the  battle  was  be- 
ing fought,  a  demoniac  presented  himself  in  the 
temple  of  God  which  is  in  the  Hebdomos, 
where  the  emperor  had  engaged  in  prayer  on 
starting  out,  and  insulted  John  the  Baptist,  taunt- 
ing him  with  having  his  head  cut  off,  and  shouted 
the  following  words  :  "  You  conquer  me,  and 
lay  snares  for  my  army."  The  persons  who 
happened  to  be  on  the  spot,  and  who  were  wait- 
ing impatiently  to  learn  some  news  of  the  war, 
were  amazed,  and  wrote  an  account  of  it  on  the 
day  that  it  occurred,  and  afterwards  ascertained 
that  it  was  the  same  day  as  that  on  which  the 
battle  had  been  fought.  Such  is  the  history  of 
these  transactions. 

CHAP.    XXV. INTREPID   BEARING    OF   ST.    AMBROSE 

IN  THE  PRESENCE  OF  THE  EMPEROR  THEODO- 
SIUS. MASSACRE  AT  THESSALONICA.  NARRATIVE 
OF  THE  OTHER  RIGHTEOUS  DEEDS  OF  THIS 
SAINT. 

After  the  death  of  Eugenius,  the  emperor 
went  to  Milan,  and  repaired  towards  the  church 
to  pray  within  its  walls.-  When  he  drew  near 
the  gates  of  the  edifice,  he  was  met  by  Ambrose, 

'  An  independent  chapter.  Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  17,  18;  Ruf. 
H.  E.  ii.  18;  Ambrose,  Epp.  CI.  i.  51. 


394 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  25. 


the  bishop  of  the  city,  who  took  hold  of  him 
by  his  purple  robe,  and  said  to  him,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  multitude,  "  Stand  back  !  a  man 
defiled  by  sin,  and  with  hands  imbrued  in  blood 
unjustly  shed,  is  not  worthy,  without  repentance, 
to  enter  within  these  sacred  precincts,  or  par- 
take of  the  holy  mysteries."  The  emperor, 
struck  with  admiration  at  the  boldness  of  the 
bishop,  began  to  reflect  on  his  own  conduct, 
and,  with  much  contrition,  retraced  his  steps. 
The  occasion  of  the  sin  was  as  follows.  When 
Buthericus  was  general  of  the  troops  in  lUyria, 
a  charioteer  saw  him  shamefully  exposed  at  a 
tavern,  and  attempted  an  outrage  ;  he  was  ap- 
prehended and  put  in  custody.  Some  time 
after,  some  magnificent  races  were  to  be  held  at 
the  hippodrome,  and  the  populace  of  Thessa- 
lonica  demanded  the  release  of  the  prisoner,  con- 
sidering him  necessary  to  the  celebration  of  the 
contest.  As  their  request  was  not  attended  to,  they 
rose  up  in  sedition  and  finally  slew  Buthericus.  On 
hearing  of  this  deed,  the  wrath  of  the  emperor  was 
excited  immediately,  and  he  commanded  that  a 
certain  number  of  the  citizens  should  be  put  to 
death.  The  city  was  filled  with  the  blood  of 
many  unjustly  shed  ;  for  strangers,  who  had  but 
just  arrived  there  on  their  journey  to  other  lands, 
were  sacrificed  with  the  others.'  There  were 
many  cases  of  suffering  well  worthy  of  commis- 
eration, of  which  the  following  is  an  instance. 
A  merchant  offered  himself  to  be  slain  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  his  two  sons  who  had  both  been 
selected  as  victims,  and  promised  the  soldiers  to 
give  them  all  the  gold  he  possessed,  on  condi- 
tion of  their  effecting  the  exchange.  They 
could  not  but  compassionate  his  misfortune,  and 
consented  to  take  him  as  a  substitute  for  one  of 
his  sons,  but  declared  that  they  did  not  dare  to 
let  off  both  the  young  men,  as  that  would  ren- 
der the  appointed  numl)er  of  the  slain  incom- 
plete. The  father  gazed  on  his  sons,  groaning 
and  weeping ;  he  could  not  save  either  from 
death,  but  he  continued  hesitating  until  they 
had  been  put  to  death,  being  overcome  by  an 
equal  love  for  each.  I  have  also  been  informed, 
that  a  faithful  slave  voluntarily  offered  to  die 
instead  of  his  master,  who  was  being  led  to  the 
place  of  execution.  It  appears  that  it  was  for 
these  and  other  acts  of  cruelty  that  Ambrose 
rebuked  the  emperor,  forbade  him  to  enter  the 
church,  and  excommunicated  him.  Theodosius 
publicly  confessed  his  sin  in  the  church,  and  dur- 
ing the  time  set  apart  for  penance,  refrained  from 
wearing  his  imperial  ornaments,  according  to 
the  usage  of  mourners.  He  also  enacted  a  law  ^ 
prohibiting  the  officers  entrusted  with  the  exe- 
cution of  the  imperial  mandates,  from  inflicting 
the  punishment  of  death  till  thirty  days  after 


'  Not  extant. 


the  mandate  had  been  issued,  in  order  that  the 
wrath  of  the  emperor  might  have  time  to  be 
appeased,  and  that  room  might  be  made  for  the 
exercise  of  mercy  and  repentance. 

Ambrose,  no  doubt,  performed  many  other 
actions  worthy  of  his  priestly  office,  which  are 
known,  as  is  likely,  only  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country.  Among  the  illustrious  deeds  that 
are  attributed  to  him,  I  have  been  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  following.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  emperor  to  take  a  seat  in  assemblies 
of  the  church  within  the  palisades  of  the  altar, 
so  that  he  sat  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  people. 
Ambrose,  considering  that  this  custom  had  origi- 
nated either  from  subserviency  or  from  want  of 
discipline,  caused  the  emperor  to  be  seated 
without  the  trellis  work  of  the  altar,  so  that  he 
sat  in  front  of  the  people,  and  behind  the 
priests.  The  emperor  Theodosius  approved  of 
this  best  tradition,  as  did  likewise  his  successors  ; 
and  we  are  told  that  it  has  been  ever  since  scru- 
pulously observed. 

I  think  it  necessary  to  make  a  record  of  an- 
other action  worthy  of  mention  performed  by 
this  bishop.  A  pagan  of  distinction  insulted 
Gratian,  affirming  that  he  was  unworthy  of  his 
father  ;  and  he  was  in  consequence  condemned 
to  death.  As  he  was  being  led  out  to  execution, 
Ambrose  went  to  the  palace  to  implore  a  par- 
don. Gratian  was  then  engaged  in  witnessing  a 
private  exhibition  of  the  hunt,  such  as  the  em- 
perors were  wont  to  celebrate  for  their  private 
pleasure,  and  not  for  the  public  pastime.  On 
finding  this  to  be  the  case,  the  bishop  went  to 
the  gate  where  they  led  in  the  beasts ;  he  hid 
himself,  and  entered  with  the  hunters  who  took 
charge  of  the  animals,  and  did  not  intermit, 
although  Gratian  and  his  attendants  resisted, 
till  he  had  obtained  an  immediate  and  saving 
consent  of  the  emperor,  which  released  the  man 
who  was  to  be  led  out  to  death.  Ambrose  was 
very  diligent  in  the  observance  of  the  laws  of  the 
Church,  and  in  maintaining  discipline  among 
his  clergy.  I  have  selected  the  above  two  inci- 
dents from  amo-ng  the  records  of  his  numerous 
magnanimous  deeds,  in  order  to  show  with  what 
intrepidity  he  addressed  those  in  power  when 
the  service  of  God  was  in  question. 


CHAP.    XXVI. ST.    DONATUS,    BISHOP     OF     EURCEA, 

AND   THEOTIMUS,    HIGH-PRIEST    OF    SCVTHIA. 

There  were  at  this  period  many  other  bish- 
ops -  in  various  parts  of  the  empire  highly  cele- 
brated for  their  sanctity  and  high  qualifications, 
of  whom  Donatus,  bishop  of  Euroea  ^  in  Epirus, 

2  An  independent  chnpter  from  a  Greek  life  of  Donatus,  which 
was  probably  incorporated  in  Anastasius'  translation.  A  Greek 
biography  of  Theotimus  was  not  unlikely  the  basis  of  the  account 
of  the  bishop  of  Tomi.  ^  Also  Euoria. 


VII.  27-] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


395 


deserves  to  be  particularly  instanced.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  country  relate  many  extraordi- 
nary miracles  which  he  performed,  of  which  the 
most  celebrated  seems  to  have  been  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  dragon  of  enormous  size.  It  had  sta- 
tioned itself  on  the  high  road,  at  a  place  called 
Chamasgephyrre,  and  de\-oured  sheep,  goats, 
oxen,  horses,  and  men.  Donatus  came  upon 
this  beast,  attacked  it  unarmed,  without  sword, 
lance,  or  javelin  ;  it  raised  its  head,  and  was 
about  to  dash  upon  him,  when  Donatus  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  with  his  finger  in  the  air, 
and  spat  upon  the  dragon.  The  saliva  entered 
its  mouth,  and  it  immediately  expired.  As  it 
lay  extended  on  the  earth  it  did  not  appear  in- 
ferior in  size  to  the  noted  serpents  of  India. 
I  have  been  informed  that  the  people  of  the 
country  yoked  eight  pair  of  oxen  to  transport 
the  body  to  a  neighboring  field,  where  they 
burnt  it,  that  it  might  not  during  the  process  of 
decomposition  corrupt  the  air  and  generate  dis- 
ease. The  tomb  of  this  bishop  is  deposited  in 
a  magnificent  house  of  prayer  which  bears  his 
name.  It  is  situated  near  a  fountain  of  many 
waters,  which  God  caused  to  rise  from  the 
ground  in  answer  to  his  prayer,  in  an  arid  spot 
where  no  water  had  previously  existed.  For  it 
is  said  that  one  day,  when  on  a  journey,  he  had 
to  pass  through  this  locality ;  and,  perceiving 
that  his  companions  were  suffering  from  thirst, 
he  moved  the  soil  with  his  hands  and  engaged 
in  prayer ;  before  his  prayer  was  concluded,  a 
spring  of  water  arose  from  the  ground,  which 
has  never  since  been  dried  up.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  Isoria,  a  village  in  the  territory  of 
Euroea,  bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of  this 
narration. 

The  church  of  Tomi,  and  indeed  all  the 
churches  of  Scythia,  were  at  this  period  under 
the  government  of  Theotimus,  a  Scythian.  He 
had  been  brought  up  in  the  practice  of  philoso- 
phy ;  and  his  virtues  had  so  won  the  admiration 
of  the  barbarian  Huns,  who  dwelt  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ister,  that  they  called  him  the  god  of  the 
Romans,  for  they  had  experience  of  divine  deeds 
wrought  by  him.  It  is  said  that  one  day,  when 
traveling  toward  the  country  of  the  barbarians, 
he  perceived  some  of  them  advancing  towards 
Tomi.  His  attendants  burst  forth  into  lamen- 
tations, and  gave  themselves  up  at  once  for 
lost ;  but  he  merely  descended  from  horseback, 
and  prayed.  The  consequence  was,  that  the 
barbarians  passed  by  without  seeing  him,  his 
attendants,  or  the  horses  from  which  they  had 
dismounted.  As  these  tribes  frequently  devas- 
tated Scythia  by  their  predatory  incursions,  he 
tried  to  subdue  the  ferocity  of  their  disposition 
by  presenting  them  with  food  and  gifts.  One 
of  the  barbarians  hence  concluded  that  he  was  a 
man  of  wealth,  and,  determining  to  take  him  pris- 


oner, leaned  upon  his  shield,  as  was  his  custom 
when  ])arlcying  with  his  enemies  ;  the  man  raised 
up  his  riglit  hand  in  order  to  throw  a  rope,  which 
he  firmly  grasped,  over  the  bishop,  for  he  intended 
to  drag  him  away  to  his  own  country ;  but  in 
the  attempt,  his  hand  remained  extended  in  the 
air,  and  the  barbarian  was  not  released  from  his 
terrible  bonds  until  his  companions  had  implored 
Theotimus  to  intercede  with  God  in  his  behalf. 

It  is  said  that  Theotimus  always  retained  the 
long  hair  which  he  wore  when  he  first  devoted 
himself  to  the  practice  of  philosophy.  He  was 
very  temperate,  had  no  stated  hours  for  his 
repasts,  but  ate  and  drank  when  compelled  to 
do  so  by  the  calls  of  hunger  and  of  thirst.  I 
consider  it  to  be  the  part  of  a  philosopher  to 
yield  to  the  demands  of  these  appetites  from 
necessity,  and  not  from  the  love  of  sensual 
gratification. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  —  ST.  EPIPHANIUS,  BISHOP   OF  CYPRUS, 
AND  A  PARTICULAR  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  ACTS. 

Epiphanius  was  at  this  period  at  the  head  of 
the  metropolitan  church  of  Cyprus.^  He  was 
celebrated,  not  only  for  the  virtues  he  manifested 
and  miraculous  deeds  during  his  life,  but  also 
for  the  honor  that  was  rendered  to  him  by  God 
after  his  death  ;  for  it  was  said  that  demons  were 
expelled,  and  diseases  healed  at  his  tomb.  Many 
wonderful  actions  wrought  while  he  lived  are  at- 
tributed to  him,  of  which  the  following  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  that  has  come  to  our 
knowledge.  He  was  extremely  Uberal  towards 
the  needy,  either  to  those  who  had  suffered  from 
shipwreck  or  any  other  calamity  ;  and  after  ex- 
pending the  whole  of  his  own  patrimony  in  the 
relief  of  such  cases,  he  applied  the  treasures  of 
the  church  to  the  same  purpose.  These  treas- 
ures had  been  greatly  increased  by  the  donations 
of  pious  men  of  various  provinces,  who  had  been 
induced  by  their  admiration  of  Epiphanius  to 
entrust  him  with  the  distribution  of  their  alms 
during  their  lives,  or  to  bequeath  their  property 
to  him  for  this  purpose  at  their  death.  It  is 
said  that  on  one  occasion  the  treasurer,  who 
was  a  godly  man,  discovered  that  the  revenues 
of  the  church  had  been  nearly  drained,  and  so 
litde  remained  in  the  treasury  that  he  considered 
it  his  duty  to  rebuke  the  bishop  as  a  spendthrift. 
Epiphanius,  however,  having,  notwithstanding 
these  remonstrances,  given  away  the  small  sum 
that  had  remained,  a  stranger  went  to  the  little 
house  where  the  treasurer  lived,  and  placed  in 
his  hands  a  bag  containing  many  gold  coins. 
Since  neither  the  giver  nor  the  sender  was  visible, 
it  seemed  very  naturally  miraculous,  that  in  a 
gift  of  so  much  money  a  man  should  keep  hini- 

1  Independent  chapter.     Cf.  life  by  alleged  Polybius. 


396 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VII.  27. 


self  unknown ;  thus  everybody  thought  it  to  be 
a  Divine  work. 

I  desire  also  to  relate  another  miracle  that  is 
attributed  to  Epiphanius.  I  have  heard  that  a 
similar  action  has  been  related  of  Gregory,  who 
formerly  governed  Neocgesarea ;  and  I  see  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  veracity  of  the  account ; 
but  it  does  not  disprove  the  authenticity  of  the 
miracle  attributed  to  Epiphanius.  Peter,  the 
apostle,  was  not  the  only  man  who  raised  another 
from  the  dead  ;  John,  the  evangelist,  wrought  a 
similar  miracle  at  Ephesus ;  as  did  likewise  the 
daughters  of  Philip  at  Hierapolis.  Similar 
actions  have  been  performed  in  different  ages 
by  the  men  of  God.  The  miracle  which  I  wish 
to  instance  is  the  following.  Two  beggars  having 
ascertained  when  Epiphanius  would  pass  that 
way,  agreed  to  extract  a  larger  donation  than 
usual  from  him  by  having  recourse  to  stratagem. 
As  soon  as  the  bishop  was  seen  approaching,  one 
of  the  beggars  flung  himself  on  the  ground  and 
simulated  death  ;  the  other  stood  by  and  uttered 
loud  lamentations,  deploring  the  loss  of  his 
companion,  and  his  own  poverty,  which  made 
him  unable  to  procure  sepulture  for  him. 
Epiphanius  prayed  to  God  that  the  deceased 
might  rise  in  peace  ;  he  gave  the  survivor  suffi- 
cient money  for  the  interment,  and  said  to  the 
weeper,  "  Take  measures,  my  son,  for  the  burial 
of  your  companion,  and  weep  no  more ;  he 
cannot  now  arise  from  the  dead  ;  the  calamity 
was  inevitable,  therefore  you  ought  to  bear  it 
with  resignation."  Saying  these  words,  the 
bishop  departed  from  the  spot.  As  soon  as 
there  was  no  one  in  sight,  the  beggar  who  had 
addressed  Epiphanius  touched  the  other  with 
his  foot,  as  he  lay  extended  on  the  ground,  and 
said  to  him,  "  You  have  well  performed  your 
part ;  arise  now,  for  through  your  labor,  we  have 
a  good  provision  for  to-day."  He,  however, 
lay  in  the  same  way,  neither  heard  any  cry,  nor 
perceived  him  who  moved  him  with  all  his 
strength  ;  the  other  beggar  ran  after  the  priest 
and  confessed  their  artifice,  and,  with  lamen- 
tations and  tearing  of  his  hair,  he  besought 
Epiphanius  to  restore  his  companion.  Epipha- 
nius merely  exhorted  him  to  submit  with  patience 
to  the  catastrophe,  and  sent  him  away.  God 
did  not  undo  what  had  happened,  because,  I  feel 
persuaded,  it  was  his  design  to  show  that  those 
who  practice  deception  on  his  servants  are 
accounted  as  guilty  of  the  fraud  as  if  it  had  been 
perpetrated  against  Him  who  sees  all,  and  who 
hears  all. 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  ACACIUS,  BISHOP  OF  BERCEA,  ZENO, 
AND  AJAX,  MEN  DISTINGUISHED  AND  RENOWNED 
FOR   VIRTUE. 

The  following  details  are  also  the  results  of 


inquiry.^  Acacius  ^  was  conspicuous  among  the 
bishops  ;  he  had  already  previously  administered 
the  episcopate  of  Beroea  in  Syria.  There  are  of 
course  many  actions  of  his,  which  are  worthy  of 
record.  He  was  from  his  youth  brought  up  to  the 
profession  of  ascetic  monasticism,  and  was  rigid 
in  observing  all  the  regulations  of  this  mode  of 
life.  When  he  was  raised  to  the  bishopric,  he 
gave  this  evidence  of  greatest  virtue,  in  that  he 
kept  the  episcopal  residence  open  at  all  hours  of 
the  day,  so  that  the  citizens  and  strangers  were 
always  free  to  visit  him,  even  when  he  was  at 
meals  or  at  repose.  This  course  of  conduct  is, 
in  my  opinion,  very  admirable  ;  for  either  he  was 
living  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  always  sure  of  him- 
self, or  he  devised  this  as  a  means  of  preparation 
against  the  evil  in  one's  nature,  so  that  in  ex- 
pecting to  be  caught  by  the  sudden  entrance  of 
persons,  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  be  on 
continuous  guard,  not  to  err  in  his  duties,  but 
rather  to  be  engaged  in  covenanted  acts. 

Zeno  and  Ajax,"*  two  celebrated  brothers, 
flourished  about  the  same  period.  They  de- 
voted themselves  to  a  life  of  philosophy,  but 
did  not  fix  their  abode  as  hermits  in  the  desert, 
but  at  Gaza,  a  maritime  city,  which  was  also 
called  Majuma.  They  both  defended  the  truth 
of  their  religion  with  greatest  fidelity,  and  con- 
fessed God  with  courage,  so  that  they  were 
frequently  subjected  to  very  cruel  and  harsh 
treatment  by  the  pagans.  It  is  said  that  Ajax 
married  a  very  lovely  woman,  and  after  he 
had  known  her  thrice  in  all  that  time,  had 
three  sons ;  and  that  subsequently  he  held  no 
further  intercourse  with  her,  but  persevered  in 
the  exercises  of  monasticism.  He  brought  up 
two  of  his  sons  to  the  divine  life  and  celibacy, 
and  the  third  he  permitted  to  marry.  He  gov- 
erned the  church  of  Botolium  with  propriety 
and  distinction. 

Zeno,  who  had  from  his  youth  renounced  the 
world  and  marriage,  persevered  in  steadfast 
adherence  to  the  service  of  God.  It  is  said, 
and  I  myself  am  witness  of  the  truth  of  ■  the 
assertion,  that  when  he  was  bishop  of  the 
church  in  Majuma,  he  was  never  absent  at 
morning  or  evening  hymns,  or  any  other  worship 
of  God,  unless  attacked  by  some  malady ;  and 
yet  he  was  at  this  period  an  old  man,  being 
nearly  a  hundred  years  of  age.  He  continued 
his  course  of  life  in  the  monastic  philosophy, 
but,  by  pursuing  his  trade  of  weaving  hnen, 
continued  to  earn  the  means  of  supplying  his 
own  wants  and  of  providing  for  others.  He 
never  deviated  from  this  course  of  conduct  till 
the  close  of  his  life,  although  he  exceeded  all 
the  other  priests  of  that  province  in  age ;  and 


1  Also  independent. 

2  Acacius,  Soc.  vi.  18;  and  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  4,  8. 
■'  Cf.  V.  9. 


VII.  29.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


397 


although    he   presided     over    the    people    and 
property  of  the  largest  church. 

I  have  mentioned  these  as  examples  of  those 
who  served  as  priests  at  this  period.  It  would 
be  a  task  to  enumerate  all  where  the  main  part 
of  them  were  good,  and  God  bore  testimony  to 
their  lives  by  readily  hearing  their  prayers  and 
by  working  many  miracles. 

CHAP.  XXIX.  —  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  REMAINS  OF  THE 
PROPHETS  HABAKKUK  AND  MICAH.  DEATH  OF 
THE    EMPEROR   THEODOSIUS  THE   GREAT. 

While  the  Church  everywhere  was  under  the 
sway  of  these  eminent  men,  the  clergy  and  peo- 
ple were  excited  to  the  imitation  of  their  virtue 
and  zeal.  Nor  was  the  Church  of  this  era  dis- 
tinguished only  by  these  illustrious  examples  of 
piety ;  for  the  relics  of  the  proto-prophets,^ 
Habakkuk,  and  a  little  while  after,  Micah,  were 
brought  to  hght  about  this  time.  x\s  I  under- 
stand, God  made  known  the  place  where  both 
these  bodies  were  deposited  by  a  divine  vision 
in  a  dream  to  Zebennus,  who  was  then  acting  as 
bishop  of  the  church  of  Eleutheropolis.  The 
relics  of  Habakkuk  were  found  at  Cela,  a  city 


1  First  part  independent. 


formerly  called  Ceila.  The  tomb  of  Micah  was 
discovered  at  a  distance  of  ten  stadia  from  Cela, 
at  a  place  called  Berathsatia.-  This  tomb  was 
ignorantly  styled  by  the  people  of  the  country, 
''  the  tomb  of  the  faithful  "  ;  or,  in  their  native 
language,  Nephsameemana.  These  events,  which 
occurred  during  the  reign  of  Theodosius,  were 
sufficient  for  the  good  repute  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

After  conquering  Eugenius,''  Theodosius  the 
emperor  remained  for  some  time  at  Milan,  and 
here  he  was  attacked  with  a  serious  malady. 
He  recalled  to  mind  the  prediction  of  the  monk, 
John,  and  conjectured  that  his  sickness  was  unto 
death.  He  sent  in  haste  for  his  son  Honorius 
from  Constantinople  ;  and  on  seeing  him  by,  he 
seemed  to  be  easier,  so  that  he  was  able  to  be 
present  at  the  sports  of  the  Hippodrome.  After 
dinner,  however,  he  suddenly  grew  worse,  and 
sent  to  desire  his  son  to  preside  at  the  spectacle. 
He  died  on  the  following  night.  This  event 
happened  during  the  consulate  of  the  brothers 
Olybrius  and  Probianus.* 


2  Or  simply  Bera. 

3  Soc.  V.  26;  Ruf.  H.E.  ii.  34;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  25;  Philost. 
xi.  2;  Zos.  iv.  59.  For  a  different  view  of  the  private  life  of  Theo- 
dosius, see  Eunap.  Fragm.  ii.  42,  49;  Philost.  xi.  2;  Zos.  iv.  33,  44. 

*  A.D.  395.     Idat.  Descr.  Coss.;  Marcel.  Com.  chron. 


BOOK    VIII. 


CHAP.  I.  —  SUCCESSORS  OF  THEODOSIUS  THE  GREAT. 
RUFINUS,  THE  PRAETORIAN  PREFECT,  IS  SLAIN. 
THE  CHIEF  PRIESTS  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  CITIES. 
DIFFERENCES  AMONG  THE  HERETICS.  ACCOUNT 
OF   SISINIUS,  BISHOP   OF   THE   NOVATIANS. 

Such  was  the  death  of  Theodosius,  who  had 
contributed  so  efificiently  to  the  aggrandizement 
of  the  Church.^  He  expired  in  the  sixtieth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  sixteenth  of  his  reign.  He 
left  his  two  sons  as  his  successors.  Arcadius, 
the  elder,  reigned  in  the  East,  and  Honorius  in 
the  West.  They  both  held  the  same  religious 
sentiments  as  their  father. 

Damasus  was  dead  ;  and  at  this  period  Siricius 
was  the  leader  of  the  church  of  Rome  ;  Nec- 
tarius,  of  the  church  in  Constantinople  ;  Theophi- 
lus,  over  the  church  of  Alexandria  ;  Flavian,  over 
the  church  of  Antioch  ;  and  John,  over  that  of 
Jerusalem.  Armenia  and  the  Eastern  provinces 
were  at  this  time  overrun  by  the  barbarian 
Huns."  Rufinus,  prefect  of  the  East,  was  sus- 
pected of  having  clandestinely  invited  them  to 
devastate  the  Roman  territories,  in  furtherance 
of  his  own  ambitious  designs ;  for  he  was  said 
to  aspire  to  tyranny.  For  this  reason,  he  was 
soon  after  slain  ;  for,  on  the  return  of  the  troops 
from  the  conquest  of  Eugenius,  the  Emperor 
Arcadius,  according  to  custom,  went  forth  from 
Constantinople  to  meet  them ;  and  the  soldiers 
took  this  opportunity  to  •  massacre  Rufinus. 
These  circumstances  tended  greatly  to  the  ex- 
tension of  religion.  The  emperors  attributed  to 
the  piety  of  their  fether,  the  ease  with  which  the 
tyrant  had  been  vanquished,  and  the  plot  of 
Rufinus  to  gain  their  government  arrested  ;  and 
they  readily  confirmed  all  the  laws  which  had 
been  enacted  by  their  predecessors  in  favor  of 
the  churches,  and  bestowed  their  own  gifts  in 
addition.  Their  subjects  profited  by  their  ex- 
ample, so  that  even  the  pagans  were  converted 
without  difficulty  to  Christianity,  and  the  heretics 
united  themselves  to  the  Catholic  Church. 

Owing  to  the  disputes  which  had  arisen  among 
the  Arians  and  Eunomians,  and  to  which  I  have 
already  alluded,  these  heretics  daily  diminished 
in  number.  Many  of  them,  in  reflecting  upon  the 
diversity  of  sentiments  which  prevailed  among 

1  Soc.  V.  26;  vi.  I,  22;  Philost.  xi.  3;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  26. 

2  Claudianus,  in  Rnfiuum,  lib.  ii.;  Hieron.  Ep.  Ixxvii.  ad  Ocea- 
7iu7n,  de  morte  Fabiolie,  8;   Eunap.  Fragm.  ii.  52. 


those  of  their  own  persuasion,  judged  that  the 
truth  of  God  could  not  be  present  with  them, 
and  went  over  to  those  who  held  the  same  faith 
as  the  emperors. 

The  interests  of  the  Macedonians  of  Constan- 
tinople were  materially  affected  by  their  pos- 
sessing no  bishop  in  that  juncture ;  for,  ever 
since  they  had  been  deprived  of  their  churches 
j  by  Eudoxius,  under  the  reign  of  Constantius, 
they  had  been  governed  only  by  presbyters,  and 
I  remained  so  until  the  next  reign.  The  Nova- 
tians,  on  the  other  hand,  although  they  had  been 
agitated  by  the  controversy  concerning  the  Pass- 
over, which  was  an  innovation  made  by  Sabba- 
tius,  yet  the  most  of  them  remained  in  quiet 
possession  of  their  churches,  and  had  not  been 
molested  by  any  of  the  punishments  or  laws 
enacted  against  other  heretics,  because  they 
maintained  that  the  Three  Persons  of  the  Trinity 
are  of  the  same  substance.  The  virtue  of  their 
leaders  also  tended  greatly  to  the  maintenance 
of  concord  among  them.  After  the  presidency 
of  Agelius  they  were  governed  by  Marcian,  a 
good  man  ;  and  on  his  decease,^  a  little  while 
before  the  time  now  under  consideration,  the 
bishopric  devolved  upon  Sisinius,^  a  very  elo- 
quent man,  well  versed  in  the  doctrines  of  phi- 
losophy and  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  so  expert 
in  disputation  that  even  Eunomius,  who  was  well 
approved  in  this  art  and  effective  in  this  work, 
often  refused  to  hold  debates  with  him.  His 
course  of  life  was  prudent  and  above  the  reach 
of  calumny  ;  yet  he  indulged  in  luxury,  and  even 
in  superfluities  ;  so  that  those  who  knew  him  not 
were  incredulous  as  to  whether  he  could  remain 
temperate  in  the  midst  of  so  much  abundance. 
His  manners  were  gracious  and  suave  in  assem- 
blies, and  on  this  account  he  was  esteemed 
by  the  bishops  of  the  Catholic  Church,  by  the 
rulers,  and  by  the  learned.  His  jests  were  re- 
plete with  good  nature,  and  he  could  bear  ridi- 
cule without  manifesting  the  least  resentment. 
He  was  very  prompt  and  witty  in  his  rejoinders. 
Being  once  asked  wherefore,  as  he  was  bishop, 
he  bathed  twice  daily,  he  replied,  "  Because  I 
do  not  bathe  thrice."  On  another  occasion, 
being  ridiculed  by  a  member  of  the  Catholic 

'  i.e.  Nov.  27,  395  A.D. 

*  Soc.  vi.  22.     Soz.  is  careful  to  omit  the  joke  on  Joha  Chrysos- 
tom. 


VIII.  2.]         THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


399 


Church  because  he  dressed  in  white,  he  asked 
where  it  was  commanded  that  he  should  dress 
in  black  ;  and,  as  the  other  hesitated  for  a  reply, 
he  continued,  "  You  can  give  no  argument  in 
support  of  your  position  ;  but  I  refer  you  to 
Solomon,  the  wisest  of  men,  who  says,  '  Let 
your  garments  be  always  white.'  Moreover 
Christ  is  described  in  the  Gospel  as  having 
appeared  in  white,  and  Moses  and  Elias  mani- 
fested themselves  to  the  apostles  in  robes  of 
white."  It  appears  to  me  that  the  following 
reply  was  also  very  ingenious.  Leontius,  bishop 
of  Ancyra,  in  Galatia,  settled  in  Constantinople 
after  he  had  deprived  the  Novatians  in  his  prov- 
ince of  their  churches.  Sisinius  went  to  him  to 
request  that  the  churches  might  be  restored  ; 
but  far  from  yielding  compliance,  he  reviled  the 
Novatians,  and  said  that  they  were  not  worthy 
of  holding  churches,  because,  by  abolishing  the 
observance  of  penance,  they  intercepted  the 
philanthropy  of  God.  To  this  Sisinius  replied, 
"  No  one  does  penance  as  I  do."  Leontius 
asked  him  in  what  way  he  did  penance.  "  In 
coming  to  see  you,"  retorted  Sisinius.  Many 
other  witty  speeches  are  attributed  to  him,  and 
he  is  even  said  to  have  written  several  works 
with  some  elegance.  But  his  discourses  obtained 
greater  applause  than  his  writings,  since  he  was 
best  at  declamation,  and  was  capable  of  attracting 
the  hearer  by  his  voice  and  look  and  pleasing 
countenance.  This  brief  description  may  serve 
as  a  proof  of  the  disposition  and  mode  of  hfe 
of  this  great  man. 


CHAP.  II.  —  EDUCATION,  TRAINING,  CONDUCT,  AND 
WISDOM  OF  THE  GREAT  JOHN  CHRYSOSTOM  ;  HIS 
PROMOTION  TO  THE  SEE]  THEOPHILUS,  BISHOP 
OF  ALEXANDRL4,  BECOMES  HIS  CONFIRMED  OPPO- 
NENT. 

Nectarius  died  about  this  period,^  and  length- 
ened debates  were  held  on  the  ordination  of  a 
successor.  They  all  voted  for  different  indi- 
viduals, and  it  seemed  impossible  for  all  to  unite 
on  one,  and  the  time  passed  heavily.  There 
was,  however,  at  Antioch  on  the  Orontes,  a  cer- 
tain presbyter  named  John,  a  man  of  noble  birth 
and  of  exemplary  life,  and  possessed  of  such  won- 
derful powers  of  eloquence  and  persuasion  that 
he  was  declared  by  the  sophist,  Libanius  the 
Syrian,  to  surpass  all  the  orators  of  the  age. 
When  this  sophist  was  on  his  death-bed  he  was 
asked  by  his  friends  who  should  take  his  place. 
"  It  would  have  been  John,"  replied  he,  "  had 
not  the  Christians  taken  him  from  us."  Many 
of  those  who  heard  the  discourses  of  John  in 
the  church  were  thereby  excited  to  the  love  of 

•  Pallad.  Dialog,  de  vita  Chrys.  5,  6;  Soc.  vi.  2,  3;  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  V.  27.  Soz.  works  his  material  for  the  most  part  indepen- 
dently. 


virtue  and  to  the  reception  of  his  own  religious 
sentiments.^  For  by  living  a  divine  life  he  im- 
parted zeal  from  his  own  virtues  to  his  hearers. 
He  produced  convictions  similar  to  his  own, 
because  he  did  not  enforce  them  by  rhetorical 
art  and  strength,  but  expounded  the  sacred  books 
with  truth  and  sincerity.  For  a  word  which  is 
ornamented  by  deeds  customarily  shows  itself 
as  worthy  of  belief ;  but  without  these  the  speaker 
appears  as  an  impostor  and  a  traitor  to  his  own 
words,  even  though  he  teach  earnestly.  Appro- 
bation in  both  regards  was  due  to  John.  He 
devoted  himself  to  a  prudent  course  of  life  and 
to  a  severe  public  career,  while  he  also  used  a 
clear  diction,  united  with  briUiance  in  speech. 

His  natural  abilities  were  excellent,  and  he 
improved  them  by  studying  under  the  best  mas- 
ters. He  learned  rhetoric  from  Libanius,  and 
philosophy  from  Andragathius.  When  it  was 
expected  that  he  would  embrace  the  legal  pro- 
fession and  take  part  in  the  career  of  an  advo- 
cate, he  determined  to  exercise  himself  in  the 
sacred  books  and  to  practice  philosophy  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  the  Church.  He  had  as 
teachers  of  this  philosophy,  Carterius  and  Dio- 
dorus,  two  celebrated  presidents  of  ascetic  insti- 
tutions. Diodorus  was  afterwards  the  governor 
of  the  church  of  Tarsus,  and,  I  have  been  in^ 
formed,  left  many  books  of  his  own  writings  in 
which  he  explained  the  significance  of  the  sacred 
words  and  avoided  allegory.  John  did  not  re- 
ceive the  instructions  of  these  men  by  himself, 
but  persuaded  Theodore  and  Maximus,  who  had 
been  his  companions  under  the  instruction  of 
Libanius,  to  accompany  him.  Maximus  after- 
wards became  bishop  of  Seleucia,  in  Isauria ; 
and  Theodore,  bishop  of  Mompsuestia,  in  Cili- 
cia.  Theodore  was  well  conversant  with  the 
sacred  books  and  with  the  rest  of  the  discipline 
of  rhetoricians  and  philosophers.  After  study- 
ing the  ecclesiastical  laws,  and  frequenting  the 
society  of  holy  men,  he  was  filled  with  admira- 
tion of  the  ascetic  mode  of  life  and  condemned 
city  life.  He  did  not  persevere  in  the  same 
purpose,  but  after  changing  it,  he  was  drawn  to 
his  former  course  of  life  ;  and,  to  justify  his  con- 
duct, cited  many  examples  from  ancient  history, 
with  which  he  was  well  acquainted,  and  went 
back  into  the  city.  On  hearing  that  he  was  en- 
gaged in  business  and  intent  on  marriage,  John 
composed  an  epistle,^  more  divine  in  language 
and  thought  than  the  mind  of  man  could  pro- 
duce, and  sent  it  to  him.  Upon  reading  it,  he 
repented  and  immediately  gave  up  his  posses- 
sions, renounced  his  intention  of  marrying,  and 
was  saved  by  the  advice  of  John,  and  returned 
to  the  philosophic  career.     This  seems  to  me  a 

*  Some  of  the  disciples  of  Libanius,  who  had'the  habit  of  attend- 
ing the  public  instructions  of  John  in  the  church,  were  converted  by 
him  to  the  faith  of  Christ. 

^  Chrys.  ad  Theodorum  lapsuni,  .xlvii.  i.     Migne. 


400 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  2. 


remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  John's 
eloquence  ;  for  he  readily  forced  conviction  on 
the  mind  of  one  who  was  himself  habituated  to 
persuade  and  convince  others.  By  the  same 
eloquence,  John  attracted  the  admiration  of  the 
people  ;  while  he  strenuously  convicted  sinners 
even  in  the  churches,  and  antagonized  with  bold- 
ness all  acts  of  injustice,  as  if  they  had  been 
perpetrated  against  himself.  This  boldness 
pleased  the  people,  but  grieved  the  wealthy  and 
the  powerful,  who  were  guilty  of  most  of  the 
vices  which  he  denounced. 

Being,  then,  held  in  such  high  estimation  by 
those  who  knew  him  by  experience,  and  by 
those  who  were  acquainted  with  him  through 
the  reports  of  others,  John  was  adjudged  wor- 
thy, in  word  and  in  deed,  by  all  the  subjects  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  to  be  the  bishop  of  the  church  of 
Constantinople.  The  clergy  and  people  were 
unanimous  in  electing  him  ;  their  choice  was 
approved  by  the  emperor,  who  also  sent  the 
embassy  which  should  conduct  him  ;  and,  to 
confer  greater  solemnity  on  his  ordination,  a 
council  was  convened.  Not  long  after  the  let- 
ter of  the  emperor  reached  Asterius,  the  gen- 
eral of  the  East ;  he  sent  to  desire  John  to  repair 
to  him,  as  if  he  had  need  of  him.  On  his  ar- 
rival, he  at  once  made  him  get  into  his  chariot, 
and  conveyed  him  with  dispatch  to  a  military 
station,  Pagras  so-called,  where  he  delivered 
him  to  the  officers  whom  the  emperor  had  sent 
in  quest  of  him.  Asterius  acted  very  prudently 
in  sending  for  John  before  the  citizens  of  An- 
tioch  knew  what  was  about  to  occur  ;  for  they 
would  probably  have  excited  a  sedition,  and 
have  inflicted  injury  on  others,  or  subjected 
themselves  to  acts  of  violence,  rather  than  have 
suffered  John  to  be  taken  from  them. 

When  John  had  arrived  at  Constantinople,  and 
when  the  priests  were  assembled  together,  The- 
ophilus  opposed  his  ordination  ;  and  proposed  as 
a  candidate  in  his  stead,  a  presbyter  of  his 
church  named  Isidore,  who  took  charge  of 
strangers  and  of  the  poor  at  Alexandria.  I  have 
been  informed  by  persons  who  were  acquainted 
with  Isidore,  that  from  his  youth  upwards  he 
practiced  the  philosophic  virtues,  near  Scetis. 
Others  say  that  he  had  gained  the  friendship  of 
Theophilus  by  being  a  participant  and  a  familiar 
in  a  very  perilous  undertaking.  For  it  is  re- 
ported that  during  the  war  against  Maximus, 
Theophilus  intrusted  Isidore  with  gifts  and  let- 
ters respectively  addressed  to  the  emperor  and 
to  the  tyrant,  and  sent  him  to  Rome,  desiring 
him  to  remain  there  until  the  termination  of  the 
war,  when  he  was  to  deliver  the  gifts,  with  the 
letters,  to  him,  who  might  prove  the  victor. 
Isidore  acted  according  to  his  instructions,  but 
the  artifice  was  detected ;  and,  fearful  of  being 
arrested,   he   fled   to   Alexandria.     Theophilus 


from  that  period  evinced  much  attachment 
towards  him,  and,  with  a  view  of  recompensing 
his  services,  strove  to  raise  him  to  the  bishopric 
of  Constantinople.  But  whether  there  was  really 
any  truth  in  this  report,  or  whether  Theophilus  de- 
sired to  ordain  this  man  because  of  his  excel- 
lence, it  is  certain  that  he  eventually  yielded  to 
those  w'ho  decided  for  John.^  He  feared  Eutro- 
pius,  who  was  artfully  eager  for  this  ordination. 
Eutropius  then  presided  over  the  imperial  house, 
and  they  say  he  threatened  Theophilus,  that  un- 
less he  would  vote  with  the  other  bishops,  he 
would  have  to  defend  himself  against  those  who 
desired  to  accuse  him  ;  for  many  written  accu- 
sations against  him  were  at  that  time  before  the 
council. 


CHAP.  III.  —  R.APID  PROMOTION  OF  JOHN  TO  THE 
BISHOPRIC,  AND  MORE  VEHEMENT  GRAPPLING  WITH 
ITS  AFFAIRS.  HE  RE-ESTABLISHES  DISCIPLINE  IN 
THE  CHURCHES  EVERYWHERE.  BY  SENDING  AN 
EMBASSY  TO  ROME,  HE  ABOLISHED  THE  HOSTILITY 
TO  FLAVIAN. 

As  soon  as  John  was  raised  to  the  episcopal 
dignity,  he  devoted  his  attention  first  to  the 
reformation  of  the  lives  of  his  clergy ;  ^  he  re- 
proved and  amended  their  ways  and  diet  and 
every  procedure  of  their  manifold  transactions. 
He  also  ejected  some  of  the  clergy  from  the 
Church.  He  was  naturally  disposed  to  repre- 
hend the  misconduct  of  others,  and  to  antago- 
nize righteously  those  who  acted  unjustly ;  and 
he  gave  way  to  these  characteristics  still  more 
in  the  episcopate  ;  for  his  nature,  having  attained 
power,  led  his  tongue  to  reproof,  and  nerved  his 
wrath  more  readily  against  the  enemy.  He  did 
not  confine  his  efforts  to  the  reformation  of  his 
own  church  ;  but  as  a  good  and  large-minded 
man,  he  sought  to  rectify  abuses  throughout  the 
world.  Immediately  upon  entering  the  episco- 
pate, he  strove  to  put  an  end  to  the  dissension 
which  had  arisen  concerning  PauUnus,  between 
the  Western  and  Egyptian  bishops  and  the  bish- 
ops of  the  East ;  since  on  this  account  a  general 
disunion  was  overpowering  the  churches  in  the 
whole  empire.  He  requested  the  assistance 
of  Theophilus  in  effecting  the  reconciliation  of 
Flavian  with  the  bishop  of  Rome.'^  Theophilus 
agreed  to  co-operate  with  him  in  the  restoration 
of  concord  ;  and  Acacius,  bishop  of  Berea,  and 
Isidore,  whom  Theophilus  had  proposed  as  a 
candidate  for  ordination  instead  of  John,  were 
sent  on  an  embassy  to  Rome.  They  soon  effected 
the  object  of  their  journey,  and  sailed  back  to 
Egypt.     Acacins  repaired  to  Syria,  bearing  con- 

'  Soc.  also  attests  to  the  presence  of  Theophilus  at  the  ordination 
of  John.     vi.  2;  Pallad.  Dialog.  5. 

2  Soc.  vi.  4.     Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  28;   Pallad.  Dialog.  5. 

3  Soc.  vi.  3;  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  23. 


VIII.  4]  THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


401 


ciliatory  letters  to  the  adherents  of  Flavian  from 
the  priests  of  Egypt  and  of  the  West.  And  the 
churches,  after  a  long  delay  once  more  laid  aside 
their  discord,  and  took  up  communion  with  one 
another.  The  people  at  Antioch,  who  were 
called  Eustathians,  continued,  indeed,  for  some 
time  to  hold  separate  assemblies,  although  they 
possessed  no  bishop.  Evagrius,  the  successor 
of  Paulinus,  did  not,  as  we  have  stated,  long 
survive  him  ;  and  I  think  reconciliation  became 
easier  for  the  bishops  from  there  being  no  one 
to  oppose.  The  laity,  as  is  customary  with  the 
populace,  gradually  went  over  to  those  who  as- 
sembled together  under  the  guidance  of  Flavian  ; 
and  thus,  in  course  of  time,  they  were  more  and 
more  united. 

CHAP.     IV. ENTERPRISE    OF    GAINAS,    THE    GOTHIC 

BARBARIAN.       EVILS    WHICH    HE    PERPF,TR.ATED. 

A  BARBARIAN,  named  Gainas,^  who  had  taken 
refuge  among  the  Romans,  and  who  had  risen 
from  the  lowest  ranks  of  the  army  to  military 
command,  formed  a  design  to  usurp  the  throne 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  With  this  in  view,  he 
sent  for  his  countrymen,  the  Goths,  from  their  own 
homes  to  come  to  the  Roman  territories,  and  ap- 
pointed his  relatives  to  be  tribunes  and  chiliarchs. 
Tirbingilus,  a  relative  of  his,  who  commanded 
a  large  body  of  troops  in  Phrygia,  commenced 
an  insurrection  ;  and  to  all  persons  of  judgment 
it  was  patent  that  he  was  preparing  the  way. 
Under  the  pretext  of  resenting  the  devastation 
of  many  of  the  Phrygian  cities,  which  had  been 
committed  to  his  superintendence,  Gainas  turned 
to  their  assistance  ;  but  on  his  arrival,  when  a 
multitude  of  barbarians  had  been  equipped  for 
war,  he  disclosed  his  plan  which  he  had  pre- 
viously concealed,  and  pillaged  the  cities  which 
he  had  been  commanded  to  guard,  and  was 
about  to  attack  others.  He  then  proceeded  to 
Bithynia,  and  encamped  in  the  boundaries  of 
Chalcedon,  and  threatened  war.  The  cities 
of  the  East  of  Asia,  and  as  many  as  lived  be- 
tween these  regions  and  about  the  Euxine,  being 
thus  in  danger,  the  emperor  and  his  counsellors 
judged  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  venture  into 
any  hazardous  undertaking  without  preparation 
against  men  who  were  already  desperate  ;  for 
the  emperor  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  be 
favorable  to  him  in  every  point,  and  sent  to  Gai- 
nas to  offer  him  whatever  he  might  demand. 

Gainas  requested  that  two  consuls,  named 
Saturninus  and  Aurelian,  whom  he  suspected  of 
being  inimical,  should  be  delivered  up  to  him  ; 
and  when  they  were  in  his  power,  he  pardoned 

1  Chrys,  Hotnilia  cum  Saturninus  ei  Aurelianus  acti  essent 
in  exsilium,  iii.  413;  Soc.  vi.  6.  He  advises  the  curious  to  read 
the  rau'id,  a  poem  by  Eusebius  the  Scholastic;  and  the  verses  on 
the  same  theme  by  the  poet  Ammonius.  Philost.  xi.  8;  Theodoret, 
H.  E.   V.  32,  33;  Eunap.  Fragtn.  ii.  62-65,  iii.  17;  Zos.  v.  7-22. 


them.  He  afterwards  held  a  conference  with 
the  emperor  near  Chalcedon,  in  the  house  of 
prayer  in  which  the  tomb  of  Euphemia  the 
martyr  is  deposited ;  and  after  he  and  the 
emperor  had  mutually  bound  themselves  by 
vows  of  friendship  to  each  other,  he  threw 
down  his  arms,  and  repaired  to  Constan- 
tinople, where,  by  an  imperial  edict,  he  was 
appointed  general  of  the  infantry  and  cavalry. 
Prosperity  so  far  beyond  his  deserts  was  more 
than  he  could  bear  with  moderation ;  and  as, 
contrary  to  all  expectations,  he  had  succeeded 
so  wonderfully  in  his  former  enterprise,  he  deter- 
mined to  undermine  the  peace  of  the  Catholic, 
Church.  He  was  a  Christian,  and,  like  the 
rest  of  the  barbarians,  had  espoused  the  Arian 
heresy.  Urged  either  by  the  presidents  of  this 
party,  or  by  the  suggestions  of  his  own  ambition, 
he  applied  to  the  emperor  to  place  one  of  the 
churches  of  the  city  in  the  hands  of  the  Arians. 
He  represented  that  it  was  neither  just  nor 
proper  that,  while  he  was  general  of  the  Roman 
troops,  he  should  be  compelled  to  retire  with- 
out the  walls  of  the  city  when  he  wished  to  en- 
gage in  prayer.  John  did  not  remain  inactive 
when  made  acquainted  with  these  proceedings. 
He  assembled  all  the  bishops  who  were  then 
residing  in  the  city,  and  went  with  them  to  the 
palace.  He  spoke  at  great  length  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  emperor  and  of  Gainas,  reproached 
the  latter  with  being  a  stranger  and  a  fugitive, 
and  reminded  him  that  his  life  had  been  saved 
by  the  father  of  the  emperor,  to  whom  he  had 
sworn  fidelity,  as  likewise  to  his  children,  to  the 
Romans,  and  to  the  laws  which  he  was  striving 
to  make  powerless.  When  he  had  made  this 
speech  he  showed  the  law  which  Theodosius 
had  established,  forbidding  thq  heterodox  to 
hold  a  church  within  the  walls.  Then,  address- 
ing himself  to  the  emperor,  John  exhorted  him 
to  maintain  the  laws  which  had  been  established 
against  heretics  ;  and  told  him  that  it  would  be 
better  to  be  deprived  of  the  empire,  than  to  be 
guilty  of  impiety  by  becoming  a  traitor  to  the 
house  of  God.  Thus  did  John  speak  boldly 
like  a  man,  and  gave  no  place  to  innovation  in 
the  churches  under  his  care.  Gainas,  however, 
regardless  of  his  oaths,  attacked  the  city.  His 
enterprise  was  pre-announced  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  comet  directly  over  the  city  ;  this 
comet  was  of  extraordinary  magnitude,  larger, 
it  is  said,  than  any  that  had  previously  been 
seen,  and  reaching  almost  to  the  earth  itself. 
Gainas  intended  to  seize  first  upon  the  stores  of 
the  bankers,  and  hoped  to  collect  together  their 
enormous  wealth.  But  since  the  rumor  of  his 
plan  was  spread,  the  bankers  concealed  their 
ready  wealth  and  no  longer  set  forth  silver  upon 
the  tables,  as  they  were  wont  publicly  to  do. 
Gainas  then  sent  some  of  the   barbarians   by 


402 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  4. 


night  to  set  fire  to  the  palace  ;  but  they  were 
unskillful  and  overcome  with  fear,  so  they  turned 
back.  For  when  they  drew  near  the  edifice, 
they  fancied  that  they  saw  a  multitude  of  heavily 
armed  men  of  immense  stature,  and  they  re- 
turned to  inform  Gainas  that  fresh  troops  had 
just  arrived.  Gainas  disbelieved  their  report, 
for  he  was  confident  that  no  troops  had  entered 
the  city.  As,  however,  other  individuals  whom 
he  despatched  to  the  palace  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, on  the  following  night,  returned  with  the 
same  report,  he  went  out  himself  to  be  an  eye- 
witness of  the  extraordinary  spectacle.  Imagin- 
|!.ing  that  the  army  before  him  consisted  of  sol- 
diers who  had  been  withdrawn  from  other  cities, 
and  that  these  troops  protected  the  city  and 
palace  by  night  and  concealed  themselves  by 
day,  Gainas  feigned  to  be  possessed  of  a  demon  ; 
and  under  the  pretext  of  offering  up  a  prayer, 
went  to  the  church  which  the  father  of  the  em- 
peror had  erected  in  honor  of  John  the  Baptist, 
at  Hebdomos.  Some  of  the  barbarians  remained 
in  Constantinople,  and  others  accompanied 
Gainas ;  they  secretly  carried  arms  and  pots  full 
of  darts  in  the  women's  chariots,  but  when  they 
were  discovered,  they  slew  the  guard  at  the 
gates,  who  attempted  to  hinder  the  carrying  out 
of  the  arms.  From  this  the  city  was  filled  with  as 
much  confusion  and  uproar,  as  if  it  had  suddenly 
been  captured.  A  good  thought  ruled  this  terri- 
ble moment ;  for  the  emperor  without  delay  de- 
clared Gainas  a  public  enemy,  and  commanded 
that  all  the  barbarians  left  in  the  city  should  be 
slain.  No  sooner  was  this  mandate  issued,  than 
the  soldiers  rushed  upon  the  barbarians,  and  slew 
the  greater  number  of  them  ;  they  then  set  fire  to 
the  church  which  was  named  after  the  Goths ; 
for  as  was  customary,  they  had  congregated 
there  in  the  house  of  prayer,  because  there 
was  no  other  refuge,  since  the  gates  were  shut. 
On  hearing  of  this  calamity,  Gainas  passed 
through  Thrace,  and  proceeded  towards  the 
Cherronesus,  intending  to  cross  the  Hellespont ; 
for  he  thought  that  if  he  could  conquer  the 
opposite  coast  of  Asia,  he  could  easily  subjugate 
to  himself  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire  in  the 
East.  All  these  things  proved  contrary  to  his 
hopes,  because  the  Romans  were  there  favored 
by  Divine  power.  For  the  army  sent  by  the 
emperor  was  on  hand  by  land  and  by  sea,  under 
the  command  of  Flavita,  who  although  a  bar- 
barian by  birth,  was  a  good  man,  and  an  able 
general.  The  barbarians,  having  no  ships,  im- 
prudently attempted  to  cross  the  Hellespont  to 
the  opposite  continent  on  rafts ;  when  suddenly 
a  great  wind  blew  and  violently  separated  them, 
and  drove  them  against  the  Roman  vessels. 
The  greater  part  of  the  barbarians  and  their 
horses  were  drowned  ;  but  many  were  slain  by 
the  military.     Gainas,  however,  with  a  few  of  his 


followers  escaped ;  but  not  long  after,  when 
fleeing  through  Thrace,  they  fell  in  with  another 
detachment  of  the  Roman  army,  and  Gainas, 
with  all  his  barbarians,  perished.  Such  was  the 
termination  of  the  daring  schemes  and  life  of 
Gainas. 

Flavita  had  rendered  himself  very  conspicu- 
ous in  this  war,  and  was  therefore  appointed 
consul.^  During  his  consulate,  and  that  of 
Vincentius,  a  son  was  born  to  the  emperor. 
The  young  prince  was  named  after  his  grand- 
father, and  at  the  commencement  of  the  next 
consulate,'  was  proclaimed  Augustus. 

CHAP.    V. JOHN     SWAYED     THE     PEOPLE     BY     HIS 

TEACHINGS.  CONCERNING  THE  WOIklAN,  A  FOL- 
LOWER OF  MACEDONIUS,  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  WHOM 
THE    BREAD    WAS    TURNED    INTO    A    STONE. 

John  governed  the  church  of  Constantinople 
with  exemplary  prudence,  and  induced  many  of 
the  pagans  and  of  the  heretics  to  unite  them- 
selves with  him.^  Crowds  of  people  daily  re- 
sorted to  him  ;  some  for  the  purpose  of  being 
edified  by  listening  to  his  discourses,  and  others 
with  the  intention  of  tempting  him.  He,  how- 
ever, pleased  and  attracted  all  classes,  and  led 
them  to  embrace  the  same  religious  sentiments 
as  himself.  As  the  people  pressed  around  him, 
and  could  not  get  enough  of  his  words,  so  that 
when  they  were  pushed  hither  and  yon,  and 
were  pressing  one  another,  they  incurred  danger  ; 
and  each  one  was  forcing  his  way  to  go  farther, 
so  that  by  standing  near,  he  might  hear  more 
accurately  what  John  was  saying,  he  placed  him- 
self in  the  midst  of  them  upon  the  platform  of 
the  readers,  and,  having  taken  a  seat,  taught  the 
multitude.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is  a  suit- 
able place  in  my  history  for  the  insertion  of  the 
account  of  a  miracle  which  was  performed  dur- 
ing the  life  of  John.  A  certain  man  of  the 
Macedonian  hereby,  lived  with  a  wife  of  the 
same  belief;  he  chanced  to  hear  John  discours- 
ing concerning  the  opinion  one  ought  to  hold 
about  the  Divine  nature;  he  was  convinced  by 
the  argument  he  heard  advanced,  and  strove  to 
persuade  his  wife  to  embrace  the  same  senti- 
ments. Her  previous  habits  of  mind,  and  the 
conversation  of  other  women  of  her  acquaint- 
ance, deterred  her  from  complying  with  his 
wishes ;  and,  when  he  found  that  all  his  efforts 
to  convince  her  were  futile,  he  told  her  that,  un- 
less she  would  be  of  one  mind  with  him  on 
Divine  subjects,  she  should  not  continue  to  live 
with  him.  The  woman,  therefore,  promised  to 
do  as  she  was  required  ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 

'  Flavita  was  consul  with  Vincentius,  a.d.  401.  See  under 
Marcell.  Com.  cliron. 

■  Arcadius  and  Honorius,  each  in  their  fifth  consulate.  Theo- 
dosius  junior  was  made  Csesar  A.D.  402. 

3  Independent  chapter. 


VIII.  7-] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


403 


she  made  known  the  matter  to  one  of  her  ser- 
vant maids,  in  whose  fidelity  she  confided,  and 
used  her  as  an  instrument  in  deceiving  her  hus- 
band. At  the  season  of  the  celebration  of  the 
mysteries  (the  initiated  will  understand  what  I 
mean),  this  woman  kept  what  was  given  to  her 
and  held  down  her  head  as  if  engaged  in  prayer. 
Her  servant,  who  was  standing  behind  her, 
placed  in  her  hand  a  bit  of  bread  which  she  had 
brought  with  her ;  but,  as  soon  as  she  had 
placed  it  between  her  teeth,  it  was  converted 
into  stone.  Since  such  a  divine  affair  had  hap- 
pened to  her,  she  was  very  fearful  lest  any  fur- 
ther calamity  should  befall  her,  and  ran  to  the 
bishop,  and  confessed  on  herself.  She  showed 
him  the  stone,  which  bore  the  marks  of  her 
teeth ;  it  was  composed  of  some  unknown  sub- 
stance, and  was  marked  by  a  very  strange  color. 
She  implored  forgiveness  with  tears,  and  contin- 
ued ever  after  to  hold  the  same  religious  tenets 
as  her  husband.  If  any  person  should  consider 
this  narrative  incredible,  he  can  inspect  the 
stone  in  question  ;  for  it  is  still  preserved  in  the 
treasury  of  the  church  of  Constantinople. 


CHAP.  VI. PROCEEDINGS     OF    JOHN    IN     ASIA    AND 

PHRYGIA.      HER-VCLIDES,  BISHOP  OF  EPHESUS,  AND 
GERONTIUS,  BISHOP  OF  NICOMEDIA. 

JoHN^  having  been  informed  that  the  churches 
in  Asia  and  the  neighborhood  were  governed  by 
unworthy  persons,  and  that  they  bartered  the 
priesthood  for  the  incomes  and  gifts  received,  or 
bestowed  that  dignity  as  a  matter  of  private  favor, 
repaired  to  Ephesus,  and  deposed  thirteen  bish- 
ops, some  in  Lycia  and  Phrygia,  and  others  in 
Asia  itself,  and  appointed  others  in  their  stead. 
The  bishop  of  Ephesus  was  dead,  and  he  there- 
fore ordained  Heraclides  over  the  church. 
Heraclides  was  a  native  of  Cyprus,  and  was  one 
of  the  deacons  under  John  :  he  had  formerly 
joined  the  monks  at  Scetis,  and  had  been  the  dis- 
ciple of  the  monk  Evagrius.  John  also  expelled 
Gerontius,  bishop  of  the  church  in  Nicomedia. 
This  latter  was  a  deacon  under  Ambrosius,  of 
the  church  of  Milan ;  he  declared,  I  do  not 
know  why,  either  with  an  intention  to  invent  a 
miracle,  or  because  he  had  been  himself  de- 
ceived by  the  art  and  phantasms  of  a  demon, 
that  he  had  seized  something  resembling  an  ass 
(ovoo-KcAt?)  by  night,  had  cut  off  its  head,  and 
flung  it  into  a  grinding-house.  Ambrose  re- 
garded this  mode  of  discourse  as  unworthy  of  a 
deacon  of  God,  and  commanded  Gerontius  to 
remain  in  seclusion  until  he  had  expiated  his 
fault  by  repentance.  Gerontius,  however,  was  a 
very  skillful    physician ;    he  was    eloquent  and 


^  Soc.  vi.  II ;   Pallad.  Dialog.   13-20. 
own. 


Soz.  has  material  of  his 


persuasive,  and  knew  well  how  to  gain  friends ; 
he  therefore  ridiculed  the  command  of  Ambrose, 
and  repaired  to  Constantinople.  In  a  short 
time  he  obtained  the  friendship  of  some  of  the 
most  ])Owerful  men  at  court ;  and,  not  long  aftej, 
was  elevated  to  the  bishopric  of  Nicomedia. 
He  was  ordained  by  Helladius,  bishop  of  Csesa- 
rea  in  Cappadocia,  who  performed  this  ofilice  the 
more  readily  for  him,  because  he  had  been  instru- 
mental, through  his  interest  at  court,  in  obtaining  a 
high  appointment  in  the  army  for  that  function- 
ary's son.  When  Ambrose  heard  of  this  ordina- 
tion, he  wrote  to  Nectarius,  the  president  of  the 
church  of  Constantinople,  desiring  him  to  eject 
Gerontius  from  the  priesthood,  and  not  permit 
him  and  the  ecclesiastical  order  to  be  so  abused. 
However  desirous  Nectarius  might  have  been  to 
obey  this  injunction,  he  could  never  succeed  in 
carrying  it  into  effect,  owing  to  the  determined 
resistance  of  the  people  of  Nicomedia.  John 
deposed  Gerontius,  and  ordained  Pansophius, 
who  had  formerly  been  preceptor  to  the  wife  of 
the  emperor,  and  who,  though  a  man  of  decided 
piety  and  of  a  mild  and  gentle  disposition,  was 
not  liked  by  the  Nicomedians.  They  arose  in 
frequent  sedition,  and  enumerated  publicly  and 
privately  the  beneficence  of  Gerontius,  and  on 
the  liberal  advantage  derived  from  his  science,  and 
its  generous  and  active  use  for  the  rich  and  poor 
alike ;  and  as  is  usual  when  we  applaud  those 
we  love,  they  ascribed  many  other  virtues  to 
him.  They  went  about  the  streets  of  their  own 
city  and  Constantinople  as  if  some  earthquake, 
or  pestilence,  or  other  visitation  of  Divine  wrath 
had  occurred,  and  sang  psalms,  and  offered  sup- 
plications that  they  might  have  Gerontius  for 
their  bishop.  They  were  at  length  compelled 
to  yield  to  necessity,  and  parted  with  grief  and 
groans  from  Gerontius,  receiving  in  his  stead  a 
bishop  whom  they  regarded  with  fear  and  aver- 
sion. The  bishops  who  had  been  deposed  and 
all  their  followers  declaimed  against  John,  as  the 
leader  of  a  revolution  in  the  churches,  and  as 
changing  the  rights  of  the  ordained,  contrary  to 
the  ancestral  laws ;  and  under  the  influence  of 
their  grievance,  they  condemned  deeds  done  by 
him,  which  were  worthy  of  praise  according  to 
the  opinion  of  most  people.  Among  other 
matters,  they  reproached  him  with  the  proceed- 
ings that  had  been  taken  against  Eutropius. 

CHAP.  VII. CONCERNING  EUTROPIUS,  CHIEF  OF  THE 

EUNUCHS,  .A.ND  THE  L.4\V  ENACTED  BY  HIM.  ON 
BEING  TURNED  FROM  THE  CHURCH,  HE  WAS  PUT 
TO    DEATH.       MURMURS   AGAINST   JOHN. 

EuTROPius  was  originally  the  chief  of  the 
eunuchs,  and  was  the  first  and  only  person  of 
that  rank  of  whom  we  have  known  or  heard 
who  attained  the  consular  and   patrician   dig- 


404 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  7. 


nity.^  When  he  was  raised  to  present  power, 
he  thought  not  of  the  future,  nor  of  the  insta- 
bility of  human  affairs,  but  caused  those  who 
sought  an  asylum  in  churches  to  be  thrust  out. 
He  treated  Pentadia,  the  wife  of  Timasius,  in 
this  manner.  Timasius  was  a  general  in  the 
army,  capable  and  much  feared ;  but  Eutropius 
procured  an  edict  for  his  banishment  to  Pasis 
in  Egypt,  under  the  pretext  that  he  aspired  to 
tyranny.  I  have  been  informed  that  Timasius 
fell  a  victim  to  thirst,  or  dreading  lest  anything 
worse  might  be  in  store,  he  was  caught  in  the 
sands  there,  and  was  found  dead.  Eutropius 
issued  a  law,  enacting  that  no  one  should  seek 
refuge  in  churches,  and  that  those  who  had  already 
fled  thither  should  be  driven  out.  He  was,  how- 
ever, the  first  to  transgress  this  law ;  for  not  long 
after  its  enactment,  he  offended  the  empress, 
and  immediately  left  the  palace,  and  fled  to  the 
Church  as  a  suppliant.  While  he  was  lying  be- 
neath the  table,  John  pronounced  a  discourse, 
in  which  he  reprehended  the  pride  of  power, 
and  directed  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the 
instability  of  human  greatness.  The  enemies  of 
John  hence  took  occasion  to  cast  reproach  on 
him,  because  he  had  rebuked  instead  of  com- 
passionating, one  who  was  suffering  under  the 
calamities  of  adverse  fortunes.  Eutropius  soon 
after  paid  the  penalty  of  his  impious  plan,  and 
was  beheaded ;  and  the  law  which  he  had  en- 
acted was  effaced  from  the  public  inscriptions. 
The  wrath  of  God  having  been  thus  promptly 
visited  on  the  injustice  that  had  been  perpetrated 
against  the  Church,  prosperity  was  restored  to 
it,  and  there  M^as  an  increase  in  the  Divine  wor- 
ship. The  people  of  Constantinople  were  more 
sedulous  then  than  before,  in  attendance  at  the 
singing  of  the  morning  and  evening  hymns. 


CHAP.      VIII. ANTIPHONAL     HYMNS     AGAINST     THE 

ARIANS  INTRODUCED  liV  JOHN.  THE  INTERESTS 
OF  THE  ORTHODOX  ARE  MUCH  AUGMENTED  BY 
THE  TEACHINGS  OF  JOHN,  WHILE  THE  WEALTHY 
ARE   MORE   AND   MORE   ENRAGED. 

The  Arians,  having  been  deprived  of  their 
churches  in  Constantinople  during  the  reign  of 
Theodosius,  held  their  churches  without  the 
walls  of  the  city.^  They  previously  assembled 
by  night  in  the  public  porticoes,  and  were  divided 
into  bands,  so  that  they  sang  antiphonally,  for 
they  had  composed  certain  refrains  which  re- 
flected their  own  dogma,  and  at  the  break  of 
day  marched  in  procession,  singing  these  hymns, 
to  the  places  in  which  they  held  their  churches. 

'  Independent  chapter.  Cf.  Soc.  vi.  5;  Philost.  xi.  4-6;  Chn-s. 
Homilia  in  Eutropium  euinichmn  patricium  :  Itotitilia  de  ca'pto 
Kutropio  et  de  divitiarutn  vanitate  ;  Claudiaiiiis  in  Eutropium, 
i.  ii. ;  Eunap.  Fragin.  ii.  53-56;  Fragtn.  iii.  16;  Fragiii.  iv.  20-23; 
Fragm.  v.  3;   Zos.  v.  3,  8-i8. 

2  Soc.  vi.  8. 


They  proceeded  in  this  manner  on  all  solemn 
festivals,  and  on  the  first  and  last  days  of  the 
week.  The  sentiments  propounded  in  these 
odes  were  such  as  were  likely  to  engender  dis- 
putes. As,  for  instance,  the  following  :  "  Where 
are  those  who  say  that  the  Three  Persons  con- 
stitute one  Power?"  Other  similar  acrimonious 
observations  were  interspersed  throughout  their 
compositions.  John  was  fearful  lest  any  of  his 
own  church  people  should  be.  led  astray  by 
witnessing  these  exhibitions,  and  therefore  com- 
manded them  to  sing  hymns  in  the  same  man- 
ner. The  orthodox  became  more  distinguished, 
and  in  a  short  time  surpassed  the  opposing  here- 
tics in  number  and  processions  ;  for  they  had  sil- 
ver crosses  and  lighted  wax  tapers  borne  before 
them.  The  eunuch  of  the  empress  was  ap- 
pointed to  regulate  these  processions,  to  pay  the 
cost  of  whatever  might  be  required,  and  to  pre- 
pare hymns.  Hence  the  Arians,  impelled  either 
by  jealousy  or  revenge,  attacked  the  members 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Much  bloodshed  en- 
sued on  both  sides.  Briso  (for  this  was  the 
name  of  the  imperial  eunuch)  was  wounded  on 
the  forehead  by  a  stone  that  was  cast  at  him. 
The  resentment  of  the  emperor  was  kindled, 
and  he  put  a  stop  to  the  Arian  assemblies. 
Having  commenced  the  custom  of  singing  hymns 
in  the  manner  and  from  the  cause  above  stated, 
the  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  did  not 
discontinue  the  practice,  but  have  retained  it  to 
the  present  day.  The  institution  of  these  pro- 
cessions and  his  services  in  the  Church  endeared 
John  to  the  people ;  but  he  was  hated  by  the 
clergy  and  the  powerful  on  account  of  his  free 
boldness,  for  he  never  failed  to  rebuke  the  clergy 
when  he  detected  them  in  acts  of  injustice,  nor 
to  exhort  the  powerful  to  return  to  the  practice 
of  virtue  when  they  abused  their  wealth,  com- 
mitted impiety,  or  yielded  to  voluptuousness. 


CHAP.    IX.  SERAPION,  THE  ARCHDEACON,  AND    ST. 

OLVMPIAS.  SOME  OF  THE  CELEBRATED  MEN  IN- 
SOLENTLY BEAR  DOWN  UPON  JOHN,  TR.ADUCING 
HIM  AS  IMPRACTICABLE  AND  PASSIONATE. 

The  enmity  of  the  clergy  against  John  was 
greatly  increased  by  Serapion,  his  archdeacon. 
He  was  an  Egyptian,  naturally  prone  to  anger, 
and  always  ready  to  insult  his  opponents.''  The 
feelings  of  hostiHty  were  further  fostered  by  the 
counsel  which  Olympias  received  from  John. 
Olyminas  was  of  most  illustrious  birth,  and 
although  she  had  become  a  widow  while  young, 
and  was  zealously  attached  to  the  exercises  of 
monastic  philosophy  according  to  the  laws  of 
the   church,   yet   Nectarius   had   ordained   her 

'  Soc.  vi.  4,  11;  Pallad.  Dialog.  Pallad.  H.  L.  cxliv.;  Epp.  xvii. 
ad  Olympiadem.  Soz.  has  independent  material  concerning  Olym- 
pias and  Isaac. 


VIII.  II.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


405 


as  deaconess.  John,  perceiving  that  she  bestowed 
her  goods  Hberally  on  any  one  who  asked  her  for 
them,  and  that  she  despised  everything  but  the 
service  of  (iod,  said  to  her  :  "  I  applaud  your 
intentions  ;  but  would  have  you  know  that  those 
who  aspire  to  the  perfection  of  virtue  according 
to  God,  ought  to  distribute  their  wealth  with 
economy.  You,  however,  have  been  bestowing 
wealth  on  the  wealthy,  which  is  as  useless  as  if 
you  had  cast  it  into  the  sea.  Know  you  not  that 
you  have  voluntarily,  for  the  sake  of  God, 
devoted  all  your  possessions  to  the  relief  of  the 
poor.  You  ought,  therefore,  to  regard  your 
wealth  as  belonging  to  your  Master,  and  to 
remember  that  you  have  to  account  for  its  dis- 
tribution. If  you  will  be  persuaded  by  me,  you 
will  in  future  regulate  your  donations  according 
to  the  wants  of  those  who  solicit  relief.  You 
will  thus  be  enabled  to  extend  the  sphere  of 
your  benevolence,  and  your  mercy  and  most 
zealous  care  will  receive  reward  from  God." 

John  had  several  disputes  with  many  of  the 
monks,  particularly  with  Isaac.  He  highly  com- 
mended those  who  remained  in  quietude  in  the 
monasteries  and  practiced  philosophy  there  ;  he 
protected  them  from  all  injustice  and  solicitiously 
supplied  whatever  necessities  they  might  have. 
But  the  monks  who  went  out  of  doors  and  made 
their  appearance  in  cities,  he  reproached  and 
regarded  as  insulting  philosophy.  For  these 
causes,  he  incurred  the  hatred  of  the  clergy,  and 
of  many  of  the  monks,  who  called  him  a  hard, 
passionate,  morose,  and  arrogant  man.  They 
therefore  attempted  to  bring  his  Hfe  into  public 
disrepute,  by  stating  confidently,  as  if  it  were 
the  truth,  that  he  would  eat  with  no  one,  and 
that  he  refused  every  invitation  to  a  meal  that 
was  offered  him.  I  know  of  no  pretext  that 
could  have  given  rise  to  this  assertion,  except 
that,  as  I  have  been  assured  by  a  man  of  un- 
doubted veracity,  John  had,  by  rigorous  asceti- 
cism, rendered  himself  liable  to  pain  in  the 
head  and  stomach,  and  was  thus  prevented  from 
being  present  at  some  of  the  choicest  symposia. 
Hence,  however,  originated  the  greatest  accusa- 
tion that  was  e\  er  devised  against  him. 


CHAP.    X. SEVERIAN,     BISHOP    OF    GABALES,    AND 

ANTIOCHUS,  BISHOP  OF  Fl'OLEMAIS.  DISPUTE  BE- 
Tft'EEN  SERAPION  AND  SEVERIAN.  RECONCILUTION 
BETWEEN  THEM  EFFECTED  BV  THE  EMPRESS. 

John  likewise  incurred  the  enmity  of  the 
empress,  through  the  machinations  of  Severian, 
bishop  of  Gabali  in  Syria.^  Severian  and  An- 
tiochus,  bishop  of  Ptolemais,  a  city  in  Phcenicia, 
were  both  learned  men,  and  well  qualified  to 
teach  in  the  churches.     Antiochus  had  so  fine  a 


1  Soc.  vi.  1 1 ;  Pallad.  Dialog. 


voice  and  delivery  that,  by  some  persons,  he  was 
surnamed  Chrysostom.  Severian,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  the  harshness  of  the  Syrians  in  his 
speech ;  but,  in  point  of  knowledge  and  the 
evidences  of  the  Scriptures,  he  was  considered 
superior  to  Antiochus.  It  appears  that  .'\ntiochus 
was  the  first  to  visit  Constantinople  ;  he  gained 
great  applause  by  his  discourses,  amassed  some 
property,  and  then  returned  to  his  own  city. 
Severian  followed  his  example,  and  went  to 
Constantinople.  He  formed  an  intimacy  with 
John,  spoke  frequently  in  the  churches,  and  was 
admired.  He  was  in  honor,  and  became  well- 
known  to  many  of  those  in  power,  and  to  the 
emperor  and  empress.  When  John  went  to 
Asia,  he  commended  the  Church  to  his  care  ;  for 
he  was  so  far  deceived  by  the  adulation  of  Seve- 
rian as  to  imagine  him  to  be  his  zealous  friend. 
Severian,  however,  thought  only  of  gratifying  his 
auditors,  and  of  pleasing  the  people  by  his  dis- 
courses.^ When  John  was  apprised  of  this,  he 
was  filled  with  jealousy ;  and  his  resentment  was 
further  kindled,  it  is  said,  by  the  representations 
of  Serapion.  After  the  return  of  John  from 
Asia,  Serapion  happened  to  see  Severian  passing ; 
but,  instead  of  rising  to  salute  him,  he  kept  his 
seat,  in  order  to  show  his  utter  contempt  for  the 
man.  Severian  was  offended  by  this  manifesta- 
tion of  disrespect,  and  exclaimed,  "  If  Serapion 
die  a  clergyman,  then  Christ  was  not  incarnate." 
Serapion  reported  these  words ;  and  John,  in 
consequence,  expelled  Severian  from  the  city  as 
insolent,  and  as  a  blasphemer  against  God  ;  for 
witnesses  were  brought  forward  to  attest  that  the 
above  words  had  been  really  uttered  by  him. 
Some  of  the  friends  of  Serapion  even  went  so 
far  as  to  suppress  part  of  the  speech  of  Severian, 
and  to  affirm  that  he  had  declared  that  Christ 
was  not  incarnate.  John  also  rebuked  Severian, 
by  asking  whether,  "  If  Serapion  should  not  die 
among  the  clergy,  it  would  follow  that  Christ 
had  not  been  incarnate  ?  "  As  soon  as  the  wife  of 
the  emperor  was  informed  by  the  friends  of  Seve- 
rian of  what  had  occurred,  she  immediately  sent 
for  him  from  Chalcedon.  John,  notwithstanding 
all  her  remonstrances,  positively  refused  to  hold 
any  intercourse  with  him,  until  the  empress  placed 
her  son  Theodosius  on  his  knees  in  the  church 
named  after  the  apostles  ;  then  she  entreated  him 
persistently,  and  frequently  adjured  him,  until 
John  yielded  a  reluctant  consent  to  receive  Seve- 
rian into  friendship.  Such  are  the  accounts  which 
I  have  received  of  these  transactions.^ 

chap.    XI.  —  QUESTION  AGIT.A.TED    IN   EGYPT,   AS  TO 
WHETHER    GOD    HAS   A  CORPOREAL    FORM.       THE- 

^  A  number  of  the  homilies  still  attributed  to  Chrysostom,  as  well 
as  those  now  acknowledged  not  to  be  his,  were  from  the  eloquent 
Severian. 

^  Chrj'S.  Hoiiiilia  de  recipiendo  Severiano  ;  and  Sermo  ipsiui 
Severiam  de  pace,  iii.  421-423. 


4o6 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN.         [Viii.  n. 


OPHILUS,       BISHOP      OF    ALEXANDRIA,    AND     THE 
BOOKS    OF    ORIGEN. 

A  QUESTION  was  at  this  period  agitated  in 
Egypt,  which  had  been  propounded  a  short 
time  previously,  namely,  whether  it  is  right  to 
believe  that  God  is  anthropomorphic.^  Because 
they  laid  hold  of  the  sacred  words  with  simplic- 
ity and  without  any  questioning,  most  of  the 
monks  of  that  part  of  the  Avorld  were  of  this 
opinion ;  and  supposed  that  God  possessed  eyes, 
a  face,  and  hands,  and  other  members  of  the 
bodily  organization.  But  those  who  searched 
into  the  hidden  meaning  of  the  terms  of  Scrip- 
ture held  the  opposite ;  and  they  maintained 
that  those  who  denied  the  incorporeality  of  God 
were  giulty  of  blasphemy.  This  later  opinion 
was  espoused  by  Theophilus,  and  preached  by 
him  in  the  church ;  and  in  the  epistle  -  which, 
according  to  custom,  he  wrote  respecting  the 
celebration  of  the  passover,  he  took  occasion  to 
state  that  God  ought  to  be  regarded  as  incor- 
poreal, as  alien  to  a  human  form.  When  it  was 
signilied  to  the  Egyptian  monks  that  Theophilus 
had  broached  these-  sentiments,  they  went  to 
Alexandria,  assembled  the  people  together  in  one 
place,  excited  a  tmaiult,  and  determined  upon 
slaying  the  bishop  as  an  impious  man.  Theophi- 
lus, however,  presented  himself  to  the  insurgents 
forthwith,  and  said  to  them,  "  When  I  look 
upon  you,  it  is^s  if  I  beheld  the  face  of  God." 
This  address  sufficiently  mollified  the  men ; 
yielding  their  wrath,  they  replied,  "  Wherefore, 
then,  if  you  really  hold  orthodox  doctrines,  do 
you  not  denounce  the  books  of  Origen ;  since 
those  who  read  them  are  led  into  such  opin- 
ions?" "  Such  has  long  been  my  intention,"  re- 
plied he,  "  and  I  shall  do  as  you  advise  ;  for  I 
blame  not  less  than  you  do,  all  those  who  follow 
the  doctrines  of  Origen."  By  these  means  he 
deluded  the  brethren,  and  broke  up  the  sedition. 


CHAP.    XII. ABOUT   THE    FOUR    BROTHERS,  CALLED 

"  THE  LONG,"  WHO  WERE  ASCETICS,  AND  OF 
WHOM  THEOPHILUS  WAS  AN  ENEMY  ;  ABOUT  ISI- 
DORE AND  THE  EVENTS  WHICH  CAME  ABOUT 
THROUGH  THESE  FOUR. 

The  controversy  would  most  likely  have  been 
terminated,  had  it  not  been  renewed  by  Theoph- 
ilus himself,  from  inimical  feelings  against  Am- 
monius,  Dioscorus,  Eusebius,  and  Kuthymius, 
who  were  called  "  the  long." "  They  were  broth- 
ers ;  and,  as  we  have  before  stated,  became  con- 
spicuous among  the  philosophers  at  Scetis. 
They  were  at  one  period  beloved  by  Theophilus 

1  Soc.  vi.  7. 

'  This  epistle  is  no  longer  extant;  it  is  alluded  to  by  Cassianus 
in  his  Collatio,  x.  2;   Ofip.  i.  p.  821,  822. 

'  Soc.  vi.  7,  9;  Pallad,  Dialog.  6.  Soz.  has  different  order  and 
some  new  opinions. 


above  all  the  other  monks  of  Egypt ;  he  sought 
their  society,  and  frequently   dwelt  with   them. 
He  even  conferred  on  Dioscorus  the  bishopric 
of  Hermopolis.     He  was  confirmed  in  his  hatred 
of  them,  on  account  of  his  enmity  to  Isidore, 
whom  he  had  endeavored  to  ordain  in  Constan- 
tinople after  Nectarius.     Some  say,  that  a  wo- 
man, belonging  to  the  Manichean  heresy,  had 
been    converted    to    the    faith    of  the    Catholic 
Church;  Theophilus  rebuked  the  arch-presbyter 
(towards  whom  he  had  other  reasons  for  enter- 
taining resentful   feeling),   because  he   had  ad- 
mitted her  to  participate  in  the  sacred  mysteries 
before    she    had    adjured    her    former    heresy. 
Peter,  for  this  was  the  name  of  the  arch-presby- 
ter, maintained  that  he  had  received  the  woman 
into   communion  according  to   the  laws  of  the 
Church,  and  with  the  consent  of  Theophilus  ;  and 
referred  to  Isidore,  as  a  witness  to  the  truth  of 
what  he  had  deposed.     Isidore  happened  to  be 
then  at  Rome  on  an  embassy  ;  but,  on  his  return, 
he  testified  that   the  assertions   of  Peter  were 
true.     Theophilus  resented  this  avowal  as  a  cal- 
umny, and  ejected  both  him  and  Peter  from  the 
Church.     Such  is   the  account  given  by  some 
persons  of   the  transaction.      I  have,   however, 
heard  it  alleged,  by  a  man  of  undoubted  verac- 
ity, who  was  very  intimate  with  the  monks  above 
mentioned,    that    the     enmity    of    Theophilus 
towards     Isidore    originated    from    two    causes. 
One  of   these    causes   was    identical    with    that 
specified  by  Peter  the   presbyter,  namely,  that 
he  had  refused  to  attest  the  existence  of  a  testa- 
ment in  which  the  inheritance  was  entailed  on 
the    sister    of    Theophilus;     the    other    cause 
alleged  by  this  individual  was,  that  Isidore  re- 
fused to  give  up  certain  moneys  that  had  been 
confided  to  him  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and 
which  Theophilus  .wished  to  appropriate  to  the 
erection  of  churches  ;  saying  that  it  is   better  to 
restore   the  bodies   of  the   suffering,  which   are 
more  rightly  to  be  considered   the   temples  of 
God,  and  for  which  end  the  money  had  been 
furnished,  than  to  build  walls.     But  from  what- 
ever   cause    the    enmity    of    Theophilus    might 
have  originated,  Isidore,  immediately  after   his 
excommunication,  joined  his  former  companions, 
the   monks   at   Scetis.     Ammonius,    with   a   few 
others,  then  repaired    to  Theophilus,   and   en- 
treated him   to  restore   Isidore  to   communion. 
Theophilus  readily  promised   to  do  as  they  re- 
quested ;  but  as   time   passed   away,  and   noth- 
ing more  was  effected  for  them,  and  it  became 
evident  that   Theophilus   was    pretending,   they 
again  repaired  to  him,  renewed  their  entreaties, 
and  pressed  him  to  be  faithful   to  his  engage- 
ment.    Instead  of  complying,  Theophilus  thrust 
one  of  the  monks  into  prison,  for   the  purpose 
of  intimidating  the  others.     But  he  erred  in  this. 
Ammonius  and   all  the   monks  with   him  then 


VIII.  14.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


407 


went  to  the  prison,  into  which  they  were  readily 
admitted  by  the  jailer,  who  imagined  that  they 
had  come  to  bring  provisions  to  the  prisoner ; 
but  having  once  obtained  admission,  they  re- 
fused to  leave  the  prison.  When  Theophilus 
heard  of  their  voluntary  confinement,  he  sent 
to  desire  them  to  come  to  him.  They  replied, 
that  he  ought  first  to  take  them  out  of  prison 
himself,  for  it  was  not  just,  after  having  been 
subjected  to  public  indignity,  that  they  should 
be  privately  released  from  confinement.  At 
length,  however,  they  yielded  and  went  to  him. 
Theophilus  apologized  for  what  had  occurred, 
and  dismissed  them  as  if  he  had  no  further  in- 
tention of  molesting  them ;  but  by  himself,  he 
champed  and  was  vexed,  and  determined  to 
do  them  ill.  He  was  in  doubt,  however,  as 
to  how  he  could  ill-treat  them,  as  they  had  no 
possessions,  and  despised  everything  but  philos- 
ophy, until  it  occurred  to  him,  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  their  retirement.  From  his  former  in- 
tercourse with  them  he  had  gathered  that  they 
blamed  those  who  believe  that  God  has  a  human 
form,  and  that  they  adhered  to  the  opinions  of 
Origen ;  he  brought  them  into  collision  with  the 
multitude  of  monks  who  maintained  the  other 
view.  A  terrible  contention  prevailed  among  the 
monks,  for  they  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to 
persuade  one  another  by  framing  arguments  for 
themselves  in  an  orderly  way,  but  settled  down 
into  insults.  They  gave  the  name  of  Origenists 
to  those  who  maintained  the  incorporeality  of 
the  Deity,  while  those  who  held  the  opposite 
opinion  were  called  Anthropomorphists. 

CHAP.     XIII. THESE     FOUR     REPAIR    TO    JOHN    ON 

ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  INTEREST;  FOR  THIS  REASON, 
THEOPHILUS  WAS  ENRAGED,  AND  PREPARES  HIM- 
SELF  TO    FIGHT   AGAINST    JOHN. 

DioscoRUS,  Ammonius,  and  the  other  monks, 
having  discovered  the  machinations  of  Theophi- 
lus, retired  to  Jerusalem,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  Scythopolis  ;  for  they  thought  that  it  would  be 
an  advantageous  residence  there  for  them  on 
account  of  the  many  palms,  whose  leaves  are 
used  by  the  monks  for  their  customary  work.^ 
Dioscorus  and  Ammonius  were  accompanied 
hither  by  about  eighty  other  monks.  In  the 
meantime,  Theophilus  sent  messengers  to  Con- 
stantinople, to  prefer  complaints  against  them, 
and  to  oppose  any  petitions  that  they  might  lay 
before  the  emperor.  On  being  informed  of  this 
fact,  Ammonius  and  the  monks  embarked  for 
Constantinople,  and  took  Isidore  with  them ; 
and  they  requested  that  their  cause  might  be 
tried  in  the  presence  of  the  emperor  and  of  the 
bishop  ;  for  they  thought  that,  by  reason  of  his 

1  Pallad.  Dialog.  7;  Soc.  vi.  7,  9.     Soz.'s  has  independent  mat- 


ter. 


boldness,  John,  who  was  careful  t(j  do  right, 
would  be  able  to  help  them  in  their  rights. 
John,  although  he  received  them  with  kindness, 
and  treated  thcni  with  honor,  and  did  not  forbid 
them  to  pray  in  the  church,  refused  to  admit 
them  to  participation  in  the  mysteries,  for  it 
was  not  lawful  to  do  this  before  the  investiga- 
tion. He  wrote  to  Theophilus,  desiring  him  to 
receive  them  back  into  communion,  as  their 
sentiments  concerning  the  Divine  nature  were 
orthodox ;  re(|uesting  him,  if  he  regarded  their 
orthodoxy  as  doubtfiil,  to  send  some  one  to  act 
as  their  accuser.  Theophilus  returned  no  reply 
to  this  epistle.  Some  time  subsequently,  Am- 
monius and  his  companions  presented  themselves 
before  the  wife  of  the  emperor,  as  she  was  riding 
out,  and  complained  of  the  machinations  of 
Theophilus  against  them.  She  knew  what  had 
been  plotted  against  them ;  and  she  stood  up  in 
honor  of  them  ;  and,  leaning  forward  from  her 
royal  chariot,  she  nodded,  and  said  to  them, 
"  Pray  for  the  emperor,  for  me,  for  our  children, 
and  for  the  empire.  For  my  part,  I  shall  shortly 
cause  a  council  to  be  convened,  to  which  The- 
ophilus shall  be  summoned."  A  false  report 
having  prevailed  in  Alexandria,  that  John  had 
received  Dioscorus  and  his  companions  into 
communion,  and  had  afforded  them  every  aid 
and  encouragement  in  his  power,  Theophilus 
began  to  reflect  upon  what  measures  it  would  be 
possible  to  adopt  in  order  to  eject  John  from  his 
episcopate. 


CHAP.     XIV. PERVERSITY     OF     THEOPHILUS.         ST. 

EPIPHANIUS  :  HIS  RESIDENCE  AT  CONSTANTI- 
NOPLE AND  PREPARATION  TO  EXCITE  THE  PEO- 
PLE   AGAINST   JOHN. 

Theophilus  kept  his  designs  against  John  as 
secret  as  possible  ;  and  wrote  to  the  bishops  of 
every  city,  condemning  the  books  of  Origen.^ 
It  also  occurred  to  him  that  it  would  be  advan- 
tageous to  enlist  Kpiphanius,  bishop  of  Salamis, 
in  Cyprus,  on  his  side,  a  man  who  was  revered 
for  his  life,  and  was  the  most  distinguished  of 
his  contemporaries  ;  and  he  therefore  formed  a 
friendship  with  him,  although  he  had  formerly 
blamed  him  for  asserting  that  God  possessed  a 
human  form.  As  if  repentant  of  having  ever 
entertained  any  other  sentiment,  Theophilus 
wrote  to  Epiphanius  to  acquaint  him  that  he 
now  held  the  same  opinions  as  himself,  and  to 
move  attacks  against  the  books  of  Origen,  as 
the  source  of  such  nefarious  dogmas.  Epipha- 
nius had  long  regarded  the  writings  of  Origen 
with  peculiar  aversion,  and  was  therefore  easily 
led  to  attach  credit  to  the  epistle  of  Theophilus. 
He  soon  after  assembled  the  bishops  of  Cyprus 

■  Mainly  after  Soc.  vi.  10,  12,  14 ;  Pallad.  Dialog.  8. 


4o8 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  14. 


together,  and  prohibited  the  examination  of  the 
books  of  Origen.  He  also  wrote  to  the  other 
bishops,  and,  among  others,  to  the  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  exhorting  them  to  convene 
Synods,  and  to  make  the  same  decision.  The- 
ophikis,  perceiving  that  there  could  be  no 
danger  in  following  the  example  of  Epiphanius, 
who  was  the  object  of  popular  praise,  and  who 
was  admired  for  the  virtue  of  his  life,  whatever 
his  opinion  might  be,  passed  a  vote  similar  to 
that  of  Epiphanius,  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
bishops  under  his  jurisdiction.  John,  on  the  other 
hand,  paid  litde  attention  to  the  letters  of  Epipha- 
nius and  Theophilus.  Those  among  the  powerful 
and  the  clergy,  who  were  opposed  to  him,  per- 
ceived that  the  designs  of  Theophilus  tended  to 
his  ejection  from  the  bishopric,  and  therefore  en- 
deavored to  procure  the  convention  of  a  council 
in  Constantinople,  in  order  to  carry  this  measure 
into  execution.  Theophilus,  knowing  this,  ex- 
erted himself  to  the  utmost  in  convening  this 
council.  He  commanded  the  bishops  of  Egypt 
to  repair  by  sea  to  Constantinople  ;  he  wrote 
to  request  Epiphanius  and  the  other  Eastern 
bishops  to  proceed  to  that  city  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible,  and  he  himself  set  off  on  the 
journey  thither  by  land.  Epiphanius  was  the 
first  to  sail  from  Cyprus ;  he  landed  at  Heb- 
domos,  a  suburb  of  Constantinople ;  and  after 
having  prayed  in  the  church  erected  at  that 
place,  he  proceeded  to  enter  the  city.  In  order 
to  do  him  honor,  John  went  out  with  all  his 
clergy  to  meet  him.  Epiphanius,  however, 
evinced  clearly  by  his  conduct  that  he  believed 
the  accusations  against  John ;  for,  although 
invited  to  reside  in  the  ecclesiastical  residences, 
he  would  not  continue  there,  and  refused  to  meet 
with  John  in  them.  He  also  privately  assembled 
all  the  bishops  who  were  residing  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  showed  them  the  decrees  which  he 
had  issued  against  the  discourses  of  Origen. 
He  persuaded  some  of  the  bishops  to  approve 
of  these  decrees,  while  others  objected  to  them. 
Theotimus,  bishop  of  Scythia,  strongly  opposed 
the  proceedings  of  Epiphanius,  and  told  him 
that  it  was  not  right  to  cast  insult  on  the  memory 
of  one  who  had  long  been  numbered  with  the 
dead  ;  nor  was  it  without  blasphemy  to  assail  the 
conclusion  to  which  the  ancients  had  arrived  on 
the  subject,  and  to  set  aside  their  decisions. 
While  discoursing  in  this  strain,  he  drew  forth  a 
book  of  Origen's  which  he  had  brought  with  him  ; 
and,  after  reading  aloud  a  passage  conducive  to 
the  education  of  the  Church,  he  remarked  that 
those  who  condemned  such  sentiments  acted 
absurtlly,  for  they  were  in  danger  of  insulting 
the  subjects  themselves  about  which  these  words 
treated.  John  still  had  respect  for  Epiphanius, 
and  invited  him  to  join  in  the  meetings  of  his 
church,  and  to  dwell  with  him.     But  Epiphanius 


declared  that  he  would  neither  reside  with  John 
nor  pray  with  him  publicly,  unless  he  would 
denounce  the  works  of  Origen  and  expel  Dioscorus 
and  his  companions.  Not  considering  it  just  to 
act  in  the  manner  proposed  until  judgment  had 
been  passed  on  the  case,  John  tried  to  postpone 
matters.  When  the  assembly  was  about  to  be 
held  in  the  Church  of  the  Apostles,  those  ill- 
disposed  to  John  planned  that  Epiphanius  should 
go  beforehand  and  publicly  decry  the  books  of 
Origen  to  the  people,  and  Dioscorus  and  his 
companions  as  the  partisans  of  this  writer  ;  and 
also  to  attack  the  bishop  of  the  city  as  the 
abetter  of  those  heretics.  And  some  concerned 
themselves  in  this ;  for  by  this  means  it  was 
supposed  that  the  affections  of  the  people  would 
be  alienated  from  their  bishop.  The  following 
day,  when  Epiphanius  was  about  entering  the 
church,  in  order  to  carry  his  design  into  execu- 
tion, he  was  stopped  by  Serapion,  at  the  com- 
mand of  John,  who  had  received  intimation  of 
the  plot.  Serapion  proved  to  Epiphanius  that 
while  the  project  he  had  devised  was  unjust  in 
itself,  it  could  be  of  no  personal  advantage  to 
him ;  for  that  if  it  should  excite  a  popular 
insurrection,  he  would  be  regarded  as  respon- 
sible for  the  outrages  that  might  follow.  By 
these  arguments  Epiphanius  was  induced  to 
reUnquish  his  attack. 


CHAP.    XV. THE    SON    OF   THE     EMPRESS    AND    ST. 

EPIPHANIUS.  CONFERENCE  BETWEEN  THE  "  LONG 
BROTHERS  "  AND  EPIPHANIUS,  AND  KIS  RE-EM- 
BARKATION FOR  CYPRUS.  EPIPHANIUS  AND 
JOHN. 

About  this  time,  the  son  of  the  empress  was 
attacked  by  a  dangerous  illness,  and  the  mother, 
apprehensive  of  consequences,  sent  to  implore 
Epiphanius  to  pray  for  him.^  Epiphanius  re- 
turned for  answer,  that  the  sick  one  would  live, 
provided  that  she  would  avoid  all  intercourse 
with  the  heretic  Dioscorus  and  his  companions. 
To  this  message  the  empress  replied  as  follows  : 
"  If  it  be  the  will  of  God  to  take  my  son.  His 
will  be  done.  The  Lord  who  gave  me  my  child, 
can  take  him  back  again.  You  have  not  power 
to  raise  the  dead,  otherwise  your  archdeacon 
would  not  have  died."  She  alluded  to  Chrispion, 
the  archdeacon,  who  had  died  a  short  time  pre- 
viously. He  was  brother  to  Fuscon  and  Salama- 
nus,  monks  whom  I  had  occasion  to  mention  - 
when  detailing  the  history  of  events  under  the 
reign  of  Valens';  he  had  been  companion  of 
I2piphanius,  and  had  been  appointed  his  arch- 
deacon. 

Ammonias    and    his     companions    went    to 


1  Independent  chapter. 
-  See  above,  vi.  32. 


Cf.  Soc.  vi.  14. 


VIII.  17-]        THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


409 


Epiphanius,  at  the  permission  of  the  empress. 
Epiphanius  inquired  who  they  were,  and  Ammo- 
nius  rephed,  "  We  are,  O  fother,  the  Long 
Brothers  ;  we  come  respectfully  to  know  whether 
you  have  read  any  of  our  works  or  those  of  our 
disciples  ?  "  On  Epiphanius  replying  that  he  had 
not  seen  them,  he  continued,  "  How  is  it,  then, 
that  you  consider  us  to  be  heretics,  when  you 
have  no  proof  as  to  what  sentiments  we  may 
hold?"  Epiphanius  said  that  he  had  formed  his 
judgment  by  the  reports  he  had  heard  on  the 
subject ;  and  Amraonius  replied,  "  We  have  pur- 
sued a  very  different  line  of  conduct  from  yours. 
We  have  conversed  with  your  disciples,  and  read 
your  works  frequently,  and  among  others,  that 
entitled  '  The  Anchored.'  When  we  have  met 
with  persons  who  have  ridiculed  your  opinions, 
and  asserted  that  your  writings  are  replete 
with  heresy,  we  have  contended  for  you,  and  de- 
fended you  as  our  father.  Ought  you  then  to 
condemn  the  absent  upon  mere  report,  and  of 
whom  you  know  nothing  with  assured  certitude,  or 
return  such  an  exchange  to  those  who  have  spoken 
well  of  you?  "  Epiphanius  was  measurably  con- 
vinced, and  dismissed  them.  Soon  after  he 
embarked  for  Cyprus,  either  because  he  recog- 
nized the  futility  of  his  journey  to  Constantino- 
ple, or  because,  as  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
God  had  revealed  to  him  his  approaching  death  ; 
for  he  died  while  on  his  voyage  back  to  Cyprus. 
It  is  reported  that  he  said  to  the  bishops  who 
had  accompanied  him  to  the  place  of  embarka- 
tion, "  I  leave  you  the  city,  the  palace,  and  the 
stage,  for  I  shall  shortly  depart."  I  have  been 
informed  by  several  persons  that  John  predicted 
that  Epiphanius  would  die  at  sea,  and  that  this 
latter  predicted  the  deposition  of  John.  For  it 
appears  that  when  the  dispute  between  them 
was  at  its  height,  Epiphanius  said  to  John,  "  I 
hope  you  will  not  die  a  bishop,"  and  that  John 
replied,  "  I  hope  you  will  never  return  to  your 
bishopric." 

CHAP.  XVI. THE  DISPUTE  BETWEEN  THE   EMPRESS 

AND  JOHN.     ARRIVAL  OF  THEOPHILUS  FROM  EGYPT. 
CYRINUS,  BISHOP  OF  CH.\LCEDON. 

After  the  departure  of  Epiphanius,  John, 
when  preaching  in  the  church  as  usual,  chanced 
to  inveigh  against  the  vices  to  which  females  are 
peculiarly  prone.^  The  people  imagined  that  his 
strictures  were  enigmatically  directed  against  the 
wife  of  the  emperor.  The  enemies  of  the  bishop 
did  not  fail  to  report  his  discourse  in  this  sense 
to  the  empress  ;  and  she,  conceiving  herself  to 
have  been  insulted,  complained  to  the  emperor, 
and  urged  the  necessity  for  the  speedy  presence 
of  Theophilus  and  the  convocation  of  a  council. 


1  Soc.  vi.  15;   Pallad.  Dialog.  3,  8-10;  also  Chrysostom's  letter 
to  Innocent,  ibid.  2.     Cf.  Theodoret,  //.  E.  v.  34. 


Severian,  bishop  of  Gabala,  who  had  not  yet 
changed  his  former  resentment  against  John,  co- 
operated in  the  promotion  of  these  measures.  I 
am  not  in  possession  of  sufficient  data  to  deter- 
mine whether  there  was  any  truth  in  the  current 
report  that  John  delivered  the  discourse  above 
mentioned  with  express  allusion  to  the  empress, 
because  he  suspected  her  of  having  excited 
Epiphanius  against  him.  Theophilus  arrived 
soon  after  at  Chalcedon  in  Bithynia,  and  was 
followed  thither  by  many  bishops.  Some  of  the 
bishops  joined  him  in  compliance  with  his  own 
invitation,  and  others  in  obedience  to  the  com- 
mands of  the  emperor.  The  bishops  whom 
John  had  deposed  in  Asia  repaired  to  Chalcedon 
with  the  utmost  alacrity,  as  likewise  all  those 
who  cherished  any  feeling  of  hostility  against 
him.  The  ships  which  Theophilus  expected 
from  Egypt  had  already  come  to  Chalcedon. 
When  they  had  convened  again  in  the  same 
place,  and  when  they  had  deliberated  how  the 
attempt  against  John  might  be  judiciously  for- 
warded by  them,  Cyrinus,  leader  of  the  church 
of  Chalcedon,  who  was  an  Egyptian  and  a  rela- 
tive of  Theophilus,  and  who  had  besides  some 
other  difficulties  with  John,  spoke  very  abusively 
of  him.  Justice,  however,  seemed  to  follow  him 
speedily ;  for  Maruthas,  a  native  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, who  had  accompanied  the  bishops,  hap- 
pened to  tread  on  his  foot ;  and  Cyrinus  suffered 
so  severely  from  this  accident  that  he  was  unable 
to  repair  with  the  other  bishops  to  Constanti- 
nople, although  his  aid  was  necessary  to  the 
execution  of  the  designs  that  had  been  formed 
against  John.  The  wound  assumed  so  alarming 
an  appearance,  that  the  surgeons  were  obliged 
to  perform  several  operations  on  the  leg ;  and 
at  length  mortification  took  place,  and  spread 
over  the  whole  body,  and  even  extended  to  the 
other  foot.  He  expired  soon  afterwards  in  great 
agony. 

CHAP.  XVII. COUNCIL  HELD    BY    THEOPHILUS   AND 

THE  ACCUSERS  OF  JOHN  IN  RUFINIAN.«.  JOHN  IS 
SUMMONED  TO  ATTEND,  AND  NOT  BEING  PRESENT, 
WAS   DEPOSED    BY    THEM. 

When  Theophilus  entered  Constantinople, 
none  of  the  clergy  went  out  to  meet  him  ;  for 
his  enmity  against  the  bishop  had  become  pub- 
licly known.^  Some  sailors  from  Alexandria, 
however,  who  chanced  to  be  on  the  shore,  both 
from  the  com  vessels  as  well  as  other  ships,  hav- 
ing collected  together,  received  him  with  great 
acclamations  of  joy.  Passing  by  the  church, 
he  proceeded  directly  to  the  palace,  where 
a  lodging  had  been  prepared  for  his  accommo- 
dation.    He  soon  perceived  that  many  people 

'  References  in  preceding  chapter.  Soz.  has  independent  ma- 
terial. 


4IO 


thp:  ecclesiastical  history  of  sozomen. 


[VIII.  17. 


of  the  city  were  strongly  prejudiced  against 
John,  and  ready  to  bring  accusations  against 
him  ;  and  taking  his  measures  accordingly,  he 
repaired  to  a  place  called  "The  Oak,"  in  the 
suburbs  of  Chalcedon.  This  place  now  bears 
the  name  of  Rufinus  ;  for  he  was  a  consul,  and 
erected  here  a  magnificent  palace,  and  a  great 
church  in  honor  of  the  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  therefore  named  it  the  Apostolium  ;  and  ap- 
pointed a  congregation  of  monks  to  perform  the 
clerical  duties  in  the  church.  When  Theophilus 
and  the  other  bishops  met  for  deliberation  in 
this  place,  he  judged  it  expedient  to  make  no 
further  allusion  to  the  works  of  Origen,  and  called 
the  monks  of  Scetis  to  repentance,  promising 
that  there  would  be  no  recollection  of  wrongs 
nor  infliction  of  evil.  His  partisans  zealously 
seconded  his  efforts,  and  told  them  that  they 
must  ask  Theophilus  to  pardon  their  conduct ; 
and  as  all  the  members  of  the  assembly  con- 
curred in  this  request,  the  monks  were  troubled, 
and  believing  that  it  was  necessary  to  do  what 
they  were  desired  by  so  many  bishops,  they 
used  the  words  which  it  was  their  custom  to  use 
even  when  injured,  and  said  "  spare  us."  Theo- 
philus willingly  received  them  into  favor,  and 
restored  them  to  communion;  and  the  question 
concerning  the  injuries  done  to  the  monks  of 
Scetis  was  ended.  I  feel  convinced  that  this 
matter  would  not  have  been  so  quickly  settled, 
had  Dioscorus  and  Ammonius  been  present  with 
the  other  monks.  But  Dioscorus  had  died 
some  time  previously,  and  had  been  interred  in 
the  church  dedicated  to  St.  Mocius  the  martyr. 
Ammonius,  also,  had  been  taken  ill  at  the  very 
time  that  preparations  were  being  made  for  the 
convocation  of  the  council  ;  and  although  he 
insisted  upon  repairing  to  "  The  Oak,"  yet  his 
malady  was  thereby  greatly  increased  :  he  died 
soon  after  his  journey,  and  had  a  splendid  en- 
tombment among  the  monks  of  that  vicinity, 
and  there  he  lies.  Theophilus,  it  is  said,  shed 
tears  on  hearing  of  his  death,  and  declared  that 
although  he  had  been  the  cause  of  much  per- 
plexity, there  was  not  a  monk  to  be  found  of 
more  exalted  character  than  Ammonius.  It 
must,  however,  be  admitted,  that  the  death  of 
this  monk  tended  much  to  promote  the  success 
of  the  designs  of  Theophilus. 

I'he  members  of  the  council  summoned  all 
the  clergy  of  Constantinople  to  appear  before 
them,  and  threatened  to  depose  those  who  did 
not  obey  the  summons.  They  cited  John  to 
appear  and  answer;  as  likewise  Serapion,  Ti- 
grius  a  presbyter,  and  Paul  a  reader.  John 
acquainted  them,  through  the  medium  of  Deme- 
trius, bishop  of  Pisinus,  and  of  some  of  the 
other  clergy,  who  were  his  friends,  that  he  would 
not  avoid  investigation,  but  that  he  was  ready,  if 
the  names  of  his  accusers  and  the   subject  of 


his  accusations  were  made  known  to  him,  to 
justify  his  proceedings  before  a  larger  council ; 
for  he  did  not  choose  to  be  considered  insane, 
and  to  recognize  his  manifest  enemies  as  judges. 
The  bishops  testified  so  much  indignation  at 
the  non-compliance  of  John,  that  some  of  the 
clergy  whom  he  had  sent  to  the  council  were 
intimidated  and  did  not  return  to  him.  Deme- 
trius, and  those  who  preferred  his  interests  to 
all  other  considerations,  quitted  the  council,  and 
returned  to  him.  The  same  day,  a  courier  and 
a  shorthand  writer  were  dispatched  from  the 
palace  to  command  John  to  repair  to  the  bish- 
ops, and  to  urge  the  bishops  to  decide  his 
cause  without  further  delay.  After  John  had 
been  cited  four  times,  and  had  appealed  to  a 
general  council,  no  other  accusation  could  be 
substantiated  against  him,  except  his  refusal  to 
obey  the  summons  of  the  council ;  and  upon 
this  ground  they  deposed  him. 


CHAP.    XVIII. SEDITION    OF    THE    PEOPLE    AGAINST 

THEOPHILUS  ;  AND  THEY  TRADUCED  THEIR  RULERS. 
JOHN  WAS  RECALLED,  AND  AGAIN  CAME  TO  THE 
SEE. 

The  people  of  Constantinople  were  made 
acquainted  with  the  decree  of  the  council  towards 
the  evening ;  and  they  immediately  rose  up  in 
sedition.^  At  the  break  of  day  they  ran  to  the 
church,  and  shouted,  among  many  other  plans, 
that  a  larger  council  ought  to  be  convened  to 
take  cognizance  of  the  matter ;  and  they  pre- 
vented the  ofificers,  who  had  been  sent  by  the 
emperor  to  convey  John  into  banishment,  from 
carrying  the  edict  into  execution.  John,  appre- 
hensive lest  another  accusation  should  be  pre- 
ferred against  him,  under  the  pretext  that  he 
had  disobeyed  the  mandate  of  the  emperor,  or 
excited  an  insurrection  among  the  people,  when 
the  multitude  was  dispersed,  secretly  made  his 
escape  from  the  church  at  noon,  three  days  after 
his  deposition.  When  the  people  became  aware 
that  he  had  gone  into  exile,  the  sedition  became 
serious,  and  many  insulting  speeches  were 
uttered  against  the  emperor  and  the  council ; 
and  particularly  against  Theophilus  and  Severian, 
who  were  regarded  as  the  originators  of  the  plot. 
Severian  happened  to  be  teaching  in  the  church 
at  the  very  time  that  these  occurrences  were 
taking  place  ;  and  he  took  occasion  to  commend 
the  deposition  of  John,  and  stated  that,  even 
supposing  him  guiltless  of  other  crimes,  John 
deserved  to  be  deposed  on  account  of  his 
pride  ;  because,  while  God  willingly  forgives  men 
all  other  sins,   he    resists   the   proud.       At  this 

'  Soc.  vi.  16;  Pallad.  Dialog,  ibid..,  and  Chrysostom's  Ef>.  ad 
!>tnoce>itein ;  Chrys.  Sermoues  aitteqitam  iret  in  Exsiliuin ; 
Sernto  cum  iret  in  Exsilium  ;  orationes  et  serinones  post  Redi- 
turn  ab  Exsilio,  iii.  427-448.  Soz.,  while  guided  by  the  order  of  Soc, 
works  the  material  in  a  different  form.     Cf.  Zos.  v.  25. 


viii.  19.]         THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


411 


discourse  the  people  became  restive  under  the 
wrong,  and  renewed  their  wrath,  and  fell  into 
unrestrainable  revolt.  They  ran  to  the  churches, 
to  the  market-places,  and  even  to  the  palace  of 
the  emperor,  and  with  howls  and  groans  de- 
manded the  recall  of  John.  The  empress  was 
at  length  overcome  by  their  importunity ;  and 
she  persuaded  her  husband  to  yield  to  the  wishes 
of  the  people.  She  quickly  sent  a  eunuch, 
named  Briso.  in  whom  she  placed  confidence, 
to  bring  back  John  from  Prenetus,  a  city  of 
Bithynia ;  and  protested  that  she  had  taken  no 
part  in  the  machinations  that  had  been  carried 
on  against  him,  but  had,  on  the  contrary,  always 
respected  him  as  a  priest  and  the  initiator  of 
her  children. 

When  John,  on  his  journey  homeward,  reached 
the  suburbs  belonging  to  the  empress,  he 
stopped  near  Anaplus ;  and  refused  to  re-enter 
the  city  until  the  injustice  of  his  deposition  had 
been  recognized  by  a  larger  synod  of  bishops  ; 
but  as  this  refusal  tended  to  augment  the  popu- 
lar excitement,  and  led  to  many  public  declama- 
tions against  the  emperor  and  the  empress,  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  to  enter  the 
city.  The  people  went  to  meet  him,  singing 
psalms  composed  with  reference  to  the  circum- 
stances ;  many  carried  light  wax  tapers.  They 
conducted  him  to  the  church  ;  and  although  he 
refused,  and  frequently  affirmed  that  those  who 
had  condemned  him  ought  first  to  reconsider 
their  vote,  yet  they  compelled  him  to  take  the 
episcopal  throne,  and  to  speak  peace  to  the 
people  according  to  the  custom  of  the  priests. 
He  then  delivered  an  extemporaneous  discourse, 
in  which,  by  a  pleasing  figure  of  speech,  he  de- 
clared that  Theophilus  had  meditated  an  injury 
against  his  church,  even  as  the  king  of  Egypt 
had  contemplated  the  violation  of  Sarah,  the 
wife  of  the  patriarch  Abraham,  which  is  re- 
corded in  the  books  of  the  Hebrews  :  he  then 
proceeded  to  commend  the  zeal  of  the  people, 
and  to  extol  the  emperor  and  the  empress  for 
their  good  will  to  him  ;  he  stirred  the  people  to 
much  applause  and  good  acclaim  for  the  em- 
peror and  his  spouse,  so  that  he  had  to  leave  his 
speech  half  ended. 

CHAP.  XIX. OBSTINANCY  OF  THEOPHILUS.     ENMITY 

BETWEEN  THE  EGYPTIANS  AND  THE  CITIZENS  OF 
CONSTANTINOPLE.  FLIGHT  OF  THEOPHILUS.  NIL- 
AMMON  THE  ASCETIC.  THE  SYNOD  CONCERNING 
JOHN. 

Although  Theophilus  would  fain  have  brought 
an  accusation  against  John,^  under  the  plea  that 
he  had  unlawfully  reinstated  himself  in  his  bish- 
opric, yet  he  was  deterred  from  doing  so  by  the 
fear  of   offending  the  emperor,  who  had  been 

'  Soc.  vi.  17;  Pallad.  ibid.;  and  Chrys.  Ep.  ad  Inn.  S02.  has 
independent  material. 


compelled  to  recall  John,  as  the  means  of  sup- 
pressing the  popular  insurrection.  Theophilus, 
however,  received  an  accusation  against  H  era- 
elides  during  the  absence  of  the  accused,  in  the 
hope  of  thereby  authorizing  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation which  had  been  issued  against  John. 
But  the  friends  of  Heraclides  interposed,  and  de- 
clared that  it  was  unjust,  and  contrary  to  ecclesi- 
astical law,  to  condemn  one  who  was  absent. 
Theophilus  and  his  partisans  maintained  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  question  :  the  people  of  Alex- 
andria and  of  Egypt  sided  with  them,  and  were 
opposed  by  the  citizens  of  Constantinople.  The 
strife  between  the  two  parties  became  so  vehement 
that  bloodshed  ensued  ;  many  were  wounded,  and 
others  slain  in  the  contest.  Severian,  and  all  the 
bishops  at  Constantinople  who  did  not  support 
the  cause  of  John,  became  apprehensive  for 
their  personal  safety,  and  quitted  the  city  in 
haste.  Theophilus,  also,  fled  the  city  at  the 
commencement  of  the  winter ;  and,  in  com- 
pany with  Isaac  the  monk,  sailed  for  Alexandria. 
A  wind  arose  which  drove  the  vessel  to  Gera,  a 
small  city  about  fifty  stadia  from  Pelusium.  The 
bishop  of  this  city  died,  and  the  inhabitants,  I 
have  been  informed,  elected  Nilammon  to  pre- 
side over  their  church  ;  he  was  a  good  man,  and 
had  attained  the  summit  of  monastic  philosophy. 
He  dwelt  without  the  city,  in  a  cell  of  which 
the  door  was  built  up  with  stones.  He  refused 
to  accept  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood  ;  and 
Theophilus,  therefore,  visited  him  in  person,  to 
exhort  him  to  receive  ordination  at  his  hands. 
Nilammon  repeatedly  refused  the  honor ;  but, 
as  Theophilus  would  take  no  refusal,  he  said  to 
him,  "  To-morrow,  my  father,  you  shall  act  as 
you  please  ;  to-day  it  is  requisite  that  I  should 
arrange  my  affairs."  Theophilus  repaired,  on 
the  following  day,  to  the  cell  of  the  monk,  and 
commanded  the  door  to  be  opened  ;  but  Nil- 
ammon exclaimed,  "  Let  us  first  engage  in 
prayer."  Theophilus  complied  and  began  to 
pray.  Nilammon  likewise  prayed  within  his  cell, 
and  in  the  act  of  prayer  he  expired.  Theophilus, 
and  those  who  were  standing  with  him  without 
the  cell,  knew  nothing  at  the  time  of  what  had 
occurred  ;  but,  when  the  greater  part  of  the  day 
had  passed  away,  and  the  name  of  Nilammon 
had  been  loudly  reiterated  without  his  returning 
any  answer,  the  stones  were  removed  from  the 
door,  and  the  monk  was  found  dead.  They 
honored  him  with  a  public  burial  after  they  had 
clothed  him  in  the  necessary  vestments,  and  the 
inhabitants  built  a  house  of  prayer  about  his 
tomb  ;  and  they  celebrate  the  day  of  his  death,  in 
a  very  marked  way,  until  this  day.  Thus  died 
Nilammon,  if  it  can  be  called  death  to  quit  this 
life  for  another,  —  rather  than  accept  a  bishopric 
of  which,  with  extraordinary  modesty,  he  con- 
sidered himself  unworthy. 


412 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  19. 


After  his  return  to  Constantinople,  John  ap- 
peared to  be  more  than  ever  beloved  by  the 
people.  Sixty  bishops  assembled  together  in 
that  city,  and  annulled  all  the  decrees  of  the 
council  of  "  The  Oak."  They  confirmed  John  in 
the  possession  of  the  bishopric,  and  enacted 
that  he  should  officiate  as  a  priest,  confer  ordi- 
nation, and  perform  all  the  duties  of  the  church 
usually  devolving  on  the  president.  At  this 
time  Serapion  was  appointed  bishop  of  Heraclea 
in  Thrace. 


CHAP.  XX. THE  STATUE  OF   THE    EMPRESS  ;    WHAT 

HAPPENED  THERE  ;  THE  TEACHING  OF  JOHN  ; 
CONVOCATION  OF  ANOTHER  S^'NOD  AGAINST  JOHN  ; 
HIS  DEPOSITION. 

Not  long  after  these  occurrences  the  silver 
statue  of  the  empress,  which  is  still  to  be  seen 
to  the  south  of  the  church  opposite  the  grand 
council-chamber,  was  placed  upon  a  column 
of  porphyry  on  a  high  platform,^  and  the  event 
was  celebrated  there  with  applause  and  popular 
spectacles  of  dances  and  mimes,  as  was  then 
customary  on  the  erection  of  the  statues  of  the 
emperors.  In  a  public  discourse  to  the  people 
John  charged  that  these  proceedings  reflected 
dishonor  on  the  Church.  This  remark  recalled 
former  grievances  to  the  recollection  of  the 
empress,  and  irritated  her  so  exceedingly  at  the 
insult  that  she  determined  to  convene  another 
council.  He  did  not  yield,  but  added  fuel  to 
her  indignation  by  still  more  openly  declaiming 
against  her  in  the  church ;  and  it  was  at  this 
period  that  he  pronounced  the  memorable  dis- 
course commencing  with  the  words,  "  Herodias 
is  again  enraged  ;  again  she  dances ;  again  she 
seeks  to  have  the  head  of  John  in  a  basin." 

Several  bishops  arrived  soon  after  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  amongst  them  were  Leontius, 
bishop  of  Ancyra,  and  Acacius,  bishop  of  Berea. 
The  festival  of  our  Lord's  Nativity  was  then  at 
hand,  and  the  emperor,  instead  of  repairing  to 
the  church  as  usual,  sent  to  acquaint  John  that 
he  could  not  hold  communion  with  him  until 
he  had  cleared  himself  of  the  charges.  John 
spiritedly  replied  that  he  was  ready  to  prove 
his  innocence  ;  and  this  so  intimidated  his  ac- 
cusers that  they  did  not  dare  to  follow  up  the 
charges.  The  judges  decided  that,  having  been 
once  deposed,  he  ought  not  to  be  admitted  to 
a  second  trial.  But  they  called  on  John  to  de- 
fend himself  on  this  point  only,  that  after  he 
had  been  deposed,  he  had  sat  on  the  episcopal 
throne  before  a  synod  had  reinstated  him.  In 
his  defense  he  appealed  to  the  decision  of  the 
bishops  who  had,  subsequently  to  the  council 
of  "  The  Oak,"  held  communion  with  him.     The 


judges  waived  this  argument,  under  the  plea  that 
those  who  had  held  communion  with  John  were 
inferior  in  point  of  number  to  those  who  had 
deposed  him,  and  that  a  canon  was  in  force  by 
which  he  stood  condemned.  Under  this  pre- 
text they  therefore  deposed  him,  although  the 
law  in  question  had  been  enacted  by  heretics  ; 
for  the  Arians,  after  having  taken  advantage  of 
various  calumnies  to  expel  Athanasius  from  the 
church  of  Alexandria,  enacted  this  law  from 
the  apprehension  of  a  change  in  public  affairs, 
for  they  struggled  to  have  the  decisions  against 
him  remain  uninvestigated. 


CUAV.  XXI. CAL.\MITIES  SUFFERED  BY  THE  PEOPLE 

AFTER    THE     EXPULSION     OF    JOHN.      THE    PLOTS 
AGAINST    HIM    OF   ASSASSINATION. 

After  his  deposition,  John  held  no  more 
assembhes  in  the  church,  but  quietly  remained 
in  the  episcopal  dwelling-house.^  At  the  termina- 
tion of  the  season  of  Quadragesima,  on  the  same 
holy  night  in  which  the  yearly  festival  in  commem- 
oration of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  celebrated, 
the  followers  of  John  were  expelled  from  the 
church  bv  the  soldiers  and  his  enemies,  who  at- 
tacked  the  people  while  still  celebrating  the  mys- 
teries. Since  this  occurrence  was  unforeseen,  a 
great  disturbance  arose  in  the  baptistery.  The 
women  wept  and  lamented,  and  the  children 
screamed ;  the  priests  and  the  deacons  were 
beaten,  and  were  forcibly  ejected  from  the 
church,  in  the  priestly  garments  in  which  they 
had  been  officiating.  They  were  .charged  with 
the  commission  of  such  disorderly  acts  as  can 
be  readily  conceived  by  those  who  have  been 
admitted  to  the  mysteries,  but  which  I  consider 
it  requisite  to  pass  over  in  silence,  lest  my  work 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  uninitiated. 

When  the  people  perceived  the  plot,  they  did 
not  use  the  church  on  the  following  day,  but 
celebrated  the  Paschal  feast  in  the  very  spacious 
public  baths  called  after  the  Emperor  Constan- 
tius.  Bishops  and  presbyters,  and  the  rest, 
whose  right  it  is  to  administer  church  matters, 
officiated.  Those  who  espoused  the  cause  of 
John  were  present  with  the  people.  They  were, 
however,  driven  hence,  and  then  assembled  on 
a  spot  without  the  walls  of  the  city,  which  the 
Emperor  Constantine,  before  the  city  had  been 
built,  had  caused  to  be  cleared  and  inclosed 
with  palisades,  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating 
there  the  games  of  the  hippodrome.  From  that 
period,  the  people  held  separate  assemblies, ' 
sometimes,  whenever  it  was  feasible,  in  that 
locality,  and  sometimes  in  another.  They  ob- 
tained the  name  of  Johnites.  About  this 
time,   a  man  who   was    either   possessed    of  a 


*  Soc.  vi.  18;  Pallad,  Dialog.  9-12;  Chrys.  Ep.  ad  Inn.  ibid.  2.  |        -  Soc.  vi.  18;  Pallad.  ibid.  Soz.  has  much  distinctive  material. 


VIII.  23.]         THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


413 


devil,  or  who  feigned  to  have  one,  was  seized, 
having  a  poniard  on  his  person,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  assassinating  John.  He  was  apprehended 
by  tlie  people  as  one  who  had  been  hired  for 
this  plot,  and  led  to  the  prefect ;  but  John  sent 
some  bishops  of  his  party  to  free  him  from 
custody  before  he  had  been  questioned  by  tor- 
ture. Some  time  afterwards,  a  slave  of  Elpidius 
the  presbyter,  who  was  an  avowed  enemy  of  the 
deacon,  was  seen  running  as  swiftly  as  possible 
towards  the  episcopal  residence.  A  passer-by 
endeavored  to  stop  him,  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  so  much  haste  ;  but  instead  of 
answering  him,  the  slave  plunged  his  poniard 
into  him.  Another  person,  who  happened  to 
be  standing  by,  and  who  cried  out  at  seeing  the 
other  wounded,  was  also  wounded  in  a  similar 
way  by  the  slave ;  as  was  likewise  a  third  by- 
stander. All  the  people  in  the  neighborhood, 
on  seeing  what  had  occurred,  shouted  that  the 
slave  ought  to  be  arrested.  He  turned  and  fled. 
When  those  who  were  pursuing  called  out  to 
those  ahead  to  seize  the  fugitive,  a  man,  who 
just  then  came  out  from  the  baths,  strove  to 
stop  him,  and  was  so  grievously  wounded  that 
he  fell  down  dead  on  the  spot.  At  length,  the 
people  contrived  to  encircle  the  slave.  They 
seized  him,  and  conveyed  him  to  the  palace  of 
the  emperor,  declaring  that  he  had  intended  to 
have  assassinated  John,  and  that  the  crime  ought 
to  be  visited  with  punishment.  The  prefect 
allayed  the  fury  of  the  people  by  putting  the 
delinquent  into  custody,  and  by  assuring  them 
that  justice  should  have  its  course  against  him. 

CHAP.  XXII. UNLAWFUL  EXPULSION  OF  JOHN  FROM 

HIS  BISHOPRIC.  THE  TROUBLE  WHICH  FOLLOWED. 
CONFLAGRATION  OF  THE  CHURCH  BY  FIRE  FROM 
HEAVEN.       EXILE  OF  JOHN  TO  CUCUSUS. 

From  this  period  the  most  zealous  of  the  peo- 
ple guarded  John  alternately,  stationing  them- 
selves about  the  episcopal  residence  by  night 
and  by  day.^  The  bishops  who  had  condemned 
him  complained  of  this  conduct  as  a  violation 
of  the  laws  of  the  Church,  declared  that  they 
could  answer  for  the  justice  of  the  sentence  that 
had  been  enacted  against  him,  and  asserted  that 
tranquillity  would  never  be  restored  among  the 
people  until  he  had  been  expelled  from  the  city. 
A  messenger  having  conveyed  to  him  a  mandate 
from  the  emperor  enjoining  his  immediate  de- 
parture, John  obeyed,  and  escaped  from  the 
city,  unnoticed  by  those  who  had  been  appointed 
to  guard  him.  He  made  no  other  censure  than 
that,  in  being  sent  into  banishment  without  a 
legal  trial  or  any  of  the  forms  of  the  law,  he  was 
treated  more  severely  than  murderers,  sorcerers, 

'  Soc.  vi.  18;  Pallad.  ibid,  and  Chrys.  Ep.  ad  Inn.;  Theodoret, 
H.  E.  V.  34.     Soz.  has  distinct  material.     Cf.  Zos.  v.  24. 


and  adulterers.  He  was  conveyed  in  a  little 
bark  to  Bithynia,  and  thence  immediately  con- 
tinued his  journey.  Some  of  his  enemies  were 
apprehensive  lest  the  people,  on  hearing  of  his 
departure,  should  pursue  him,  and  bring  him 
back  by  force,  and  therefore  commanded  the 
gates  of  the  church  to  be  closed.  A\'hen  the 
people  who  were  in  the  public  places  of  the  city 
heard  of  what  had  occurred,  great  confusion 
ensued  ;  for  some  ran  to  the  seashore  as  if  they 
would  follow  him,  and  others  fled  hither  and 
thither,  and  were  in  great  terror  since  the  wrath 
of  the  emperor  was  expected  to  visit  them  for 
creating  so  much  disturbance  and  tumult.  Those 
who  were  within  the  church  barred  the  exits  still 
further  by  rushing  together  upon  them,  and  by 
pressing  upon  one  another.  With  difficulty  they 
forced  the  doors  open  by  the  use  of  great  vio- 
lence ;  one  party  shattered  them  with  stones, 
another  was  pulling  them  toward  themselves,  and 
was  thus  forcing  the  crowd  backward  into  the 
building.  Meanwhile  the  church  was  suddenly 
consumed  on  all  sides  with  fire.  The  flames 
extended  in  all  directions,  and  the  grand  house  of 
the  senatorial  council,  adjacent  to  the  church  on 
the  south,  was  doomed.  The  two  parties  mutually 
accused  each  other  of  incendiarism.  The  ene- 
mies of  John  asserted  that  his  partisans  had  been 
guilty  of  the  deed  from  revenge,  on  account  of 
the  vote  that  had  been  passed  against  him  by 
the  council.  These  latter,  on  the  other  hand, 
maintained  that  they  had  been  calumniated,  and 
that  the  deed  was  perpetrated  by  their  enemies, 
with  the  intention  of  burning  them  in  the  church. 
While  the  fire  was  spreading  from  late  afternoon 
until  the  morning,  and  creeping  forward  to  the 
material  which  was  still  standing,  the  officers  who 
held  John  in  custody  convej'ed  him  to  Cucusus, 
a  city  of  Armenia,  which  the  emperor  by  letter 
had  appointed  as  the  place  of  residence  for  the 
condemned  man.  Other  officers  were  commis- 
sioned to  arrest  all  the  bishops  and  clerics  who 
had  favored  the  cause  of  John,  and  to  imprison 
them  in  Chalcedon.  Those  citizens  who  were 
suspected  of  attachment  to  John  were  sought 
out  and  cast  into  prison,  and  compelled  to  pro- 
nounce anathema  against  him. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  —  ARSACIUS  ELECTED  TO  SUCCEED 
JOHN.  THE  EVILS  WROUGHT  AGAINST  THE  Ft)L- 
LOW^ERS    OF   JOHN.       ST.    NICARETE. 

Arsacius,  brother  of  Nectarius,  who  had  ad- 
ministered the  bishopric  before  John,  was,  not 
long  afterwards,  ordained  as  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople.- He  was  of  a  very  mild  disposition, 
and  possessed  of  great  piety  ;  but  the  reputation 
he  had  acquired  as  a  presbyter  was  diminished 


2  Soc.    vi.    19;   Pallad.  Dialog.   11-20. 
34,     Soz.  has  much  separate  material. 


Cf.  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v. 


414 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN.         [viii.  23. 


by  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  clergy  to  whom 
he  delegated  his  power,  and  who  did  what  they 
pleased  in  his  name;  for  their  evil  deeds  were 
imputed  to  him.  Nothing,  however,  operated 
so  much  to  his  disadvantage  as  the  persecution 
that  was  carried  on  against  the  followers  of  John. 
They  refused  to  hold  communion,  or  even  to 
join  in  prayer  with  him,  because  the  enemies  of 
John  were  associated  with  him ;  and  as  they 
persisted,  as  we  have  before  stated,  in  holding  a 
church  in  the  further  parts  of  the  city,  he  com- 
plained to  the  emperor  of  their  conduct.  The 
tribune  was  commanded  to  attack  them  with  a 
body  of  soldiers,  and  by  means  of  clubs  and 
stones  he  soon  dispersed  them.  The  most  dis- 
tinguished among  them  in  point  of  rank,  and 
those  who  were  most  zealous  in  their  adherence 
to  John,  were  cast  into  prison.  The  soldiers, 
as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  went  beyond  their 
orders,  and  forcibly  stripped  the  women  of 
their  ornaments,  and  carried  off  as  booty  their 
chains,  their  golden  girdles,  necklaces,  and 
their  collars  of  rings  ;  they  pulled  off  the  lobes 
of  the  ear  with  the  earrings.  Although  the  whole 
city  was  thus  filled  with  trouble  and  lamentation, 
the  affection  of  the  people  for  John  still  re- 
mained the  same,  and  they  refrained  from  ap- 
pearing in  public.  Many  ■  of  them  absented 
themselves  from  the  market-place  and  public 
baths,  while  others,  not  considering  themselves 
safe  in  their  own  houses,  fled  the  city. 

Among  the  zealous  men  and  excellent  women 
who  adopted  this  latter  measure  was  Nicarete,  a 
lady  of  Bithynia.  She  belonged  to  a  noted  fam- 
ily of  the  nobility,  and  was  celebrated  on  ac- 
count of  her  perpetual  virginity  and  her  virtu- 
ous life.  She  was  the  most  modest  of  all  the 
zealous  women  that  we  have  ever  known,  and 
was  well  ordered  in  manner  and  speech  and  in 
behavior,  and  throughout  her  life  she  invariably 
preferred  the  service  of  God  to  all  earthly  con- 
siderations. She  showed  herself  capable  of  en- 
during with  courage  and  thought  the  sudden 
reversals  of  adverse  affairs ;  she  saw  herself  un- 
justly despoiled  of  the  greater  part  of  her  ample 
patrimony  without  manifesting  any  indignation, 
and  managed  the  little  that  remained  to  her  with 
so  much  economy,  that  although  she  was  ad- 
vanced in  age,  she  contrived  to  supply  all  the 
wants  of  her  household,  and  to  contribute 
largely  to  others.  Since  she  loved  a  humane 
spirit,  she  also  prepared  a  variety  of  remedies 
for  the  needs  of  the  sick  poor,  and  she  fre- 
quently succeeded  in  curing  patients  who  had 
derived  no  benefit  from  the  skill  of  the  custom- 
ary physicians.  ^Vith  a  devout  strength  which 
assisted  her  in  reaching  the  best  results,  she 
closed  her  lips.  To  sum  up  all  in  a  few  words,  we 
have  never  known  a  devoted  woman  endowed 
with  such  manners,  gravity,  and  every  other  vir- 


tue. Although  she  was  so  extraordinary,  she 
concealed  the  greater  part  of  her  nature  and 
deeds  ;  for  by  modesty  of  character  and  philos- 
ophy she  was  always  studious  of  concealment. 
She  would  not  accept  of  the  office  of  deaconess, 
nor  of  instructress  of  the  virgins  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  the  Church,  because  she  accounted 
herself  unworthy,  although  the  honor  was  fre- 
quently pressed  upon  her  by  John. 

After  the  popular  insurrection  had  been 
quelled,  the  prefect  of  the  city  appeared  in  pub- 
lic, as  if  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  the  confla- 
gration, and  the  burning  of  the  council-hall,  and 
punished  many  severely  ;  but  being  a  pagan,  he 
ridiculed  the  calamities  of  the  Church,  and  de- 
lighted in  its  misfortunes. 


CHAP.   XXIV. EUTROPIUS   THE    READER,    AND    THE 

BLESSED  OLY.MPIAS,  AND  THE  PRESBYTER  TIGRIUS, 
ARE  PERSECUTED  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THEIR  AT- 
TACHMENT TO  JOHN.       THE  PATRIARCHS. 

EuTROPius,  a  reader,^  was  required  to  name  the 
persons  who  had  set  fire  to  the  church  ;  but  al- 
though he  was  scourged  severely,  although  his 
sides  and  cheeks  were  torn  with  iron  nails,  and 
although  lighted  torches  were  applied  to  the 
most  sensitive  parts  of  his  body,  no  confession 
could  be  extorted  from  him,  notwithstanding  his 
youth  and  delicacy  of  constitution.  After  hav- 
ing been  subjected  to  these  tortures,  he  was  cast 
into  a  dungeon,  where  he  soon  afterwards  ex- 
pired. 

A  dream  of  Sisinius  concerning  Eutropius 
seems  worthy  of  insertion  in  this  history.  Sisi- 
nius, the  bishop  of  the  Novatians,  saw  in  his 
sleep  a  man,  conspicuous  for  beauty  and  stature, 
standing  near  the  altar  of  the  church  which  the 
Novatians  erected  to  the  honor  of  Stephen,  the 
proto- martyr  ;  the  man  complained  of  the  rarity 
of  good  men,  and  said  that  he  had  been  search- 
ing throughout  the  entire  city,  and  had  found 
but  one  who  was  good,  and'that  one  was  Eutropius. 
Astonished  at  what  he  had  seen,  Sisinius  made 
known  the  dream  to  the  most  faithful  of  the 
presbyters  of  his  church,  and  commanded  him 
to  seek  Eutropius  wherever  he  might  be.  The 
presbyter  rightly  conjectured  that  this  Eutropius 
could  be  no  other  than  he  who  had  been  so  bar- 
barously tortured  by  the  prefect,  and  went  from 
prison  to  prison  in  quest  of  him.  At  length  he 
found  him,  and  in  conversation  with  him  made 
known  the  dream  of  the  bishop,  and  besought 
him  with  tears  to  pray  for  him.  Such  are  the 
details  we  possess  concerning  Eutropius. 

Cireat  fortitude  was  evinced  in  the  midst  of 
these   calamities   by  Olympias,  the   deaconess. 


'  Pallad.  Dialog.,  ibid.      Soz.  has  an  independent  chapter  in 
large  part. 


VIII.  26.]        THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


415 


Being  dragged  for  this  reason  before  the  tribunal, 
and  interrogated  by  the  prefect  as  to  her  motives 
in  setting  fire  to  the  church,  she  replied,  "  My 
past  life  ought  to  avert  all  suspicion  from  me, 
for   I   have  devoted   my  large  property  to  the 
restoration  of  the  temples  of  God."     The  pre- 
fect  alleged   that    he  was  well    acquainted  with 
her   past    course    of  life.       "Then,"    continued 
she,  "  you  ought  to  appear  in  the  place  of  the 
accuser  and  let  another  judge  us."     As  the  ac- 
cusation against  her  was  wholly  unsubstantiated 
by  proofs,  and  as  the  prefect  found  that  he  had 
no  ground  on  which  he  could  justly  blame  her,  he 
changed  to  a  milder  charge  as  if  desirous  of  advis- 
ing her,  finding  fault  with  her  and  the  other  women, 
because  they  refused  communion  with  his  bishop, 
although    it  was    possible    for    them    to    repent 
and  to  change  their  own  circumstances.     They 
all  through  fear    deferred  to  the  advice  of  the 
prefect,  but  Olympias  said  to  him,  "  It  is  not  just 
that,  after  having  been  publicly  calumniated,  with- 
out having  had  anything  proved  against  me  in  the 
courts,  I  should  be  obliged  to  clear  myself  of 
charges  totally  unconnected  with  the  accusation 
in  question.     Let  me  rather  take    counsel  con- 
cerning  the   original    accusation   that   has   been 
preferred  against  me.     For   even  if  you  resort 
to  unlawful  compulsion,  I  will  not  hold  commun- 
ion with  those   from  whom  I  ought  to   secede, 
nor  consent  to  anything   that  is  not  lawful  to  the 
pious."     The  prefect,  finding  that  he  could  not 
prevail  upon  her  to  hold   communion  with  Arsa- 
cius,  dismissed  her  that-  she  might  consult  the 
advocates.       On  another    occasion,  however,  he 
again  sent  for  her  and  condemned  her  to  pay 
a  heavy  fine,   for  he   imagined    by  this   means 
she  would  be    compelled  to  change  her  mind. 
But  she  totally  disregarded  the  loss  of  her  prop- 
erty, and    quitted    Constantinople    for   Cyzicus. 
Tigrius,  a  presbyter,  was  about  the  same  period 
stripped  of  his  clothes,  scourged  on  the  back, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  and  stretched  on  the  rack. 
He  was  a  barbarian  by  race,  and  a  eunuch,  but 
not  by  birth.     He  was  originally  a  slave  in  the 
house  of  a  man  in  power,  and  on  account  of  his 
faithful  services  had   obtained  his  freedom.     He 
was  afterwards   ordained  as  presbyter,  and  was 
distinguished  by  his   moderation  and  meekness 
of  disposition,  and   by  his  charity  towards  stran- 
gers and  the  poor.     Such  were  the  events  which 
took  place  in  Constantinople. 

Meanwhile  Siricius  had  died,  after  having 
administered  the  bishopric  of  Rome  fifteen 
years.  Anastasius  held  the  same  bishopric  three 
years,  and  then  died,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Innocent.  Flavian,  who  refused  his  consent  to 
the  deposition  of  John,  was  also  dead  ;  and  Por- 
phyry, being  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  the 
church  of  Antioch,  where  he  agreed  with  those 
who  had    condemned   John,  many  of  those  in 


Syria  seceded  from  the  church  in  Antioch,  and 
because  they  made  congregations  among  them- 
selves, they  were  subjected  to  many  cruelties. 
For  the  purpose  of  enforcing  fellowship  with  Ar- 
sacius,  and  with  this  Porphyry  and  Theophilus, 
the  bishop  of  Alexandria,  a  law  was  established, 
by  the  zeal  of  the  powerful  at  court,  that  those 
who  were  orthodox  should  not  assemble  outside 
of  the  churches,  and  those  who  were  not  in 
communion  with  them  should  be  expelled. 


CHAP.    XXV. SINCE    THESE    ILLS    EXISTED    IN   THE 

CHURCH,  SECULAR  AFFAIRS  ALSO  FELL  INTO  DIS- 
ORDER. THE  AFFAIRS  OF  STILICHO,  THE  GEN- 
ERAL   OF    HONORIUS. 

About  this  period  ^  the  dissensions  by  which 
the  Church  was  agitated  were  followed,  as  is 
frequently  the  case,  by  disturbances  and  com- 
motions in  the  state.  The  Huns  crossed  the 
Ister  and  devastated  Thrace.  The  robbers  in 
Isauria  gathered  in  great  numbers  and  ravaged 
cities  and  villages  as  far  as  Caria  and  Phoenicia. 
Stilicho,  the  general  of  Honorius,  a  man  who 
had  attained  great  power,  if  any  one  ever  did, 
and  had  under  his  sway  the  flower  of  the  Ro- 
man and  of  the  barbarian  soldiery,  conceived 
feelings  of  enmity  against  the  rulers  who  held 
office  under  Arcadius,  and  determined  to  set  the 
two  empires  at  enmity  with  each  other.  He 
caused  Alaric,  the  leader  of  the  Goths,  to  be 
appointed  by  Honorius  to  the  office  of  general 
of  the  Roman  troops,  and  sent  him  into  Illyria ; 
whither  also  he  dispatched  Jovius,  the  praetorian 
prefect,  and  promised  to  join  them  there  with 
the  Roman  soldiers  in  order  to  add  that  prov- 
ince to  the  dominions  of  Honorius.  Alaric 
marched  at  the  head  of  his  troops  from  the 
barbarous  regions  bordering  on  Dalmatia  and 
Pannonia,  and  came  to  Epirus  ;  and  after  waiting 
for  some  time  there,  he  returned  to  Italy.  Stil- 
icho was  prevented  from  fulfilling  his  agreement 
to  join  Alaric,  by  some  letters  which  were  trans- 
mitted to  him  from  Honorius.  These  events 
happened  in  the  manner  narrated. 


CHAP.  XX\T. two  EPISTLES  FROM  INNOCENT,  THE 

POPE  OF  ROME,  OF  WHICH  ONE  WAS  ADDRESSED 
TO  JOHN  CHRVSOSTOM,  AND  THE  OTHER  TO  THE 
CLERGY   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE   CONCERNING  JOHN. 

Innocent,^  bishop  of  Rome,''  was  extremely 
indignant  when  apprised  of  the  measures  that 
had  been  adopted  against  John,  and  condemned 

>  Cf  Claudianus  in  primuni  consjilaium  Fl.  Stilichonis,  i., 
ii  •  de'secundo  consulatu  Fl.  Stilichonis;  de  bello  Getico;  de 
sexto  consiilatu  Honorii  Augusti  panegyris,  57  — v.  3»;  Olymp. 
beginning  with  Fragm.  2:   Eunap.  Fragm   11.  72. 

2  Independent  chapter;  cf.  Pallad.  Dialog.  1-3. 

3  Innocent  I.,  a.d.  402-417. 


4i6 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF   SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  26. 


the  whole  proceedings.  He  then  turned  his 
attention  to  the  convocation  of  an  oecumenical 
council,  and  wrote  to  John  and  to  the  clergy  of 
Constantinople  in  part.  Subjoined  are  the  two 
letters,  precisely  as  I  found  them,  translated 
from  the  Latin  into  Greek. 

"  Innocent,  to  the  beloved  brother  John. 

"Although  one  conscious  of  his  own  inno- 
cence ought  to  expect  every  blessing  and  to  ask 
for  mercy  from  God,  yet  it  seems  well  to  us  to 
send  you  a  befitting  letter  by  Cyriacus,  the  dea- 
con, and  to  counsel  you  to  long-suffering,  lest  the 
contumely  cast  upon  you  should  have  more 
power  in  subduing  your  courage  than  the  testi- 
mony of  a  good  conscience  in  encouraging  you 
to  hope.  It  is  not  requisite  to  teach  you,  who 
are  the  teacher  and  pastor  of  so  great  a  people, 
that  God  always  tries  the  best  of  men  to  see 
whether  they  will  continue  in  the  height  of 
patience,  and  will  not  give  way  to  any  labor  of 
suffering  ;  and  how  true  it  is  that  the  conscience 
is  a  firm  thing  against  all  that  befalls  us  unjustly, 
and  unless  one  be  moved  in  these  misfortunes 
by  patience,  he  furnishes  a  ground  for  evil  sur- 
mising. For  he  ought  to  endure  everything, 
who  first  trusts  in  God,  and  then  in  his  own  con- 
science. Especially  when  an  excellent  and 
good  man  can  exercise  himself  in  endurance,  he 
cannot  be  overcome  ;  for  the  Holy  Scriptures 
guard  his  thoughts,  and  the  devout  lections, 
which  we  expound  to  the  people,  abound  in 
examples.  These  Scriptures  assure  us  that  al- 
most all  the  saints  are  variously  and  continu- 
ously afflicted,  and  are  tested  by  some  investi- 
gation, and  so  have  come  to  the  crown  of 
patience.  Let  thy  conscience  encourage  thy 
love,  O  most  honored  brother ;  for  that  faculty 
amid  tribulations  possesses  an  encouragement 
for  virtue.  For  since  Christ,  the  Master,  is 
observing,  the  purified  conscience  will  station 
you  in  the  haven  of  peace." 

"  Innocent,  the  bishop,  to  the  presbyters, 
deacons,  and  all  the  clergy,  and  to  the  people 
of  the  church  of  Constantinople  under  John,  the 
bishop,  greeting  to  you,  beloved  brethren. 

"  From  the  letters  of  your  love  that  you  for- 
warded to  me  through  Germanus,  the  presbyter, 
and  Cassianus,  the  deacon,  I  have  learned,  with 
anxious  solicitude,  the  scenes  of  evil  which  you 
have  placed  before  our  eyes.  I  have  frequently 
seen  during  its  repeated  reading  with  what 
calamities  and  labors  the  faith  is  wearied.  Only 
the  consolation  of  patience  heals  such  a  state 
of  affiiirs.  Our  God  will  shortly  put  an  end  to 
such  tribulations,  and  they  will  eventually  tend 
to  your  profit.  But  we  recognized  with  appro- 
bation your  proposition,  placed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  letter  of  your  love  ;  to  wit,  that  this  very 
consolation  is  necessary,  and  embraces  many 
proofs  of  your  patience ;   for  our  consolation. 


which  we  ought  to  have  conveyed,  you  have 
anticipated  in  your  epistle.  Our  Lord  is  wont 
to  furnish  this  patience  to  the  suffering,  in  order 
that  when  they  fall  into  tribulations,  the  ser- 
vants of  Christ  may  encourage  themselves ;  for 
they  should  reason  within  themselves  that  what 
they  suffer  has  happened  previously  to  the  saints. 
And  even  we  ourselves  derive  comfort  from 
your  letters,  for  we  are  not  strangers  to  your 
sufferings  ;  but  we  are  disciplined  in  you.  Who, 
indeed,  can  endure  to  witness  the  errors  intro- 
duced by  those  who  were  bound  especially  to 
be  enthusiasts  for  the  quiet  of  peace  and  for 
its  concord  ?  But  far  from  maintaining  peace, 
they  expel  guiltless  priests  from  the  front  seat 
of  their  own  churches.  John,  our  brother  and 
fellow-minister  and  your  bishop,  has  been  the 
first  to  suffer  this  unjust  treatment  without 
being  allowed  a  hearing.  No  accusation  was 
brought,  none  was  heard.  'W'hat  proposition 
was  it  that  was  nullified,  so  that  no  show  of  judg- 
ment might  arise  or  be  sought?  Others  were 
seated  in  the  places  of  living  priests,  as  though 
any  who  began  from  such  discord  would  be  able 
to  possess  anything  or  do  anything  rightly  in 
any  one's  judgment.  We  have  never  known 
such  audacities  to  have  been  done  by  our  fa- 
thers. They  rather  prohibited  such  innovations 
by  refusing  to  give  power  to  '  any  one  to  be 
ordained  in  another's  place  while  the  occupant 
was  living,  since  he  is  unable  to  be  a  bishop  who 
is  unjustly  substituted. 

'•  With  respect  to  the  observance  of  canons, 
we  declare  that  those  defined  at  Nicgea  are 
alone '  entitled  to  the  obedience  and  recogni- 
tion of  the  Catholic  Church.  If  any  individuals 
should  attempt  to  introduce  other  canons,  at 
variance  with  those  of  Nicaea,  and  such  as  are  a 
compilation  by  heretics,  such  canons  ought  to  be 
rejected  by  the  Catholic  Church,  for  it  is  not  lawful 
to  add  the  inventions  of  heretics  to  the  Catholi 
canons.  For  they  always  wish  to  belittle  the 
decision  of  the  Nicene  fathers  through  oppo- 
nents and  lawless  men.  We  say,  then,  that  the 
canons  we  have  censured  are  not  only  to  be 
disregarded,  but  to  be  condemned  with  the 
dogmas  of  heretics  and  schismatics,  even  as 
they  have  been  formerly  condemned  at  the 
council  of  Sardica  by  the  bishops  who  were  our 
predecessors.  For  it  would  be  better,  O  most 
honored  brethren,  that  these  transactions  be 
condemned,  than  that  any  actions  should  be  con- 
firmed contrary  to  the  canons. 

"  What  measures  ought  we  to  adopt  now  in 
the  present  circumstances  against  such  deeds? 
It  is  necessary  that  there  be  a  synodical  investi- 
gation, and  a  synod  we  long  ago  said  should  be 
gathered.     There  are  no  other  means  of  arrest- 

'  The  reckless  historical  sense  of  the  West  has  a  strong  proof 
here. 


VIII.  28.]        THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   SOZOMEN. 


417 


ing  the  fury  of  the  tempest.  In  order  that  we 
may  attain  this  it  will  be  profitable  meanwhile 
for  that  healing  to  be  exalted  which  comes  by 
the  will  of  the  great  God  and  of  His  Clirist,  our 
Lord.  We  shall  thus  behold  the  cessation  of 
all  the  woes  which  have  been  excited  by  the 
envy  of  the  devil,  and  which  have  served  as 
trials  for  our  faith.  If  we  remain  steadfast  in 
the  foith,  there  is  nothing  that  we  ought  not 
to  expect  from  the  Lord.  We  are  constantly 
watching  for  the  opportunity  of  convening  an 
oecumenical  council,  whereby,  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God,  an  end  may  be  put  to 
these  harassing  commotions.  Let  us,  then,  en- 
dure in  the  interval,  and,  fortified  by  the  wall 
of  patience,  let  us  trust  in  the  help  of  our  God 
for  the  restoration  of  all  things. 

"  We  had  previously  been  made  acquainted 
with  all  that  you  have  related  concerning  your 
trials,  by  our  fellow-bishops  Demetrius,  Cyriacus, 
Eulysius,  and  Palladius,  who  visited  Rome  at 
different  periods  and  are  now  with  us ;  from 
them,  we  had  learned  all  the  details  by  a  com- 
plete inquiry." 


CHAP.  XXVII.  —  THE  TERRIBLE  EVENTS  WHICH  RE- 
SULTED FROM  THE  TREATMENT  OF  JOHN.  DEATH 
OF  THE  EMPRESS  EUDOXIA.  DEATH  OF  ARSACIUS. 
AND  FURTHER  CONCERNING  ATTICUS,  THE  PATRI- 
ARCH, HIS    BIRTHPLACE,  AND   CHARACTER. 

Such  were  the  letters  of  Innocent  from  which 
the  opinion  which  he  entertained  of  John  may 
readily  be  inferred.  About  the  same  period 
some  hailstones  of  extraordinary  magnitude 
fell  at  Constantinople  and  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  city.^  Four  days  afterwards,  the  wife  of 
the  emperor  died.  These  occurrences  were 
by  many  regarded  as  indications  of  Divine 
wrath  on  account  of  the  persecution  that  had 
been  carried  on  against  John.  For  Cyrinus, 
bishop  of  Chalcedon,  one  of  his  principal  cal- 
umniators, had  long  previously  terminated  his 
life  in  the  midst  of  great  bodily  agony,  arising 
from  the  accident  that  had  occurred  to  his  foot, 
and  the  consequent  necessary  amputation  of  the 
leg  by  the  physicians.  Arsacius,  too,  died  after 
he  had  presided  but  a  very  short  period  over  the 
church  of  Constantinople.  Many  candidates 
were  proposed  as  his  successor ;  and  four 
months  after  his  decease,  Atticus,  a  presbyter, 
of  the  clergy  of  Constantinople,  and  one  of  the 
enemies  of  John,  was  ordained.  He  was  a 
native  of  Sebaste  in  Armenia.  He  had  been 
instructed  from  his  youth  in  the  principles  of 
monastic  philosophy  by  monks  of  the  Macedo- 
nian heresy.     These  monks,  who  then  enjoyed 


1  Soc.   vi.   19,  20,   vii.  2;  Pallad.   Dialog,  ibid.     Soz.  has  new 
facts,  and  a  sobered  judgment  of  Atticus. 


a  very  high  reputation  at  Sebaste  for  philosophy, 
were  of  the  discipline  of  Eustathius,  to,  whom 
allusion  has  been  already  made  as  bishop  there, 
and  a  leader  of  the  best  monks.  When  Atticus 
attained  the  age  of  manhood,  he  embraced  the 
tenets  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  possessed 
more  by  nature  than  by  learning,  and  became  a 
participant  in  affairs,  and  was  as  skillful  in  car- 
rying on  intrigues  as  in  evading  the  machinations 
of  others.  He  was  of  a  very  engaging  dis- 
position, and  was  beloved  by  many.  The  dis- 
courses which  he  delivered  in  the  church  did 
not  rise  above  mediocrity ;  and  although  not  to- 
tally devoid  of  erudition,  they  were  not  accounted 
by  his  auditors  of  sufficient  value  to  be  preserved 
in  writing.  Being  intent,  if  an  opportunity 
offered  itself  anywhere,  he  exercised  himself  in 
the  most  approved  Greek  authors  ;  but  lest,  in 
conversation  about  these  writers,  he  might  ap- 
pear unlettered,  he  frequently  concealed  what 
he  did  know.  It  is  said  that  he  manifested 
much  zeal  in  behalf  of  those  who  entertained 
the  same  sentiments  as  himself,  and  that  he  ren- 
dered himself  formidable  to  the  heterodox. 
When  he  wished  he  could  easily  throw  them 
into  alarm  ;  but  he  at  once  transformed  himself 
and  would  appear  meek.  Such  is  the  informa- 
tion which  those  who  knew  the  man  have 
furnished. 

John  acquired  great  celebrity  even  in  his  exile. 
He  possessed  ample  pecuniary  resources,  and 
being  besides  liberally  supphed  with  money  by 
Olympias,  the  deaconess,  and  others,  he  pur- 
chased the  liberty  of  many  captives  from  the 
Isaurian  robbers,  and  restored  them  to  their 
families.  He  also  administered  to  the  neces- 
sities of  many  who  were  in  want ;  and  by  his 
kind  words  comforted  those  who  did  not  stand 
in  need  of  money.  Hence  he  was  exceedingly 
beloved  not  only  in  Armenia,  where  he  dwelt, 
but  by  all  the  people  of  the  neighboring  coun- 
tries, and  the  inhabitants  of  Antioch  and  of  the 
other  parts  of  Syria,  and  of  Cilicia,  who  fre- 
quently sought  his  society. 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  —  EFFORT  OF  INNOCENT,  BISHOP  OF 
ROME,  TO  RECALL  JOHN  THROUGH  A  COUNCIL. 
CONCERNING  THOSE  WHO  WERE  SENT  BY  HIM 
TO  MAKE  TRL\L  OF  THE  MATTER.  THE  DEATH 
OF   JOHN    CHRYSOSTOM. 

Innocent,  bishop  of  Rome,  was  very  anxious, 
as  appears  by  his  former  letter,  to  procure  the 
recall  of  John. ^  He  sent  five  bishops  and  two 
presbyters  of  the  Roman  church,  with  the 
bishops  who  had  been  delegated  as  ambassadors 
to  him  from  the  East,  to  the  emperors  Honorius 

2  Pallad.  Dialog,  ibid.;  Soc.  vi.  21 :  Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  34. 
Soz.  has  new  material.     Cf.  Chrys.  £>/.  in  exil.,  vol.  iii.  -  PGM. 


4i8 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[VIII.  28. 


and   Arcadius,  to  request  the  convocation  of  a 
council,  and    solicit    them    to   name  time   and 
place.     The  enemies  of  John  at  Constantinople 
framed  a  charge   as  though    these  things  were 
done  to  insult  the  Eastern  emperor,  and  caused 
the  ambassadors  to  be  ignominiously  dismissed  [ 
as  if  they  had  invaded  a  foreign   government,  j 
John  was  at  the  same  time  condemned  by  an  1 
imperial  edict  to  a  remoter  place  of  banishment, ! 


and  soldiers  were  sent  to  conduct  him  to  Pitjms  ; 
the  soldiers  were  soon  on  hand,  and  effected 
the  removal.  It  is  said  that  during  this  journey, 
Basiliscus,  the  martyr,  appeared  to  him  at 
Comani,  in  Armenia,  and  apprised  him  of  the 
day  of  his  death.  Being  attacked  with  pain  in 
the  head,  and  being  unable  to  bear  the  heat  of 
the  sun,  he  could  not  prosecute  his  journey,  but 
closed  his  life  in  that  town. 


BOOK    IX. 


CHAP.  I.  —  DEATH  OF  ARCADIUS,  AND  GOVERNMENT 
OF  THEODOSIUS  THE  YOUNGER.  HIS  SISTERS. 
PIETY,  VIRTUE,  AND  VIRGINITY,  OF  THE  PRIN- 
CESS PULCHERU  ;  HER  DIVINELY  LOVED  WORKS  ; 
SHE    EDUCATED   THE    EMPEROR    BEFIITINGLY. 

Such  are  the  details  that  have  been  trans- 
mitted concerning  John.  Not  long  after  his 
death,  and  three  years  after  the  elevation  of 
Atticus  to  the  bishopric  of  Constantinople,  and 
during  the  consulate  of  Bassus  and  Philip,  Arca- 
dius  died.  He  left  Theodosius,  his  son,^  who 
was  just  weaned,  as  his  successor  to  the  empire. 
He  also  left  three  daughters  of  tender  age, 
named  Pulcheria,  Arcadia,  and  Marina. 

It  appears  to  me  that  it  was  the  design  of 
God  to  show  by  the  events  of  this  period,  that 
piety  alone  suffices  for  the  salvation  of  princes ; 
and  that  without  piety,  armies,  a  powerful  em- 
pire, and  every  other  resource,  are  of  no  avail. 
The  Divine  Power  which  is  the  guardian  of  th6 
universe,  foresaw  that  the  emperor  would  be 
distinguished  by  his  piety,  and  therefore  deter- 
mined that  Pulcheria,  his  sister,  should  be  the 
protector  of  him  and  of  his  government.  This 
princess  was  not  yet  fifteen  years  of  age,  but  had 
received  a  mind  most  wise  and  divine  above  her 
years.  She  first  devoted  her  virginity  to  God, 
and  instructed  her  sisters  in  the  satne  course  of 
life.  To  avoid  all  cause  of  jealousy  and  intrigue, 
she  permitted  no  man  to  enter  her  palace.  In 
confirmation  of  her  resolution,  she  took  God, 
the  priests,  and  all  the  subjects  of  the  Roman 
empire  as  witnesses  to  her  self-dedication.  In 
token  of  her  virginity  and  the  headship  of  her 
brother,  she  consecrated  in  the  church  of  Con- 
stantinople, a  holy  table,  a  remarkable  fabric 
and  very  beautiful  to  see  ;  it  was  made  of  gold 
and  precious  stones ;  and  she  inscribed  these 
things  on  the  front  of  the  table,  so  that  it  might 
be  patent  to  all.  After  quietly  resuming  the  care 
of  the  state,  she  governed  the  Roman  empire 
excellently  and  with  great  orderliness  ;  she  con- 
certed her  measures  so  well  that  the  affairs  to  be 
carried  out  were  quickly  decreed  and  completed. 
She  was  able  to  write  and  to  converse  with  perfect 
accuracy  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages.  She 


1  Soc.  vi.  23;  Philost.  xii.  7;    Theodoret,  H.  E.  v.  36.     Soz.  is 
independent.     Cf.  Zos.  v.  31 ;  Olymp.  Fragin.  1  and  2. 


caused  all  affairs  to  be  transacted  in  the  name 
of  her  brother,  and  devoted  great  attention  to 
bringing  him  uj)  as  a  prince  in  the  best  possible 
way  and  with  such  information  as  was  suitable 
to  his  years.  She  had  him  taught  by  the  most 
skilled  men,  in  horsemanship,  and  the  practice 
of  arms,  and  in  letters.  But  he  was  systemati- 
cally taught  by  his  sister  to  be  orderly  and  princely 
in  his  manners ;  she  showed  him  how  to  gather 
up  his  robes,  and  how  to  take  a  seat,  and  how 
to  walk ;  she  trained  him  to  restrain  laughter,  to 
assume  a  mild  or  a  formidable  aspect  as  the 
occasion  might  require,  and  to  inquire  with 
urbanity  into  the  cases  of  those  who  came  before 
hifn  with  petitions.  But  she  strove  chiefly,  to 
lead  him  into  piety,  and  to  pray  continuously ; 
she  taught  him  to  frequent  the  church  regularly, 
and  to  honor  the  houses  of  prayer  with  gifts  and 
treasures ;  and  she  inspired  him  with  reverence 
for  priests  and  other  good  men,  and  for  those 
who,  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  Christianity, 
had  devoted  themselves  to  philosophy.  She 
provided  zealously  and  wisely  that  religion  might 
not  be  endangered  by  the  innovation  of  spurious 
dogmas.  That  new  heresies  have  not  prevailed 
in  our  times,  we  shall  find  to  be  due  especially 
to  her,  as  we  shall  subsequently  see.  With  how 
much  fear  she  worshiped  God,  it  would  take 
long  for  any  one  to  say  ;  and  how  many  houses 
of  prayer  she  built  magnificently,  and  how 
many  hostelries  and  monastic  communities  she 
established,  the  arrangement  for  the  expenses 
for  their  perpetual  support,  and  the  provision 
for  the  inmates.  If  any  one  pleases  to  examine 
the  truth  from  the  business  itself,  and  not  to  be 
convinced  by  my  words,  he  will  learn  that  they 
are  not  falsely  described  by  me  for  my  own 
favor,  if  he  will  investigate  the  testimonial  docu- 
ments written  up  by  the  stewards  of  her  house, 
and  if  he  will  inquire  from  the  true  records 
whether  the  facts  agree  with  my  history.  If 
these  proofs  alone  do  not  satisfy  him  so  as  to 
make  him  believe,  let  God  himself  persuade  him 
who  had  her  in  favor  altogether  and  everywhere 
on  account  of  her  conduct,  so  that  He  heard  her 
prayer  readily,  and  frequently  directed  before- 
hand the  things  which  ought  to  be  done.  Such 
indications  of  Divine  love  are  not  conferred 
upon  men  unless  they  have  merited  them  by 
their  works.     But  I  willingly  pass  over  for  the 


420 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IX.  I. 


present  the  many  separate  manifestations  of  Di- 
vine favor  that  were  granted  to  the  sister  of  the 
emperor  as  proofs  that  she  was  loved  of  God, 
lest  anybody  should  blame  me  for  having  set 
out  to  do  other  things,  and  yet  had  turned  to 
the  use  of  encomiums.  One  incident  relating 
to  her  seems,  however,  so  fitting  in  itself  and  to 
my  ecclesiastical  history,  and  so  evident  a  dem- 
onstration of  her  love  for  God,  that  I  will  relate 
it  here,  although  it  happened  some  time  after- 
wards.    It  is  as  follows  :  — 


CHAP.    II. DISCOVERY 

HOLY 


OF    THE   RELICS 
MARTYRS. 


OF    FORTY 


A  WOMAN  by  name  Eusebia,^  who  was  a  dea- 
coness of  the  Macedonian  sect,  had  a  house  and 
garden  without  the  walls  of  Constantinople,  in 
which  she  kept  the  holy  remains  of  forty  soldiers," 
who  had  suffered  martyrdom  under  Licinius  at 
Sebaste  in  Armenia.     When  she  felt  death  ap- 
proaching, she  bequeathed  the  aforesaid  place 
to  some  orthodox  monks,  and  bound  them  by 
oath  to  bury  her  there,  and  to  hew  out  sepa- 
rately a  place  above  her  head  at  the  top  of  her 
coffin,  and  to  deposit  the  relics  of  the  martyrs 
with   her,  and   to  inform   no  one.     The  monks 
did  so ;  but  in  order  to  render  due  honor  to  the 
martyrs   secretly,  according   to    the   agreement 
with  Eusebia,  they  formed  a  subterranean  house 
of  prayer  near  her  tomb.     But  open  to  view,  an 
edifice  was  erected   above   the   foundation,  in- 
closed with  baked  bricks,  and  a  secret  descent 
from  it  to  the  martyrs.     Soon  after,  Csesar,.  a 
man  among  those  in  power,  who  had  formerly 
been  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  consul  and  pre- 
fect, lost  his  wife,  and  caused  her  to  be  interred 
near  the  tomb  of  Eusebia ;  for  the  two  ladies 
had   been   knit   together   by   the   most    tender 
friendship,  and  had  been  of  one  mind  on  all 
doctrinal    and    religious    subjects.      C^sar    was 
hence  induced  to  purchase  this  place  so  that  he 
might  be  entombed  near  his  wife.     The  afore- 
said monks  settled  elsewhere,  and  without  divulg- 
ing  anything   about    the    martyrs.      After   this, 
when  the  building  was  demolished,  and  when 
the  earth  and  refuse  were  scattered  about,  the 
whole  place  was  smoothed  off.    For  Csesarius  him- 
self erected  there  a  magnificent  temple  to  God  to 
the  honor  of  Thyrsus,  the  martyr.     It  appears 
probable  that  God  designedly  willed  the   afore- 
said place  to  disappear,  and  so  long  a  time  to 
elapse  in  order  that  the  discovery  of  the  martyrs 
might  be  regarded  as  more  marvelous  and  a  more 
conspicuous  event,  and  as  a  proof  of  the  Divine 
favor  towards  the   discoverer.     The  discoverer 

1  This  chapter  is  independent. 

'  Cf.  Acta  Saucl.  BpU.  under  March  lo,  where  the  names, 
acts,  orations  of  Basil,  and  Soz.'s  story  of  the  invention  are  given. 
Basil,  Oratio  in  laudein  ss.  Quadraginta  Mariyniin,  vii.  749. 


was,  in  fact,  no  other  than  the  Empress  Pulcheria, 
the    sister    of    the    emperor.      The    admirable 
Thyrsus  appeared  to   her  three  times,  and  re- 
vealed to  her  those  concealed  beneath  the  earth  ; 
and  commanded  that  they  should  be  deposited 
near  his  tomb,  in  order  that  they  might  share  in 
the  same  position  and  honor.     The  forty  mar- 
tyrs themselves  also  appeared  to  her,  arrayed  in 
shining  robes.     But  the  occurrence  seemed  too 
marvelous  to  be  credible,  and  altogether  impos- 
sible ;    for  the   aged  of  clergy  of  that  region, 
after  having  frequently  prosecuted  inquiries,  had 
not  been  able  to  indicate  the  position  of  the 
martyrs,  nor  indeed  had  any  one  else.    At  length, 
when  everything  was  hopeless,  Polychronius,  a 
certain  presbyter,  who  had  formerly  been  a  ser- 
vant in  the  household  of  Caisar,  was  reminded 
by  God  that  the  locality  in  question  had  once 
been  inhabited  by  monks.     He  therefore  went 
to  the  clergy  of  the  Macedonian  sect  to  inquire 
concerning  them.     All  the   monks  were  dead, 
with  the  exception  of  one,  who  seemed  to  have 
been  preserved  in  life  for  the  express  purpose 
of  pointing   out   the   spot  where  the  relics   of 
the  holy  martyrs  were  concealed.     Polychronius 
questioned  him  closely  on  the  subject,  and  find- 
ing that,  on  account  of  the  agreement  made  with 
Eusebia,  his  answers  were  somewhat  undecided, 
he  made  known  to  him  the  Divine  revelation  and 
tjie  anxiety  of  the  empress,  as  well  as  the  failure 
of  her  recourses.     The    monk   then  confessed 
that  God  had  declared  the  truth  to  the  empress  ; 
for  at  the  time  when  he  was  an  overgrown  boy, 
and  was  taught  the  monastic  life   by  its   aged 
leaders,  he  remembered  exactly  that  the  relics 
of  the   martyrs  had  been   deposited    near  the 
tomb  of  Eusebia ;  but  that  the  subsequent  lapse 
of  time,  and  .the  changes  which  had  been  car- 
ried on  in   that   locality,   deprived   him   of  the 
power  of  recalling  to  his  recollection  whether 
the  relics  had  been  deposited  beneath  the  church 
or  in  any  other  spot.     And  further  said  Poly- 
chronius, "  I  have  not  suffered  a  like  lapse  of 
memory,  for  I  remember  that  I  was  present  at 
the  interment  of  the  wife  of  C?esar,  and,  as  well 
as  I  can  judge  from  the  relative  situation  of  the 
high  road,   I   infer   that    she   must   have   been 
buried   beneath   the    ambo  "  ;    this  is  the   plat- 
form for  the  readers.     "  Therefore,"  subjoined 
the   monk,   "it   must   be  near   the    remains  of 
Caesar's  wife  that  the   tomb  of  Eusebia   must 
be  sought ;  for  the  two  ladies  lived  on  terms  of 
the  closest  friendship  and  intimacy,  and  mutu- 
ally agreed  to  be  interred  beside  each  other." 
^Vhen   it   was   necessary   to    dig,  according   to 
the  aforesaid  intimations,  and  to  track  out  the 
sacred    relics,    and    the    empress    had    learned 
the  facts,  she  commanded  them   to   begin   the 
work.     On  digging  up  the  earth  by  the  ambo, 
the  coffin  of  Caesar's   wife  was  discovered  ac- 


IX.  4.] 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


421 


cording  to  the  conjecture  of  Polychronius.  At 
a  short  distance  on  the  side  they  found  the 
pavement  of  baked  bricks,  and  a  marble  tab- 
let of  equal  dimensions,  each  the  measure  of 
the  bricks,  under  which  the  coffin  of  Euse- 
bia  was  disclosed  ;  and  close  by  was  an  oratory, 
elegantly  inclosed  with  white  and  purple  mar- 
ble. The  cover  of  the  tomb  was  in  the  form 
of  a  holy  table,  and  at  the  summit,  where  the 
relics  were  deposited,  a  small  orifice  was  visible. 
A  man  attached  to  the  palace,  who  happened  to 
be  standing  by,  thrust  a  cane  which  he  held  in 
his  hand  into  the  orifice  ;  and  on  withdrawing  the 
cane  he  held  it  to  his  nose,  and  inhaled  a  sweet 
odor  of  myrrh,  which  inspired  the  workmen  and 
bystanders  with  fresh  confidence.  When  they 
had  eagerly  opened  the  cofiin,  the  remains  of 
Eusebia  were  found,  and  near  her  head  was  the 
prominent  part  of  the  tomb  fashioned  exactly 
in  the  form  of  a  chest,  and  was  concealed 
within  by  its  own  cover ;  and  the  iron  which 
inclosed  it  on  each  side  at  the  edges  was  firmly 
held  together  by  lead.  In  the  middle,  the  same 
orifice  again  appeared,  and  still  more  clearly 
revealed  the  fact  of  the  relics  being  concealed 
within.  As  soon  as  the  discovery  was  announced, 
they  ran  to  the  church  of  the  martyr,  and  sent 
for  smiths  to  unfasten  the  iron  bars,  and  easily 
drew  off  the  lid.  A  great  many  perfumes  were 
found  thereunder,  and  among  the  perfumes  two 
silver  caskets  were  found  in  which  lay  the  holy 
relics.  Then  the  princess  returned  thanks  to 
God  for  having  accounted  her  worthy  of  so  great 
a  manifestation  and  for  attaining  the  discovery 
of  the  holy  relics.  After  this  she  honored  the 
martyrs  with  the  costliest  casket ;  and  on  the 
conclusion  of  a  public  festival  which  was  cele- 
brated with  befitting  honor  and  with  a  proces- 
sion to  the  accompaniment  of  psalms,  and  at 
which  I  was  present,  the  relics  were  placed 
alongside  of  the  godlike  Thyrsus.  And  others 
who  were  present  can  also  bear  testimony  that 
these  things  were  done  in  the  way  described,  for 
almost  all  of  them  still  survive.  And  the  event 
occurred  much  later,  when  Proclus  governed  the 
church  of  Constantinople. 

CHAP     III.  THE     VIRTUES     OF    PULCHERIA  ;     HER 

SISTERS. 

It  is  said  that  God  frequently  in  many  other 
cases  revealed  to  the  princess  what  was  about 
to  happen,  and  that  the  most  occurred  to  her 
and  her  sisters  as  witnesses  of  the  Divine  love.' 
They  all  pursue  the  same  mode  of  life  ;  they 
are  sedulous  about  the  priests  and  the  houses  of 
prayer,  and  are  munificent  to  needy  strangers 
and  the  poor.     These  sisters  generally  take  their 

1  This  chapter  is  independent.  For  an  opposite  estimate,  see 
Eunap.  Fragm.  ii.  70,  71,  and  the  allegations  in  Suidas,  s.v. 


meals  and  walks  together,  and  pass  their  days 
and  their  nights  in  company,  singing  the  praises 
of  God.  As  is  the  custom  with  exemplary  women, 
they  employ  themselves  in  weaving  and  in  simi- 
lar occui)ations.  Although  i)rincesses,  born  and 
educated  in  palaces,  they  avoid  levity  and  idle- 
ness, which  they  think  unworthy  of  any  who 
profess  virginity,  so  they  put  such  indolence  far 
from  their  own  life.  For  this  reason  the  mercy  of 
God  i§  manifested  and  is  conquering  in  behalf 
of  their  house  ;  for  He  increases  the  emperor  in 
years  and  government ;  every  conspiracy  and 
war  concocted  against  him  has  been  overthrown 
of  itself. 


CHAP.    IV. TRUCE  WITH    PERSIA.       HONORIUS   AND 

STILICHO.       TRANSACTIONS    IN     ROME     AND     DAL- 
MATIA. 

Although  the  Persians  had  prepared  to  take 
up  arms,  they  were  induced  to  conclude  a  truce 
with  the  Romans  for  a  hundred  years.^ 

Stilicho,  the  general  of  the  troops  of  Hono- 
rius,  was  suspected  of  having  conspired  to  pro- 
claim his  son  Eucherius  emperor  of  the  East, 
and  was,  in  consequence,  slain  by  the  army  at 
Ravenna.  He  had,  at  a  former  period,  while 
Arcadius  was  still  living,  conceived  bitter  feel- 
ings of  enmity  against  his  officers,  and  was 
hence  impelled  to  bring  the  two  empires  into 
coUision.  He  caused  Alaric,  the  leader  of  the 
Goths,  to  secure  the  ofifice  of  general  of  the 
Romans,  and  advised  him  to  seize  lUyria ;  and, 
having  sent  forward  Jovian,  the  appointed  pre- 
fect, he  agreed  to  join  him  shortly  with  Roman 
troops,  and  to  reduce  its  subjects  under  the  rule 
of  Honorius.  Alaric  quitted  the  barbarous 
region  bordering  on  Dalmatia  and  Pannonia, 
where  he  had  been  dwelling,  and  marched  at 
the  head  of  his  soldiery  to  Epirus  ;  after  remain- 
ing for  some  time  in  that  country,  he  retreated 
to  Italy,  without  having  accomplished  anything. 
For  he  was  about  to  migrate  according  to  the 
agreement,  but  he  was  restrained  by  the  letters  of 
Honorius.  After  the  death  of  Arcadius,  Hono- 
rius projected  a  journey  to  Constantinople,  in 
behalf  of  his  nephew,  to  appoint  ofificers  faithful  to 
his  security  and  empire  ;  for  he  held  his  nephew 
in  the  place  of  his  son,  and  he  was  fearful  lest 
the  boy  might  suffer  on  account  of  his  youth, 
since  he  would  be  exposed  to  plots  ;  but  when 
Honorius  was  on  the  very  point  of  setting  out 
on  this  journey,  Stilicho  dissuaded  him  from  his 
design,  by  proving  to  him  that  his  presence  was 
requisite  in  Italy,  to  repress  the  schemes  of  Con- 
stantine,  who  sought  to  possess  himself  of  the 
sovereign   power  at  Aries.     Stilicho   then  took 

2  Independent:  cf.  Poems  of  Claudianus,  as  above;  Olymp. 
Fragm,  2-11;  Zos.  v.  4-38;  Philost.  xii.  1-3. 


422 


THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY   OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IX.  4. 


that  one  of  the  sceptres  which  the  Romans 
call  Labarum,  obtained  some  letters  from  the 
emperor,  with  which  he  set  out,  at  the  head  of 
four  legions,  to  carry  on  war  in  the  East ;  but  a 
report  having  been  spread  that  he  had  conspired 
against  the  emperor,  and  had  formed  a  scheme, 
in  conjunction  with  those  in  power,  to  raise  his 
son  to  the  throne,  the  troops  rose  up  in  sedition, 
and  slew  the  praetorian  prefect  ^  of  Italy  and  of 
Gaul,  the  military  commanders,  and  th^  chief 
officers  of  the  court.  Stilicho  himself  was  slain 
by  the  soldiers  at  Ravenna.  He  had  attained 
almost  absolute  power ;  and  all  men,  so  to 
speak,  whether  Romans  or  barbarians,  were 
under  his  control.  Thus  perished  Stilicho,  on 
a  suspicion  of  having  conspired  against  the 
emperors.     Eucherius,  his  son,  was  also  slain. 


CHAP.     V.  THE      DIFFERENT     NATIONS     TOOK     UP 

ARMS  AGAINST  THE  ROMANS,  OF  WHOM  SOME 
WERE,  THROUGH  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD, 
DEFEATED,  AND  OTHERS  BROUGHT  TO  TERMS 
OF    AMITY. 

It  happened  about  the  same  time  that  the 
Huns,  who  were  encamped  in  Thrace,  retreated 
disgracefully  and  cast  off  many  of  their  number, 
although  they  had  neither  been  attacked  nor 
pursued.^  Uldis,  the  leader  of  the  barbarous 
tribes  who  dwell  near  the  Ister,  crossed  that 
river  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  and  encamped 
on  the  frontiers  of  Thrace.  He  took  possession 
by  treachery  of  a  city  of  Moesia,  called  Castra 
Martis,  and  thence  made  incursions  into  the  rest 
of  Thrace,  and  insolently  refused  to  enter  into 
terms  of  alliance  with  the  Romans.  The  pre- 
fect of  the  Thracian  soldiers  made  propositions 
of  peace  to  him,  but  he  replied  by  pointing  to 
the  sun,  and  declaring  that  it  would  be  easy  to 
him,  if  he  desired  to  do  so,  to  subjugate  every 
region  of  the  earth  that  is  enlightened  by  that 
luminary.  But  while  Uldis  was  uttering  men- 
aces of  this  description,  and  was  ordering  as 
large  a  tribute  as  he  pleased,  and  that  on  this 
condition  peace  could  be  established  with  the 
Romans  or  the  war  would  continue,  —  when 
affairs  were  so  helpless,  God  gave  manifest 
proofs  of  special  favor  towards  the  present 
reign ;  for,  shortly  afterwards,  the  immediate 
attendants  and  the  leaders  of  the  tribes  of  Uldis 
were  discussing  the  Roman  form  of  government, 
the  philanthropy  of  the  emperor,  and  his 
promptitude  and  liberality  in  rewarding  the  best 
and  good  men.  It  was  not  without  God  that 
they  turned  to  the  love  of  the  points  so  dis- 
cussed and  seceded  to  the  Romans,  to  whose 
camp  they  joined  themselves,  together  with  the 

'  His  name  was  I.onginianus.     Zos.  v.  32. 
^  Independent  chapter;  cf.  Zos.  v.  22. 


troops  ranged  under  themselves.  Finding  him- 
self thus  abandoned,  Uldis  escaped  with  difficulty 
to  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  Many  of  his 
troops  were  slain ;  and  among  others  the  whole 
of  the  barbarous  tribe  called  the  Sciri.  This 
tribe  had  been  very  strong  in  point  of  numbers 
before  falling  into  this  misfortune.  Some  of 
them  were  killed ;  and  others  were  taken  pris- 
oners, and  conveyed  in  chains  to  Constantinople. 
The  governors  were  of  opinion  that,  if  allowed 
to  remain  together,  they  would  probably  make 
a  revolution.  Some  of  them  were,  therefore, 
sold  at  a  low  price  ;  while  others  were  given 
away  as  slaves  for  presents,  upon  condition  that 
they  should  never  be  permitted  to  return  to 
Constantinople,  or  to  Europe,  but  be  separated 
by  the  sea  from  the  places  familiar  to  them. 
Of  these,  a  number  was  left  unsold ;  and  they 
were  ordered  to  settle  in  different  places.  I  have 
seen  many  in  Bithynia,  near  Mount  Olympus, 
living  apart  from  one  another,  and  cultivating 
the  hills  and  valleys  of  that  region. 


CHAP.     VT. ALARIC     THE     GOTH.        HE     ASSAULTED 

ROME,    AND    STRAITENED    IT    BV    WAR. 

Thus  was  the  Eastern  Empire  preserved  from 
the  evils  of  war,^  and  governed  with  high  order, 
contrary  to  all  expectations,  for  its  ruler  was  still 
young.  In  the  meantime,  the  Western  Empire 
fell  a  prey  to  disorders,  because  many  tyrants 
arose.  After  the  death  of  Stihcho,  Alaric,  the 
leader  of  the  Goths,  sent  an  embassy  to  Hono- 
rius  to  treat  of  peace  ;  but  without  avail.  He 
advanced  to  Rome,  and  laid  siege  to  it ;  and  by 
posting  a  large  army  of  barbarians  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tiber,  he  effectually  prevented  the  trans- 
mission of  all  provisions  into  the  city,from  Portus. 
After  the  siege  had  lasted  some  time,  and  fearful 
ravages  had  been  made  in  the  city  by  famine  and 
pestilence,  many  of  the  slaves,  and  most  of  the 
barbarians  by  race  within  the  walls,  deserted  to 
Alaric.  Those  among  the  senators  who  still 
adhered  to  pagan  superstition,  proposed  to  offer 
sacrifices  in  the  Capitol  and  the  other  temples  ; 
and  certain  Tuscans,  who  were  summoned  by 
the  prefect  of  the  city,  promised  to  drive  out 
the  barbarians  with  thunder  and  lightning  ;  they 
boasted  of  having  performed  a  similar  exploit  at 
Larnia,  a  city  of  Tuscany,  which  Alaric  had 
passed  by  for  Rome,  and  had  not  taken.  The 
event,  however,  proved  that  no  advantage  could 
be  derived  from  these  persons  for  the  city.  All 
persons  of  good  sense  were  aware  that  the 
calamities  which  this  siege  entailed  upon  the 
Romans  were  indications  of  Divine  wrath  sent 
to  chastise  them  for  their  luxury^  their  debauch- 

'  Independent;  cf.  Olymp.  Fragm.  3-10;  Zos.  v.  37-40;  Soc. 
vii.  10. 


IX.  8.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


423 


ery,  and  their  manifold  acts  of  injustice  towards 
each  other,  as  well  as  towards  strangers.     It  is 
said   that,  when   Alaric   was   marching   against 
Rome,  a  good  monk  of  Italy  besought  him  to 
spare  the  city,  and  not  to  become  the  author  of 
so   many  calamities.     Alaric,   in  reply,  assured 
him  that  he  did  not  feel  disposed  to  commence 
the  siege,  but  that  some  resistless  influence  com- 
pelled and  commanded  him  to  go  against  Rome  ; 
and  this  he  eventually  did.     While  he  was  be- 
sieging the  city,  the  inhabitants  presented  many 
gifts  to  him,  and  for  some  time  he  raised  the 
siege,  when  the  Romans  agreed  to  persuade  the 
emperor  to  enter  into  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
him. 


CH.\P.  VII. INNOCENT  THE  BISHOP  OF  THE  PRESBY- 
TERY OF  ROME.  HE  SENT  AN  EMBASSY  TO  ALARIC. 
JOVIUS,  PREFECT  OF  ITALY.  EMBASSY  DISPATCHED 
TO  THE  EMPEROR.      EVENTS  CONCERNING  ALARIC. 


Although  ambassadors  were  dispatched  to 
treat  of  peace,^  the  enemies  of  Alaric  at  the 
court  of  the  emperor  sedulously  guarded  against 
the  conclusion  of  any  treaty  with  him.  But 
after  this,  when  an  embassy  had  been  sent  to 
him  by  Innocent,  bishop  of  Rome,  and  Alaric 
was  summoned  by  a  letter  of  the  emperor, 
he  repaired  to  the  city  of  Ariminum,  which  is 
two  hundred  and  ten  stadia  distant  from  Ra- 
venna. 

He  encamped  beyond  the  walls  of  the  city ; 
and  Jovius,  the  prefect  of  Italy,  held  a  confer- 
ence with  him  and  conveyed  his  demands  to  the 
emperor,  one  of  which  was,  that  he   might  be 
appointed  by  an  edict  to  the  generalship  of  the 
cavalry  and  infantry.     The    emperor  gave  full 
power  to  Jovius  to  grant  Alaric  as  much  money 
and  provision  as  he  might  desire,  but  refused 
ever  to  confer   this  dignity  upon  him.     Jovius 
unadvisedly   awaited   the    messenger   from   the 
palace,  in  the  camp  of  Alaric  ;  and  commanded 
the  decision  of  the  emperor  to  be  read  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  barbarians.     On  finding  that 
the  dignity  was  denied  him,  Alaric  was  enraged 
at  the  result,  ordered  the  trumpets  to  be  sounded, 
and  marched  towards  Rome.     Jovius,  apprehen- 
sive of  being  suspected  by  the  emperor  of  sidmg 
with  Alaric,  committed  a  still  greater  act  of  im- 
prudence by  taking  an  oath  on  the  safety  of  the 
emperor,  and  compelling  the  principal  officers 
to  swear  that  they  would  never  consent  to  any 
terms   of    peace   with   Alaric.      The    barbarian 
chief,  however,  soon  after  changed  his  mind,  and 
sent  word  he  did  not  desire  any  post  of  dignity, 
but  was  willing  to  act  as  an  ally  of  the   Romans, 
provided  that  they  would  grant  him  a  certain 

1  Independent  chapter;  cf.  Olymp.  Fragm.  3:  Zos.  v.  41-51. 


quantity  of  corn,  and  some  territory  of  secondary 
importance  to  them,  in  which  he  might  establish 

himself. 


CHAP.     VIII. REBELLION     OF     ATTALUS     AND     HIS 

GENERAL    HERACLEAN  ;     AND    HOW    HE    EVENTU- 
ALLY   CRAVED    FORGIVENESS    AT    THE    FEET    OF 

HONORIUS. 

After  having  sent  some  bishops  as  ambassa- 
dors, on  two  different  occasions,  to  treat  on  this 
subject,  but  without  effect,  Alaric  returned  to 
Rome,  and  besieged  the  city ;  he  took  posses- 
sion of  one  part  of  Portus,  and  compelled  the 
Romans  to  recognize  Attains,  then  prefect  of 
the  city,  as  their  king.-     When  the  Romans  had 
been  nominated  for  the  other  offices,  Alaric  was 
appointed  general  of  the  cavalry  and  infantry, 
and   Ataulphus,   the    brother   of  his   wife,  was 
raised  to  the  command  of  the  force  called  the 
domestic  cavalry.      Attalus  assembled  the  sen- 
ators, and  addressed  them  in  a  long  and  very 
elaborate  discourse,  in  which  he  promised  to 
restore  the  ancient  customs  of  the  senate,  and 
also  to  bring  Egypt  and  the  other  Eastern  prov- 
inces under  the  sway  of   Italy.     Such  was  the 
boastfulness  of  a  man,  who  was  not  destined  to 
bear  the  name  of  sovereign  during  the  space  of 
a  single  year.     He  was  deceived  by  the  repre- 
sentations of  some  diviners,  who  assured  him 
that  he  would  be  able  to  conquer  Africa  without 
a  battle  ;  he  disobeyed  Alaric,  who  urged  him 
to  send  a  moderate  force  to  Carthage,  to  slay 
the  officers  of  Honorius,  in  case  of  their  attempt- 
ing any  resistance.     He  also  refused  to  follow 
the  counsels  of  John,  to  whom  he  had  given  the 
command  of  the  royal   cohorts  about  his  own 
person,  and  who  advised  him  to  entrust  Constans, 
on   his  proposed  departure   for  Libya,   with  a 
document  which  they  call  edict,  as  though  sent 
by    Honorius,  by   which    Heraclean    might   be 
dispossessed  of  office;  he  had  been  entrusted 
with  the  rule  of  the  soldiers  in  Africa.     Had 
this  artifice   been  adopted,  it  would    probably 
have  proved  successful,  for  the  designs  of  Attalus 
were  unknown  in  Libya.     But  as  soon  as  Con- 
stans had  set  sail  for  Carthage,  according  to  the 
advice  of  the  diviners,  Attalus  was  so  weak  in 
mind   that   he    did  not  think  it   doubtful,  but 
believed  that  the  Africans  would  be  his  subjects, 
according  to  the  prediction  of  the  diviners,  and 
marched   at    the    head    of   his    army    towards 
Ravenna.     When  it  was  announced  that  Attalus 
had  reached  Ariminum,  with  an  army  composed 
partly  of  Roman  and  partly  of  barbarian  troops, 
Honorius  wrote  to  him  to  acknowledge  him  as 
emperor,  and  deputed  the  highest  officers  of  his 


2  Independent  chapter;  cf.  Olymp.  Fragm.  3.  13;  Zos.  vi.  6-13: 
Soc.  vii.  10;  Philost.  xii.  3. 


424 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IX.  8. 


court  to  wait  upon  him,  and  offer  him  a  share  in 
the  empire.  Attalus,  however,  refused  to  share 
power  with  another,  and  sent  word  that  Honorius 
might  choose  an  island  or  any  spot  of  ground 
that  he  pleased  for  his  private  residence,  and 
that  he  would  be  allowed  every  imperial  service. 
The  affairs  of  Honorius  were  reduced  to  so 
critical  a  condition,  that  ships  were  kept  in 
readiness  to  convey  him,  if  it  were  necessary,  to 
his  nephew,  when  an  army  of  four  thousand  men 
which  had  started  from  the  west  arrived  unex- 
pectedly during  the  night  at  Ravenna ;  Honorius 
caused  the  walls  of  the  city  to  be  guarded  by 
this  reinforcement,  for  he  distrusted  the  native 
troops  as  inclined  to  treachery. 

In  the  meantime  Heraclean  had  put  Constans 
to  death,  and  had  ranged  troops  along  the  ports 
and  coasts  of  Africa  to  hinder  the  merchant 
vessels  from  going  to  Rome.  When,  as  a  con- 
sequence, a  famine  seized  the  Romans,  they  sent 
a  deputation  to  Attalus  about  it.  Being  at  a 
loss  what  measures  to  adopt,  he  returned  to 
Rome  to  consult  the  senate.  The  famine  was 
so  grievous  that  chestnuts  were  used  by  the 
people  to  supply  the  place  of  corn,  and  some 
persons  were  suspected  of  having  partaken  of 
human  flesh.  Alaric  advised  that  five  hundred 
barbarians  should  be  sent  into  Africa  against 
Heraclean,  but  the  senators  and  Attalus  objected 
that  Africa  ought  not  to  be  entrusted  to  barba- 
rians. It  then  became  evident  to  Alaric  that 
God  disapproved  of  the  rule  of  Attalus ;  and 
finding  that  it  would  be  futile  to  labor  for  a  mat- 
ter which  was  beyond  his  power,  and  after  re- 
ceiving certain  pledges,  he  agreed  with  Honorius 
to  deprive  Attalus  of  his  sovereignty.  All  the 
parties  concerned  assembled  together  without 
the  walls  of  the  city,  and  Attalus  threw  aside 
the  symbols  of  imperial  power.  His  officers 
also  threw  aside  their  girdles,  and  Honorius 
granted  pardon  to  all  for  these  occurrences,  and 
each  was  to  hold  the  honor  and  office  which 
he  had  first  had.  Attalus  retired  with  his  son 
to  Alaric,  for  he  thought  his  Hfe  would  not  be 
in  safety  as  yet,  if  he  continued  to  dwell  among 
the  Romans. 


CHAP.  IX.  —  THE  DISTURBANCE  WHICH  THE  GREEKS 
AND  CHRISTIANS  HAD  ABOUT  ATTALUS.  THE 
COURAGEOUS  SAROS  ;  ALARIC,  BY  A  STRATAGEM, 
OBTAINS  POSSESSION  OF  ROME,  AND  PROTECTED 
THE    SACRED    ASYLUM    OF   THE   APOSTLE    PETER. 

The  failure  which  had  attended  the  designs 
of  Attalus  was  a  source  of  deep  displeasure  to 
the  pagans  and  Christians  of  the  Arian  heresy.' 
The  pagans  had  inferred  from  the  known  predi- 

^  Independent  chapter.  Soc.  vii.  lo;  Philost.  xii.  3;  Oros. 
vii.  39. 


lections  and  early  education  of  Attalus,  that  he 
would  openly  maintain  their  superstitions,  and 
restore  their  ancient  temples,  their  festivals,  and 
their  altars.  The  Arians  imagined  that,  as  soon 
as  he  found  his  reign  firmly  established,  Attalus 
would  reinstate  them  in  the  supremacy  over  the 
churches  which  they  had  enjoyed  during  the 
reigns  of  Constantius  and  of  Valens  ;  for  he  had 
been  baptized  by  Sigesarius,-  bishop  of  the  Goths, 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  Alaric  and  the  Arian 
party. 

Soon  after,  Alaric  stationed  himself  among 
the  Alps,  at  a  distance  of  about  sixty  stadia 
from  Ravenna,  and  held  a  conference  with  the 
emperor  concerning  the  conclusion  of  a  peace. 
Saros,  a  barbarian  by  birth,  and  highly  practiced 
in  the  art  of  war,  had  only  about  three  hundred 
men  with  him,  but  all  well  disposed  and  most 
efficient.  He  was  suspicious  of  Alaric  on  account 
of  their  former  enmity,  and  reasoned  that  a 
treaty  between  the  Romans  and  Goths  would  be 
of  no  advantage  to  him.  Suddenly  advancing 
with  his  own  troops,  he  slew  some  of  the  bar- 
barians. Impelled  by  rage  and  terror  at  this 
incident,  Alaric  retraced  his  steps,  and  returned 
to  Rome,  and  took  it  by  treachery.  He  per- 
mitted each  of  his  followers  to  seize  as  much  of 
the  wealth  of  the  Romans  as  he  was  able,  and  to 
plunder  all  the  houses  ;  but  from  respect  towards 
the  Apostle  Peter,  he  commanded  that  the  large 
and  very  spacious  church  erected  around  his 
tomb  should  be  an  asylum.  This  was  the  only 
cause  which  prevented  the  entire  demolition  of 
Rome  ;  and  those  who  were  there  saved,  and  they 
were  many,  rebuilt  the  city. 


CHAP.    X,  —  A    ROMAN    LADY    WHO    MANIFESTED    A 
DEED    OF    MODESTY. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  capture  of  so  great  a 
city  as  Rome  must  have  been  attended  with 
many  remarkable  circumstances.  I  shall,  there- 
fore, now  proceed  to  the  narration  of  such  events 
as  seem  worthy  of  a  plape  in  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory.^ I  shall  recount  a  pious  action  performed 
by  a  barbarian,  and  record  the  bravery  of  a 
Roman  lady  for  the  preservation  of  her  chastity. 
The  barbarian  and  the  lady  were  both  Christians, 
but  not  of  the  same  heresy,  the  former  being  an 
Arian,  and  the  latter  a  zealous  follower  of  the 
Nicene  doctrines.  A  young  man  of  Alaric's 
soldiers  saw  this  very  beautiful  woman,  and  was 
conquered  by  her  loveliness,  and  tried  to  drag 
her  into  intercourse  ;  but  she  drew  back,  and 
exerted  herself  that  she  might  not  suffer  pollu- 
tion.    He   drew  his   sword,   and    threatened  to 

'  He  is  called  Sieesarus  by  Olympiodorus,  Fra^itt.  26,  who 
speaks  of  him  as  havinq  endeavored  in  vain  to  rescue  the  sons  of 
Ataulph,  the  king  of  the  Goths,  from  death. 

'  Independent  narrative.     Oros.  vii.  39. 


IX.    12.] 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


425 


slay  her ;  but  he  was  restrained  by  the  passion 
which  he  entertained  toward  her,  and  merely 
inflicted  a  '  slight  wound  on  her  neck.  The 
blood  flowed  in  abundance,  and  she  off'ercd 
her  neck  to  the  sword ;  for  she  preferred  to  die 
in  her  chastity  than  to  survive,  after  having  con- 
sorted lawfully  with  a  husband,  and  tlien  to  be 
attempted  by  another  man.  When  the  barba- 
rian repeated  his  purpose,  and  followed  it  with 
more  fearful  threats,  he  accomplished  nothing 
further  ;  struck  with  wonder  at  her  chastity,  he 
conducted  her  to  the  church  of  Peter  the  apos- 
tle, and  gave  six  pieces  of  gold  for  her  support 
to  the"  ofiicers  who  were  guarding  the  church,  and 
commanded  them  to  keep  her  for  her  husband. 


CHAP.    XI. THE    TYRANTS  WHO    IN    THE    WEST   AT 

THAT  TIME  REBELLED  AGAINST  HONORIUS.  THEY 
ARE  WHOLLY  DESTROYED  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 
emperor's    LOVE    OF    GOD. 

During  this  period  many  tyrants  rebelled 
against  Honorius  in  the  Western  government. 
Some  fell  upon  one  another,  while  others  were 
apprehended  in  a  marvelous  way,  and  so  evi- 
denced that  the  Divine  love  toward  Honorius 
■was  not  common.  The  soldiers  in  Britain  ^  were 
the  first  to  rise  up  in  sedition,  and  they  pro- 
claimed Mark  as  tyrant.  Afterwards,  however, 
they  slew  Mark,  and  proclaimed  Gratian.  Within 
four  months  subsequently  they  killed  Gratian, 
and  elected  Constantine  in  his  place,  imagining 
that,  on  account  of  his  name,  he  would  be  able 
to  reduce  the  empire  firmly  under  his  authority  ; 
and  for  no  other  reason  than  this,  several  other 
persons  of  the  same  name  were  elected  to  the 
tyranny.  Constantine  passed  over  from  Britain 
to  Bononia,  a  maritime  city  of  Gaul ;  and  after 
inducing  all  the  troops  in  Gaul  and  Aquitania 
to  espouse  his  cause,  he  reduced  to  obedience 
the  inhabitants  of  the  regions  extending  to  the 
mountains  which  divide  Italy  from  Gaul,  and 
which  the  Romans  have  named  the  Cottian  Alps. 
He  then  sent  his  oldest  son,  Constans,  whom 
he  had  already  nominated  Cfesar,  and  whom 
he  afterwards  proclaimed  emperor,  into  Spain. 
Constans,  after  making  himself  master  of  this 
province,  and  appointing  his  own  governors  over 
it,  commanded  that  Didymus  and  Verinian,  rela- 
tives of  Honorius,  should  be  loaded  with  chains, 
and  brought  before  him.  Didymus  and  Verinian 
had  at  first  differed  among  themselves,  but  a 
reconciliation  was  effected  between  them,  when 
they  found  themselves  menaced  by  the  same 
danger.  They  combined  their  forces,  which 
consisted  chiefly  of  armed  peasants  and  slaves. 
They  attacked  Lusitania  in  common,  and  slew 

1  Independent  chapter.     Olymp.  Fragtn.  12;  Zos.  vi.  1-5;  Oros. 
vii.  39. 


many  of  the  soldiers  sent  by  the  tyrant  for  their 
capture. 


CHAl'.    XII.  THEODOSIOLUS    AND    LAGODIUS.       THE 

RACKS  OF  THE  VANDALS  AND  SUEVI.  DEATH  OF 
ALARIC.  FLIGHT  OF  THE  TYRANTS  CONSTAN- 
TINE   AND    CONSTANS. 

The  troops  of  Constans  were  shortly  after- 
wards strengthened  by  reinforcements,  and 
Didymus  and  Verinian,  with  their  wives,  were 
taken  prisoners,  and  were  eventually  put  to 
death."  Their  brothers,  Theodosiolus  and  lago- 
dius,  who  were  living  in  other  provinces,  fled 
the  country  ;  the  former  escaped  to  Italy,  to  the 
Emperor  Honorius  ;  the  latter  fled  to  the  East, 
to  'Fheodosius.  After  these  transactions,  Con- 
stans returned  to  his  father,  after  he  had  posted 
a  guard  of  his  own  soldiers  for  the  road  to 
Spain ;  for  he  did  not  permit  the  Spaniards  to 
act  as  guard,  according  to  the  ancient  custom,  a 
privilege  for  which  they  had  petitioned.  This 
precaution  was  probably  afterwards  the  cause  of 
the  ruin  of  the  country ;  for  when  Constantine 
was  deprived  of  his  power,  the  barbarous  races 
of  the  Vandals,  Suevi,  and  Alani  took  confidence 
and  conquered  the  road,  and  took  possession 
of  many  forts  and  cities  in  Spain  and  Gaul,  and 
arrested  the  officers  of  the  tyrant. 

In  the  meantime,  Constantine,  who  still 
thought  that  matters  would  go  according  to 
his  purpose,  caused  his  son  to  be  proclaimed 
emperor  instead  of  Caesar,  and  determined  to 
possess  himself  of  Italy.  With  this  view,  he 
crossed  the  Cottian  Alps,  and  entered  Liverona, 
a  city  of  Liguria.  He  was  on  the  point  of  cross- 
ing the  Po,  when  he  was  compelled  to  retrace 
his  steps,  upon  being  informed  of  the  death  of 
Alavicus.  This  Alavicus  was  the  commander 
of  the  troops  of  Honorius,  and  being  suspected 
of  conspiring  to  place  the  entire  A\'estern  gov- 
ernment under  the  domination  of  Constantine, 
he  was  slain  when  returning  from  a  procession,  in 
which,  according  to  custom,  it  was  his  office  to 
march  in  advance  of  the  emperor.  Immedi- 
ately after  this  occurrence,  the  emperor  de- 
scended from  horseback,  and  publicly  returned 
thanks  to  God  for  having  delivered  him  from 
one  who  had  openly  conspired  against  him. 
Constantine  fled  and  seized  Aries,  and  Constans, 
his  son,  hastened  from  Spain,  and  sought  refuge 
in  the  same  city. 

On  the  decline  of  the  power  of  Constantine, 
the  Vandals,  Suevi,  and  Alani  eagerly  took  the 
Pyrenees  when  they  heard  that  it  was  a  prosper- 
ous and  most  abundant  region.  And  since 
those    who   had    been    entrusted   by   Constans 

2  Independent  chapter.  Olymp.  Fragm.  10,  15,  29,  30;  Zos.  vi. 
4;  Oros.  vii.  40-42. 


426 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


[IX.  12. 


with  the  guard  of  the  passage    had   neglected 
their  duty,  the  invaders  passed  by  into  Spain. 

CHAP.     XIII. CONCERNING     GERONTIUS,     MAXIMUS, 

AND    THE     TROOPS    OF    HONORIUS.       CAPTURE    t)F 
GERONTIUS   AND    HIS   WIFE;    THEIR    DEATH. 

MEANnvHiLE  Gerontius,  from  being  the  most 
efficient  of  the  generals  of  Constantine,  became 
his  enemy ;  ^  and  believing  that  Maximus,  his 
intimate  friend,  was  well  qualified  for  the  tyranny, 
he  invested  him  with  the  imperial  robe,  and 
permitted  him  to  reside  in  Tarracona.  Ge- 
rontius then  marched  against  Constantine,  and 
took  care  to  put  Constans,  the  son  of  Constan- 
tine, to  death  at  Vienna. 

As  soon  as  Constantine  heard  of  the  usurpa- 
tion of  Maximus,  he  sent  one  of  his  generals, 
named  Edovicus,  beyond  the  Rhine,  to  levy  an 
army  of  Franks  and  Alemanni ;  and  he  sent  his 
son  Constans  to  guard  Vienna  and  the  neigh- 
boring towns.     Gerontius  then  advanced  upon 
Aries  and  laid  siege  to  it ;  but  directly,  when  the 
army   of  Honorius  had  come  to  hand  against 
the  tyrant,  under  the  command  of  Constantius, 
the  father  of  that  Valentinian  who  subsequently 
became  emperor  of  Rome,  Gerontius  retreated 
precipitately  with  a  few  soldiers  ;  for  the  greater 
number  of  his  troops  deserted  to  the  army  of 
Constantius.     The    Spanish    soldiery  conceived 
an  utter  contempt  for  (Gerontius,  on  account  of 
his  retreat,  and  took  counsel  how  to  slay  him. 
They  gathered  in  close  ranks  and  attacked  his 
house   at  night;   but  he,  with  one  Alanus,  his 
friend,  and  a  few  servants,  ascended  to  the  top 
of  the  house,  and  did  such  execution  with  their 
arrows  that  no  less  than  three  hundred  of  the 
soldiers    fell.     When   the    stock  of  arrows  was 
exhausted,  the    servants  made  their  escape  by 
letting  themselves  down  secretly  from  the  build- 
ing ;    and   Gerontius,  although   he    might    have 
been  saved  in  a  similar  fashion,  did  not  choose 
to  do  so,  because  he  was  restrained  by  his  affec- 
tion for  Nonnichia,  his  wife.    At  daybreak  of  the 
next  day,  the  soldiers  cast  fire  into  the  house  ; 
when  he  saw  that  there  was  no  hope  of  safety  left, 
he  cut  off  the  head  of  his  companion,  Alanus,  in 
compliance  with  his  wish.  After  this,  his  own  wife 
was  lamenting,  and  with  tears  was  pressing  her- 
self with  the  sword,  pleading  to  die  by  the  hand 
of  her  husband  before  she  should  be  subjected 
to  others,  and  was  supplicating  for  this  last  gift 
from  him.     And  this   woman   by   her   courage 
showed  herself  worthy  of  her  religion,  for  she 
was  a  Christian,  and  she  died  thus  mercifully  ; 
she  handed  down  to  time  a  record  of  herself, 
too  strong  for  oblivion.     Gerontius  then  struck 
himself  thrice  with  his   sword  ;    but   perceiving 

'  Independent  chapter,      Cf.  Olymp.  Fras'n.   16;    Zos.  vi.  5; 
Oros.  vii.  42. 


that  he  had  not  received  a  mortal  wound,  he 
drew  forth  his  poniard,  which  he  wore  at  his 
side,  and  plunged  it  into  his  heart, 

CHAP.  XIV. CONSTANTINE.  THE  ARM\'  OF  HONO- 
RIUS AND  EDOVICUS  HIS  GFJ^ERAL.  DEFEAT  OF 
EDOVICUS  BY  ULPHIIJVS,  THE  GENERAL  OF  CON- 
STANTINE.      DEATH  OF  EDOVICUS, 

Although  the  city  of  Aries  was  closely  be- 
sieged by  the  army  of  Honorius,  Constantine 
still  resisted  the  siege,  because  Edovicus  was 
announced  as  at  hand  with  many  allies.'  This 
frightened  the  generals  of  Honorius  beyond 
measure.  Then  they  determined  to  return  to 
Italy,  and  to  carry  on  the  war  there.  When 
they  had  united  on  this  plan,  Edovicus  was  an- 
nounced as  in  the  neighborhood;  so  they  crossed 
the  river  Rhone,  Constantius,  who  commanded 
the  infantry,  quietly  awaited  the  approach  of  the 
enemy,  while  Ulphilas,  the  fellow-general  of  Con- 
stantius, remained  not  far  off  in  ambush  with  his 
cavalry.  The  enemy  passed  by  the  army  of 
Ulphilas,  and  were  about  to  engage  with  the 
troops  of  Constantius*,  when  a  signal  was  given, 
and  Ulphilas  suddenly  appeared  and  assaulted 
the  enemy  from  the  rear.  Their  flight  was  im- 
mediate. Some  escaped,  some  were  slain,  while. 
others  threw  down  their  arms  and  asked  for 
pardon,  and  were  spared.  Edovicus  mounted 
his  horse  and  fled  to  the  lands  of  one  Ecdicius, 
a  landed  proprietor,  to  whom  he  had  formerly 
rendered  some  important  service,  and  whom  he 
therefore  imagined  to  be  his  friend.  Ecdicius, 
however,  struck  off  his  head,  and  presented  it 
to  the  generals  of  Honorius,  in  hope  of  receiving 
some  great  reward  and  honor.  Constantius,  on 
receiving  the  head,  proclaimed  that  the  public 
thanks  were  due  to  Ecdicius  for  the  deed  of 
Ulphilas ;  but  when  Ecdicius  was  eager  to  ac- 
company him  he  commanded  him  to  depart, 
for  he  did  not  consider  the  companionship  of  a 
malicious  host  to  be  good  for  himself  or  the 
army.  And  the  man  who  had  dared  to  commit  the 
most  unholy  murder  of  a  friend  and  a  guest  who 
was  in  an  unfortunate  situation,  —  this  man  went 
away,  as  the  proverb  says,  gaping  with  emptiness. 

CHAP.  XV. CONSTANTINE  THROWS  ASIDE   THE    EM- 

liLEMS  OF  IMPERIAL  POWER,  AND  IS  ORDAINED  AS 
PRESBYTER;  HIS  SUBSEQUENT  DEATH.  DEATH 
OF  THE  OTHER  TYRANTS  WHO  HAD  CONSPIRED 
AGAINST    HONORIUS. 

AfTER  this  victory  the  troops  of  Honorius 
again  laid  siege  to  the  city.^  When  Constantine 
heard  of  the  death  of  Edovicus  he  cast  aside 
his  purple  robe  and  imperial  ornaments,  and 
repaired  to  the  church,  where  he  caused  him- 


'  Independent  chapter.    Cf.  Olymp.  Fragm.  16. 

'  Independent  chapter.  Cf.  Philost,  xii.  6;  Oly vap.  Fra^yn,  17-19. 


IX.  170 


THE    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    OF    SOZOMEN. 


427 


self  to  be  ordained  as  presbyter.  Those  within 
the  walls,  having  first  received  oaths,  opened 
the  gates,  and  their  lives  were  spared.  P'rom 
that  period  the  whole  province  returned  to  its 
allegiance  to  Honorius,  and  has  since  been  obe- 
dient to  the  rulers  of  his  appointment.  Constan- 
tine,  with  his  son  Julian,  was  sent  into  Italy,  but 
he  was  waylaid  and  killed.  Not  long  afterwards 
Jovianus  and  Maximus,  the  tyrants  above  men- 
tioned, Saros,  and  many  others  who  had  conspired 
against  Honorius,  were  unexpectedly  slain. 

CHAP.    XVI. HONORIUS   THE    RULER,    A    LOVER    OF 

GOD.  DEATH  OF  HONORIUS.  HIS  SUCCESSORS, 
VALENTINL^N,  AND  HONORIA  HIS  D.4UGHTER  ; 
THE   PEACE    WHICH    WAS   THEN   WORLD-WIDE. 

This  is  not  the  proper  place  to  enter  into  the 
details  concerning  the  deaths  of  the  tyrants  ;  ^ 
but  I  considered  it  necessary  to  allude  to  the 
circumstance  in  order  to  show  that  to  insure  the 
stability  of  imperial  power,  it  is  sufficient  for  an 
emperor  to  serve  God  with  reverence,  which 
was  the  course  pursued  by  Honorius.  Galla 
Placidia,  his  sister,  born  of  the  same  father  as 
himself,  dwelt  with  him,  and  likewise  distin- 
guished herself  by  real  zeal  in  the  maintenance  of 
religion  and  of  the  churches.  After  Constantius, 
who  was  a  brave  and  able  general,  had  destroyed 
the  tyrant  Constantine,  the  emperor  rewarded  him 
by  giving  him  his  sister  in  marriage  ;  he  also 
bestowed  upon  him  the  ermine  and  purple,  and 
admitted  him  to  a  share  in  the  government. 
Constantius  did  not  long  survive  the  promotion ; 
he  died  soon  after,  and  left  two  children,  Valen- 
tinian,  who  succeeded  Honorius,  and  Honoria. 
Meanwhile  the  Eastern  Empire  was  free  from 
wars,  and  contrary  to  all  opinion,  its  affairs  were 
conducted  with  great  order,  for  the  ruler  was 
still  a  youth.  It  seems  as  if  God  openly  mani- 
fested His  favor  towards  the  present  emperor, 
not  only  by  disposing  of  warlike  affairs  in  an 
unexpected  way,  but  also  by  revealing  the  sacred 
bodies  of  many  persons  who  were  of  old  most 
distinguished  for  piety;  among  other  relics,  those 
of  Zechariah,  the  very  ancient  prophet,  and  of 
Stephen,  who  was  ordained  deacon  by  the  apos- 
tles, were  discovered ;  and  it  seems  incumbent 
upon  me  to  describe  the  mode,  since  the  dis- 
covery of  each  was  marvelous  and  divine.^ 


chap.    xvii.  - 
zechariah 


-DISCOVERY       OF     THE       RELICS     OF 
THE     PROPHET,     AND    OF     STEPHEN 


THE    PROTO-MART\Tl. 


'  Independent  chapter.  Cf.  Philost.  xii.  4-13:  Olymp.  Fragnt. 
34,  39.  40. 

2  He  recounts  the  discovery  of  Zechariah  only,  while  all  the  lan- 
guage here,  and  that  of  the  beginning  of  the  next  chapter,  indicates  his 
intention  to  describe  both.   Could  the  work  then  have  been  concluded.' 


I  SHALL  first  speak  of  the  relics  of  the 
prophet."'  Caphar-Zechariah  is  a  village  of  the 
territory  of  Eleutheropolis,  a  city  of  Palestine. 
The  land  of  this  district  was  cultivated  by 
Calemerus,  a  serf;  he  was  well  disposed  to  the 
owner,  but  hard,  discontented,  and  unjust 
towards  his  neighboring  peasants.  Although 
he  possessed  these  defects  of  character,  the 
prophet  stood  by  him  in  a  dream,  and  mani- 
fested himself;  pointing  out  a  particular  gar- 
den, he  said  to  him,  "  Go,  dig  in  that  garden 
at  the  distance  of  two  cubits  from  the  hedge 
of  the  garden  by  the  road  leading  to  the  city 
of  Bitheribis.  You  will  there  find  two  coffins, 
the  inner  one  of  wood,  the  other  of  lead.  Beside 
the  coffins  you  will  see  a  glass  vessel  full  of 
water,  and  two  serpents  of  moderate  size,  but 
tame,  and  perfectly  innoxious,  so  that  they 
seem  to  be  used  to  being  handled."  Calemerus 
followed  the  directions  of  the  prophet  at  the  des- 
ignated place  and  zealously  applied  himself  to  the 
task.  When  the  sacred  depository  was  disclosed 
by  the  afore-mentioned  signs,  the  divine  prophet 
appeared  to  him,  clad  in  a  white  stole,  which 
makes  me  think  that  he  was  a  priest.  At  his  feet 
outside  of  the  coffin  was  lying  a  child  which 
had  been  honored  with  a  royal  burial ;  for  on  its 
head  was  a  golden  crown,  its  feet  were  encased 
in  golden  sandals,  and  it  was  arrayed  in  a  costly 
robe.  The  wise  men  and  priests  of  the  time 
were  greatly  perplexed  about  this  child,  who 
and  whence  he  might  be  and  for  what  reason  he 
had  been  so  clothed.  It  is  said  that  Zechariah, 
the  superior  of  a  monastic  community  at  Gerari, 
found  an  ancient  document  written  in  Hebrew, 
which  had  not  been  received  among  the  canoni- 
cal books.  In  this  document  it  was  stated  that 
when  Zechariah  the  prophet  had  been  put  to 
death  by  Joash,  king  of  Judah,  the  family  of  the 
monarch  was  soon  visited  by  a  dire  calamity ; 
for  on  the  seventh  day  after  the  death  of  the 
prophet,  one  of  the  sons  of  Joash,  whom  he  ten- 
derly loved,  suddenly  expired.  Judging  that 
this  affliction  was  a  special  manifestation  of 
Divine  wrath,  the  king  ordered  his  son  to  be 
interred  at  the  feet  of  the  prophet,  as  a  kind  of 
atonement  for  the  crime  against  him.  Such  are 
the  particulars  which  I  have  ascertained  on  the 
subject. 

Although  the  prophet  had  lain  under  the 
earth  for  so  many  generations,  he  appeared 
sound  ;  his  hair  was  closely  shorn,  his  nose  was 
straight ;  his  beard  moderately  grown,  his  head 
quite  short,  his  eyes  rather  sunken,  and  con- 
cealed by  the  eyebrows. 

^  An  independent  chapter,  built  on  local  story. 


THE   END,  WITH  THE   AID   OF   THE   HOLY  TRINITY. 


INDEXES. 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  SOCRATES'  ECCEESIASTICAI.  HISTORY. 


Abdas,  bishop  of  Persia,  157. 

Abgarus,  unknown  person,  excom- 
municated, 70. 

Ablabius,  an  eminent  orator,  ordained 
a  Novatian  presbyter,  159. 

Abramius  of  Urimi,  95. 

Abundantius,  a  military  commander, 
156. 

Acacians,  a  sect,  explanation  of  their 
views,  70;  meet  at  Constanti- 
nople, 71;  meet  at  Antioch  and 
assent  to  the  Nicene  Creed,  94. 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Amida,  164. 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Beroea,  150. 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Ciesarea,  37;  helps 
eject  Maximus,  65;  composes  a 
creed,  68,  69;  deposed,  70;  be- 
comes head  of  sect  (see  Acaci- 
ans), 72;  with  Eudoxius  deposes 
Macedonius,  Eleusius,  Basil  of 
Ancyra,  Dracontius,  Neonas, 
Sophronius,  Elpidius,  and  Cyril, 
72,  84. 

Acacius,  martyr,.  153. 

Acesius,  a  Novatian  bishop;  his  con- 
versation with  Constantine,  17. 

Achab  (called  John),  a  false  accuser 
of  Athanasius,  escapes,  31. 

Achtea,  singular  custom  among  the 
clergy  of,  132. 

Achetas,  a  deacon,  50. 

Achillas,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  suc- 
ceeds Peter,  3. 

Achillas,  companion  of  Arius,  5. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles,  quoted,  133. 

Adamantius,  a  bishop  in  the  reign  of 
Constantine,  2i2i- 

Adamantius,  Jewish  physician  of 
Alexandria,  159. 

Adelphius,  a  bishop,  exiled  under 
Constantius,  55. 

Adrianople,  battle  of,  1 1 7. 

Adultery,  peculiar  punishment  of,  in 
Rome,  127. 

Adytum  of  the  Mithreimi  cleared,  79. 

Aetius  (called  Atheus),  a  heresiarch, 
60;  character  of  his  heresy,  61, 
98,  103,  134. 

Africanus,  an  early  writer,  60. 

Agapetus,  a  Macedonian  bishop,  ac- 
cepts the  homoousion  and  sup- 
plants Theodosius  at  Synada,  155. 

Agapius,  an  Arian  bishop  of  Ephesus, 

134- 

Agatho,  a  bishop,  exiled  under  Con- 
stantius, 55. 

Agelius,  Novatian  bishop,  66;  ex- 
pelled by  Valens,  99 ;  absent  from 
the  Synod  of  Pazum,   113;   ad- 


vises Nectarius,  122,  123;  his 
death,  124;  was  bishop  for  forty 
years,  129. 

Agilo,  a  general  under  the  rebel  Pro- 
copius,  killed,  97. 

Alamundarus,  a  Saracen  chief,  162. 

Alaric,  a  barbarian  chieftain,  makes 
war  against  Rome,  157;  takes 
and  sacks  Rome,  158;  proclaims 
one  Attalus  mock  emperor,  158. 

Alemanni,  a  northern  race,  120,  124. 

Alexander,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  suc- 
ceeds Achillas,  3;  writes  circu- 
lars on  Arian  heresy,  3;  collects 
opinions  favorable  to  himself,  6; 
commended  by  the  Nicene  Coun- 
cil, 13;  present  at  the  Nicene 
Council,  19;  his  death,  20;  had 
deposed  Euzoius,  28. 

Alexander,   bishop   of  Antioch,    157, 

173- 
Alexander,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
opposes   Arius,    34;     his    death, 

38. 

Alexander,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  173. 

Alexander,  bishop  of  Helenopolis,  173. 

Alexander,  the  Macedonian  (the 
Great),  date  from,  19;  Julian 
compares  himself  to  him,  90; 
oracle  uttered  to  him,  93;  Jews 
dwelt  in  Alexandria  since  his 
day,  159. 

Alexander,  the  Paphlagonian,  a  Nova- 
tian presbyter,  66. 

Alexandrians,  an  irritable  people,  105. 

Altar,  alleged  desecration  of,  by  Ma- 
carius,  29;  desecration  of,  by 
slaves,  171;  usually  set  toward 
the  east,  132;  the  holy  table  so 
called,  132,  140. 

Alypius,  a  presbyter  of  the  Alexan- 
drian church,  29. 

Amachius,  governor  of  Phrygia,  per- 
secutes the  Christians,  86. 

Ambrose,  a  consul,  proclaimed  bishop 
of  Milan,  113,  114;  persecuted 
by  Justina,  124. 

Ammonius,  three  bishops  of  the  name 
exiled  under  Constantius,  55. 

Ammonius,  a  companion  of  Athana- 
sius and  unworldly  monk,  108, 
109. 

Ammonius,  a  Nitrian  monk,  160. 

Ammonius,  a  pagan  grammarian,  126. 

Ammonius,  a  poet,  142. 

Ammonius,  one  of  the  "  Tall  Broth- 
ers," 143. 

Ammonius,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  150. 

Ammoun,  a  monk,  history  of,  106. 


Amphildchius,  bishop  of  Iconium,  122. 

Amphion,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  tlis- 
placed  by  Eusebius,  20. 

Amphitheatre,  sports  of  the,  165. 

Anagamphus,  a  bishop,  exiled  under 
Constantius,  51;. 

Anastasia,  daughter  of  the  emperor 
Valens,  99. 

Anastasia,  church  of  the  Novatians 
so  called,  66. 

Anastasia,  church  of  Gregory  of 
Nazianzus,  120. 

Anastasian  baths,  99. 

Anastasius,  bishop  of  Rome,  157. 

Anastasius,  a  presbyter,  friend  of 
Nestorius,  170. 

Anatolius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Be- 
roea, 95. 

Ancoratus,  book  so  called,  135. 

Andragathius,  a  philosopher,  instruc- 
tor of  John  Chrysostom,  138. 

Andragathius,  a  general  under  Maxi- 
mus, slays  Gratian,  124. 

Angarum,  Novatian  Council  of,  129. 

Angels,  visions  of,  142,  162,  166. 

Anianus,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  An- 
tioch, exiled,  71. 

Anicetus,  bishop  of  Rome,  130. 

Ano?noion,  term  first  used  at  Sardica, 
47;   again,  69,  84. 

'  Anomoeans,'  74,  95,  100. 

Anthusa,  mother  of  John  Chrysostom, 
138. 

Anthemius,  praetorian  prefect  during 
the  minority  of  Theodosius  the 
Younger,  154. 

Anthony,  a  monk  of  the  Egyptian 
desert,  25;  study  of  nature,  by, 
107;  congratulates  Didymus,  1 10. 

Anthony,  bishop  of  Germa,  perse- 
cutes the  Macedonians,  170. 

*  Anthropomorphitx,'  144. 

Antichrist,  3. 

Antioch,  Synods  of,  27,  38,  73,  94; 
a  canon  of,  150,  173;  creed  of, 
39,  40,  70,  84,  97 ;  the  Emperor 
Constantius  resides  in,  41 ;  divis- 
ions at,  73,  80,  83,  119,  121, 
122,  125,  126. 

Antiochenes,  irritable  temper  of,  88. 

Antiochicits  and  Misopogon,  book  so 
called,    88. 

Antiochus,  bishop  of  Ptolemais  in 
Phcjenicia,  146. 

Antipater,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Rho- 
sus,  95. 

Antiphonal  singing,  144,  165. 

Atitirrheticus,  treatise  of  Evagrius, 
107. 


432 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


Anubion,  a   bishop    in    the    reign    of 

Constantine,  ^;^. 
Aphaca,  22. 

Apollinaris,  bishop  of  HierapoHs,  81. 
Apollinaris,  the  elder,  a  learned  man, 

74- 

Apollinaris  of  Laodicea  (son  of  the 
former),  74,  75;  peculiar  views 
of,  86. 

Apollinarians,  a  sect,  74,  .75. 

Apostles,  church  so  called,  21,  35, 
148,   177. 

Apostles,  mission-fields  of,  23;  coun- 
cil of,  133. 

Apotheoses,  pagan,  93,  94. 

Applauding  a  preacher,  159. 

Arabian,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  An- 
dros,  95. 

Aratus,  the  Astronomer,  88. 

Arbathion,  a  bishop  in  the  reign  of 
Constantine,  33. 

Arbogastes,  a  commander  under  Val- 
entinian  the  Younger  with  Eu- 
genius  murders  his  master,  135; 
commits  suicide,  136. 

Arcadius,  emperor,  son  of  Theodosius 
the  Great,  114;  proclaimed 
Augustus,  122;  left  with  impe- 
rial authority  at  Constantinople, 
124;  assumes  the  government 
of  the  East,  137;  summons  John 
Chrysostom  to  Constantinople  to 
become  bishop,  138;  commits 
the  charge  of  affairs  among  the 
Goths  to  Gainas,  141 ;  makes 
terms  with  him  after  he  had 
rebelled,  141;  proclaims  him  a 
public  enemy,  defeats  and  slays 
him,  142;  his  son  Theodosius, 
the  good,  is  born,  142;  banishes 
John  Chrysostom,  149;  refuses 
to  attend  church  on  account  of 
John,  151;  banishes  him  again, 
151 ;   his  death,  153. 

Archdeacon,  office  of,  156. 

Archelaus,  governor  of  Syria,  30. 

Archelaus,  opponent  of  Manichaeism, 
26. 

Ardaburius,  Roman  general,  wages 
war  with  the  Persians,  162,  163; 
sent  against  the  usurper  John, 
165. 

Areobindus,  a  Roman  general,  162. 

Arian  controversy,  beginning  of,  3; 
occasion  of,  the  misunderstand- 
ing of  the  word  homoousios,  27; 
revival  of,  36. 

Arians,  dissensions  among,  72-74, 
123,  134;  inconsistency  of,  74; 
persecutions  by,  57,  66,  103, 
105;  expelled  from  the  churches 
by  Theodosius,  129;  excite  a 
tumult  in  Constantinople,  125; 
set  on  fire  the  bishop's  residence, 
125;  their  meetings  and  noctur- 
nal singing,  144. 

Ariminum,  56;  council  of,  6l,  67, 
84,  loi,  102;  creed  of,  61,  62; 
epistle  of,  to  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantius,  63. 

Aristotle,  the  ancient  philosopher,  60, 

93- 
Alius,  a  presbyter  in  Alexandria,  in- 


cited to  controvert  the  unity  of 
the  Trinity,  3 ;  relations  to  Meli- 
tianism,  6;  anathematized  by  the 
Nicene  Council,  10;  exiled,  10 ; 
writes  a  l)ook  Thalia  which  is 
condemned,  13;  procures  his 
recall  by  feigning  repentance, 
20;  goes  to  Constantinople,  ob- 
tains interview  with  the  emperor, 
feigns  assent  to  the  Nicene  Creed, 
28;  recantation,  28,  29;  returns 
to  Alexandria,  29;  Athanasius 
refuses  to  receive  him,  29,  t,1; 
renews  his  efforts  to  spread  his 
views,  29;  is  reinstated,  34;  ex- 
cites commotion  in  the  church  of 
Alexandria,  34;  is  summoned 
by  the  emperor  to  Constanti- 
nople, 34;  his  death,  34,  35; 
his  dissimulation,  60. 

Arius,  partisans  of,  denounced  by 
Alexander,  bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria, 3. 

Arrenius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  suc- 
ceeds Cyril,  74. 

Arsacius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
succeeds  John  Chrysostom,  151. 

Arsenius,  Melitian  bishop,  alleged 
victim  of  Anthanasius'  witch- 
craft, 30;  appears  before  the 
council  of  Tyre,  31. 

Arsenius,  Egyptian  monk,  106. 

Ascholius,  bishop  of  Thessalonica, 
attends  the  .Synod  of  Constanti- 
nople, 121. 

Asclepas,  bishop  of  Gaza,  expelled, 
42;   restored  to  his  see,  51. 

Asclepiades,  Novatian  bishop,  his 
defense  of  their  views,  167. 

Aspar,  son  of  Ardaburius,  delivers 
his  father  and  seizes  the  usurper 
John,  166. 

Asterius,  an  Arian  rhetorician,  T^y, 
excommunicated,  70. 

Athanaric,  king  of  the  Goths,  115; 
submits  to  Theodosius,  122;  his 
death,   122. 

Athanasius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of 
Ancyra,  95. 

Athanasius,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
opposes  Arianism  in  the  Council 
of  Nicsea  while  yet  a  deacon,  9; 
quoted,  19;  succeeds  to  the  see 
of  Alexandria,  20;  incident  in 
his  childhood,  20;  Life  of  An- 
thony by,  25,  106;  his  ordination 
objected  to,  26;  refuses  to  re- 
ceive Arius,  29 ;  is  therefore 
threatened  by  Constantine  and 
conspired  against,  29;  accused 
of  treason,  declared  innocent  by 
the  emperor,  course  taken  by 
his  opponents,  29,  30;  hesitates 
to  ap]:)ear  l:)efore  the  Council  of 
Tyre,  but  does  so  when  menaced 
by  the  emj^eror,  30;  confounds 
his  enemies,  31  ;  protests  against 
the  participation  of  his  personal 
enemies  in  the  council  which 
was  trying  him  and  withdraws 
from  their  jurisdiction,  31 ;  ap- 
peals to  the  emperor,  32;  the 
Synod  deposes  him,  32 ;  banished 


by  Constantine,  33;  recalled  and 
reinstated  by  Constantine  the 
Younger,  37;  returns  to  Alexan- 
dria and  is  joyfully  welcomed, 
but  is  again  banished,  37;  es- 
capes, 40;  is  accused  of  pecula- 
tion, threatened  with  death,  and 
flies  to  Rome,  42;  appeals  to  the 
emperor  and  returns  to  Rome, 
43;  demands  that  a  Synod  should 
be  convened  to  take  cognizance 
of  his  deposition,  46;  reinstated 
by  the  Council  of  Sardica,  47; 
recalled  by  Constantius,  49  ;  re- 
pairs to  Rome,  50;  returns  to  the 
East,  is  admitted  to  an  interview 
by  Constantius,  and  restored  by 
him  to  his  see,  51;  proceeds  to 
Jerusalem,  proposes  a  council  of 
bishops,  which  is  convened  there 
by  Maximus,  52;  arouses  hos- 
tility among  the  Arians  by  this 
course,  53;  passes  to  Alexandria 
and  on  the  way  performs  ordi- 
nations, thus  occasioning  fresh 
accusations  against  himself,  53; 
convenes  a  council  of  bishops  in 
Egypt,  53;  the  emperor  with- 
draws the  immunities  granted 
him  and  commands  that  he  be 
put  to  death,  54;  escapes  by 
flight,  54;  his  account  of  the 
atrocities  inflicted  on  Christians 
by  George,  54,  55;  a  council  of 
bishops  assembles  at  Milan  to 
condemn  him,  60;  their  object  is 
thwarted,  60;  his  attack  on  the 
creed  of  Ariminum,  62,  63;  re- 
stored to  the  see  of  Alexandria, 
80;  with  Eusebius  of  Vercelte 
calls  a  council  together,  81;  his 
Apology  for  his  Flight,  82,  83; 
Julian  issues  an  edict  for  his  ar- 
rest, but  he  escapes  by  flight  and 
secretly  returns  to  Alexandria, 
86;  after  the  death  of  Julian  he 
is  restored  to  the  see  of  Alexan- 
dria, 94,  96;  hides  himself  in  his 
father's  tomb  for  four  months, 
103;  the  emperor  reinstates  him, 
103;  his  influence  over  Valens, 
105;  his  death,  105;  quoted, 
106,  108. 

Athenai's,  the  pagan  name  of  the 
empress  Eudocia,  164. 

Athenodorus,  a  bishop,  exiled  under 
Constantius,  55. 

Athens,  school  of,  77. 

Attains,  made  mock-emperor  by  Al- 
aric,  158. 

Atticus,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  or- 
dained, 151 ;  friendship  of,  with 
Sisinnus  the  Novatian,  153;  his 
character  and  learning,  154; 
progress  of  Christianity  during 
his  a(hiiinistration,  155;  receives 
Persian  suppliants,  162;  his 
Christian  benevolence,  166;  la- 
bors to  abolish  superstitions, 
167;  changes  the  names  of  cer- 
tain jilaces,  167;  his  death,  167; 
succeeded  by  Sisinnius,  168. 

Atys,  a  pagan  priest,  the  founder  of 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    SOCRATES'    HISTORY. 


433 


certain    Phrygian    rites,    deified, 

93- 
Aurelian,  a  consular,  delivered  up  to 

Ciainas,  141. 
Auxanon,  a  Novatian   presbyter,  19; 

cruelly  treated,  66. 
Auxentius,   Arian    bishop    of    Milan, 

refuses    to    anathematize    Arius, 

62;    deposed    by   the    Synod    of 

Ariminum,  63;  death  of,  113. 
Azazene,  captives  from,  ransomed  by 

Acacius  of  Amida,  164. 

Babylas,  martyr,  the  relics  of,  88. 

Babylon,  25. 

Bacurius,  a  prince  among  the  Ibe- 
rians, 25. 

Bacurius,  an  officer  under  Theodo- 
sius,  135. 

Baptism,  of  Constantino  the  Great,  35  ; 
of  Constantius,  75;  of  Theodo- 
sius  the  Great,  120;  of  Eudocia, 
164;  customs  respecting,  132, 
155,  161,  170;  form  of,  changed 
by  some  Arians,  135;  name 
given  at,  164;  great  sins  after, 
treatment  of,  17,  U2,  128,  132, 
152,  167. 

Barbas,  Arian  bishop,  succeeds  Doro- 
theus,  156;  his  death,  170. 

Barlamenus,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of 
Pergamus,  95. 

Bartholomew,  the  apostle,  goes  to 
India,  23. 

Basil,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  sent  to  An- 
cyra,  34,  51,  55,  56;  opposes 
Photinus,  58;  fails  to  appear  at 
the  Synod  of  Seleucia,  68;  de- 
posed by  Acacius,  72;  petitions 
Jovian,  94. 

Basil,  bishop  of  Cappadocia,  quoted, 
108. 

Basil,  bishop  of  Caesarea,  labors 
against  the  Arian  heresy,  no; 
a  pupil  of  Himerius  and  Pro- 
haeresius,  no;  also  of  Libanius, 
III;  studies  Origen,  in;  or- 
dained a  deacon,  1 11 ;  becomes 
bishop,  III;  is  threatened  with 
martyrdom,  but  escapes.  III; 
companion  of  John  Chrysostom, 

139- 

Basilicus,  excommunicated,  70. 

Beryllus,  bishop  of  Philadelphia, 
heresy  of,  81. 

Berytus,  3,  27;   school  of,  74. 

Bethlehem,  church  built  in,  21. 

Bishops,  contentiousness  of  many,  26, 
27,  118;  dress  of,  72,  152; 
thrones  used  by,  73,  149,  155; 
translations  irregular,  73;  not 
forbidden,  173;  strife  at  election 
of,  113,  138,  169,  172,  177;  not 
to  interfere  with  one  another, 
121,148;  respect  shown  to,  146; 
benediction  given  by,  149;  only 
one  in  a  city,  152;  departed, 
mention  of,  in  church  service,  1 66. 

Boniface,  bishop  of  Rome,  succeeds 
Zosimus,  158. 

Briso,  bishop  of  Philippi,  150. 

Briso,  eunuch  in  the  service  of  Eu- 
doxia,  149. 


Britain,  Christians  of,  15;  a  Novatian 
bishop  lord-lieutenant  of,  15S. 

Budtlas  (previously  called  Terebin- 
thus),  his  death,  25. 

Burgundians,  conversion  of,  169,  170. 

Byzantium,  enlarged  by  Constantine 
the  Great  and  called  Constanti- 
nople, 19-21. 

Crcsarea  in  Palestine,  Eusebius  Pam- 
philus  writes  to,  11,  39. 

Cccsarettm,  church  called  so  in  Alex- 
andria, 160. 

Casars,  the,  Julian's  work  entitled,  92. 

Caius,  bishop,  exiled  under  Constan- 
tius, 55. 

Callicrates,  bishop  of  Claudiopolis,  94. 

Callinicus,  a  Melitian,  used  as  tool 
against  Athanasius,  29. 

Calliopius,  a  presbyter,  166. 

Callistus,  one  of  Julian's  body-guards, 
writes  poetry,  90. 

Calvary,  a  temple  of  Venus  erected 
on  its  summit  by  Hadrian,  21. 

Candles,  lighted,  used  at  prayers  in 
the  churches  of  Achjea,  132; 
of  Thessaly,  and  among  the  Nova- 
tians  of  Constantinople,  1 32. 

Canons,  passed  by  the  Nicene  Coun- 
cil, 19;  Athanasius  charged  of 
violating,  38;  Macedonius  in- 
stalled contrary  to,  43. 

Carosa,  daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Valens,  99. 

Carterius,  an  ascetic,  139. 

Carterius,  a  Macedonian,  135. 

Carya,  building  called,  153. 

'  Cataphrygians,'  the,  a  sect,  63. 

Catechising,  10. 

Catechumens,  in  the  ancient  church, 
114,  132. 

Celestinus,  bishop  of  Rome,  succeeds 
Boniface,  158. 

Ceras,  bay  of  Constantinople,  66. 

Ceremonial  law  abrogatecf,  130. 

Chalcedon,  walls  of,  destroyed,  99. 

Chalice,  story  of  the  broken,  30. 

Chanters  in  the  ancient  church,  how 
chospn,  132. 

Chrestus,  bishop  of  Nicaa,  displaced 
by  Theognis,  20. 

Christianity,  ridiculed  on  account  of 
the  Arian  controversy,  5 ;  its  dis- 
semination among  the  '  Indians  ' 
(Ethiopians),  23;  the  Iberians, 
24;  the  Goths,  115;  the  Persians, 
157;    the  Burgundians,  170. 

Christians,  their  dissensions  charac- 
terized by  outrages,  40  ;  ex- 
posed to  persecution  and  torture, 
55;  real  and  spurious  made 
manifest  by  Julian's  treatment, 
85;  persecuted  under  Julian,  85, 
86,  89;  a  philosopher's  opinion 
on  differences  between  them, 
115;  slaughtered  by  the  Jews  at 
Alexandria,  159;  those  in  Persia 
persecuted,  162. 

Chrysanthus,  Novatian  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  succeeds  Sisin- 
nius,  156,  158;  his  character 
and  virtues,  158;    his  death,  1 61. 

Chrysopolis,  2. 


Church,  history  of,  written  by  Euse- 
bius, I;    relations  to  State,   118. 

Churches,  at  Nicaea,  8;  at  Constanti- 
nople, 21,  38,  43,  66,  67,  73,  96, 
99,  120,  140,  141,  146,  147,  148, 
150,  171,  175,  177;  at  Bethle- 
hem, 21 ;  at  Jerusalem,  21 ;  at 
Heliopolis,  22;  near  the  Oak  of 
Mamre,  22;  in  'India'  (-Ethi- 
opia), 23;  in  Iberia,  24;  at 
Antioch,  38,  97,  119,  120,  126; 
at  Alexandria,  40,  51,  55,  78,  80, 
156,  159,  160;  at  Seleucia,  67, 
68;  at  Cyzicus,  85;  at  Edessa, 
104;  at  Rome,  109,  158;  at 
Milan,  113;  at  Chalcedon,  141, 
1 50;   at  Ancyra,  152. 

Cinaron,  place  where  Hypatia's  limbs 
were  burnt,  160. 

Clearchus,  governor  of  Constanti- 
nople under  Valens,  99. 

Clemens  of  Alexandria,  an  early 
writer,  60,  81. 

Cleomedes,  a  pugilist,  deified,  94. 

Clergy,  marriage  of,  18,  132. 

Coeternity  of  the  Son  of  God,  4,  48, 
60,  123. 

Co-inoriginacy  of  the  Son,  45. 

Colossians,  Epistle  to  the,  1 30. 

Comana,  death  of  Chrysostom  at,  15 1. 

Comet  of  a  prodigious  magnitude, 
141. 

Conflict  between  the  Constantinopoli- 
tans  and  the  Alexandrians,  149; 
between  the  Jews  and  Christians 
at  Alexandria,  159. 

Constans,  the  youngest  son  of  Con- 
stantine the  Great,  35;  favors 
Athanasius  and  Paul,  42,  44; 
threatens  war  against  his  brother 
Constantius,  49;  treacherously 
slain  by  Magnentius,  53;  is  pre- 
sented a  creed,  72. 

Constantia,  wife  of  Licinius  and  sister 
of  Constantine  the  Great,  2; 
interests  herself  in  behalf  of 
Arius,  28;   death  of,  28. 

Constantia,  a  town  in  Palestine,  22. 

Constantianje,  bath  so  named,  99. 

Constantine,  the  Great,  his  life  writ- 
ten by  Eusebius,  i ;  proclaimed 
emperor,  i;  conversion  of,  2; 
conflict  with  Licinius,  2;  pro- 
claimed Autocrat,  3;  sends  Ho- 
sius  to  Alexander  and  Arius,  6; 
convokes  the  Synod  of  Nicaea,  8; 
his  letters  against  Arius,  Eu- 
sebius of  Nicomedia,  and  Theog- 
nis, 13-15;  his  letter  to  Eusebius 
Pamphilus  on  copying  the 
Scriptures,  16;  to  Macarius  on 
building  a  church,  16;  exhorts 
the  Nicomedians  to  choose 
another  bishop,  17;  summons 
Acesius  the  Novatian  to  the  Sy- 
nod, 17;  his  devout  character, 
18;  transfers  the  government  of 
the  empire  to  Constantinople 
and  names  the  city  A'rw  Rome, 
20;  builds  churches  in  it,  20; 
adorns  it,  21;  appropriates  the 
nails  of  the  Saviour's  cross,  21; 
abolishes    gladiatorial    combats, 


434 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


22;  effects  various  reforms,  22; 
progress  of  Christianity  under 
him,  25;  receives  an  Arian 
presbyter  and  invites  Arius  to 
his  presence,  26;  orders  Atha- 
nasius  to  receive  Arius,  29;  sum- 
mons the  Council  of  Tyre  to 
the  Nciu  yeriisalem,  32;  ban- 
ishes Athanasius,  T^y,  receives 
Arius,  34;  baptism,  happy  death, 
and  obsequies,  35 ;  tomb  and 
ashes  removed  by  Macedonius, 
67. 
Constantine  II.,  eldest  son  of  Con- 
stantine  the  Great,  35;  recalls 
and  reinstates  Athanasius,  37; 
writes  to  the  church  of  Alex- 
andria, 37;  again  banishes  Ath- 
anasius, 37;  invades  the  domin- 
ions of  Constans,  and  is  slain,  37, 

53-  . 
Constantine's  Porum,  35. 

Constantinople,  named  New  Rome, 
21;  embellished,  21 ;  disturbance 
at,  about  the  choice  of  a  bishop, 
38,  41;  councils  held  at,  71,  73, 
121,  122,  129,  150;  populous- 
ness  of,  104,  174;  patriarchial 
dignity  of  its  see,  121,  168. 

Constantius  I.,  father  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  his  death,' i. 

Constantius  II.,  second  son  of  Con- 
stantine the  Great,  35;  succeeds 
his  father  and  favors  an  Arian 
presbyter,  36;  transfers  Euse- 
bius  of  Nicomedia  to  Constanti- 
nople, 38;  expels  Paul,  38;  de- 
prives the  inhabitants  of  Con- 
stantinople of  aid  granted  by  his 
father,  41 ;  orders  Paul  to  be 
expelled  by  force,  42;  summons 
the  Eastern  bishops  to  a  con- 
ference, 49;  sustains  a  check  in 
the  war  with  Persia,  53;  pro- 
claimed sole  emperor  of  the 
East,  53;  persecutes  opponents 
of  Arianism,  54;  makes  Gallus 
Caesar,  55;  resides  at  Sirmium, 
59;  goes  to  Rome,  59;  convokes 
a  synod,  59;  puts  Gallus  to  death 
and  raises  his  brother  to  the 
dignity  of  Caesar,  59;  favors  the 
Arian  heresy  and  writes  a  letter 
to  the  Synod  of  Ariminum,  64; 
is  baptized  by  Euzoius  and  dies 
of  apoplexy,  75,  77. 

constantius,  brother  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  and  father  of  lulian, 
76. 

(  ordova  in  Spain,  6. 

Corinth,  metropolitan  see  subject 
to  Rome,  173. 

Corinthians,  First  Epistle  to,  106. 

Cornelius,  bishoj)  of  Rome,  1 1 2. 

Council,  an  ecumenical  first  sum- 
moned, 8;    appeal  to,  149. 

Councils,  the  largest,  convoked  by 
emperors,  1 18;    provincial,  122. 

Creed,  original  form  of,  propounded 
at  the  Nicene  Council,  10,  11 ; 
propounded  by  Narcissus,  Theo- 
dore, Maris  and  Mark,  44;  the 
'  Lengthy,'  45,  46;    the  '  Dated,' 


61;  form  of,  drawn  up  by  Aca- 
cius,  69;  revised  form  of  the 
'Dated,'  70,  71;  are  approved 
by  Ullilas,  72. 

Creeds,  of  Antioch,  39,  40;  of  Sir- 
mium, 56,  57,  61 ;    list  of,  72. 

Cross,  appearance  of,  in  the  sky,  to 
Constantine,  2;  to  Gallus,  55; 
discovery  of  the  true,  21 ;  sign 
of,  appears  on  Jews'  cloaks,  89; 
discovered  among  the  hiero- 
glyphics of  the  Serapeum,  126, 
127;    used  in  processions,  144. 

Crucifixion,  of  a  boy,  161 ;  of  Chris- 
tians at  Alexandria,  79. 

Cubricus,  also  called  Manes,  25. 

Cucusus,  Paul,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople strangled  at,  54,  122. 

Cyprus,  Council  of  bishops  of,  145. 

Cyril,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  succeeds 
Theophilus,  156;  persecutes  and 
plunders  the  Novatians,  156;  ex- 
pels the  Jews,  159;  seeks  the 
approval  of  Orestes,  the  prefect, 
159;  guilt  of,  for  the  murder  of 
Hypatia,  1 60;  deposed  by  John 
of  Antioch,  172. 

Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  installed, 
65 ;  appeals  to  the  emperor 
against  the  decision  of  a  synod, 
70;  ejected  by  Acacius,  72; 
reinstated,  74;  recognizes  ful- 
fillment of  prophecy,  89,  96;  still 
bishop  at  the  accession  of  Theo- 
dosius  the  Great,  1 19;  attends  the 
Synod  of  Constantinople,  121 ; 
his  death,  126. 

Cyrinus,    bishop  of  Chalcedon,   148, 

151- 

Cyrus,  bishop  of  Beroea,  27,  39. 

Dalmatius,  brother  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  76. 

Dalmatius,  nephew  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  appointed  to  investi- 
gate charges  against  Athanasius, 
30;   slain,  53. 

Dalmatius,  an  ascetic,  ordained  bishop 
of  Cyzicus,  168. 

Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome,  receives 
the  deposed  bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria, 106;  occasions  commotion 
at  Rome,  113;  furnishes  Peter 
with  letters,  117;  still  occupies 
his  see  at  the  accession  of  Theo- 
dosius,  119;  reconciled  to  Pla- 
vian,  126;    his  death,  157. 

Daphne,  Apollo  of,  88,  89. 

Deacon,  a,  announces  a  prayer  in 
church,  40;  a  messenger  of 
Lucifer,  80;  a,  brings  scandal 
upon  the  Constantinople  church, 
128. 

Decentius,  brother  of  Magnentius, 
hangs  himself,  59. 

Decius,  persecutes  the  church,  17, 
1 12,  128. 

Demophilus,  Arian  bishop,  vacillation 
of,  61;  refuses  to  anathematize 
Arius,  62;  deposed,  63;  in- 
stalled bisliop  of  Constantinople, 
103;  retains  his  see  at  the  time 
of   Theodosius,    119;    prefers  to 


leave  Constantinople  rather  than 
accept  the  kofiioousion,  120; 
his  death,  124. 

Desecration  of  the  altar  of  the  Great 
Church,  171. 

Deserter,  a  Persian,  his  false  report, 
and  the  burning  of  the  provis- 
ion-ships, 91. 

Didymus,  a  celebrated  blind  scholar, 
quoted,  108;    account  of,  no. 

Didymus,  a  monk,  lived  to  be  ninety 
years  old,  106. 

Digamists,  132. 

Dio-Cffisarea,  Jews  revolt  at,  and  occa- 
sion the  destruction  of,  by  Gallus, 

59-. 
Diocletian,  persecution  under,  i,  85, 

87;  goes  into  retirement,  2; 
death   of,  2. 

Diodorus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  invested 
with  the  administration  of  the 
churches  in  the  East,  122,   139. 

Diogenes,  the  cynic  philosopher,  con- 
demns Apollo,  94. 

Dionysius,  the  consul,  summons  the 
Council  of  Tyre,  30. 

Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alba,  exiled  by 
Constantius,  60. 

Dionysius,  author  of  Corona,  93. 

Dioscorus,  bishop  of  Hermopolis,  one 
of  the  'Tall  Monks,'  143;  ac- 
cepts Origen's  views,  143;  comes 
to  Constantinople,  144;  incurs 
the  anger  of  Theophilus,  145; 
excommunicated  by  Epiphanius, 
148;    his  death,  150. 

Dioscorus,  a  presbyter,  exiled  under 
Constantius,  55. 

Discipline,  among  Novatians,  17,  112; 
among  Macedonians  andQuarto- 
decimans,  132^  133. 

Discussion,  religious,  bad  effect  of, 
22,  26,  123;  general,  proposed 
by  Theodosius,  122;  between 
Theophilus  of  Alexandria  and 
the  monks,  142,  143. 

Ditheism,  disclaimed,  46;  condemned, 

56. 

Divination,  pagan,  infamous  rite  at, 
86;  incites  Valens  to  slay  many, 
105. 

Dominica,  wife  of  Valens,  impressed 
with  visions  respecting  the  bishop 
Basil  intercedes  with  the  emperor 
on  his  behalf,  in;  distributes 
pay  to  volunteers,  118. 

Domitian,  pra'torian  prefect,  59. 

Dorotheus,  Arian  bishop  of  Antioch, 
119;  transferred  to  Constantino- 
ple, 124;   his  views,  134. 

Dorotheus,  a  presbyter,  70. 

Dositheus,  bishop  of  .Seleucia,  173. 

Dracilian,  charged  to  embellish  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  17. 

Dracontius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Per- 
gamus  deposed  by  Acacius,   72, 

73- 
Drepanum,     called    Helenopolis    by 

Constantius   the  Great,  21,  22. 

Drownings  in  the  Orontes,  97,  104. 

Earthijuakes,  at  Antioch,  40;  in  Bi- 
thynia,  67;  at  Jerusalem  prevent- 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO   SOCRATES'    HISTORY. 


435 


ing  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple 
of  the  Jews,  89;  at  Constantiiu)- 
ple  and  other  cities,  doing  great 
damage,  97;  in  Bithynia  and 
elsewhere  taken  as  an  t)men,  icx). 

Easter,  discussions  as  to  right  time  of 
observance  of,  8,  15,  131;  week 
of,  55;  observance  among  No- 
vatians,  112,  129,  130;  among 
other  peoples  in  various  places, 
131 ;  time  not  changed  by  the 
Nicene  C'ouncil,  133. 

Eastern  bishops  disclaim  the  inter- 
ference of  the  see  of  Rome,  42. 

Eastern  and  Western  churches,  sepa- 
ration of,  49. 

Ecclesiastical  History,  the  author's 
reasons  for  revising  this  work  on, 
36;  ht  style  for,  76;  bound  up 
with  civil  affairs,  118. 

Ecebolius,  the  sophist,  76;  his  hy- 
pocrisy, 85. 

'  Economy,'  the,    of   incarnation,  46, 

48,  75- 

Edesius,  visits  'India'  (Ethiopia), 
aids  in  the  dissemination  of 
Christianity,  and  is  appointed 
bishop  of  Tyre,  23. 

Edessa,  study  of  Greek  at,  39; 
Athanasius'  presbyters  at,  50 ; 
persecutions  at,  104. 

Eleusius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Cyzi- 
cus,  66;  his  cruel  persecution 
of  the  orthodox,  67-69;  de- 
posed by  Acacius,  72;  asso- 
ciated with  jSIacedonius,  72,  73; 
professes  the  Arian  creed,  re- 
pents and  advises  his  people  to 
choose  another  bishop,  but  is 
persuaded  by  them  to  remain 
among  them,  97,  98;  his  flock 
erect  an  edifice  without  the  city, 
98;  superseded  by  Eunomius  at 
Cyzicus,  98;  attends  Synod  of 
Constantinople,  121 ;  draws  up 
views  for  Theodosius  I.,  1 23. 

Elpidius,  bishop  of  Satala,  deposed 
by  Acacius,  72. 

Empedocles,  a  heathen  philosopher, 

25- 

Ephesus,  school  of,  76;  visited  by 
Chrysostom,  146;  Council  of,  172. 

Epicureans,  a  sect  of  philosophers, 
87. 

Epimenides,  a  philosopher  of  Crete, 
88. 

Epiphanius,  a  sophist,  74. 

Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Cyprus,  au- 
thor of  Ancora/tis,  135;  insti- 
gated by  Theophilus  of  Alexan- 
,  dria,  condemns  Origen  and  calls 
on  John  to  do  so,  145;  goes  to 
Constantinople  and  performs  un- 
canonical  ordinations,  147;  is 
warned  by  John,  departs  from 
Constantinople,  and  dies  on  the 
return  voyage,  14S. 

Epistle,  of  Alexander,  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  denouncing  the  Arian 
heresy,  3-5;  of  Constantine  to 
Arius  and  Alexander,  6,  7;  of 
the  Xicene  Council,  announcing 
its    decisions,    12,    13;    of    Con- 


stantine, to  the  bishops  and  peo- 
ple against  the  imjiiety  of  Por- 
phyry and  Arius,  13,  14;  of  the 
same,  to  the  churches  relative  to 
Easter,  14-16;  of  the  same, 
to  Eusel)ius  Pampliilus  and 
bishops  elsewhere  relative  to  the 
erection  and  maintenance  of 
church  edifices,  16;  of  the  same, 
to  Eusebius  Pamphilus  relative 
to  the  preparation  of  copies 
of  the  Scriptures,  16;  of  the 
same,  to  Macarius,  relative  to  the 
site  of  the  holy  sepulchre,  16, 
17;  of  the  same,  to  the  Synod 
of  Tyre,  32;  of  the  Synod  of 
Antioch  to  bishops,  39;  another, 
40;  of  Constantius  to  Athanasius, 
49,  50;  of  Julius,  bishop  of 
Rome,  to  Alexandria  on  behalf  of 
Athanasius,  50,  51;  of  Constan- 
tius, announcing  the  restoration 
of  Athanasius,  51,  52;  of  the 
same,  to  the  laity,  52;  of  the 
same,  rescinding  the  enactments 
against  Athanasius,  52;  of  the 
Council  of  Ariminum  to  Con- 
stantius, 63;  of  Constantius  to 
the  Council  of  Ariminum,  64; 
second,  of  the  Council  of  Ari- 
minum to  Constantius,  65;  of 
Julian  to  the  citizens  of  Alexan- 
dria, on  the  murder  of  George, 
79,  80;  of  the  Synod  of  Mace- 
donians and  Acacians  convened 
at  Antioch  to  Jovian,  94,  95;  of 
the  Arians  to  Liberius,  bishop  of 
Rome,  loi;  of  Liberius  to  the 
Arians,  loi,  I02;  of  the  apostles 
and  elders  at  Jerusalem  to  the 
church  at  Antioch,  134;  of  At- 
ticus  to  Calliopius,  166. 

'  Eternal  Fatherhood,'  denied  by 
Arius,  4  ;  admitted  verbally  by 
later  Arians,  134. 

Ethiopica,  book  under  that  title,  132. 

Eucharist,  celebrated  T)n  Saturday 
and  Sunday,  131,  158;  received 
fasting,  131;  not  administered 
to  heretics,  143;  nor  to  those 
under  censure,  144;  variously 
celebrated,  131. 

Eudsemon,  a  Melitian,  used  as  a  tool 
against  Athanasius,  29. 

Eudsemon,  a  presbyter  of  the  Con- 
stantinopolitan  church,  counsels 
the  abolition  of  the  penitentiary 
presbyterate,  128;  remarks  by 
the  author,  128. 

Eudocia,  wife  of  the  Emperor  Theo- 
dosius 11.,  writes  poem,  164;  goes 
to  Jerusalem,  178. 

Eudoxia,  wife  of  the  Emperor  Arca- 
dius,  provides  silver  crosses  for 
the  Homoousians,  144;  incites 
Epiphanius  against  John,  148; 
her  silver  statue,  150;  her  death, 

151- 

Eudoxia,  daughter  of  Iheodosius  II., 

Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Germanicia,  44; 
installs  himself  in  the  see  of 
.\ntioch,    61;   deposed,  68,    70; 


gives  place  to  Anianus,  71 ;  pro- 
moted to  the  see  of  Constanti- 
nople, 73,  96;  his  impious  jest- 
ing, 73;  disturl)S  the  church  of 
Alexandria,  103;    his  death,  103. 

Eugenius,  a  usurper,  ajjpointed  chief 
secretary  to  V'alcntinian  II., 
causes  his  master  to  be  stran- 
gled and  assumes  supreme  au- 
thority, 135;  is  defeated  and  be- 
headed  by  Theodosius  I.,  136. 

Eulalius,  bishop  of  Cctsarea,  72. 

Eunomians,  a  sect,  6;  formerly 
called  .\etians,  60. 

Eunomieutychians,  followers  of 
Eutychius,  135. 

Eunomiotheophronians,  followers  of 
Theophronius,  135. 

Eunomius,  Anomtjean  bishop  of  Cyzi- 
cus, head  of  the  sect  of  Euno- 
mians, 60;  appointed  to  super- 
sede Eleusius  in  Cyzicus,  98;  his 
heretical  views,  98;  seeks  refuge 
in  Constantinople,  98;  speci- 
mens of  his  impiety,  98;  sep- 
arates from  Eudoxius,  103; 
leader  of  Arians,  III;  draws 
up  statement  of  the  faith  for 
Theodosius  I.,  123;  holds  meet- 
ings privately,  128,  129;  his  fol- 
lowers divided,  134. 

Eunuchs,  influence  of,  at  court,  36- 

Euphemia,  a  martyr,  141. 

Euphronius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  27; 
succeeded  by  Placitus,  38. 

Euripides,  ancient  tragic  poet,  88. 

Eusebia,  wife  of  Constantius,  77. 

Eusebius,  bishop  of  Ccesarea,  sur- 
named  Pamphilus,  writes  a  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  i ;  quoted, 
6,  8,  9;  retracts  his  dissent  from 
the  Nicene  Creed,  10 ;  his  views 
of  the  Creed,  10-12;  written  to 
by  Constantine,  16;  undertakes 
to  record  Constantine's  deeds, 
21;  censured  by  some,  22; 
treated  of  Manes,  25;  quoted, 
26;  denies  accusation  by  Eu- 
stathius  and  makes  a  counter- 
charge, 27;  refuses  the  vacant 
see  of  Antioch  and  is  com- 
mended therefor  by  Constan- 
tine, 27;  refutes  the  heresy  of 
Marcellus,  34;  his  death,  37; 
review  and  defense  of  his  writ- 
ings, and  quotations  from  the 
same,  47,  48;  refuted  Julian's, 
writings,  93;    quoted,   1 31,   171, 

173- 
Eusebius,    bishop    of     Emisa,    early 

career,  39;  made  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  39. 
Eusebius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  pre- 
viously of  Berytus,  3;  indorses 
Arius,  3,  5,  6,  8;  refuses  his  as- 
sent to  the  Nicene  Creed,  10; 
exiled,  lO;  recalled  from  exile, 
20;  copy  of  his  recantation,  20; 
returns  to  his  heretical  course, 
26;  conspires  against  Athana- 
sius, 29,  2,2,;  renews  efforts  to 
introduce  .-Vrianism,  36;  is  trans- 
ferred  to  the   see   of  Constanti- 


436 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY 


nople,  38;  sends  a  deputation  to 
Rome,  40;  his  death,  41. 

Eusebius,  Ijishop  of  Vercellns,  exiled 
by  Constantius,  60;  recalled 
from  exile,  80;  goes  to  Alexan- 
dria, 80;  travels  through  the  East 
to  bring  unity  in  the  Church,  S3, 
84. 

Eusebius,  eunuch,  Arian,  introduces 
Arianism  into  the  palace,  36; 
put  to  death  by  the  Emperor 
Julian,  78. 

Eusebius,  '  Scholasticus,'  author  of 
the   Gainea,  142. 

Eusebius,  one  of   the  '  Tall  Monks,' 

143- 

Eusebius,  unknown  person,  excom- 
municated, 70. 

Eusebius,  a  consul,  68. 

Eustathius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  t^-; 
accuses  Eusebius  Pamphilus,  27; 
deposed,  27,  39;  various  reasons 
for  this,  27;  a  follower  of  Mace- 
donius,  84;  ordains  Evagrius  to 
the  see  of  Constantinople,  103; 
is  banished  by  Valens,  103;  a 
reviler  of  Origen,  147. 

Eustathius,  bishop  of  Sebastia  in 
Armenia,  present  at  the  Synod 
of  Seleucia,  68;  deposed  for  im- 
pious practices,  72;  joins  the 
Marathonians,  74;  heads  a  dep- 
utation to  the  Emperor  Valen- 
tinian,  100-102;  proceeds  to 
Sicily,  102. 

Eustathius,  an  unknown  person,  de- 
posed, 70. 

Eustolium,  an  immoral  woman,  54. 

Euthymius,  one  of  the  '  Tall  Monks,' 

143- 
Eutropius,  a  Macedonian    presbyter, 

Eutropius,  chief  eunuch  of  the  im- 
perial bed-chaml)er  under  Arca- 
dius,  opposes  Chrysostom,  138; 
provokes  him  to  write  an  ora- 
tion against  himself,  140;  incurs 
the  emperor's  displeasure  and 
is  beheaded,  140. 

Eutychian,  a  Novatian  presbyter,  19; 
miraculous  effects  attributed  tcj 
his  sanctity,  19. 

Eutychius,  unknown  person  excom- 
municated, 70. 

Eutychius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Eleu- 
theropolis,  95. 

Eutychius,  leader  among  the  Euno- 
mians,  founds  the  faction  of  the 
*  Eunomiijuutychians,'  135. 

Euxine  Sea,  24. 

Euzo'ius,  Arian  bishop  of  Antioch,  as 
deacon  associates  with  Arius  and 
is  exiled,  28;  returns  from  exile, 
28;  recants,  29;  received  by  the 
Synod  of  Tyre,  32;  promoted 
to  the  see  of  Antioch,  73;  bap- 
tizes Constantine,  75;  holds  the 
churches  at  Antioch,  84;  attempts 
to  depose  Peter  an<l  install  Lu- 
cius, 105;  his  death,  116;  suc- 
ceeded by  Dorotheus,  119. 

Evagrius,  bishop  of  Mitylene,  de- 
posed,   70;     elected    bishop    of 


Constantinople  by  the  orthodox, 
but    banished    by    the    emperor, 

103. 

Evagrius,  a  Christian  writer,  disciple 
of  two  Egyptian  monks,  both 
named  Macarius,  107;  deacon 
in  the  church  of  Constantinople, 
107;  titles  of  his  books.  Si,  107; 
quotations  from,  107,  108,  161; 
avoids  bishopric,  his  excuse,  109. 

Evagrius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  suc- 
ceeds Paulinus,  125,  138,  139. 

Evagrius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Sicily, 

95- 
Excommunication,  74,  130,  158. 

Exemption  of  clerics  from  civil  office, 

52>  71- 
Exorcism,  109. 

'  Expansion,'  Marcellus'  theory  of,  57. 
'  Exucontians,'  a  sect,  74. 

Famine,  in  Phrygia,  104;  among  the 
Persian  prisoners,  164. 

Fasting,  in  distress,  34;  prescribed 
by  Eustathius,  72;  forbidden  on 
Sundays,  72,  131 ;  imposed  as 
penance,  128;  various  customs 
relative  to,  131 ;  required  before 
baptism,  161. 

Fatalism,  taught  by  Manes,  26. 

Felix,  Arian  liishop  of  Rome,  ap- 
pointed, 65;    expelled,  65. 

Festivals,  Christian,  origin  of,  130. 

Fidelis,  a  person  of  the  name,  excom- 
municated, 70. 

Fire,  causes  destruction  at  Constanti- 
nople, 17;  from  heaven  con- 
sumes the  iron  tools  of  the  Jews, 
89;    Persians  worship,  157. 

Firmus,  bishop  of  Cassarea,  178. 

Flaccilla,  first  wife  of  Theodosius  the 
Great,  1 14;  bears  him  a  son,  124. 

Flavian,  bishop  of  Antioch,  a  candi- 
date for  the  episcopacy,  119; 
made  bishop,  122;  other  bishops 
combine  against  him,  123;  uses 
all  means  to  counteract  their  in- 
fluence, 125;    his  death,  157. 

'Fortune,'  goddess  of,  85. 

Franks,  a  northern  race,  invade  the 
Roman  territories,  40;  subdued 
by  the  consul  Constans,  41. 

Fravitus,  a  Goth,  honored  with  the 
office  of  consul,  142. 

Fritigernes,  chief  of  a  division  of  the 
Guths,  115. 

Frumcntius,  missionary  bishop  in  '  In- 
dia' (Ethiopia),  23;  appointed 
bishop,  23. 

Funeral  rites,  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  35;  of  Paul,  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  122;  of  Theo- 
dosius the  (jreat,  137;  of  the 
'Tall  Monk'  Dioscorus,  150;  of 
Maximian,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, 175;  of  John  Chrysostom, 
177;    of  Paul  the  Novatian,  177. 

Gai'nas,  a  Goth,  commander-in-chief 
of  the  Roman  army,  140;  rebels 
against  tiie  Romans,  141 ;  ap- 
proaches Constantinople  with  an 
army,  141 ;    is  proclaimed  a  pub- 


lic enemy,   142;    defeated,  flees 
to  Thrace,  and  is  slain,  142. 

Gainea,  a  book  written  by  Eusebius 
Scholasticus,  142. 

Gaius,  Arian  bishop,  refuses  to  anathe- 
matize Arius,  62 ;  deposed  by  the 
Synod  of  Ariminum,  63. 

Galates,  son  of  Valens,  in. 

Galatians,  Epistle  of  the,  130. 

Galerius,  surname  of  Maximus,  i. 

'  Galilasans,'  Christians  called  by  Ju- 
lian, 85. 

Galla,  wife  of  Theodosius  the  Great, 
and  daughter  of  Valentinian  I., 
114. 

Gallus,  Cresar,  nephew  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  invested  with  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Syria,  55;  destroys 
Dio-Cresarea,  59;  attempts  inno- 
vations, and  is  slain  therefor  by 
order  of  Constantius,  59,  77. 

Gangra,  Synod  of,  72. 

'  Generation,  the  Eternal,'  ^iT^. 

George,  a  learned  Arian  presbyter, 
156. 

George,  Arian  bishop  of  Laodicea, 
27;  gives  an  account  of  Euse- 
bius of  Emisa,  39;  leads  the 
purely  Arian  faction  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  Seleucia,  68;  author  of  the 
'  Exucontian  sophism,'  74. 

George,  Arian  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
installed,  41 ;  raises  tumult  at  the 
arrival  of  Athanasius  at  Alexan- 
dria, 42,  54;  commits  horrible 
atrocities,  54-56;  one  of  the 
Semi-Arian  leaders  at  the  Council 
of  Seleucia,  68;  jiersecutes  his 
opponents,  74;  burnt  by  pagans, 
79;  his  death  resented  by  the 
Emperor  Juliair,  79,  80. 

Germinius,  Arian  bishop,  57;  vacil- 
lates, 61 ;  refuses  to  anathema- 
tize Arius,  62;  deposed  by  the 
Synod  of  Ariminum,  63. 

Gladiatorial  games,  caused  to  cease 
by  Constantine,  22. 

Gnostic,  the,  a  book  written  by 
Evagrius,  107. 

Gold,  used  for  churches,  17;  for 
sacred  vessels,  164. 

Gomarius,  a  rebel  general  put  to 
death  by  order  of  Valens,  97. 

Gospels,  book  of  the,  159. 

(Joths,  invade  the  Riuuan  territories, 
and  being  defeated  embrace 
Christianity,  22;  many  accept 
Christianity  under  Valens,  115; 
renew  their  attack  against  Con- 
stantinople and  are  repulsed. 

Grammarians,  74,  76,  87,  126,  135. 

Grata,  daughter  of  Valentinian  L, 
114. 

Gratian,  proclaimed  ^Augustus,  100; 
recalls  the  orthodox  bishops, 
118;  excludes  Eunomians,  Pho- 
tinians,  and  Manichitans  from 
the  churches,  119;  takes  Theo- 
dosius as  a  colleague,  119;  ob- 
tains a  victory  over  barbarians, 
120;   slain  by  Maximus,  124. 

Greek  literature,  studied,  39,  156; 
defense  of,  86,  87. 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    SOCRATES'    HISTORY. 


437 


Gregory,  Arian  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
designated  as  such,  39;  his  in- 
stallation resisted  and  resented 
by  the  people,  40;  ejected  from 
the  see  of  Alexandria,  antl  suc- 
ceeded by  George,  41,  112. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Neo-Ctesarea, 
called  Thaumaturgus,  III,  112. 

Gregory,  the  Just,  recognizes  three 
virtues,  loS. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Xazianzus,  his 
sketch  of  the  Emperor  Julian,  92; 
associated  with  Basil,  loo,  iio; 
ordains  Evagrius,  107;  pupil  of 
Himerius  and  Prohieresius,  no; 
also  of  Libanius,  ill;  studies 
Origen,  in;  made  bishop  of 
Na/,ian/.us,  ill;  transferred  to 
Constantinople,  120;  abdicates, 
1 20;    transference  of,  173. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Nyssa,  brother  of 
Basil,  III,  112;  becomes  patri- 
arch of  the  diocese  of  Pontus, 
122;  pronounces  a  funeral  ora- 
tion on  Melitius  of  Antioch,  122. 

Hades,  descent  of  Christ  into,  61. 
Hail  of  prodigious  size    falls    and  is 

considered  ominous,  100. 
Harpocration,    bishop    of   Cynopolis, 

Heathen  temples  in  Alexandria  de- 
molished, 126. 

Hebrew,  study  of,  156. 

Hebrews,  Epistle  to  the,  ascribed  to  St. 
Paul,  109,  130. 

Helena,  mother  to  Constantine  the 
Great,  erects  a  magnificent  church 
on  the  site  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre, 21,  22;  also  at  Bethlehem 
and  on  the  Mount  of  Ascension, 
21;    her  death,  21. 

Helenopolis,    previously    Drepanum, 

Heliodorus,  bishop  of  Tricca  in 
Thessaly,  reputed  author  of  the 
Ethiopica,  132. 

Helion,  a  Roman  of  distinction,  ne- 
gotiates with  the  Persians,  163; 
conveys  the  crown  to  Valen- 
tinian,  166. 

Heliopolis,  corrupt  practices  at,  22. 

Helladius,  bishop  of  Pontus,  121, 
122. 

Helladius,  a  pagan  grammarian,  hav- 
ing slain  nine  Christians,  flies 
from  Alexandria  to  Constanti- 
nople and  becomes  the  teacher 
of  the  author,  126. 

Hellespont,  the  stronghold  of  Mace- 
donianism,  74,  97. 

Heraclides,  bishop  of  Ephesus,  a 
Cypriot  by  birth,  ordained  by 
Chrysostom,  146;  his  case  in- 
vestigated by  a  council,  149, 
150. 

Heraclius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  74. 

Heraclius,  a  priest  of  Hercules  at 
Tyre,  ordained  a  deacon,  72. 

Herculius,  the  surname  of  Maxim- 
ian,  I. 

Heresy,  why  allowed  to  arise,  26. 

Heretics,  hostility  towards,  169. 


Hermes,  a  bishop  exiled  under  C'on- 
stantius,  55. 

Hernu)genes,  a  general  under  Con- 
stantius,  slain,  41. 

Ilermogencs,  a  Novatian  bishop,  15S. 

Hierax,  ]iresbyter,  exiled  under  Con- 
stantius,  55. 

Hierax,  a  teacher  of  letters  at  Alex- 
andria, 159. 

Hieroglyphics,  found  in  the  Serapeum, 
126. 

Hierojihilus,  bishop  of  Trapezopolis, 

■73-. 

Hilary,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  74. 

Hilary,  bishop  of  Poictiers,  confutes 
Arianism,  84. 

Himerius,  a  sophist  of  Athens,  no. 

Hippodrome,  place  in  Constantinople, 
21;  sports  of  the,  I17,  136,  165, 
166. 

Holy  Spirit,  divinity  of,  74,  81. 

Ilomoion,  first  used  at  the  Council  of 
Ariminum,  61 ;  again  by  Acacius, 
69,  70,  74. 

HoiuoioHsioii,  first  used  by  Acacius, 
69;  again  as  a  counterfeit  of 
hoiiiooHsion,  by  Macedonius,  73. 

Homoousion,  first  used  in  the  Xicene 
Council,  10,94,  loi;  discussion 
of  the  meaning  of,  10,  n,  12, 
27;  accepted,  94,  101-103;  re- 
jected by  Arians,  68,  84,  119. 

Honoratus,  first  prefect  of  Constanti- 
nople, 71. 

Honorius,  emperor,  son  of  Theodo- 
sius  the  Great,  124;  his  birth, 
124;  assumes  the  government 
of  the  Western  Empire,  137;  his 
death,  165. 

Hosius,  bishop  of  Cordova  in  Spain, 
takes  letter  from  Constantine  to 
Arius  and  Athanasius,  6;  present 
at  the  Nicene  Council,  19;  re- 
fuses to  put  out  Athanasius  from 
the  Council  of  Sardica,  47;  at- 
tends the  Council  of  Sirmium,  56; 
compelled  to  assent  to  its  decis- 
ions, 58,  59;  originated  the 
controversy  concerning  theologi- 
cal terms,  81. 

Huns,  the,  vanquish  the  Goths,  115; 
ravage  Armenia,  138;  invade 
and  devastate  the  territories  of 
the  Burgundians,  170. 

Hymns,  processional,  sung  nightly  by 
the  orthodox,  origin  of,  144. 

Hypatia,  a  female  philosopher  of 
Alexandria,  murdered  by  the 
monks,  1 50. 

Hypatian,  bishop  of  Heraclea,  56. 

Hypostasis,  used  with  the  meaning  of 
'  essence  '  or  '  subsistence,'  3,  10, 
44,  45,  56,  81 ;  with  the  meaning 
of  'personality'  27,  40;  various 
meanings  in  various  authors,  81 ; 
rejected  by  the  Acacians,  71; 
used  in  the  Nicene  Council,  10, 
102. 

Hypselopolis,  32. 

Iberians,  converted  to  Christianity,  24. 

Ignatius,  called   'Theophorus,'  third 

bishop    of    Antioch,    introduces 


nocturnal  hymn-singing  into  the 
church,  144. 

Image  of  the  Father,  Christ  the,  40. 

'Immortals,  the,'  I'ersian  troops 
called  so,  163. 

Impostor,  miraculous  detection  of  a 
Jewish,  161;  a  Jewish,  causes 
great  sacrifice  of  life  under  the 
name  t)f  Moses,  175. 

Incomprehensil)ility  of  God,  denied 
by  Anomrjcans,  98. 

'Indians'  (Ethiopians)  converted  to 
Christianity,  23. 

'  Indifferent  Canon,'  the,  of  the  Nova- 
tians,  129. 

Inferiority  of  the  Son,  asserted  by  the 
Arians,  58. 

Inmestar,  sports  of  the  Jews  at,  161. 

Innocent,  bishop  of  Rome,  157,  158. 

Innovation,  in  doctrine,  to  be  avoided, 
81. 

Interment,  magnificent,  of  Constan- 
tine the  Great,  35;  of  Theodo- 
sius  the  Cireat,  137;  of  Atticus, 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  167. 

Irenteus,  grammarian,  81. 

Irenaeus,  l)ishop  of  Lyons,  81,  130. 

Irene,  virgin  daughter  of  Spyridon  of 
Cyprus,  18. 

Irene,  church  so  called,  21,  34,  38,  43. 

Irenion,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Gaza, 

95- 

Isacocis,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Arme- 
nia Major,  95. 

Ischyras,  pretended  presbyter,  ma- 
ligns Athanasius,  30;  exposed, 
31 ;   made  a  bishop,  47. 

Isdigerdes,  king  of  Persia,  converted 
to  Christianity,  157;  his  death, 
157,  161. 

Isidore,  an  Egj'ptian  monk,  professes 
perfection,  107. 

Isidore,  a  presbyter  of  Alexandria, 
opposes  the  ordination  of  John, 

138- 
Ision,   a    Melitian    used    as    a    tool 
against  Athanasius,  29. 

Jerusalem,  visited  by  Helena,  21 ; 
church  erected  in,  21,  30,  32; 
synod  held  in,  32,  52,  54;  visited 
by  Eudocia,  178. 

Jews,  of  Dio-Cajsarea,  revolt,  59; 
attempt  to  rebuild  the  temple  of 
Solomon,  89,  90;  irregular  ob- 
servance of  Passover  by,  15,  130, 
13I'  133;  "0^^  converted  by  the 
healing  of  a  paralytic,  155; 
expelled  from  Alexandria,  159; 
outrageous  conduct  of,  at  Jeru- 
salem, 161 ;  many  converted  in 
Crete  in  consequence  of  the  do- 
ings of  the  Pseudo-Moses,  175. 

Johannites,  the,  adherists  of  John 
Chrysostom,  so  called,  151;  con- 
ciliated by  Atticus,  166. 

John,  called  also  Achab,  Melitian,  31. 

John,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  succeeds 
to  the  see,  126. 

John,  bishop  of  Gordium,  173. 

John,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  called 
Chrysostom,  ordained  bishop, 
138;   his  birth  and  previous  edu- 


438 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


cation,  138,  139;  his  works,  139; 
ordained  '  presbyter  by  Taulinus, 
139;  draws  on  himself  the  dis- 
pleasure of  many,  140;  his  treat- 
ment of  Eutropius,  140;  becomes 
increasingly  celebrated,  144;  in- 
stitutes processional  singing,  144; 
ordains  Heraclides  bishop  of 
Ephesus,  146;  warns  Epipha- 
nius,  148;  expelled  by  the  Synod 
'at  the  (3ak,'  148,  149;  banished, 
149;  returns  on  account  of  sedi- 
tion among  the  people,  149; 
preaches  against  Eudoxia,  the 
empress,  150;  exiled  a  second 
time,  150;  dies  in  exile  at 
Comana,  151;  his  name  regis- 
tered in  the  diptychs,  166;  his 
remains  removed  to  Constanti- 
nople, 177. 
John,  secretary  of  Theodosius  II., 
usurps  the  sovereign  power,  165; 
put  to  death,  166. 
John,  bishop  of  Antioch,  deposes 
Cyril,  but  is  reconciled  to  him, 
172. 
John,    the    Apostle,    First    Catholic 

Epistle  of,  171. 
Josephus,    author    of    Jewish   Anti- 
quities, 131. 
Jovian,   Emperor,  prefers,   while  still 
an  officer  in  the  army,  to  resign 
his  office    rather    than  renounce 
Christianity,  85 ;  proclaimed  em- 
peror,   90;     closes    the     Persian 
war,    91;     publicly    accepts    the 
'  homoousian  '    creed,  and  shuts 
up  the  pagan  temples,  94;    pro- 
claims general  tolerance,  95;    is 
declared  consul  at  Antioch,  but 
dies  suddenly,  95. 
Judaizing  not  consistent  with  Chris- 
tianity, 133. 
Judgments  of  God  mysterious,  26. 
Julian,    Emperor,    made    Ctesar,    59; 
rebuilds  a  Novatian  church,  66; 
proclaimed     emperor,    75;      his 
early  education,  76,  77;    is  mar- 
ried to  the  emperor's  sister,  77; 
a  civic  crown  falls  upon  his  head, 
77;     takes    the    barlmrian    king 
prisoner,  acts    independently    of 
Constantius,  throws  off  Christian- 
ity, and  excites  a  civil  war  against 
Constantius,  77;    makes  a  public 
entry    into    Constantinople,    77; 
recalls    the    exiled    bishops,   78; 
commands  the  pagan  temples  to 
be    opened,    enforces    economy 
in  the  household,  reforms  modes 
of  travelling,  patrimi/.es  literature 
and      philosophy,      and      writes 
against   the   Christians,    78;     re- 
sents  the   murder  of  George  of 
Alexandria,    and    writes    to    the 
citizens    of    Alexandria    on    the 
subject,  79;  recalls  bishops  Luci- 
fer and  Eusebius  Irom  exile,  80; 
becomes    hostile    to    Christians, 
favors    pagan   superstitions,   and 
is  rebuked  by  Maris,  the   blind 
bishop    of    Chalcedon,    85;     ex- 
cludes Christians  fnmi  the  study 


of  Greek  literature  to  disable 
them  for  argument,  and  interdicts 
their  holding  official  positions, 
85;  endeavors  to  bribe  their 
compliance,  goes  to  war  with  the 
Persians,  and  extorts  money  from 
the  Christians,  85 ;  seeks  to  ap- 
prehend Athanasius,  and  mocks 
the  Christians,  86;  accelerates 
his  movements  against  the  Per- 
sians, 88;  oppresses  the  trade 
of  Antioch,  opens  the  pagan 
temples  of  that  city,  and  en- 
deavors to  obtain  an  oracle  from 
Apollo  of  Daphne,  V)ut  fails,  88; 
commands  the  prefect  to  perse- 
cute Christians,  and  cruelly  tor- 
tures Theodore,  89;  receives  and 
abruptly  dismisses  the  Persian 
envoys,  orders  the  Jews  to  re- 
build the  temple  of  Solomon  at 
the  expense  of  the  public  treas- 
ury, 89;  thwarted  in  this  by 
earthquakes,  fire,  etc.,  90;  in- 
vades Persia,  believes  he  is  sec- 
ond Alexander,  and  refuses  to 
wear  armor,  and  is  mortally 
wounded,  90;  the  pagans  lament 
his  death,  90;  Libanius  com- 
poses funeral  oration,  91;  esti- 
mate of  his  character,  92;  his 
obsequies,  95,  96. 

Julius,  bishop  of  Rome,  declines  to 
appear  at  the  Synod  of  Antioch, 
38;  affords  Athanasius  a  refuge, 
42;  vindicates  the  privileges  of 
the  see  of  Rome,  42,  43;  defends 
Athanasius,  43;  censured  by 
some,  47;  writes  to  Alexandria, 
50;   his  death,  59. 

Justa,  daughter  of  Valentinian,  114. 

Justina,  wife  of  Valentinian  I.,  114; 
persecutes  and  banishes  Amljrose 
of  Milan,  124. 

Justus,  father  of  justina,  his  remark- 
able dream  for  which  he  is  assas- 
sinated, 1 14. 

Juvenal,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  172. 

Kingdom  of  Christ,    everlasting,   44, 

Knowledge,  complete,  of  God,  Arms 
denies  the  Son  to  have,  4;  Eu- 
nomius  asserts  men  to  have,  98. 

Laity,  right  of,  in  episcopal  elections, 
38,  129,  138. 

Lamps,  prayers  at  lighting  of,  132. 

Lampsacus,  Council  of,  97. 

Lauricius,  a  military  commander  un- 
der Constantius,  68;  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  Seleucia,  70;  exiles  Ani- 
anus,  71. 

Law,  study  of,  112,  138,  139. 

Layman,  a,  made  arbitrator,  174. 

Lent,   54;    varieties  of  usage   as   to, 

131- 

Leonas,  an  official  under  Constantius, 

68,  69;    summarily  dissolves  the 
Council  of   Seleucia,    70;   exiles 
Anianus,  71. 
Leontius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  54,  60; 
his  death,  61. 


Leontius,  bishop  of  Tripolis  in  Lydia, 

deposed,  70. 
Leontius,  bishop  of  Comana,  94. 
Leontius,  Novatian  bishop  at  Rome, 

Leontius,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  150,  152. 

Leontius,  a  sophist,  father  of  the  Em- 
press Eudocia,  164. 

Libanius,  the  Syrian  rhetorician,  sur- 
reptitiously instructs  Julian,  76; 
address  orations  to  the  emperor 
and  to  the  Antiochenes,  88; 
composes  a  funeral  oration  on 
Julian,  91;  refutation  of  it,  91- 
94;  instructs  Basil  and  Gregory, 
III;  instructs  John  Chrysostom 
and  others,  138,  139. 

Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome,  elevated 
to  the  see,  59,  96;  exiled  and 
reinstated,  65 ;  receives  a  depu- 
tation of  bishops  and  dismisses 
them,  100-103,  II9- 

Licinius,  a  Dacian,  is  appointed  suc- 
cessor to  Maximian  Galerius,  i ; 
persecutes  the  Christians,  2;  de- 
ceives Constantine  by  his  craft, 
but  is  defeated  by  him,  2;  com- 
pelled to  live  at  Thessalonica, 
rebels,  3;   his  death,  3,  16. 

Linen  vestments,  29. 

Loaves  of  benediction,  158. 

Logos,  eternal  and  uncreated,  4 ;  per- 
sonal, 45. 

Lucian  of  Area,  Semi-Arian  bishop, 
95,  109. 

Lucifer,  bishop  of  Carala,  appointed 
to  the  see  of  Antioch,  80;  con- 
stitutes Paulinus  their  bishop  and 
departs  to  Antioch,  80,  83;  his 
adherents  become  a  sect,  he 
leaves  them  and  returns  to  Sar- 
dinia, 84. 

Lucius,  bishop  of  Adrianople,  ex- 
pelled and  restored,  42,  51;  dies 
in  prison,  54. 

Lucius,  Arian  bishop  at  Alexandria, 
80,96;  installed  in  the  episcopal 
chair  of  Alexandria,  105;  attacks 
the  Egyptian  monasteries,  109; 
attempts  to  ordain  the  Saracen 
Moses,  116;  expelled  117;  re- 
tains authority  although  absent, 
119. 

Lyons,  city  in  Gaul,  59. 

Macarius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  writ- 
ten to  by  Constantine,  i6;  pres- 
ent at  the  Nicene  Council,  19; 
aids  Helena  in  recovering  the 
cross,  21 ;    dies,  38. 

Macarius,  a  presbyter,  conducted  in 
chains  to  the  Council  of  Tyre,  30. 

Macarius,  monk,  'the  Egyptian,'  107;. 
gives  lesson  in  contentment,  108; 
exiled,  109. 

Macarius,  monk,  '  the  Alexandrian,' 
107;  exiled,  109. 

Macarius,  Novatian,  129. 

Macedonians,  the,  sect  of,  9,  14,  73, 
81,  96,  161;  correspond  with 
Liberius  of  Rome,  100-103;  ac- 
cept the  Nicene  Creed,  loi;  re- 
lapse andreject  it  again,  119,  121. 


GENERAL 


INDEX   TO    SOCRATES'  HISTORY. 


439 


Macedonius,  bishop  of  Constantino- 
ple, a  deacon,  38;  elected  bishop, 
41;  installed  as  bishop,  43;  mas- 
sacre on  this  occasion,  43;  holds 
meetings  separately,  51 :  perse- 
cutes those  who  differ  from  him, 
54;  excites  tmnults  and  deso- 
lates the  churches,  65,  66;  be- 
comes odious,  67,  68;  deposed 
by  Acacius,  72;  conspires  to  ex- 
cite commotions,  73. 

Macedonius,    bishop    of   Mopsuestia, 

31.  44- 
Macedonius,  a  Christian  who  endured 

cruel  martyrdom,  86. 
'  Macrostich,'  creed  so  called,  44-46. 
Magi,  attempt  to  deceive  Isdigerdes, 

157- 
Magic,  30,  39,  72,  76,  78,  105. 

Magnentius,  slays  Constans,  53,  56; 

becomes  master  of  Rome,  59,  77; 

is  defeated  and  commits  suicide, 

59- 

Magnus,  a  quaestor,  59. 

Magnus,  an  unknown  individual,  ex- 
communicated, 70. 

Magnus,  Arian  bishop  of  Chalcedon, 

95- 
Magnus,  treasurer,   105. 

Mamre,  pagan  altar  at,  a  church  built 
instead  of,  22. 

Mancipes,  their  office,  127. 

Manes  (Manichceus),    born    a    slave, 
enfranchised  and  educated,  25; 
put  to  cruel  death,  26. 
'  Manichreans,  55,  119,  144,  171. 

Mantinium,  inhabitants  of,  defeat  the 
troops  of  Macedonius,  67. 

Marathonius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia, 
66,  74. 

Marcellus,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  deposed, 
33,  44,45;  is  restored,  34;  ex- 
pelled and  restored,  42;  rein- 
stated by  the  Council  of  Sardica, 
47;  refuted  by  Eusebius  Pam- 
philus,  48;  restored  to  his  see 
by  Constantius,  51 ;  again  ejected, 
54;   succeeded  by  Basil,  72. 

Marcian,  a  Novatian  presbyter,  99. 

Marcian,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Lamp- 
sacus,  121. 

Marcian,  Novatian  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, 129;    his  death,  138. 

Marcian,  Novatian  bishop  in  Scythia, 
succeeds  Paul  at  Constantinople, 
178. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  emperor,  92. 

Mardonius,  a  eunuch,  76. 

Mareotes,  a  district  of  Alexandria,  so 
called,  29,  31,  43. 

Marinus,  Arian  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, succeeds  Demophilus, 
124;    his  views,  134. 

Maris,  Arian  bishop  of  Chalcedon, 
defends  Arianisra,  9;  refuses  to 
assent  to  the  Nicene  Creed,  10; 
conspires  against  Athanasius, 
29.  33>  41,  44;  joins  the  Aca- 
cians,    71;    reproves    Julian,   85. 

Mark,  a  Syrian  bishop  under  Con- 
stantius, 44;    exiled,  55. 

Mark,  another  bishop  exiled  under 
Constantius,  55. 


Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa,  56. 

Marriage,  not  allowetl  after  ordina- 
tion, 18;  condemnation  of,  heret- 
ical, 72. 

Martyrdom,  eagerness  for,  105. 

Martyrius,  one  of  the  authors  of  the 
'  Lengthy  Creed,'  44. 

Maruthas,  bishop  of  Mesopotamia, 
treads  on  Cyrinus'  foot,  148,  151 ; 
sent  on  a  mission  to  the  king  of 
Persia,  156;  cures  the  king  by 
his  prayers,  157. 

Mary,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  56,  170. 

Massacre  at  the  installation  of  Mace- 
donius, 43. 

Matthew,  the  Apostle,  preaches  to 
the  Ethiopians,  23. 

Mavia,  queen  of  Saracens,  heads  a 
revolt  against  the  Romans  and 
offers  to  lay  down  arms  on  cer- 
tain conditions,  116;  the  Ro- 
man generals  consent,  116;  gives 
her  daughter  in  marriage  to  Vic- 
tor, the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Roman  army,  1 16;  enables 
the  inhabitants  of  Constanti- 
nople to  repulse  the  Goths,  n8. 

Maxentius,  made  emperor  by  the 
Praetorians,  his  atrocious  acts,  i ; 
drowned,  2. 

Maximian,  surnamed  Herculius,  lays 
aside  the  imperial  dignity,  i ; 
attempts  to  regain  it,  i ;  dies  at 
Tarsus,  i. 

Maximian,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
succeeds  Nestorius,  173;  his 
death  and  funeral  obsequies,  175. 

Maximin,  Caesar  (Maximian  (Jale- 
rius)  appointed  by  Maximian,  i. 

Maximin,  a  governor  of   Rome,  113. 

Maximin,  assessor  in  the  Roman 
armies,  accompanies  Helion  to 
Persia,  is  imprisoned,  released, 
and  concludes  a  treaty  of  peace, 

163. 

Maximus,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  38, 
52;    ejected,  65. 

Maximus,  of  Ephesus,  a  philosopher, 
put  to  death  as  practicer  of 
magic,  76;  deludes  Julian,  90; 
taught  Sisinnius,  129. 

Maximus,  of  Byzantium,  distinguished 
from  preceding,  76. 

Maximus,  bishop  of  Seleucia,  139. 

Maximus,  usurper,  25;  causes  Gratian 
to  be  assassinated,  124;  is  ad- 
mitted by  Valentinian  II.  as  his 
colleague,  124;  Theodosius  puts 
him  to  death,  125. 

Maximus,  Novatian  bishop  of  Nicaea, 

113- 

Meletius  (or  Melitius),  bishop  of 
.Sebastia,  transferred  to  Beroea 
and  thence  to  Antioch,  exiled  by 
Constantius,  72,  73;  holds  as- 
seml)lies  at  .\ntioch,  82,  84;  re- 
called liy  Jovian,  94,  95;  ex])elled 
Ijy  Valens,  97;  his  death,  ill, 
122;  funeral  oration  of,  by  Greg- 
ory of  Nyssa,  iii,  122;  retained 
his  see  at  the  accession  of  Theo- 
dosius, 1 19,  120. 

Meletius  (Melitius),  bishop  of  Alex- 


andria, deposed,  becomes  the 
head  of  tlie  sect  callerl  Melitians, 
5,  6;  restored  to  communion  by 
the  Nicene  Council,  12,  15. 

Melitians,  their  origin  and  union  with 
the  Arians,  5 ;  separated  from 
the  church,  13;  accuse  Athana- 
sius of  crimes,  29. 

Memnon,  i)ishop  of  Ephesus,  172. 

Menander,  Greek  poet,  81. 

Menudemus,  suflers  martyrrlom,  104. 

Meropius,  a  Tyrian  philosopher,  mur- 
dered, 23. 

Merum,  martyrs  at,  86. 

Methodius,  bishop  of  Olympus  in 
Lycia,  author  of  A'oid;/,  147. 

Metrodorus,  a  philosopher,  23. 

Metrophanes,  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, succeeded  by  Alexander, 

35- 
Milan,  Synod  of,  60;    tumult   at,   and 

ordination  of  Ambrose,  1 13,  1 14. 
Miracles,  18,  23,  25,  109,   in,    112, 

161^  174,  175. 
Misopos;on,    book    so    called    written 

by  Julian,  88. 
Mithra,  murderous  rites  in  the  temple 

of,  unveiled,  78,  79. 
Mithreum,  cleansed,  79;    demolished, 

126. 
Modestus,  the    prefect,  burns  eighty 

pious  men  in  a  ship,  104. 
Monasticism,    extension    of,   66,    109, 

161;  harassed  by  Arians,  106. 
Monk,  t/u\  treatise  by  Evagrius,  107. 
Monks,  of   Egypt,  their    remarkable 

lives,   106,   107;    their    sufferings 

and    Christian    endurance,    108, 

109;    the  'Tall,'   of   Alexandria, 

143- 

Monks,  to  the,  living  in  coffitnunities, 
treatise   by  Evagrius,  107. 

Montanus  and  Montanism,  27,  63, 
171. 

Mopsucrene,  Constantius  dies  at,  75. 

Mopsuestia,  44. 

Moses,  bishop  of  the  Saracens,  at  the 
instance  of  (^ueen  Mavia  he  is 
ordained,   116. 

Mulvian  bridge,  battle  at,  2. 

Mursa,  battle  near,  59. 

Mysteries,  name  applied  to  the  Eu- 
charist, 17,  112,  128,  145. 

Mythology,  the  pagan,  impure,  93,  94. 

Nails  of  the  cross,  the,  22. 

Names,  many  persons  change  their,  to 
avoid  death  from  suspicion,  105; 
Atticus,  changes  ill-omened,  167. 

Narcissus,  bishop  of  Neronias,  under 
Constantius,  44,  54,  72. 

Narcissus,  bishop   of  Jerusalem,  173. 

Narsaeus,  Persian  general,  162. 

Nectarius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
elected,  121 ;  consulted  by  Theo- 
dosius the  Great  as  to  points  of 
diflerence  between  the  Christian 
sects,  122,  123;  abolishes  the 
office  of  penitentiary  presbyter, 
128;    his  death,  138. 

Neonas,  bishop  of  Seleucia,   ejected, 

72. 
Nepotian,    a    usurper,    assumes    the 


440 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


sovereignty  of  Rome  and  is  slain, 

53- 
Nestorius,  a  governor  of  Alexandria, 

52- 

Nestorius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
native  of  Germania,  invited  to 
Constantinople,  169;  persecutes 
the  Macedonians,  1 70 ;  his  heresy, 
171;  deposed  by  the  Synod  of 
Ephesus,  172;  banished  to  the 
Great  Oasis,  172. 

New  Jerusalem,  church  called  by  the 
name,  21,  32. 

'New  Rome,'  Constantinople  called, 
21,  22. 

Nicaea,  Council  of,  summoned  by 
Constantine,  8;  Eusebius  Pam- 
philus'  account  of  it,  10-12; 
names  of  bishops  present,  19; 
period  of  the  assembly  of,  19; 
did  not  alter  the  time  of  cele- 
brating Easter,  131. 

Nice,  town  in  Thrace,  Arians  hold  a 
council  at,  65. 

Nicene  Creed,  10;  Arians  scheme 
to  subvert,  39,  47;  not  to  be 
changed,  62,  70,  102. 

Nicocles,  a  grammarian,  76. 

Nicolaus  Damascenus,  a  Greek  writer, 
167. 

Nilammon,  a  bishop  exiled  under 
Constantius,  55. 

Nile,  superstitious  views  of  its  inun- 
dations, 22;  Athanasius  on  the, 
86. 

Nisibis,  91,  162. 

Nitria,  monks  of,  106,  160. 

Nocturnal  services,  144. 

Novatianism,  principle  of,  17;  origin 
of,  112. 

Novatians,  orthodox  as  to  faith,  18, 
66,  100,  123,  125,  128,  167;  per- 
secuted by  the  Arians,  66,  100; 
alter  their  Easter,  113;  divided 
among  themselves  respecting  it, 
129,  134. 

Novatus,  presbyter  of  the  Roman 
church,  42,  112;  secedes  from 
it,  112;   suffers  martyrdom,  112. 

Oak,  Council  of  the,  149. 

Oak  of  Mamre,  22. 

Oasis,  the  Great,  55,  172. 

Oaths,  35,  99,  112,  130,  141,  146. 

(Enomaus,  philosopher,  condemns 
Apollo,  94. 

Olympius,  a  Thracian  bishop  pro- 
scribed by  Constantius,  54. 

Optatus,  pagan  prefect  of  Constanti- 
nople under  Arcadius,  1 51. 

Optimus,  bishop  of  Antioch  in  Pisidia, 
122,  173. 

*  Oracles,  the  Christian,'  the  New 
Testament,  so  called,  60. 

Oracles,  pagan,  22,  88,  93,  94,  99, 
105. 

Ordination,  necessity  of,  30;  refused 
to  the  lapsed,  t,t,;  the  Holy 
Spirit  conveyed  at,  70. 

Orestes,  prefect  of  Alexandria  under 
Theodosius  II.,  159;  opposes 
Cyril,  bishop  of  that  city,  159; 
is  attacked  by  the  monks,  160. 


Origen,  views  of,  49,  60,  74,  81,  132, 
143,  171;  works  of,  no;  pupils 
of,  112,  156;  condemned  by 
Theophilus,  144,  147;  defense 
of,  147,  148;  contrast  between 
treatment  of,  and  treatment  of 
Chrysostom,  177. 

Origenists,  a  party  in  the  church  so 
called,  opposed  to  the  Anthro- 
pomorphitae,  145. 

Origeii's  principles,  on,  treatise  by 
Didymus,  1 10. 

Otreius,  bishop  of  Melitena,  122. 

Otisia,  used  by  the  Nicene  Council, 
10;  various  meanings  of,  81 ; 
rejected  by  Acacians,  58,  62,  71 ; 
accepted  later  by  the  same,  95. 

Pagan  rites,  79,  86,  126. 

Palladius,  governor  of   Egypt   under 

Valens,  105. 
Palladius,     bishop     of     Helenopolis, 

173- 
Palladius,  a  monk,  disciple    of   Eva- 

grius,  109. 
Palladius,  a  celebrated  courier,  163. 
Pallium     (philosopher's     cloak),    78, 

94. 
Pambos,  an  Egyptian  monk,  107. 
Pamphilus,  81,  1 12. 
Pancratius,  bishop  of  Pelusium,  56. 
Paphlagonia,    Arian   violence  in,  67; 

temperament    of  people  of,  112. 
Paphnutius,  bishop  of  Upper  Thebes, 

8;    honored  by  the  emperor  for 

the  truth's  sake,  18;    opposes  an 

austere  view  of  marriage,  1 8. 
Parembole,  a  gnostic  monk  from,  108. 
Pasinicus,    bishop    of    Zelce    (Zena), 

94- 

Patricius,  Arian  bishop  of  Paltus,  95. 

Patripassians,  a  heretical  sect,  46, 
loi,  102. 

Patrophilus,  Arian  bishop,  conspires 
against  Athanasius,  iy,  ejects 
Maximus,  65;  not  present  at 
the  Synod  of  Seleucia,  68;  de- 
posed, 70;  Acacius  favors  him, 
73.  loi. 

Paul,  bishop  of  Tyre,  31. 

Paul  of  Samosata  ('  The  Samosatan  '), 

33.45.47.  56.  57.  171- 

Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
elected,  38;  ejected  by  Con- 
stantius, 38;  reinstated,  41; 
again  expelled,  42;  returns  to 
Rome,  44;  again  reinstated  by 
the  Council  of  Sardica,  47,  49, 
51 ;  strangled,  54;  his  body 
honorably  interred  by  Theo- 
dosius the  Great,  122. 

Paul,  the  Apostle,  at  Athens,  127; 
his  oppositicm  to  Judaism,  130. 

Paul,  reader,  associated  with  John 
Chrysostom,  149. 

Paul,  Novatian  bishop  at  Constanti- 
nople, 161;  exposes  a  Jewish 
impostor,  161 ;  his  piety,  169; 
preserves  a  church  from  burn- 
ing, through  his  prayers,  175; 
his  death,  178. 

Paulinus,  bishop  of  Treves,  exiled  by 
Constantius,  60. 


Paulinus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  ordained 
by  Lucifer,  80,  93,  96;  left  un- 
molested by  Valens,  97;  retains 
a  portion  of  the  church,  119; 
protests  against  the  association 
with  him  of  Meletius,  119. 

Pazum,  Novatian  Council  of,  113,  129. 

Pelagius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  La- 
odicaea,  accepts  the  Nicene  Creed, 
95;  invested  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  churches  in  the 
East,  122. 

Pelargus,  church  at,  66,  175. 

Pelusium,  53. 

Penitentiary  presbyter,  ofhce  of, 
abolished,  128. 

Perigenes,  bishop  of  Patrse,  173. 

Persia,  bishop  of,  at  Nicaea,  8;  wars 
with,  53,  85,  88,  162;  spread  of 
Christianity  in,  156,  157;  perse- 
cution of  Christians  in,  162. 

Peter,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  suffers 
martyrdom,  3;  deposed  by  Me- 
letius, 5 ;  celebration  of  martyr- 
dom of,  20. 

Peter,  another  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
succeeds  Athanasius,  105;  is  de- 
posed and  imprisoned,  105;  ex- 
poses the  falsehoods  of  Sabinus 
the  Macedonian,  106;  returns 
from  Rome,  117;    his  death,  117. 

Peter,  implicated  in  accusations 
against  Athanasius,  T)!)- 

Peter,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Sippi,  95. 

Peter,  a  monk,  brother  of  Basil,  in. 

Peter,  archpresbyter  of  the  church  of 
Alexandria,  144. 

Peter,  a  reader,  ringleader  in  the 
murder  of  Hypatia,  160. 

Pharmaceus,  a  port  in  the  Euxine, 
name   of,  changed,    167. 

Philadelphia,  Synod  of,  8l. 

Philip,  prietorian  prefect  under  Con- 
stantius, entraps  the  bishop  Paul, 

.  .42.  43- 

Philip,  a  learned  presbyter  of  Side, 
author  of  Christian  History,  168; 
a  candidate  for  the  see  of  Con- 
stantinople, 172. 

Philippopolis,  Arian   Council  of,  47, 

49-. 

Philo,  bishop,  exiled  under  Constan- 
tius, 55. 

Philosophers,  Julian  claims  to  be  one 
of  them,  78,  164;  many  resort  to 
him,    78 ;    disagreement   among, 

7.  "5- 
Philosophy,  studied  among  Christians, 

87,   88,    no,  129,  154;    applied 

to  ascetic  life,  24,  107. 

Philumenus,  29. 

Pha'bus,  excommunicated,  70. 

Photinus,  bishop  of  Sirmium,  heresy 
of,  44,  45;  deposed,  56,  58;  ex- 
iled, 58;  Nestorius  accused  of 
following,  171. 

Phrygians,  temperament  of,  1 12. 

Pilate,  tablet  of,  recovered,  21. 

Pior,  an  Egyptian  monk,  106. 

Piso,   Semi-Arian   bishop    of  Adana, 

95- 
Piso,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Augusta, 

95- 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    SOCRATES'   HISTORY. 


441 


Piterus,    a    learned    Egyptian    monk, 

gave  scieiitilic  lectures,  opening 

with  prayer,  107; 
Placidia,  mother   of  Valentinian   111., 

and  daughter  of  Theodosius  the 

Great,  114,   166. 
'  Placidian,'    an    imperial    palace  so 

called,  149. 
Placitus  (Flaccillus),  bishop  of  An- 

tioch.  ^S,  54,  97. 
Plato,  ancient  philosopher,  60,  87,  90, 

92,  156,  1 60. 
Plintha,    commander-in-chief    under 

Theodosius  II.,  134. 
Pliny,  a  bishop  exiled  under  Constan- 

tius,  55. 
Plotinus,   160. 
Pneiimatomachi,    party    among    the 

Arians,    74. 
Polycarp,    bishop  of  Smyrna,  suflered 

martyrdom  under  Gordian,  130. 
Polycarp,   bishop    of    Sextantaprista, 

7j>- 

Polytheism,  Arians  charged  with,  27; 
pagan  philosophy  teaches,  87. 

Porphyry,  an  author,  attacks  Chris- 
tianity, 14;  surnamed  the  'Ty- 
rian  old  man,'  91;  his  History 
of  Philosophers,  91. 

Porphyry,  bishop  of  Antioch,  157. 

■•Porphyry  Column,'  the,  21,  35. 

Prayer,  efficacy  of,  in  divers  cases,  135, 
144,  157,  165,  174,  175. _ 

Prayers,  variously  performed  in  differ- 
ent churches,   133. 

Preaching,  Chrysostom's,  140 ;  as  a 
means  of  amassing  wealth,  146; 
Atticus',  154;    Proclus',  168,  176. 

Presbyter,  an  (unnamed)  Arian,  in- 
fluence of,  28. 

Presbyters,  priestly  functions  of,  30; 
benediction  given  by,  72;  repre- 
sent bishops,  8,  95;  not  allowed 
to  preach  at  Alexandria,  132. 

Probus,  a  consul,  committed  with  the 
chief  administration  of  affairs  in 
Italy  during  the  minority  of  Val- 
entinian 11.,  124;  leaves  Italy 
and  retires  to  Thessalonica,  124. 

Proclus,  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  a  presby- 
ter, 168;  ordained  to  the  bish- 
opric, 168;  transferred  to  Con- 
stantinople, 175;  his  virtues, 
175,  176;  preaches  on  Ezekiel's 
prophecy,  176;  conciliates  those 
who  had  seceded  from  the 
church,  176;  makes  an  unprec- 
edented ecclesiastical  appoint- 
ment, 178. 

Procopius,  usurper,  seizes  the  im- 
perial throne,  97;  marches  with 
an  army  against  Valens,  is  de- 
feated and  put  to  a  horrible 
death,  97. 

Procopius,  a  Roman  general,  holds  a 
command  in  the  war  with  the 
Persians,   163. 

Prohseresius,  celebrated  rhetorician  of 
Athens,  i  lo. 

Protogenes,  bishop  of  Sardica,  47. 

Protopresbyter,  office  of  the,  144. 

Providence,  mysterious  counsels  of, 
26;   denied  by  Epicureans,  87. 


Psalmody,  40,  89,  177. 

I'samathia,  29. 

Psathyrians,  a  party  among  the  Ari- 
ans, 134. 

Psenosiris,  a  bishop  exiled  untler 
Constantius,  55. 

Psilanthropism,  y^,,  34,  44,  47,  171. 

Pythagoras,  ancient  philosopher,  25, 
90. 

Pythonic  demon,  expelled,  22. 

Quartodecimans,  excommunicated  by 
Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  130; 
claim  to  have  received  their  cus- 
tom as  to  Easter  from  the  Apos- 
tle John,  131 ;  discipline  among 
the,  132;  deprived  of  their 
churches  by  John,  146,  151;  per- 
secuted by  Nestorius,  169. 

Queen,  the,  of  Iberia,  converted  to 
Christianity  through  a  captive 
maid,  spreads  the  gospel,  24. 

Quibbles,  of  Arians,  73. 

Readers,  sign  the  creed  of  Seleucia, 
68;  Julian  made  one,  77;  Sisin- 
nius  as  one,  123;  at  Alexandria, 
132;  one  carries  message,  138; 
John  appointed  one,  139;  Paul 
associated  with  John  Chrysostom, 
149;    Proclus  begins  as  one,  175. 

Reverentius,  bishop  of  Area,  173. 

Rheginus,  author  of  the  work  called 
Polymnemon,  93. 

Rhetoric,  study  of,  76,  no,  in,  161, 

I73>  175- 

Rings,  made  use  of  by  the  Jews  of 
Alexandria  in  a  conspiracy 
against  the  Christians,  159. 

Romans,  Epistle  to  the,  87,  98,  171. 

Rome,  church  of,  has  authority,  38, 
42;  Athanasius  visits,  42;  Cathe- 
dral of  Peter  and  Paul  at,  109; 
abuses  in,  suppressed  by  Theodo- 
sius, 127;  taken  and  sacked  by 
the  barbarians,  157,  158. 

Rougas,  chief  of  the  barbarians  who 
invaded  Rome  under  Theodo- 
sius II.,  176. 

Rufinus,  presbyter,  author  of  Eccle- 
siastical History,  20,  25,  36,  89, 
109. 

Rufinus,  praetorian  prefect,  slain,  138. 

Rufus,  bishop  of  Thessalonica,   175. 

Rusticula,  Novatian  bishop  at  Rome, 
158. 

Sabbatius,  a  converted  Jew,  promoted 
by  Marcian  the  Xovatian,  to  the 
office  of  presbyter,  129;  occa- 
sions division  in  the  church,  129; 
separates  from  the  Novatians, 
155,  156;  procures  ordination  as 
bishop,  158;  his  death,  167. 

Sabbatius,  Arian  bishop,  succeeds 
Barbas,  170. 

Sabellius  (and  Sabellianism),  heretic, 
leader  of  a  heretical  sect,  3,  27, 
46,  47,  56,  81,  loi,  102,  115. 

Sabinian,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of 
Zeugma,  95. 

Sabinus,  Macedonian  bishop  at  Hera- 
clea  and  author  of  the  Collection 


of  Synodical  Canons,  speaks 
sliglitingly  of  the  Nicene  Coun- 
cil, 9;  praises  Constantine,  14; 
gross  partiality  of  his  work,  42, 
44.  47.  68,  95,  103,  105. 

Sallust,  pnietorian  prefect  under  Ju- 
lian, 89. 

Samaritans,  offshoots  from  the  Jews, 

133- 
Sanctuary,  privilege  of,  125,  140,  171, 

172. 

Saracens,  revolt  against  the  Romans, 
116;  peace  established,  116; 
join  with  the  Persians,  162. 

Sardica,  Council  of,  34,  46,  49,  54. 

Sarmatians,  invade  the  Roman  terri- 
tory, are  defeated  and  Christian- 
ized, 22;   war  with,  1 14. 

Saturday,  called  '  the  Sabbath,'  usu- 
ally a  holiday,  131,  144,  178. 

Saturninus,  a  consular,  delivered  up 
to  Gainas,  141. 

.Scitis,  106. 

Scriptures,  copies  of,  to  be  made,  16; 
study  of,  39,  no,  139,  165;  (by 
the  Apollinares),  87,  88;  literal 
sense  of,  92,  93,  139;  mystical 
sense  of,  108,  120,  121,  132;  dif- 
ficulties in,  92  ;  quoted  on  both 
sides  in  the  Novatian  contro- 
versy, 112;  read  and  explained 
in  the  churches,  132;  comments 
on,  165  ;  translated  by  Ulfilas 
into  the  language  of  the  Goths, 

"5- 

Scythian,  a  Saracen  so  named,  cor- 
rupted the  truth,  25. 

Scythians,  a  bishop  of,  present  at  the 
Nicene  Council,  8  ;  a  Novatian 
bishop  among  the,  178;  temper- 
ament of,  n2. 

Scythopolis,  39. 

Sebastian,  a  ^Ianich^ean  officer,  55 

Sects,  tendency  of,  to  subdivide,  134. 

Secundus,  Arian  bishop  of  Ptolemais, 
refuses  to  receive  the  Nicene 
Creed,  10  ;  denounced  by  the 
Nicene  Council,  12. 

Secundus,  father  of  Chrysostom,  138. 

Seditious  movements  at  Antioch 
occasioned  by  the  deposition  of 
Eustathius,  27. 

Selenas,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  134. 

Seleucia,  Council  of,  61,  67,  75; 
creed  of,  69. 

Sepulchre,  the  Holy,  recovered,  21. 

Serapion,  bishop  of  Antioch,  81. 

Serapion,  bishop  of  Thmuis,  108. 

Serapion,  deacon  in  the  Constantino- 
politan  church,  139;  his  arro- 
gance, 146;  is  ordained  bishop 
of  Heraclea  in  Thrace,  150. 

Serapis,  22;  temple  of  (called  Sera- 
peum),  destroyed,  126;  singular 
hieroglyphics  found  in  it,  126; 
invoked  by  Julian,  79. 

Severa,  wife  of  Valentinian  I.,  n4. 

Severian,  bishop  of  Gabala,  146,  148. 

Severus,  appointed  C?esar  by  Maxim- 
ian,  sent  to  Rome  to  seize  the 
Emperor  Maxentius,  i. 

Sicine,  Palace  of,  w},. 

Sicily,  council  held  in,  102. 


442 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


Side,  birthplace  of  Tro'ilus  the  Sophist 
and  of  Philip  the  presbyter,  i68. 

Silvanus,  usurper,  defeated  by  Con- 
stantius,  59. 

Silvanus,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Tar- 
sus, takes  part  in  the  Council  of 
Seleucia,  68 ;  petitions  Jovian, 
94;  sent  to  Rome  on  a  deputa- 
tion, 100  ;  subscribes  a  confes- 
sion of  faith,  loi;  answered  by 
Liberius,  102. 

Silvanus,  bishop  of  Philippopolis,  173; 
transferred  to  Troas,  1 74 ;  his 
praiseworthy  administration,  174. 

Silver  statue  of  Eudoxia,  150. 

Siricius,  bishop  of  Rome,  157. 

Sirmium,  55;  Council  of,  56;  creeds 
of,  56.  57,  58. 

Sisinnius,  Xovatian  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, reader  to  Agelius, 
123;  ordained  bishop,  129;  suc- 
ceeds Alarcian,  129;  his  learn- 
ing, eloquence,  grace  of  person, 
and  some  examples  of  his  wit, 
152;  his  death,  156;  succeeded 
by  Chrysanthus,  156. 

Sisinnius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
succeeds  Atticus,  168  ;  ordains 
Proclus  to  the  see  of  Cyzicus, 
168;    his  death,  169. 

Sistra,  places  of  penal  prostitution, 
127. 

Six  Hundred  Problems,  treatise  by 
Evagrius,  107. 

Slaves,  72,  117. 

Smyrna,  Macedonian  Synod  of,  102. 

Socrates,  author  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
History,  personal  reminiscences, 
19,  67,  126,  128,  132,  156;  birth 
of,  135;  views  of,  regarding  the 
abolition  of  penitentiary  pres- 
byter's office,  128  ;  celebration 
of  Easter,  baptism,  fasting,  mar- 
riage, the  Eucharist,  and  other 
ordinances,  130-133;  on  Origen 
and  his  merits,  147,  148 ;  on 
Philip  of  Side's  Christian  His- 
tory, 168  ;  on  transference  of 
bishops  from  one  church  to  an- 
other, 173. 

Socrates,  Athenian  philosopher,  87, 
91. 

Sophia,  church  so  called,  38,  43,  73. 

Sophistry  of  Arians,  60,  74,  1 10. 

Sophocles,  ancient  poet,  81. 

Sophronius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of 
Pompeiopolis,  declaration  of,  be- 
fore the  Synod  of  Seleucia,  69; 
deposed  by  Acacius,  72;  sides 
with  Macedonius,  73,  84;  peti- 
tions Jovian,  94. 

Sotades,  obscene  poet,  songs  of,  13. 

Soucis,  a  mountain,  made  the  bound- 
ary between  the  Eastern  and 
Western   churches,  49. 

Spyridon,  bishoj)  of  Cyjjrus,  8;  two 
remarkable  incidents  in  his  life, 
18,    19. 

Stenography,  used  to  record  the 
sermons  and  speeches  of  ora- 
tors, 58,  68,  140. 

Stephen,  bishop  of  Antioch,  54. 

Strabo,  Greek  writer,  167. 


Strategium,  public  building  in  Con- 
stantinople, 21. 

Sycse,  a  church  removed  to,  66. 

Symmachus,  a  Roman  senator,  clem- 
ency of  Theodosius  toward,  125. 

Synod  (Council),  at  Nicrea,  8,  10- 
12,  19;  at  Antioch,  28.  73, 
94;  at  Tyre,  30-32:  of  the 
Eastern  bishops,  44;  at  Sardica, 
34,  46,  49,  54;  at  Sirmium,  56, 
57,  58;  appointed  to  meet  at 
Rome,  59;  at  Milan,  60;  at- 
tempted at  Nicomedia,  61;  at 
Ariminum,  61,  67,  84,  loi,  I02; 
of  the  Ursacian  faction  at  Nice, 
65;  at  Seleucia  in  Isauria,  61, 
67,  75;  at  Constantinople,  71- 
73;  at  Alexandria,  summoned  by 
Athanasius  and  Eusebius,  81,  82; 
at  Antioch  (of  bishops),  of  the 
Acacian  faction,  94,  95  ;  Lamp- 
sacus,  97;  at  Sicily,  of  Sicilian 
bishops,  102;  at  Pazum,  of  the 
Novatian  bishops,  1 13;  Ecumen- 
ical, at  Constantinople,  121, 
122;  of  Novatians,  at  Constan- 
tinople, 129;  at  Chalcedon  in 
Bithynia,  149;   at  Ephesus,  172. 

Synods,  provincial,  the  assemljling  of, 
authorized  by  the  Ecumenical 
Synod  of  Constantinople,  122. 

Syrian,  a  military  commander,  40. 

Tabernacle,  of  embroidered  linen, 
made  by  Constantius,  22. 

Table,  the  holy,  30,  },t,. 

Tarsus,  in  Cilicia,  Synod  of  Seleucia 
transferred  to,  67;  but  prevented 
from  meeting  there,  102,  103. 

Tatian,  a  Christian  martyr,  86. 

Temples,  pagan,  closed,  2,  78,  86,  94; 
cleansed,  79;  destroyed,  2,  22, 
126. 

Terebinthus,  also  called  Buddas,  25. 

Thalassius,  bishop  of  Cfesarea,  178. 

Thalia,  work  composed  by  Arius,  con- 
demned, 13. 

Theatrical  entertainments,  112,  159. 

Themistius,  a  philosopher,  95;  re- 
cords Jovian's  religious  tolerance 
and  pronounces  a  consular  ora- 
tion before  him  at  Antioch,  95; 
induces  Valens  to  relax  the  sever- 
ity of  his  persecution,  115. 

Theoctistus,  leader  of  the  Psathyrians, 

134- 

Theodore,  bishop  of  Heraclea,  31,41, 
44. 

Theoflore,  to  whom  the  History  is 
dedicated,  36,  137,  178. 

Theodore,  a  young  Christian,  cruelly 
tortured  by  Julian,  89,  165. 

Theodore,  a  martyr,  104. 

Theodore,  of  Mopsuestia,  139. 

Theodosiolus,  put  to  death  by  Va- 
lens on  account  of  his  name,  105. 

Theodosius,  bishop  of  Philadelphia, 
deposed,  70. 

Theodosius  (the  Great),  emperor,  25; 
a  Spaniard  of  noble  ancestry, 
made  colleague  on  the  throne 
l)y  Gratian,  119;  obtains  a  vic- 
tory over  the  barbarians,  taken  ill 


and  baptized  by  the  bishop  of 
Thessalonica,  120;  summons  a 
synod  at  Constantinople,  121 ; 
the  Goths  submit  to  him,  122; 
proclaims  Arcadius  his  son  Au- 
gustus, 122;  secures  to  the  No- 
vatians privileges  enjoyed  by 
other  sects,  123;  makes  war  on 
the  usurper  Maximus,  124;  over- 
comes and  puts  him  to  death, 
125  ;  his  clemency  towards  Sym- 
machus, 125;  destroys  pagan 
temples,  126;  reforms  two  in- 
famous abuses  in  Rome,  127; 
returns  to  Constantinople,  128; 
tolerates  all  sects  except  the 
Eunomians,  129;  favors  the  No- 
vatians, 129;  defeats  the  usurp- 
er Eugenius,  135;  falls  ill  and 
sends  for  his  son  Honorius,  139; 
dies,  136;  succeeded  by  his  two 
sons,    137;    funeral    ceremonies, 

1 37-. 

Theodosms  II.,  birth  of,  142;  acces- 
sion to  the  throne,  153,  154;  re- 
ceives intelligence  of  the  news 
from  Persia  in  a  remarkably 
short  time,  163;.  his  pre-eminent 
virtues,  164,  165;  becomes  sole 
ruler,  165;  proclaims  Valentin- 
ian  III.  emperor  of  the  West, 
166;  calls  a  synod  to  meet  at 
Ephesus,  172;  appoints  Proclus 
to  the  see  of  Constantinople, 
175;  his  excellent  qualities,  176; 
offers  thanksgiving,  1 78. 

Theodosius,   bishop   of  Synada,    154, 

155-. 
Theodosius'  torum,  99. 

Theodotus,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  74. 

Theodulus,  Thracian  bishop,  pro- 
scribed by  Constantius,  54. 

Theodulus,  bishop  of  Chseretapa, 
deposed,  70. 

Theodulus,  a  martyr,  86. 

Theognis,  Arian  bishop  of  Nictea,  de- 
fends .-Vrianism,  9;  refuses  to  re- 
ceive the  Nicene  Creed,  10;  ex- 
iled, 10;  recalled,  20;  copy  of  his 
recantation,  20;  abuses  the  em- 
peror's clemency,  26;  conspires 
against  Athanasius,  29, 33  ;  renews 
efforts  to  introduce  Arianism,  36. 

Theon,  father  of  Hypatia,  philoso- 
pher in  Alexandria,  160. 

Theonas,  Arian  bishop  of  Marmarica, 
4,  12. 

Theopemptus,  Xovatian  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  156. 

Theophilus,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  72. 

Theophilus,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of 
Castabala,  94,  100,  loi,  102. 

Theophilus,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
desires  to  make  Evagrius  bishop, 
109;  succeeds  Timothy  in  the 
see  of  Alexandria,  124;  recon- 
ciled to  Mavian,  126;  effects  the 
destruction  of  the  Mithreum  and 
Serapeum,  126;  opposes  John, 
138;  plots  against  him,  140,  145; 
enters  into  controversy  with  the 
monks  but  dissimulates  before 
danger,  142;    condemns  Origen, 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    SOCRATES'    HISTORY. 


44S 


143;  quarrels  with  Isidore,  144, 
145 ;  continues  operations  ai;ainst 
John,  14S;  counter-charges  are 
made  against  him,  149;  his 
death,  156. 

Theophilus,  bishop   of  Apamea,   173. 

Theophronius,  leader  of  the  '  Euno- 
miotheophronians,'  135. 

Theotimus,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  the 
Arabs,  95. 

Theotimus,  bishop  of  Scythia,  defends 
Origen,  147. 

Theotocos,  discussions  concerning  the 
title,  170-172. 

Therapeia,  a  port  in  the  Euxine, 
previously  called  Pharmaceus, 
167.    ' 

Thessalonica,  Licinius  compelled  to 
live  in,  3;    Paul  exiled  to,  43. 

Thessaly,  ecclesiastical  customs  in, 
132. 

Thmuis,  a  bishop  exiled  under  Con- 
stantius,  55. 

Thomas,  apostle,  goes  to  the  Par- 
thians,  23;  church  of,  at  Edessa, 
104. 

Thracians,  temperament  of,  112. 

Tigris,  a  presbyter,  149. 

Timothy,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  suc- 
ceeds his  brother  Peter,  117, 119; 
attends  the  Synod  of  Constanti- 
nople, 121;  becomes  patriarch 
of  Egypt,  122;    his  death,  124. 

Timothy,  Arian  presbyter,  proficient 
in  the  Scripture,  156. 

Timothy,  archdeacon  in  Alexandria, 
candidate  for  the  episcopacy, 
156. 

Titles  given  to  bishops  and  emperors, 

'37- 
Titus,  of  Bostra,  95. 

Toleration,    practiced,    95,    96,    128, 

176;    plea  for,  115. 
Tortures   inflicted    on    Homoousians, 

55;     on    Christian    women,    66; 

on  the  martyrs  of  Merum,  86;  on 

Theodore,  89. 
Tradition,  Catholic,  81. 
Transference  of  bishops,  question  of, 

17.^ 
Transmigration  of  souls,  theory  of,  90. 

Treves,    a    city   in    Gaul,    Athanasius 

exiled  to,  37. 
Tribigildus,    a    kinsman    of    Gainas, 

rebels,  141. 
Trinity,  on  the,  treatise  by  Didymus, 

no. 
Troilus,  a  sophist,  142,  154,  168,  173. 


Truth,   historical,  hard   to   ascertain, 

137- 
Tyre,  council  of,  30,  31,  32. 

Ulfilas,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  72; 
translates  the  Scriptures  into  the 
Gothic,  115. 

Unity  in  the  Trinity,  3;  in  the  Church 
between  Novatians  and  Orthodox, 
66. 

Uptar,  King  of  the  Burgundians,  170. 

Uranius,  bishop  of  Tyre,  68;  deposed, 
70. 

Uranius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Apa- 
mea, 95. 

Uranius,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Mel- 
itina,  95. 

Urbanus,  martyr  under  Valens,  104. 

Ursacius,  Arian  bishop  of  Singid- 
num,  conspires  against  Atha- 
nasius, 29,  ly,  recants,  41,  53, 
57;  refuses  to  anathematize 
Arius,  61 ;  deposed  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Ariminum,  63;  favored  by 
Constantius,  64. 

Ursinus,  a  deacon  of  Rome,  113. 

Vacant  bishop,  169. 

Valens,  Arian  bishop  of  Mursa,  con- 
spires against  Athanasius,  29,  33; 
recants,  41,  53,  57  ;  refuses  to 
anathematize  Arius,  61 ;  deposed 
by  the  Council  of  Ariminum,  63; 
favored  by  Constantius,  64. 

Valens,  emperor,  as  a  military  officer, 
prefers  retirement  to  hypocrisy, 
85,  96;  raised  to  share  the  im- 
perial throne,  96;  resides  at  Con- 
stantinople, 96  ;  is  intolerant  and 
cruel,  97;  orders  the  walls  of 
Chalcedon  to  be  razed,  and  uses 
the  stones  for  public  baths,  99; 
persecutes  the  Novatians,  99; 
leaves  Constantinople  for  Anti- 
och,  103;  banishes  Eustathius 
and  Evagrius,  103  ;  dooms  an 
entire  congregation  to  death,  104 ; 
slaughters  many  on  account  of 
their  names,  105;  persecutes  the 
Christians,  109  ;  permits  the 
Goths  to  become  his  subjects, 
115,  116;  desists  from  persecut- 
ing, 116;  departs  from  Antioch 
and  arrives  at  Constantinople, 
117;  his  subjects  murmur,  he 
routs  the  Goths  and  is  slain,  1 1 7, 
118. 

Valentinian  I.,  emperor,  as  a  military 


officer,  prefers  retirement  to  hy- 
pocrisy, 85,  96;  declared  em- 
peror, 96  ;  makes  Valens  his 
colleague,  96;  favors  the  Ho- 
moousians, 96;  goes  to  the  West, 
114;  alistains  from  interfering 
with  any  sect,  114;  his  territo- 
ries invaded,  ruptures  a  blood- 
vessel and  dies,  1 14. 

Valentinian  II.,  emperor,  born,  100; 
proclaimed  emperor,  114;  Pro- 
bus,  consul  during  his  minority, 
124;  compelled  to  admit  Maxi- 
mus  the  usurper  as  a  colleague, 
Theodosius  heljjs  him  against  the 
usurper,  124;  triumphal  entry 
into  Rome,  125;    strangled,  135. 

Valentinian  III.,  proclaimed  emperor, 
166;  marries  Eudoxia,  daughter 
of  Theodosius  II.,  177. 

Vararanes,  king  of  Persia,  157;  per- 
secutes the  Christians  and  pro- 
vokes the  Romans,  162;  impris- 
ons the  Roman  envoys,  is  routed 
and  compelled  to  make  peace^ 
162,  163. 

Various  reading,  a  case  of,  171. 

Venus,  temple  of,  removed,  21 ;  at 
Aphaca,  demolished,  22. 

Vessels,  sacred,  30,  164. 

Vetranio,  usurper,  53  ;  proclaimed 
emperor,  55;  deposed,  lives  hap- 
pily in  retirement,  55. 

Vicentius,  presbyter  of  Rome,  19. 

Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  130. 

Virgi}i,  to  the,  treatise  by  Evagrius, 
107. 

Virgins,  torture  of,  55. 

Vitian,  Roman  general,  163. 

Vito,  presbyter  of  Rome,  19. 

Wednesday  and  Friday,  observ-ed  as 

fast-days,  132,  164. 
White  garments,  worn  by  candidates 

for  baptism,  i6i. 
Will  of  Constantine,  35. 
'  Wisdom,  the,  of  God,'  4. 

Xenon,  a  dialogue  by  Methodius, 
bishop  of  Olympus,  147. 

Xenophon,  ancient  Greek  writer,  92, 
167. 

Zealots,  137. 

Zeno,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  139. 

'  Zeuxippus,'  bath  called  so,  43. 

Zoilus,  Semi-Arian  bishop  of  Larissa, 

95- 
Zosimus,  bishop  of  Rome,  158. 


GENERAL    INDEX    TO    SOZOMEN'S    ECCLESIASTICAL 

HISTORY. 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  SOZOMEN'S  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


Aadas,  a  presbyter,  391. 

Abbos,  a  monk  of  Syria,  370. 

Abdaleus,  a  Syrian  monk,  370. 

Abdas,  a  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Abdiesus,  a  Persian  deacon  and  mar- 
tyr, 26'7. 

Abedechalaas,  a  Persian  presbyter  and 
martyr,  266. 

Abraham,  239;    theophany,  261. 

Abramius,  a  Persian  bishop  and  mar- 
tyr, 267. 

Acacians,  319;  confirm  formulary  read 
at  Ariminum,  319;  depose  Aetius 
and  others,  320;  development  of 
their  heresy,  324. 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Berea,  380;  saintly 
character,  396;  sent  by  Chrysos- 
tom  an  embassy  to  Rome,  400; 
becomes  enemy  of  Chrysostom, 
412. 

Acacius,  succeeds  Eusebius  as  bishop 
of  Caesarea,  284,  294 ;  partici- 
pates in  second  council  of  Anti- 
och,  2S5;  deposed  by  Western 
bishops,  290;  favors  Aetian  doc- 
trines, 31 1 ;  ejects  Maximus,  315 ; 
deposed  by  council  of  Seleucia, 
318;    attends  council  of  Antioch, 

34S. 

Acacius,  bishop  of  Tyre,  Eunomian, 
308. 

Acacius,  the  martyr,  church  of,  198, 
316. 

Acepsimus,  a  Persian  bishop,  martyr- 
dom of,  under  Sapor,  267. 

Acesius,  bishop  of  Novatians,  repels 
Constantine's  overtures,  256. 

Achillas,  presbyter  of  Alexandria,  ac- 
cepts doctrines  of  Arius,  251. 

iEsculapius,  temple  of,  destroyed,  262. 

Aetianism,  see  Eunomianism. 

Aetius,  deacon  at  Antioch,  295,  298; 
doctrines,  307;  recalled  by  Ju- 
lian, 330. 

Africanus,  the  historian,  240. 

Agapius,  Arian  bishop  of  Ephesus,  388. 

Agas,  a  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Agdelas,  a  Persian  bishoj)  and  martyr, 
267. 

Agelius,  Xovatian  bishop  of  Constan- 
tinople, 352  ;  banished,  but  re- 
called, 352 ;  takes  no  part  in 
Paschal  schism,  361 ;  makes  Si- 
sinius  his  deputy,  382;  death,  384. 

Aithalas,  Persian  martyr,  267. 

Aithals,  Arian  presbyter  of  Alexan- 
dria, 251. 


Ajax,  a  monk  of  Majuma,  396. 

Alaphion,  191;  his  family  position 
and  his  life,  192;  possessed  by  a 
demon,  exorcised  by  Hilarion, 
became  a  Christian,  192,  233,  293. 

Alaric,  197;  rebukes  luxury  of  Ro- 
mans, 204  ;  made  a  general 
through  influence  of  Stilicho, 
415,  421  ;  plots  with  Stilicho, 
415,  421  ;  besieges  Rome,  422;  • 
raises  the  siege,  423  ;  again 
threatens  the  city,  and  takes  it, 
423  ;  is  made  general,  423; 
makes  Attains  king,  423;  per- 
mits sack  of  Rome,  424. 

Alavicus,  a  traitorous  general  of  Ho- 
norius,  425. 

Alexander,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  204, 
241;  ejects  Arius,  after  wavering 
in  opinion,  251;  attends  Nicene 
council,  253;-  death,  269. 

Alexander  of  Constantinople,  over- 
comes opponent  in  argument  by 
a  miracle,  254;  refuses  to  re- 
ceive Arius  into  communion,  279, 
2S0;  death,  succeeded  by  Paul, 
284. 

Alexion,  Palestinian  monk,  293. 

Allegory,  in  interpreting  Scripture, 
205  ,,206. 

Ambrose,  193,  209,  21 1;  when  gov- 
ernor, elevated  to  bishopric  of 
Milan,  361 ;  persecuted  by  Jus- 
tina,  384;  reproaches  Theodo- 
sius,  394;  obtains  favor  from 
Gratian,  394;  orders  deposition 
of  Gerontius  of  Nicomedia,  but 
is  disobeyed,  403. 

Ammon,  the  Egyptian,  365;  becomes 
an  ascetic,  is  carried  across  a 
brook  by  a  miracle,  miracle  at 
his  death,  250 ;   character,  368. 

Ammonius,  a  Palestinian  monk,  370; 
successful  appeal  to  Epiphanius 
for  himself  and  the  Long  Broth- 
ers, 408;   death,  410. 

Amphilochius,  rebukes  Theodosius, 
379;   bishop  of  Iconium,  382. 

Amphion,  bishop  of  Epiphania,  246. 

Amphion,  becomes  bishop  of  Nico- 
media, 256;  expelled  by  Euse- 
bius, 268. 

Analytical  criticism  of  Sozomen,  227. 

Anannias,  a  Persian  martyr,  266. 

Anastasia,  daughter  of  Valens,  352. 

Anastasius,  bishop  of  Rome,  415; 
succeeded  by  Innocent,  415. 

Andragathias,  pliilosoplier,  instructor 
of  Chrysostom,  399. 


Andrathagius,  secures  death  of  Gra- 
tian, 384;    death,  385. 
Anomianism,  see  Eunomianism. 
Anomians,  324. 
Anthedon,  maritime  city  of  Palestine, 

332- 

Anthedonius,  Palestinian  monk,  293. 

Anthemius,  196;    influential,  197. 

Anthropomorphism,  see  Corporeality. 

Anthropomorphists,  206. 

Antiochus,  bishop  of  Ptolemias  in 
Syria,  405. 

Antiphonal  singing,  origin  among  the 
Arians,  404. 

Antony  the  Great,  an  Egyptian  monk, 
practices  asceticism;  his  mode  of 
life,  249;  sees  spirit  of  Ammon 
at  latter's  death,  250;  visits  Al- 
exander, 270;  seeks  in  vain  recall 
of  Athanasius,  280;  maintains 
Nicene  doctrine,  291 ;  visited  by 
Hilarion,  293;  praises  Didymus, 
295:    dream  of,  349. 

Anuph,  Egyptian  monk,  292. 

Aones,  monk  of  Syria,  370. 

Apelles,  an  Egyptian  ascetic,  365. 

Aphrodite,  temple  and  image  of,  on 
Mt.  Calvary,  25S;  descent  from 
Lebanon,  262. 

Apocalypse,  of  Paul,  214;  390;  tra- 
dition of  its  discovery,  390. 

Apocalypse  of  Peter,  390. 

Apolinarianism,  opposed  by  Sozomen, 
206;  christology,  209;  con- 
demned by  a  council  held  at 
Rome,  262;  geographical  distri- 
bution, 364. 

Apolinarius,    bishop    of    Hierapolis, 

340' 
Apolinarius,  bishop  of  I.aodicea,  207; 

doctrine  of,  concerning  the  Holy 

Ghost,  359,  361;    friendship  for 

Athanasius,  362. 

Apolinarius  the  Syrian,  269;  learning 
and  works,  340. 

Apollo,  statue  of,  destroyed  at  Daphne, 
262;   and  temple,  342. 

Apollonius,  an  Egyptian  ascetic,  292. 

Apollonius,  another  ascetic,  366. 

Apollos,  a  monk  of  Thebais,  366. 

Apostles,  church  of,  at  Constanti- 
nople, 198. 

Apostolic  succession,  217,  398. 

Aquilinus,  friend  of  Sozomen,  199; 
miraculously  cured,  260. 

Arcadius,  Emperor  of  the  West,  suc- 
ceeds Theodosius,  398  ;  death, 
succeeded  by  Theodosius  the 
Younger,  419. 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    S0Z0MP:N'S    HISTORY. 


445 


Avgo,  the,  234. 

Ar.Ljobastes,  392;    suicide,  393, 

Ai-L,'.)iiauts,  234,  243. 

Aii.m  (  ujths,  martyrs,  210. 

Arianism,  opposed  by  Sozomeii,  2o6'; 
divisions  of,  217,  3S7 ;  origin,  25 1 ; 
doctrines  of,  251  ;  re-agitated, 
272;  dispute  not  ended  by  death 
of  Arius,  2S0;  revival  of,  28 1 ; 
again  at  death  of  Constantine, 
283;  defended  by  Acacians,  323; 
favored  by  Justina,  384. 

Arians,  inclined  to  liberal  culture, 
195;  assert  conspiracy  to  elect  as 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  269;  plot 
against  Athanasius,  270;  unite 
with  the  Melitians,  271 ;  views 
of,  272;  excite  seditions  on  return 
of  Athanasius,  284  ;  secure  ex-, 
pulsion  of  Paul  from  Constanti- 
nople, 284;  successes  of,  286; 
bishops  displaced  by  Athanasius, 
299;  renew  attacks  on  him,  304; 
persecute  opponents,  322;  trans- 
late Melitius  to  Antioch,  323; 
expel  him  thence,  322;  persecute 
orthodox  under  Valens,  351-358; 
geographical  distribution,  358  ; 
attempt  to  gain  Theodosius,  379; 
divisions  among,  388;  disorderly 
conduct  in  Constantinople  causes 
their  repression,  404 ;  disap- 
pointed in  hopes  of  restoration 
under  Attains,  424. 

Arius,  240;   a  presbyter  of  Alexandria, 
ordained  deacon,   defends  Meli- 
,  tians,  asserts  his  doctrines,  251; 

his  following  numerous,  251;  ap- 
peal to  bishops  against  Alexander, 
252;  gains  a  point  with  Paulinus, 
Eusebius,  and  Patrophilus,  252; 
summoned  before  bishops  at 
Niceea,  253;  appears  before  the 
council,  254  ;  loses  his  case 
and  is  banished,  255,  and  excom- 
municated, 255  ;  recalled  from 
exile,  but  forbidden  to  enter 
Alexandria,  268;  submits,  with 
Euzoius,  statement  of  belief,  and 
is  reinstated,  277;  but  not  re- 
ceived by  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
279;    manner  of  death,  279. 

Armenians,  conversion  of,  264. 

Arsa  ius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
196;  replaces  Chrysostom,  413; 
personal  character,  413;  death, 
417. 

Arsacius,  king  of  Armenia,  346. 

Arsacius,  pagan  priest  of  Galatia,  338. 

Arsacius,  the  Persian,  213;  foretells 
earthquake  at  Nicomedia,  310; 
performs    miracles,    31 1;     death, 

311- 

Arsenius,  273,  275. 

Arsion,  monk  of  Scetis,  368. 

Arsisius,  an  ascetic,  291,  368. 

Ascalon,  233. 

Ascetics,  mode  of  life,  291,  293. 

Ascholius,  bishop  of  Thessalonica, 
378;  attends  council  of  Constan- 
tinople, 380. 

Asclepas,  bishop  of  Gaza,  287;  exiled, 
but  recalled,  300. 


Asphalius,     liunomian     presbyter    of 

Antioch,  308. 
Asterius,  general  of  the   East   under 

llonorius,  400. 
Asterius,    a    sophist,    282;     deposed, 

goes  to  Rome,  282. 
Ataulphus,   brother-in-law   of  Alaric, 

423- 

Athanaric,  a  Cu)thic  leader,  2io,  373; 
persecutes  Christians,  374. 

Athanasius  the  Great,  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria, 204;  as  deacon  attends 
Nicene  council,  253;  becomes 
bishop  on  death  of  Alexander, 
269  ;  secretly  ordained,  269  ; 
character,  269;  baptized  chil- 
dren when  a  child,  269;  traduced 
by  Arians  before  Constantine, 
272;  proves  his  innocence,  is 
commended  by  the  emperor, 
273;  is  again  assailed  in  vain, 
273;  again  assailed,  refuses  to 
attend  council  of  Ccesarea,  275; 
appears  before  council  of  Tyre, 
the  charges,  275;  is  deposed, 
276 ;  appeals  to  Constantine, 
278;  who  exiles  him  to  Treves, 
279  ;  relates  circumstances  of 
death  of  Arius,  279;  recalled  to 
Alexandria  by  Constantine,  283; 
again  deposed  by  council  of  An- 
tioch, 285;  escapes  from  Alex- 
andria and  flees  to  Rome,  286; 
received  kindly  there,  287;  re- 
instated, 2S8;  again  ejected,  288; 
summoned  to  Rome  by  Julius, 
288 ;  affirms  Nicene  doctrine, 
291  ;  recalled  by  influence  of 
Constans,  298;  favors  Eustathi- 
ans,  299;  displaces  the  Arian 
bishops,  299;  commended  by 
Synod  of  Jerusalem,  300;  again 
deposed  by  Constantius,  301 ; 
again  attacked  by  Arians,  304; 
condemned  by  council  of  Milan, 
305;  flees,  306;  reappears  after 
seven  years'  concealment,  330; 
attends  council  of  Alexandria, 
335;  banished  by  Julian,  336; 
restored  by  Jovian,  349;  flees 
again  to  escape  Valens,  354; 
returns  by  Valens'  permission, 
354;  death,  357;  held  consub- 
stantiality  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  359. 

Athanasius,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  348; 
attends  council  of  Tyana,  353. 

Athanasius  the  historian,  a  source  of 
Sozomen's  history,  222. 

Attains,  made  king  by  Alaric,  423; 
acts  haughtily  toward  Honorius, 
424;  abdicates  and  leaves  Rome, 
424  ;  baptized  by  Sigesarius, 
bishop  of  the  Goths,  424. 

Atticus,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
196,  213;  character  and  tenden- 
cies, 417. 

Aurelius,  Palestinian  monk,  293. 

Auxentius,  bishop  of  Milan,  an  Arian, 
291,  294,  312,  313,  361;  con- 
demned by  council  of  Rome, 
360;    death,  361. 

Auxentius,  son  of  Addas,  a  presbyter, 
391- 


Azadanes,  a  Persian  martyr,  2O7. 
Azadcs,  a  Persian  martyr,  266. 
Azizus,  a  monk  of  Syria,  370. 

Babylas,  martyr  of  Antioch,  341. 
Baptism,  and    the    Catholic    Church, 
207;  Eunoniian  doctrine  of,  207, 

Barbasymes,  Persian  bishop  and  mar- 
tyr, 2C7. 

Bardasanes,  295. 

Barges,  Syrian  monk,  370. 

Barses,  Syrian  monk  and  honorary 
bishop,  371. 

Basil  the  Great,  limited  use  by  Sozo- 
men,  223;  praise  of  Ephraem 
Syrus,  295. 

Basil,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  repudiated 
by  Western  bishops,  290,  294; 
again  acquires  bishopric,  301 ; 
refutes  Photinus  at  council  of 
Sirmium,  303;  opposes  Eudoxus, 
308;  advises  council  at  Nica;a, 
31 1;  deposed  by  Acacians,  320; 
charges  against  him,  320;  mar- 
tyrdom, 334. 

Basil,  bishop  of  Csesarea,  355;  mirac- 
ulous powers,  356;  friendship  for 
Gregory,  356;  opposes  Arianism, 
356;  doctrine  of,  concerning 
Holy  Ghost,  359. 

Basiliscus,  martyr,  appears  to  Chrys- 
ostom, 202,  418. 

Battheus,  Syrian  monk,  370,  371. 

Benjamin,  ascetic  philosopher,  366. 

Benus,  an  Egyptian  ascetic,  365. 

Berytus,  196;  law  school  at.  234  n. 

Bethelia,  191 ;  population  mixed,  192; 
and  large,  with  stately  churches, 
233;  in  biography,  198,  370. 

Bibliography  of  Sozomen,  22C-231. 

Bochres,  a  Persian  bishop  and  mar- 
tyr, 267. 

Breviary  (or  epitome)  of  ecclesiastical 
affairs  by  Sozomen,  lost,  2co,  234. 

Busiris,  a  Galatian  martyr,  334. 

Buthcricus,  a  general,  394. 

Byzantium,  251. 

Csesarea,  reduced  by  Julian  from  rank 
of  a  city,  329. 

Cscsarius,  and  tomb  of  forty  martyrs, 
420. 

Calemerus,  finds  relics  of  prophet 
Zechariah,  427. 

Callinicus,  bishop  of  Pellusium,  275. 

Callicinus,  a  Melitian  bishop  and  ac- 
cuser of  Athanasius,  275. 

Carosa,  daughter  of  Valens,  352. 

Carpones,  presbyter,  an  Arian  of  Alex- 
andria, 251. 

Carterius,  philosopher,  instructor  of 
Chrysostom,  399. 

Cassianus,  a  deacon,  416. 

Catholic  Church  the  orthodox  church, 
205;  unity  of,  258;  unites  with 
Novatians  in  Constantinople, 
316;    persecution  under  Valens, 

357- 
Cecropius,  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  killed 

in  earthquake,  310. 

Celibacy,     favored     by    Constantine, 


446 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


245;  not  enforced  by  council  of 
Xic?ea,  256. 

Celts,  christianization  of,  262. 

Cenobite,  community  at  Tabenna, 
292. 

Chalcedon,  church  in,  199. 

Chrestus,  becomes  bishop  of  Nictea, 
256;  expelled,  268. 

Christ,  sufferings  typihed  by  Isaac, 
coming  predicted  by  Jacob,  mi- 
raculous conception,  so-called  by 
Josephus,  239;  appears  to  Con- 
stantine,  241 ;  name  of,  casts  out 
demons,  262. 

Christianity,  spread  of,  under  Con- 
stantine,  261,  262. 

Chrysostom,  196,  399;  method  of  in- 
terpreting Scripture,  206;  per- 
sonal character,  399;  dissuades 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  from 
marriage,  399;  elected  bishop  of 
Constantinople,  400;  opposed  by 
Theophilus  in  vain,  400;  purifies 
the  clergy,  400 ;  strives  to  re-unite 
the  churches  of  the  West  and  the 
East,  400;  foils  plans  of  Gai'nas, 
401 ;  prudence  in  governing  the 
Church,  402;  miracle  during  his 
administration,  403;  deposes  thir- 
teen Ijishops  in  Asia,  403;  or- 
dains Heraclides  bishop  of  Ephe- 
sus,  403;  expels  Gerontius,  bishop 
of  Nicomedia,  403;  ordains  Pan- 
sophius  instead,  403;  incurs  en- 
mity of  the  clergy,  404.;  rebukes 
Olympias  for  unwise  almsgiving, 
405;  disputes  with  monk  Isaac, 
405;  expels  Severian  from  Con- 
stantinople, 405 ;  is  reconciled  by 
the  empress,  405  ;  cautiously  re- 
ceives the  Egyptian  monks,  407; 
goes  to  receive  Epiphanius,  but 
is  repulsed,  408;  refuses  to  expel 
the  "Long  Brothers,"  409;  ex- 
cites the  enmity  of  the  empress, 
409;  cited  to  appear  at  council 
of  RutinianK,  410;  declines  to 
do  so,  and  is  deposed,  410;  with- 
draws, and  a  sedition  arises 
against  the  council,  410;  which 
causes  his  recall,  41 1 ;  when  he 
delivers  an  oration,  411 ;  is  more 
than  ever  liked  by  the  people, 
412;  justified  by  a  council  of 
sixty  bishops,  41 1 ;  again  offend- 
ing the  empress,  is  again  deposed, 
412;  is  expelled,  holds  meetings 
outside  the  city,  412;  attacks  on 
his  life,  413;  is  guarded  by  the 
people,  413;  exiled  to  Armenia, 
413;  cause  espoused  by  Innocent, 
bishop  of  Rome,  416;  receives 
letter  from  Innocent,  417;  repu- 
tation during  his  exile,  417;  is 
banished  to  a  remoter  place,  dies 
on  the  way,  418. 

Church  and  State,  208;  in  persecu- 
tion, 210;    united,  244. 

Churches  restored,  245. 

Cilix,  presbyter  of  Tarsus,  199. 

Clemens,  Alexandrinus,  scholarship, 
194,  240. 

Clergy,  ascetic  character  of,  in  Sozo- 


men's  time,  194;  exempted  from 
taxation,  246;  appeal  to  bishops 
from  civil  courts  allowed,  240 ; 
support  of,  329. 

Codex  Gregorianus,  196;  a  source  of 
Sozomen's  history,  223. 

Codex  Hermogenianus,  196;  a  source 
of  Sozomen's  history,  223. 

Codex  Theodosianus,  proclaimed  A.u. 
439,  196;  a  source  of  Sozomen's 
history,  223. 

Commissioner  of  penance,  origin  of 
-  office,  386;    suppression,  386. 

Conciliar  movement,  in  West,  217, 
312-315;   in  East,  217,  315-317. 

Confession  of  faith,  of  bishops  of  the 
East,  289;  three  formularies  of 
Council  of  Sirmium,  303;  Valen- 
tian  formulary,  315  ;  of  Ariminum, 
322;    of  Eustathius,  etc.,  352. 

Constans,  son  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  obtains  empire  of  the 
West,  284;  writes  to  Constantius 
in  re  Athanasius  and  Paul,  289; 
receives  three  bishops  and  dis- 
misses them,  289;  fails  to  have 
Athanasius  and  Paul  reinstated, 
289;  summons  Synod  of  .Sardica, 
289;  threatens  brother  with  war 
unless  Athanasius  restored,  298; 
killed  in  Gaul,  301. 

Constans,  son  of  Constantine  the 
Usurper,  425;    slain,  427. 

Constantia,  sister  of  Constantine,  ad- 
vocates restoration  of  Arius  and 
Euzoius,  277. 

Constantine  the  Great,  sees  vision  of 
cross  and  of  Christ,  241 ;  inquires 
of  priests,  who  expound  the 
Scriptures,  takes  cross  as  his 
standard,  which  protects  the 
bearer,  242;  charged  with  mur- 
dering son  Crispus,  242;  but 
charge  untrue,  243  ;  churches 
flourish  under  him,  243 ;  conquers 
Dardanians,  243;  overcomes  Li- 
cinius,  becomes  sole  emjaeror, 
makes  Christianity  state  religion, 
revokes  edicts  against  Christians, 
pagan  worship  prohibited,  244; 
property  restored  to  Christians, 
244;  conquers  Goths  and  Sarma- 
tians,  enjoins  observance  of  Lord's 
Day,  abolishes  crucifixion,  245; 
abolishes  law  against  celibacy, 
245;  exempts  clergy  from  taxa- 
tion, allows  appeal  to  bishops 
from  civil  courts,  246;  grants 
request  of  Eutychianus,  251;  re- 
bukes Arius  and  Alexander,  252; 
is  grieved  at  Paschal  controversy, 
252;  sends  Ilosius  to  reconcile 
differences,  253;  convenes  coun- 
cil at  Nica;a,  253;  burns  memo- 
rials and  exhorts  to  peace,  253; 
re])lies  to  Eusebius'  eulogy,  254; 
attempts  to  reconcile  the  Nova- 
tians,  256;  entertains  the  coun- 
cil, exhorts  to  harmony,  and 
writes  to  the  churches,  257;  or- 
ders church  built  near  Calvary, 
258;  has  liit  made  out  of  true 
nails,  259;    erects  temples,  259; 


beautifies  Byzantium  and  changes 
its  name,  260 ;  builds  church  at 
HestiiE,  or  MichKlium,  260;  or- 
ders church  ei-ected  under  oak 
of  Mamre,  261 ;  orders  pagan 
shrines  and  idols  destroyed  and 
places  purified,  261 ;  receives 
embassy  of  Iberians,  264  ;  re- 
monstrates with  .Sapor  for  perse- 
secuting  Christians,  268;  hears 
traducers  of  Athanasius,  272;  but 
dismisses  them,  273;  convenes 
council  of  Caisarea,  275;  orders 
consecration  of  the  Great  Mar- 
tyrium  at  Jerusalem,  276;  is  per- 
suaded by  Constantia  to  restore 
Arius  and  Euzoius,  277;  writes 
letter  to  Synod  of  Tyre,  278;  ex- 
iles Athanasius  to  Treves,  279; 
refuses  to  recall  him,  280;  exiles 
John,  the  Melitian  bishop,  280; 
enacts  law^  against  heresies,  280; 
baptism,  death,  and  character, 
282;  charges  Constantius  to  call 
council  regarding  homoiousios, 
298;  body  removed  by  Macedo- 
nius,  316. 

Constantine,  son  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  death  of,  at  Aquileia,  284. 

Constantine,  proclaimed  emperor  by 
soldiers,  425 ;  sends  son  Constans 
into  Spain,  427;  proclaims  him 
emperor,  427;   killed,  427. 

Constantine,  a  city  of  Phoenicia,  262. 

Constantinople,  churches  in,  199. 

Constantius,  father  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  205 ;  protects  Christians, 
243;    tests  the  faithful,  243. 

Constantius,  son  and  successor  of 
Constantine,  recalls  Athanasius, 
283;  letter  to  church  of  Alexan- 
dria, 283;  obtains  empire  of  the 
East,  284;  goes  to  Antioch  of 
Syria,  285 ;  adopts  the  term  "  ho- 
moiousios," 297;  convenes  coun- 
cil of  Ariminum,  298  ;  restores 
Athanasius,  29S;  commends  him 
to  bishops  of  Egypt,  299;  over- 
comes Vetranius,  302;  and  Wax- 
entius,  304;  goes  to  Rome,  at- 
tempts to  force  homoiousios  on 
church,  304;  banishes  Liberius, 
307  ;  condemns  Eudoxius  and 
the  Aetians,  309;  convenes  coun- 
cil at  Nica;a,  31 1;  goes  to  Ari- 
minum, council  meets  there,  312; 
permits  another  at  Seleucia,  312; 
slights  dcjiuties  from  council  of 
Ariminum,  314;  ai)])oints  Julian, 
Cx-sar,  316;    death,  325. 

Constantius,  a  general  of  Ilonorius, 
426,  427. 

Consubstantiality  of  Son,  broached, 
251;  defended  by  Alexander  of 
Alexandria  against  Arius,  251; 
becomes  the  faitli  of  the  church, 
255;  dis]:)ute  over  meaning  of 
word,  270;  evaded  by  partisans 
t)f  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  285; 
affirmed  by  the  West,  291;  ho- 
moousios  and  homoiousios,  297; 
<lebated  at  Sirmium,  303;  and  at 
Seleucia,  317;  and  at  Ariminum, 


V 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO   SOZOMEN'S    HISTORY. 


447 


319;  attacked  anew  by  Acacians, 
323;  JNlacedonian  acceptation  of 
the  term,  ;i;i6;  Nicene  statement 
aflirmed  by  council  of  Antioch, 
348;  accepted  by  Macedonian 
bishops,  352;  afterwards  rejected 
by  theni,  377. 

Copres,  an  Egyptian  monk,  365. 

Corporeality  of  God,  question  raised 
in  Egypt,  406. 

Council  of  Alexandria,  209;  reaffirms 
Nicene  doctrines,  335.  Antioch, 
207;  deposes  Eustathius,  270 ; 
ordains  Euphronius  bishop,  271; 
second  council,  2S5;  deposes 
Athanasius,  ordains  Gregory,  2S5. 
Antioch  in  Syria,  348;  reaffirms 
Nicene  faith,  348;  letter  to  Jo- 
vian, 348.  Ariminum,  convened, 
298;  cause,  298;  second  council, 
convened,  312;  rejects  Aetian 
doctrines,  313;  sends  report  to 
Constantius,  313;  confirming  Ni- 
cene doctrines,  314.  Csesarea,  to 
try  Athanasius,  who  does  not  ap- 
pear, 275.  Constantinople,  209; 
convened  by  Theodosius,  380; 
chooses  Nectarius  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, 381 ;  affirms  Nicene 
faith,  381;  establishes  precedence 
of  Rome,  and  rank  of  see  of 
Constantinople,  381.  Jerusalem., 
299;  letter  in  behalf  of  Athana- 
sius, 299.  Lampsacus,  350;  holds 
Arian  doctrines,  350.  Milan,  de- 
poses and  banishes  Athanasius, 
305.  Nicisa,  convened,  253; 
assembled,  254;  condemns  Arian- 
ism,  255;  leaves  celibacy  unen- 
forced, 256;  enacts  canons,  256. 
Rome,  360 ;  reaffirms  Nicene 
doctrines,  condemns  Auxentius 
of  Milan,  360;  circular  letter  of, 
360.  Rufinianae,  409;  the  eighty 
monks  reconciled  with  Theophi- 
lus,  410 ;  cite  Chrysostom  and 
clergy  of  Constantinople  to  ap- 
pear, 410;  depose  Chrysostom, 
410;  mobbed  by  the  people,  410. 
Sardica,  209;  East  separates  from 
West,  289;  numbers  attending, 
290.  Seleucia,  316;  two  formu- 
laries offered,  316  ;  reaffirms 
formulary  of  council  of  Antioch, 
318;  deposes  various  bishops, 
318.  Sirmium,  convened,  302; 
deposes  Photinus,  303  ;  three 
formularies  of  faith,  303.  Tyana, 
353;  reaffirms  Nicene  doctrines, 
353.  Tyre,  assembles  without 
being  convened  by  the  emperor, 
275  ;  deposes  Athanasius,  and 
•  declares  reasons  to  Constantine, 
276;  restores  and  re-establishes 
the  Melitian  bishop,  John, 
280. 

Councils,  imperial  convocation  de- 
fended, 208. 

Crispion  (also  "  Chrispion  "),  arch- 
deacon, a  monk  of  Bethelia,  in 
Palestine,  191,  370;  Ephanius' 
archdeacon,  233;  brother  of  Fus- 
con  and  Salamanus,  233,  408. 


Crispus,  son  of  Constantine,  murder 
of,  242. 

Cronius,  an  ascetic,  291 ;  calletl  Cro- 
nion,  36S. 

Cross,  appearance  of,  to  Constantine, 
241 ;   near  Jerusalem,  302. 

Crucifixion,  as  punishment,  abolished, 
.245. 

Cyriacus,  bishop  of  Adama,  382. 

Cyriacus,  a  deacon,  416. 

Cyril,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  294;  suc- 
ceeds Maximus,  302,  315;  de- 
posed by  Acasians,  321  ;  re- 
nounces Macedonian  doctrines 
and  attends  council  of  Constan- 
tinople, 380;    death,  385. 

Cyrinus,  bishop  of  Chalcedon,  abuses 
Chrysostom  at  council  of  Chalce- 
don, 409;    death,  409. 

Cyrus,  of  Constantinople,  194. 

Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome,  359; 
condemns  Apolinarianism,  362; 
death,  398. 

Daniel,  a  Syrian  monk,  293. 

Dansus,  a  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Daphne,  at  Antioch,  234;  customs 
of,  341 ;  temple  and  statue  of 
Apollo  destroyed,  342. 

Democritus  of  Coos,  274. 

Demophilus,  Arian  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, 354;  leader  of  the 
Arians,  378;  leaves  the  city,  379; 
holds  service  with  Lucius  outside 
Constantinople,  379;    death,  385. 

Dianius,  bishop  of  Cappadocian  Cses- 
area,  attends  second  council  of 
Antioch,  285. 

Didymus,  of  Alexandria,  294;  char- 
acter, 295;  foresees  Julian's  death, 
347;    renown,  358,  368. 

Didymus,  a  relative  of  the  Emperor 
Honorius,  425. 

Diodorus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  380,  381 ; 
instructor  of  Chrysostom,  399; 
avoided  allegory  in  interpreta- 
tion, 206,  399. 

Diogenes,  deacon,  320. 

Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alba,  305. 

Dionysius,   a  monk    of  Rhinocorura, 

369- 

Dionysius,  temple  of,  at  Alexandria, 
destroyed.  385. 

Dioscorus,  an  Egyptian  monk,  365, 
368;  made  bishop  of  Hermopolis, 
406;  incurs  enmity  of  Theophi- 
lus,  406;  retires  to  Scythopolis, 
407;  appeals  to  empress,  407, 
410;   death,  410. 

Diospolis,  bishopric  of,  271. 

Divination,  by  wooden  tripod,  391. 

Dominica,  wife  of  Emperor  Valens, 

377- 

Donatist,  practice  regarding  the  ex- 
communicated, 208. 

Donatus,  bishop  of  Euroea,  394;  slays 
a  dragon,  395. 

Dorotheus,  Arian  bishop  of  Constan- 
tinople, 385;  heads  one  party  of 
the  Arians,  388. 

Dorotheus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  suc- 
ceeds Euzoius,  374. 


Dorotheus,  an  ascetic  of  Thebes,  366. 
Dracontius,  bishop  of  Pergamos,  de- 
posed by  Acacians,  320. 

Easter  controversy,  216 ;  Novatian 
and  Sabbatian  position,  3S8. 

Eastern  C'hristians,  241. 

Eastern  church,  and  schism  of  Sardica, 
290,291;    mainly  Arian,  377. 

Ecdicius,  slayer  of  Edovicus,  426. 

Edesius,  adventures  in  India,  274. 

Edessa,  193,  293;  devotion  of  Chris- 
tians of,  357. 

Edicts  against  Christians  revoked, 
244. 

Editions  of  Sozomen,  225,  226. 

Edovicus,  a  general  of  the  usurper 
Constantine,  426. 

Egyptian  monasticism,  292,  365-369. 

Eleusius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus,  308;  de- 
posed by  Acacians,  320;  em- 
braces heresy  of  Macedonius,  322, 
336;  compelled  by  Julian  to 
build  Novatian  church,  330;  ex- 
pelled by  Julian,  336;  recants 
before  Valens,  but  repents,  351; 
attends  council  of  Constantinople, 
380. 

Elias,  associate  of  Patrines,  273. 

Elias,  an  Egyptian  ascetic,  365. 

Elpidius,  bishop  of  Satala,  deposed 
by  Acacians,  321. 

Emesa,  church  of,  297. 

Empedocles,  death  of,  274. 

Encratites,  206,  334. 

Ephraem  Syrus,  216,  293,  370 ;  liter- 
ary works,  295;  personal  char- 
acter, 296. 

Epiphanies  of  angels,  saints,  etc.,  202. 

Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Salamis,  con- 
troversy with  the  empress,  191, 
408;  prophecies  of,  213;  duped 
by  Theophilus,  acts  against 
Chrysostom,  408 ;  is  dissuaded 
from  this  course  by  Serapion, 
408  ;  meets  "  Long  Brothers  " 
and  is  reconciled  to  them,  409; 
death,  409. 

Epiphanius,  monk  of  Palestine,  369; 
afterward  bishop  of  Salamis,  370; 
liberality  and  miracles,  395. 

Epiphanius,  the  sophist,  362. 

Episcopal  and  presbyterial  jurisdic- 
tion, 390. 

Erennius,  becomes  bishop  of  Jerusa- 
lem, 324;  is  succeeded  by  Her- 
aclius,  324. 

Eucherius,  son  of  Stilicho,  421 ;  death, 
422. 

Eudocia,  Empress,  194;  liberal  ten- 
dencies, 197. 

Eudoxia,  daughter  of  Eudocia,  liberal 
tendencies,  197;  married  \'alen- 
tinian  IIL,  200;    death.  417. 

Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Germanicia,  after- 
wards of  Constantinople,  attends 
second  council  of  Antioch,  285. 

Eudoxius,  Eunomian  bishop  of  Anti- 
och, 308;  ejected  and  condemned 
by  Constantius,  309 ;  and  deposed 
by  council  of  Seleucia,  318  ; 
usurps  bishopric  of  Constanti- 
nople, 32 1 ;   opposes  Nicene  doc- 


448 


ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY. 


trine,    322;    gains    over   Valens, 

351;   death,  354. 
Eudoxus,  bishop  of  Nicsea,  205. 
Eugenius,  bishop  of  Nictca,  304. 
Eugenius,  attempts    to  usurp   throne 

of  the  West,  392;    death,  393. 
Eulahui,  orthodox  bishop  of  Amasia, 

377- 

Eulogius,  Egyptian  presbyter  and 
monk,  365. 

Eulogius,  Persian  monk  and  honorary 
bishop,  370. 

Eunomianism,  genesis  of,  217,  363; 
doctrines,  307,  363;  prominence 
and  condemnation,  309;  favor 
by  Julian,  330  ;  origin,  363  ; 
attributed  to  Aetius  by  Euno- 
mius,  364;  geographical  distri- 
bution, 364. 

Eunomians,  207;  baptism  among, 
207,  363;  not  tolerated  by  Gra- 
tian,  377. 

Eunomius,  207;  Arian  Ijishop  of 
Cyzicus,  35 1;  his  heresy  not 
new,  363;  acknowledges  indebt- 
edness to  Aetius,  364;  described 
by  Gregory  Nazianzen,  364;  se- 
cedes from  Arians,  379;  banished 
by  Theodosius,  dies,  387,  388. 

Euphronius,  ordained  bishop  of  An- 
tioch,  271 ;  succeeded  by  Place- 
tus,  2S5,  298. 

Euplus,  Melitian  bishop,  275. 

Eupsychius,  martyr  of  Csesarea,  334. 

Eusebia,  guardian  of  the  Forty  Mar- 
tyrs, 420. 

Eusebius,  bishop  of  Caesarea,  275; 
attends  council  of  Tyana,  353; 
difficulties  and  reconciliation  with 
Basil,  355;   death,  355. 

Eusebius  Emesenus,  bishop  of  Emesa, 
life,  286,  294. 

Eusebius  of  Xicomedia,  sides  with 
Arius  against  Alexander,  252; 
pretends  to  repudiate  him,  255; 
is  deposed,  256 ;  expels  Amphion, 
268 ;  endeavors  to  reinstate  Arius, 
270;  charged  by  Eustathius  with 
Arianism,  270;  again  plots  to 
restore  Arius,  threatens  Alexan- 
der of  Constantinople,  279;  death 
of  Arius  foils  plan,  279;  at  death 
of  Constantine  favors  Arianism, 
283. 

Eusebius,  bishop  of  Samosata,  348. 

Eusebius,  bishop  of  Vercella,  305; 
returns  from  exile  to  council  of 
Alexandria,  335;  maintains  Ni- 
cene  doctrines,  335. 

Eusebius,  a  eunuch,  chamberlain  to 
Constantius,  283;  aids  Aetians, 
312. 

Eusebius,  governor  of  the  court,  exe- 
cuted, 330. 

Eusebius,  a  martyr  of  Gaza,  332. 

Eusebius,  one  of  the  "  Long  Brothers," 
Egyptian  monk,  368. 

Euseljius  Pamphilus,  the  historian,  one 
source  of  Sozomen's  history,  222; 
story  of  Constantine's  vision  of 
the  cross,  241 ;  sides  with  Arius 
against  Alexander,  252;  attends 
Nicene    council    and     eulogizes 


Constantine,  254;  after  delay, 
sanctions  decision  reached,  255; 
censured  concerning  the  oak  of 
Mamre,  261 ;  recommended  for 
see  of  Antioch,  270;  death,  suc- 
ceeded by  Acacius,  284. 

Eusebius,  a  Syrian  monk,  370. 

Eustathians,  favored  by  Athanasius, 
299;  numerous  in  Antioch,  299; 
adherents  of  Nicene  doctrines, 
323;   same  as  the  Catholics,  358. 

Eustathius,  bishop  of  Beroea,  then  of 
Antioch,  241;  attends  Nicene 
Council,  253;  disputes  with  Eu- 
sebius Pamphilus  concerning 
consubstantiality,  270;  deposed 
by  council  of  Antioch,  270;  char- 
acter, 271. 

Eustathius,  bishop  of  Sebaste,  ascetic, 
293;  opposes  Eudoxius,  308; 
deposed  by  Acacians,  320;  ac- 
cepts heresy  of  Macedonius,  322, 
336;  goes  to  Rome,  adopts  Ni- 
cene doctrine,  352;  exiled  by 
Valens,  355. 

Eutropia,  mother-in-law  of  Constan- 
tine, 261. 

Eutropius,  a  eunuch,  392;  becomes 
consul,  403;  refuses  refuge  of 
churches  to  fugitives,  falls  victim 
to  his  own  order,  404. 

Eutropius,  a  reader  of  Alexandria, 
414;  suffers  death,  414. 

Eutychean  heresy,  201,  387. 

Eutychianus,  a  Novatian  of  Bithynia, 
performs  a  miracle,  251. 

Eutvchus,  a    Eunomian,  doctrine   of, 

'387- 

Euzoius,  deacon  of  Alexandria,  be- 
comes an  Arian,  251;  having 
been  deposed,  is  reinstated  in 
company  with  Arius,  277;  stirs 
up  dissension,  335;  as  bishop  of 
Antioch,  opposes  Athanasius, 
349;  seizes  Peter  of  Alexandria, 
357;  death,  374;  succeeded  by 
Dorotheus,  374. 

Evagrius,  archdeacon  of  Constanti- 
nople, 369;   i)ecomes  an  ascetic, 

369- 

Evagrius,  l^ishop  of  Antioch,  385; 
death,  401. 

Evagrius,  orthodox  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, 354;  exiled  by  Va- 
lens, 355. 

Evagrius,  the  historian,  191. 

Exucontians,  324. 

Fatherhood  of  God,  Arian  discussion 

concerning,  388. 
Fathers'  creed  final,  205. 
Felix,  bishop  of  Rome,  204;   adheres 

to  Nicene  faith,  307. 
Flacilla,    wife    of    Theodosius,    holds 

Nicene  faith,  379. 
Flavian,  ]iagan  and  pn\:torian  prefect, 

392. 
Flavian,  presbyter,  afterwards  bishop 
of  Antioch,  362,  382,  398;  ap-- 
peases  wrath  of  Theodosius,  393  : 
dispute  with  bishop  of  Rome, 
400;  succeeded  by  Porphyry, 
415- 


Flavita,  barbarian  general  in  Roman 
army,  defeats  Gainas,  becomes 
consul,  402. 

Forty  Martyrs,  discovery  of  remains, 
196;  prior  to  A.U.  439,  201 ;  story 
of  discovery,  420 ;  description  of 
the  tomb,  421. 

Frumentius,  missionary  to  India, 
youthful  adventures  of,  and  sub- 
sequent ordination  as  bishop  of 
India,  274. 

Gaddanus,  a  Syrian  monk,  370. 

Gaddiabes,  a  Persian  bishop  and  mar- 
tyr, 267. 

Gainas,  an  Arian,  197,  205. 

Gainas,  a  Goth,  attempts  to  seize  the 
throne,  401 ;  lays  aside  preten- 
sions and  is  made  general,  401 ; 
espouses  Arian  cause,  is  foiled 
by  Chrysostom,  401 ;  attempts  to 
cross  to  Asia  and  perishes,  402. 

Galileans,  a  name  of  the  Christians, 

329.  338. 

Galla  Placidia,  sister  of  Honorius, 
427. 

Gallus,  295;  made  Cresar,  302;  re- 
sides  at    Ephesus,    327;    death, 

327- 

Gallienus,  262. 

Gaudentius,  290. 

Gauls,  christianization  of,  262. 

Gaza,  dissension  between  G.  and 
Majuma,  195,  198;  martyrology, 
198,  332;  Sozomen's  grandfather 
esteemed  there,  233. 

George,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  perse- 
cutes opponents,  302,  306;  at- 
tends council  of  Sirmium,  303; 
deposed  by  council  of  Seleucia, 
318;  reinstated  by  Acacians,  per- 
secutes pagans  and  opposing 
Christians,  324;  meets  violent 
death,  331. 

George,  bishop  of  Laodicea  in  Syria, 
285 ;  deposed  by  bishops  of  West, 
290;  reinstated,  opposes  Eudox- 
ius of  Antioch,  308;  ejection  of 
Apolinarius  causes  Apolinarian 
heresy,  362. 

George  of  Arethusa,  nominated  for 
bishopric  of  Antioch,  271. 

Germanus,  presbyter,  416. 

Gerontius,  a  physician,  becomes 
bishop  of  Nicomedia,  403;  de- 
posed by  Chrysostom,  403. 

Gerontius,  a  traitorous  general  of 
Ilonorius,  426. 

Gladiatorial  shows  prohibited,  245. 

Goths,  christianization  of  the,  262, 
373;  become  Arians,  373;  follow 
the  Psathyrians,  388. 

Gratian,  emperor,  209;  toleratitin 
edict  of,  210,  377;  associates 
Theodosius  with  self  in  empire, 

377- 

Gratian,  jiroclaimed  emperor  by  sol- 
diers, soon  afterwards  slain,  425. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  285; 
attends  second  council  of  An- 
tioch, 285;  repudiated  by  bishops 
of  the  West,  290. 

Gregory,  bishop  of  Nyssa,  382. 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    SOZOMEN'S    HISTORY. 


449 


Gregory  Nazianzen,  193,  199;  a  source 
for  Sozomen,  223;  hated  by  Ju- 
lian, 340;  attends  council  of 
Tyana,  2^;^;  becomes  bishop  of 
Nazianzus,  356;  and  of  Constan- 
tinople, 356;  doctrine  of,  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Ghost,  359; 
describes  Apolinarianisni  anil 
Eunomianism,  364;  leader  of 
orthodox,  37S;  translated  to 
Constantinople,    abdicates,   3S0. 


Habakkuk,  relics  of,  discovered,  397. 

Halas,  a  Syrian  monk,  370,  371. 

Ilarmonius,  295,  296. 

Hegesippus,  240. 

Helena,  mother  of  Constantine,  204; 
goes  to  Jerusalem,  seeks  true 
cross,  258;  erects  temples  at 
Bethlehem  and  on  Mount  of 
Olives,  visits  churches  of  the 
East,  is  proclaimed  empress,  dies 
at  age  of  eighty,  259. 

Helenopolis  in  Bithynia,  259. 

Helenopolis  in  Palestine,  259. 

Heliodorus,  a  Syrian  monk,  370. 

Heliopolis,  persecution  of  Christians 

Helladius,  bishop  of  Cjesarea  in  Cap- 
padocia,  382;  ordains  Gerontius, 

403- 

Helladius,  deacon  of  Alexandria,  be- 
comes an  Arian,  251. 

Relies,  an  Egyptian  ascetic,  365. 

Hemona,  building  of,  234. 

Heortasius,  bishop  of  Sardis,  deposed 
by  Acacians,  320. 

Heraclean,  general  under  Honorius, 
423;  causes  famine  in  Rome,  424. 

Heraclides,    Egyptian    ascetic,    291, 

358- 
Heraclides,  monk  of  Scetis,  ordained 

bishop  of  Ephesus,  403. 

Heraclius,  succeeds  Erennius  as 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  324;  is  suc- 
ceeded by  Hilarius,  324. 

Hercules,  purified,  243. 

Hermaeon,  a  Melitian  bishop,  275. 

Hermias,  a  common  Christian  name, 
191. 

Hermogenes,  prefect  of  Syria,  320. 

Hera   polls,  in  the  Thebais,  343. 

Herod  the  Great,  239. 

Hestiae,  called  Michaelium,  196,  198; 
church  built  by  Constantine,  260. 

Hesychas,  Palestinian  monk,  293; 
"  Hesycas,"  369. 

Hilarion,  life  of,  192,  293,  ;i23'  exor- 
cises Alaphion,  192,  233;  ac- 
tivity in  Palestine,  A.D.  345,  192, 
293;  death,  371;  burial,  293. 

Hilarius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem  after 
Heraclius,  324. 

Hilary  of  Pictavium,  193,  295;  exiled, 

305- 
Himerius,  sophist  of  Athens,  356. 
Historiography  of  Sozomen,  228. 
Holy  Ghost,  doctrine  of,  two  parties, 

359- 
Homoousians,  209,  297,  298. 
Homoousios    and    homoiousios,    297, 

298. 


llonoria,  daughter  of  the  general 
Constantius,  427. 

Honorius,  205;  date  of  death  of,  A.D. 
423,  217;  succeeds  'I'heodosius, 
398;  offers  to  acknowledge  .\tla- 
lus  as  co-emperor,  423;  rebellions 
against  him,  425;  which  he  over- 
comes, 427. 

Horniisdas,  a  Persian  bishop  and 
martyr,  267. 

Hosius,  bishop  of  Cordova,  246;  sent 
to  settle  Paschal  controversy, 
253;  expands  Nicene  creed,  290. 

Huns,  398,  415;  retreat  from  Thrace, 
422. 

Hypatian,  bishop  of  Heraclia,  350. 

Hypostasis,  255,  270,  289,  320,  335, 
381. 

Iberians,  of  Asia,  converted  by  a  slave, 
assisted  by  miracles,  263;  send 
ambassadors  to  Constantine,  264. 

Impeccability,  386. 

India,  Christianization  of,  274. 

Indifterent  canon,  389. 

Innocent,  bishop  of  Rome,  415; 
writes  Chrysostom,  416. 

Irene,  daughter  of  Spyridon,  wonder- 
ful story  of,  246. 

Irenius,  bishop  of  Gaza,  348. 

Isaac,  a  Melitian  bishop,  275. 

Isaac,  a  monk,  predicts  death  of 
Valens,  376;  disputes  with  Chrys- 
ostom, 405. 

Isaac,  a  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Isaac,  a  type  of  sufferings  of  Christ, 

239- 

Isaiah,  343. 

Ischurias,  a  Melitian  presbyter,  275. 

Ischyrion,  bishop  of  Mareotis,  ap- 
pointed by  Eastern  bishops,  290. 

Ishmael,  father  of  the  Saracens,  375. 

Isidore,  an  Egyptian  monk,  365. 

Isidore,  a  presbyter  of  Alexandria, 
4CH3;  sent  on  embassy  to  Rome, 
400;  incurs  enmity  of  Theophi- 
lus,  406. 

Isidore  of  Pelusium,  191. 

Jacob,  predicted  coming  of  Christ,  239. 

Jews,  the,  rejection  of  Christ,  240; 
conspire  with  Magi  against  Per- 
sian Christians,  264,  266;  laws 
regarding  slave-holding,  297; 
granted  permission  to  rebuild 
the  Temple,  343;  repulsed  by 
fire  issuing  from  the  earth,  398. 

Johannists,  or  Johnites,  followers  of 
John  Chrysostom  of  Constanti- 
noj)le,  201,413;  persecuted,  413, 
414;  excommunicated,  415. 

John  Baptist,  head  found,  conveyed 
to  Constantinople,  and  church 
built  over  it,  199,391;  miracles 
there,  393. 

John,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  196, 
212;  predictions  of,  213,  409. 

John,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  398. 

John  Chrysostom,  see  Chrysostom. 

John,  Egyptian  ascetic,  365. 

John,  a  Melitian  bishop,  271,  275; 
exiled  by  Constantine,  280. 


John,  a  monk  of  Thebais,  392;  pre- 
dicts death  of  Theodosius  and  of 
Eugenius,  392. 

John,  a  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

John,  presbyter  and  monk,  366. 

Joseph,  husband  of  Mary,  343. 

Josephus,  the  historian,  witness  of,  to 
Christ,  239. 

Jovian,  207,  209;  proclaimed  em- 
peror, 347;  restores  ])rivileges  to 
Christians,  348;  restores  Athana- 
sius,  349;    death,  349. 

Jovius,  prefect  of  Italy,  423. 

Julian,  the  apostate,  edicts  cause  flight 
of  Sozomen's  family  and  of  Ala- 
phion's,  192  ;  jjortents  during 
reign,  205;  infatuation,  206: 
murder  of,  defended,  209,  346; 
dread  of  him,  210;  named  Civsar, 
317  ;  is  proclaimed  Augustus, 
and  apostatises,  325,  326;  family 
and  education,  326;  studies  phi- 
losophy at  Constantinople,  327 ; 
relations  with  Constantius,  327; 
reopens  pagan  temples,  328 ; 
refuses  help  to  Nisibis,  328  ;  sub- 
jects Majuma  to  Gaza,  328;  with- 
draws immunities  from  clergy, 
329;  hatred  of  the  church,  330 ; 
recalls  Aetius,  330;  compels  re- 
building of  Novatian  church,  330; 
banishes  Athanasiusand  Eleusius, 
336;  expels  the  clergy,  336;  fail- 
ure to  reinstate  paganism,  337; 
further  efforts,  338;  testimony 
to  Christian  benevolence,  338; 
letter  to  Arsacius,  338;  artful 
measures  against  Christians,  339; 
forbids  public  education  and 
Greek  classics  to  Christians,  340; 
writes  his  "  Aversion  to  Beards," 
341 ;  orders  body  of  Babylas  re- 
moved, 341 ;  persecution  result- 
ing, 342  ;  destroys  a  statue  of 
Christ,  342;  permits  Jews  to  re- 
build the  Temple,  343;  makes 
war  on  Persia,  345;  insults  Ar- 
sacius, King  of  Armenia,  345; 
death,  346;  cause  of  his  death, 
346;    his  impiety,  347. 

Julian,  the  Chaldaean,  performs  a 
miracle,  254. 

Julian,  governor  of  Egypt,  331 ;  uncle 
of  above,    331;     horrible   death, 

332- 

Julian,  Syrian  monk,  293. 

Julius,  bishop  of  Rome,  absent  from 
Nicene  council,  253 ;  rebukes 
bishops  of  East,  secures  rein- 
statement of  Athanasius  and 
Paul,  287;  summons  Athanasius 
to  Rome,  288;  replies  to  letter  of 
bishops  of  council  of  Antioch, 
288;  appeals  to  Constans,  289; 
death,  304. 

Julius,  a  deacon  of  Alexandria,  and 
an  Arian,  251. 

fustina,  revival  of  Arianism,  211; 
attempts  to  force  its  adoi)tion  by 
threats,  384;  flees  with  \'alen- 
tinian  II.  to  Thessalonica,  384; 
death,  385. 


450 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


Lagodius,  a  relative  of  the  Emperor 

Honorius,  425. 
Lazarus,  a  Syrian  monk  and  bishop, 

370.  371- 

Leontius,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  371;  de- 
prived Novatians  of  churches, 
399;  attends  council  which  de- 
posed Chrysostom,  412. 

Leontius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  298; 
succeeded  by  Eudoxius,  308. 

Leontius,  presbyter  to  Constantius, 
308. 

Libanius,  the  Syrian,  209,356;  teacher 
of  Chrysostom,  399. 

Liberius,  bishop  of  Rome,  204,  207; 
succeeds  Julius,  304;  exiled  by 
Constantius,  307;  recalled,  309; 
receives  Macedonian  bishops, 
352;    death,  359. 

Licinius,  241;  persecutes  Christians, 
244;  deceived  by  oracle,  loses 
battle,  and  dies  in  Thessalonica, 
244. 

Literature  upon  Sozomen,  228-231. 

Logos,  the,  239. 

"  Long  Brothers,"  the,  368;  incur 
enmity  of  Theophilus,  406;  re- 
tire with  other  monks  to  Scytho- 
polis,  407. 

Lord's  day,  observed  by  Constantine, 
245. 

Lucianius,  martyr  of  Nicomedia,  285. 

Lucifer,  founder  of  Luciferian  heresy, 
295;   bishop  of  Cagliari,  335. 

Lucius,  bishop  of  Adrianople,  de- 
posed, lives  in  Rome,  287;  re- 
instated, 300 ;  again  deposed; 
dies  in  prison,  301. 

Lucius,  presbyter  of  Alexandria,  349 ; 
made  bishop  by  Arians,  357; 
attempts  persecution  of  the  as- 
cetics, 358;  reproached  by  Moses, 
374;  expelle<l,  flees  to  Constan- 
tinople, 379. 

Maares,   Persian  bishop   and    martyr, 

267. 
Macarius,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,   241, 

246;  attends Nicene  council,  253; 

discovers  true  cross,  259;    chided 

by  Constantine   because   of  oak 

of  Mamre,   261 ;     succeeded  by 

Maximus,  271. 
Macarius,  deacon   of  Alexandria,  an 

Arian,  251. 
Macarius,   presl)yter     of   Alexandria, 

291.  358,  366. 

Macarius,  presbyter  of  Celliae,  207, 
366. 

Macarius  Politicus,  ascetic  and  pres- 
byter, 291. 

Macedonius,  198;  church  built  by 
M.,  199;  candidate  for  bishopric, 
284  ;  gains  possession,  288  ; 
ejected  on  return  of  Paul,  300; 
again  seizes  bishopric,  persecutes 
Paulinists,  210,  301,  315;  ex- 
pelled by  Acacians,  322;  death, 
322;  heresy  of,  regarding  the 
Holy  Chost,  322. 

Macedonius,  a  Phrygian  martyr,  334. 

Macedonian  heresy,  322;    peculiarity. 


Macedonians,  hold  councils,  336; 
persecuted  by  Valens,  352;  send 
embassy  to  Rome,  352;  invited 
to  council  of  Constantinople,  but 
withdraw,  380;    decline  of,  398. 

Magi,  of  Persia,  malign  the  Christians, 
264;  stir  up  persecution,  265, 
266. 

Magnentius,  usurps  power  of  Con- 
stans,  301 ;  defeated  by  Constan- 
tius, commits  suicide,  304. 

Magnus,  treasurer  under  Valens,  357. 

Majuma,  seaport  of  Gaza,  195;  dis- 
sention  between  Majuma  and 
Gaza,  195,  19S;  sudden  conver- 
sion of  inhabitants,  name  changed 
to  Constantia,  262;  degraded  by 
Julian,  328. 

Malachion,  a  monk  of  Bethelia  in 
Palestine,  191,  233;  death,  193; 
miraculous  disappearance  and 
reappearance,  370. 

Mammas,  the  martyr,  326. 

Mamre,  oak  of,  church  built  by  Con- 
stantine under,  261. 

Mania  (Mavia),  Phylarch  of  the  Sar- 
acens, 374 ;  succors  Constan- 
tinople, 377. 

}ilanich?eans,  not  tolerated  by  Gratian, 

377- 
Manumission  of  slaves  facilitated,  246. 

Alanuscripts  of  Sozomen,  225. 

Marathonius,  convent  of,  in  Constan- 
tinople, 199,  315;  made  bishop 
of  Nicomedia,  315;  adopts  heresy 
of  Macedonius,  322. 

Marcellinus,  mention  of  story  of 
Stephen,  224. 

Marcellus,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  his  doc- 
trines, 281;  deposed  by  Synod 
of  Constantinople,  281  ;  rein- 
stated by  Synod  of  Sardis,  282, 
300;    again  deposed,  301. 

Marcellus,  bishop  of  Apamea,  Syria, 
386;    death,  386. 

Marcian,  Macedonian  bishop  of 
Lampsacus,  380. 

Marcian.  Novatian  presbyter  of  Con- 
stantinople, 352;  becomes  bishop, 
384;  regrets  ordination  of  Sab- 
batius,  388;    death,  398. 

Marcian,  singer  and  martyr  of  Con- 
stantinople, 301. 

Marcionites,  280. 

Mardonius,  a  eunuch,  391. 

Mareas,  Persian  Ijishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Marinus,  succeeds  Demophilus,  super- 
seded by  Marinus,  385;  heads 
the  Psathyrians.  388. 

Maris,  bishop  of  Chalcedon,  repudi- 
ates Arianism,  255;  joins  the 
Acacians,  319;    boldness,  329. 

Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa,  289,  308, 
31 1 ;  attends  council  of  Sirmium, 
302;  com-piles  formulary,  317; 
martyrdom,  333. 

Mark,  bishop  of  Rome,  succeeds  .Sil- 
vester, succeeded  by  Julius,  271. 

Mark,  a  deposed  presbyter,  275. 

Mark,  a  monk,  207,  366. 

Mark,  proclaimed  emperor  by  soldiers, 
soon  afterwards  slain,  425. 


Marosas,  monk  of  Persia,  371. 

Martin,  bishop  of  Tarracince,  294. 

Martyrius,  bishop  of  Marcianopolis, 
382. 

Martyrius,  a  physician,  refuses  diac- 
onate,  382. 

Martyrius,  sub-deacon  and  martyr, 
301. 

Maruthas,  causes  death  of  Cyrinus, 
409. 

Mary,  called  mother  of  God,  343. 

Matrona,  guardian  of  head  of  John 
Baptist,  391. 

Maximus,  Alexandrian  philosopher, 
381;  episcopal  ordination  of, 
declared  invalid,  381. 

Maximus,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  213, 
246;    succeeds  Macarius,  271. 

Maximus,  bishop  of  Seleucia,  399; 
schoolfellow  of  Chrysostom,  399. 

Maximus,  bishop  of  Treves,  deposed 
l^y  Eastern  bishops  after  schism 
of  Sardica,  290. 

Maximus,  Ephesian  philosopher,  327. 

Maximus,  usurper  set  up  by  Geron- 
tius,  426. 

Maximus,  usurps  Valentinian"s  throne, 
384;    death,  386. 

Melas,  bishop  of  Rhinocorura,  369. 

Meletius,  appointed  by  Acacians 
bishop  of  Sebaste,  322;  trans- 
lated to  Antioch,  323;  upholds 
Nicene  doctrine,  and  is  expelled, 
323;  returns  to  Antioch,  335 ;  at- 
tends council  of  Antioch,  348; 
banished  by  Valens,  351 ;  returns 
to  Antioch,  causing  dissension, 
378 ;  attends  council  of  Constanti- 
nople, 380 ;    burial,  382. 

Melitians,  plead  for  Arius  with  Athan- 
asius,  270;  unite  with  the  Arians, 
271  ;  views  of,  272  ;  traduce 
Athanasius  before  Constantine, 
but  fail,  272;  second  attempt, 
which  also  fails,  273. 

Melitius,  bishop  of  Lycus,  his  heresy, 
251  ;  examined  by  council  at 
Nicrea,  power  of  ordination  with- 
drawn, 256;  nominates  John  as 
his  successor,  271. 

Menivolus,      secretary      to      Justina, 

384. 
Meropius,  journey  to  India,  274. 
Method  of  Sozomen  in  composition, 

213-217;  chronological  method, 

215,  216. 
Micah,  relics  of,  discovered,  397. 
Mich;vlium,  see  Hestia;. 
Missions,  211. 

Mithrium,  scene  of,  riot,  331. 
Mocius,  Persian    bishop  and  martyr, 

267,  410. 
Modestus,  prefect  of  Antioch  in  Syria, 

357- 
Monasticism,    212  ;    immoralities    of, 

omitted,  213;  praised,  216;  phi- 
losophy, 233,  247;  monastic  life, 
248,  369;  origin  of,  attributed 
to  John  Baptist  and  Ellas,  the 
prophet,  248;  among  Hebrews, 
248,  293 ;  among  Egyptians, 
292;  and  Syrians,  293,  370;  in 
Palestine,  369. 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    SOZOMEN'S    HISTORY. 


451 


Monks,    Syrian    and     Persian,    213; 

p]gyptian,  248. 
Montanisni,  206. 
Montanus,  270. 
Moses,  presbyter  and  monk  of  Scetis, 

367  ;     reproaches    Lucius,    374; 

refuses  ordination  by  latter,  374. 
Mysteries,  245,  248. 

Narcissus,  bishop  of  Irenopolis,  2S9; 
deposed  by  Western  bishops, 
290;   attacks  Athanasius,  304. 

Nectaria,  deaconess,  321. 

Nectarius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
364  ;  election  of,  204,  380; 
abolished  office  of  commissioner 
of  penance,  386;    death,  399. 

Neonas,  bishop  of  Seleucia,  deposed 
by  Acacians,  321. 

Nestabius,  a  martyr  of  Gaza,  332. 

Nestor  the  Confessor,  death  of,  332. 

Nestorianism,  201,  223. 

Nestorius,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
223. 

Nicaea,  in  Bithynia,  205 ;    council  con- 
•vened,  253. 
J  Nicarete,    a   lady   of  Bithynia,    199; 

noble  character  of,  414. 
^  Nicene    creed,  207 ;    adhered    to    by 
the  West,  291. 

Nicenism,  geographical  distribution 
of,  217,  291,  359;  adherents  take 
courage,  375. 

Nicoroedia,  earthquake  of,  205,  310. 
^Nicopolis,  343. 

Nilammon,  a  monk  of  Gera,  refuses 
bishopric,  411 ;    death,  411. 

Nitria,  monastic  life  at,  369. 

Nonnichia,  wife  of  Gerontius,  426. 

Novatians,  church  of,  in  Constantino- 
ple, 198;  destroyed,  315;  opposed 
by  Sozomen,  206;  refused  restor- 
ation to  excommunicated,  208, 
256;  separated  from  the  church, 
280;  cause  of  their  immunity  from 
suppression,  281;  church  of,  in 
Cyzicus  demolished,  316;  perse- 
cution by  Macedonius,  316;  ob- 
servance of  the  Passover,  361 ; 
schismatic  action,  361;  Easter 
and  Sabbatian  disputes,  388; 
prosperity  under  Arcadius  and 
I^'^norius,  398. 

Novatiils,  doctrine  of,  256,  361. 

Olympias,  a  widow,  404;  ordained 
deaconess  by  Nectarius,  405; 
rebuked  by  Chrysostom  for  un- 
wise giving,  405;  l^eing  perse- 
cuted, refuses  to  hold  communion 
with  Arsacius,  and  goes  to  Cyzi- 
cus, 415. 

Origen,  controversy,  206,  406-408 ; 
works  of,  368;  assailed  by  The- 
ophilus  and  other  bishops,  408. 

Origen,  a  monk  of  Scetis,  368. 

Origenists,  definition  of,  407. 

Otreinus,  bishop  of  Melitine,  382. 

Otreus,  bishop  of  Melitene,  353. 

Pachomius,  a  Melitian  bishop,  275. 
Pachomius,  a  monk,  sees    an    angel, 
202. 


Pachon,  an  ascetic  of  Scetis,  367. 

Pagan  worship  interdicted,  244. 

Palestine,  the  church  in,  211. 

Palladius,  the  historian,  a  source  used 
by  Sozomen,  223. 

Pambo,  Egyptian  ascetic,  291,  358. 

Pan,  statue  of,  destroyed,  262. 

Papas,  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Paphnutius,  the  confessor,  246,  291 ; 
argues  against  enforced  celibacy, 
256. 

Paschal,  usages  of  Montanists,  206; 
controversy,  252  ;  Hosius  sent  to 
settle  it,  253;  controversy  decided 
at  Nicsea,  286;  how  observed  by 
Novatians,  361 ;  Novatian  and 
Sabbatian  position,  389;  usage 
of  Pepuzites,  389. 

Patrines,  a  Melitian  presbyter,  273. 

Patrophilus,  bishop  of  Scythop(jlis, 
sides  with  Arius  against  Alexan- 
der, 252,  but  accepts  decision  of 
iNicene  council,  255;  charged 
by  Eustathius  with  Arianism, 
270;  attends  second  council  of 
Antioch,  280 ;    deposed,  318. 

Paul,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  199; 
succeeds  Alexander,  284;  ex- 
pelled, 284,  287;  goes  to  Rome, 
287  ;  reinstated,  288  ;  again 
ejected,  288;  affirms  Nicene  doc- 
trine, 291;  again  returns,  300; 
once  more  ejected  and  banished, 
dies  in  exile,  301 ;  burial, 
382. 

Paul  of  Ferme,  a  monk,  367. 

Paul  of  Jugatum,  a  Persian  monk,  371. 

Paul  the  Simple,  disciple  of  Antony 
the  Great,  becomes  an  ascetic, 
250. 

Paulianians,  a  heretical  sect,  280. 

Paulinists,  358. 

Paulinus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  divides 
see  with   Meletius,   378  ;    death 

385- 
Paulinus,  bishop  of  Treves,  defends 

Athanasius,  305. 

Paulinus,  bishop  of  Tyre,  sides  with 
Arius  against  Alexander,  252; 
charged  by  Eustathius  with  Ari- 
anism, 270. 

Paulus,  Persian  bishop  and  martyr, 
267. 

Pelagius,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  353, 
382. 

Penance,  338,  399;  peculiar  to  the 
West,  386. 

Persia,  church  of,  211;  how  estab- 
lished, 264;  persecution  under 
Sapor,  265  ;  sixteen  thousand 
names  of  martyrs  known,  267. 

Peter,  Apocalypse  of,  196. 

Peter,  appointed  bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria by  Athanasius,  expels  Arius, 
suffers  martyrdom,  251,  257;  de- 
posed by  Valens,  357;  condemns 
Apolinarianism,    362 ;      returns, 

375- 
Philip,    prefect     of    Constantmople, 

288. 

Philippus  of  Side,  a  source  of  Soz- 

omen's  history,  223. 


l'hil>)    judieus,  description  of  monks, 

.    -48.    . 

Philostorgius,  209;  a  source  of  Soz- 
omen's  history,  222. 

Photinus,  bisho])  of  Sirmium,  heresy 
of,  302;  is  deposed,  303;  follow- 
ers not  tolerated  by  Gratian,  377. 

Photius,  gives  Sozomen's  name,  233. 

Phritigernes,  a  Gothic  leader,  373. 

Phrygians,  a  heretical  sect,  280. 

Phuscon,  a  monk  of  Bethelia  in  Pal- 
estine, 191,  233,370. 

Piammon,  presbyter  and  monk,  sees 
an  angel,  202,  366. 

Pior,  an  Egyptian  monk,  367. 

Piturion,  291. 

Placetus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  succeeded 
Euphronius,  285,  298. 

Plagiarism  of  Sozomen,  from  Socrates, 
221. 

Plato,  274. 

Plinthus,  reconciles  Arian  factions, 
388. 

Plusian,  a  bishop,  275. 

Polemics,  deleterious,  207. 

Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  390. 

Polychronius,  a  presbyter,  aids  Pul- 
cheria  in  discovery  of  tomb  of 
Forty  Martyrs,  420. 

Pontus,  356. 

Porphyry,  succeeds  Flavian  as  bishop 
of  Antioch,  415;  persecutes  Jo- 
hannists,  415. 

Prapidius,  a  rural  bishop,  371. 

Primacy  of  Rome,  209. 

Prisciallianists,  206. 

Private  judgment,  206. 

Proasrssius,  a  sophist  of  Athens,  356. 

Probatius,  eunuch  under  Jovian,  349. 

Probianus,  a  physician,  miraculously 
cured,  and  becomes  a  Christian, 
260. 

Proclus,  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
201,  224. 

Procopius,  revolts  against  Valens,  de- 
feated, 351. 

Protogenes,  bishop  of  Sardica,  deposed 
by  Eastern  bishops,  290 ;  expands 
Nicene  creed,  290. 

Protogenes,  a  Syrian  monk,  370 ;  suc- 
ceeded Vitus  as  bishop  of  Carrse, 

370- 
Psathyrians,  an  Arian  sect,  388. 

Pulcheria,  sister  of  Theodosus  the 
Vounger,  196,  204;  marries  Mar- 
cian,  200 ;  previous  vow  of  vir- 
ginitv,  201 ;  opposed  Eutychian- 
ism,  201;  is  protector  of  the 
emperor,  205,  419;  opposed  free 
thought,  206,  223 ;  inclined  to 
asceticism,  212;  excellent  char- 
acter, 224,  419,  421 ;  discovers 
tomb  of  the  Forty  Martyrs,  421. 

Purification,  of  Hercules  and  Greeks, 
after  crime,  243. 

Pusices,  a  Persian  martyr,  266. 

Putubastus,  291;    "  Putubatus,"  368. 

Quadragesima,  412. 
Quartodecimarians,  206,  389. 
Quintianus,  ordained  bishop  of  Gaza, 

287  ;      repudiated     by    Western 

bishops,  290. 


452 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


Relic  worship,  208. 

Khinocorura,  monastic  life  at,  369. 

Rhodanus  [ur  Rhodanius],  bishop  of 

Toulouse,  305. 
Romanus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  241. 
Rome,    sack    of,    under    Alaric,  424; 

incidents  during  the  sack,  425. 
Ruhnus,   the   historian,   one   of    Soz- 

omen's  sources,  222. 

Sabbatians,  origin  and  doctrines,  388; 
difficulties  of  their  theory,  389. 

Sabbatius,  Arian  presbyter,  originates 
Sabbatian  heresy,  388. 

Sabellian  heresy,  335. 

Sabellius,  270. 

Sabinus,  the  historian,  a  source  of 
Sozomen's  history,  223. 

Sacraments,  as  mysteries,  207. 

St.  Euphemia,  church  of,  in  Chalce- 
don,  199. 

St.  Michael,  Archangel,  church  of,  at 
Hestiie,   196,  198. 

St.  Stephen,  church  of,  at  Constanti- 
nople, 199;  erected  by  Novatians, 
414. 

St.  Thyrsus,  196;  church  of,  199, 
420. 

Salamines  [also  Salamanus],  a  monk 
of  Bethelia,  in  Palestine,  191 ; 
370;  brother  to  Fuscon  and 
Crispian,  233,  408. 

Sallust,  the  historian,  206. 

.Sallust,  prastorian  prefect,  342. 

Sapor,  king  of  Persia,  persecutes  the 
Christians,  264;  subsequently  ap- 
plies order  only  to  the  leaders, 
266  ;  sends  embassy  to  Con- 
stantine,  268. 

Saracens,  374;  derived  from  Ishmael, 
375;  customs,  375;  converted  to 
Christianity,  375. 

Sarmates,  presbyter  of  Alexandria, 
becomes  an  Arian,  251. 

Sarmatians,  revolt  against  Valentinian, 
but  submit,  372. 

Schism  of  Sardica,  289  ;  Eastern 
bishops  depose  Julius,  289,  and 
Hosius,  also  Maximus  of  Treves, 
and  Protogenes,  and  Gaudentius 
of  Sardica,  290 ;  Western  bishops 
depose  Theodore,  Narcissus,  etc., 
290;  adiicre  to  Nicene  faith,  291. 

Sciri,  slaves  in  Asia  Minor,  197,  201, 
422. 

Scitis,  a  town  of  Egypt,  250. 

.Scriptures,  the,  interpreted  by  the 
(d€<jopia,  205. 

Scythians,  attacked  by  Valens,  375; 
assail  Constantinople,  377. 

Scythopolis,  refuge  of  Egyptian 
monks,  198,  407. 

Secundus,  bishop  of  Ptolemais,  ac- 
cepts decree  of  Nicene  council, 

255- 
Secundus,  pm:torian  prefect,  348. 

Selinus,  a  bishop  of  the  Goths,  be- 
comes a  Psathyrian,  388. 

Sepulchre  discovered,  258. 

Serapion,  bishop  of  Thumis,  213,  294; 
defends  Athanasius,  305. 

Serapion,  an  Egyptian  monk,  365; 
archdeacon  of  Chrysostom,  404; 


unruly  in  temper,  causes  trouble 
to  Chrysostom,  404,  405;  made 
bishop  of  Heraclca,  412. 

Serapion,  a  temple  of  Alexandria,  385; 
converted  into  a  churcli,  386. 

Severianus,  213;  bishop  of  Gabali, 
405;  offends  Chrysostom,  405; 
acts  with  the  latter's  opponents, 
409;  arouses  resentment  of  Con- 
stantinopolitans,  410;   flees,  411. 

Sibyl,  predicted  Christ's  coming,  239. 

Sigesarius,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  424. 

Silvanus,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  deposed 
by  Acacians,  321 ;  opposes  Ni- 
cene doctrines,  348;  but  after- 
ward accepts  them,  352. 

Silvester,  bishop  of  Rome,  241 ;  suc- 
ceeded by  Mark,  271. 

Simeon,  Syrian  monk,  293. 

Siricius,  succeeds  Damasus  as  bishop 
of  Rome,  398;    death,  415. 

Sisinius,  deputy  of  Agelius,  382;  after- 
ward bishop  of  Novatians  at  Con- 
stantinople, 382,  398;  personal 
character,  398;  dream  of,  con- 
cerning Eutropius  the  reader, 
414. 

.Socrates,  the  historian,  207;  relation 
of  his  work  to  that  of  Sozomen, 
221. 

Solon,  bishop  of  Rhinocorura,  369. 

Sopater,  242. 

Sophia,  church  of,  founded  by  Con- 
stantine,  198,  322;  dedicated  by 
Constantius,  198. 

Sophronius,  bishop  of  Pompeiopolis, 
deposed  by  Acacius,  321;  ac- 
cepts Macedonian  doctrines,  336; 
opposes  Nicene  doctrines,  348. 

Sotadus,  255. 

Sozomen,  .Salaminius  Hermas,  life, 
191-199;  on'gifi  arid  order  of 
the  name,  191,  233;  born  near 
Bethelia,  191,  233,  337;  not  a 
Jew,  192;  grandfather  a  Christian, 

192,  233;  converted  by  Hilarion, 
233.  337;  ^-  born,  370-380;  ed- 
ucated at,  Gaza,  234;   by  monks, 

193,  233;  hence  his  high  esti- 
mate of  monastic  life,  193,  233; 
not  a  monk,  193;  knew  Greek 
and  Syriac,  and  used  Syrian  rec- 
ords of  Persian  church,  193; 
probably  also  knew  Latin,  194; 
general  scholarship  narrow,  194- 
195;  religious  affiliations  Nicene, 
but  not  critical,  195  ;  studied 
law  at  Berytus,  234,  235 ;  became 
a  civil  and  ecclesiastical  lawyer, 
196,  233;  at  Constantinople,  c. 
A.D.  406,  196;  careful  in  state- 
ment of  ecclesiastical  legislation, 
196;  illiberal  in  policy  toward 
the  Persians,  Arians,  and  Pagans, 
197  ;  pietistic,  197  ;  defended 
Chrysostom,  197;  knowledge  of 
Palestine,  197  ;  of  Arabia,  Cy- 
prus, Alexandria,  Antioch,  and 
Edessa,  197;  and  of  Constanti- 
nople, 199;  S.  AS  AUTHOR,  199- 
225;  his  c])itome  lost,  200,  234; 
his  history,  written  between 
A.D.  443  and  448,  201,  202;    its 


objects,  201-213;  (i)  to  present 
facts,  201 ;  (2)  to  prove  (^) 
divine  origin  of  Christianity,  202; 

(3)  i.^)  Providence  promoting 
Christianity,  203;  his  efforts  to 
this  end  absurd,  203;  and  biased, 
204;  (4)  to  prove  Catholic  or- 
thodoxy, 205;  hence  apologizes 
for  Constantine,  209;  (5)  to  trace 
extension    of    Christianity,    21 1; 

(6)  to  dignify  monasticism,  212; 

(7)  '^o  g'^'s  secular  history;  (8) 
to  develop  historically  legislation 
favorable  to  church,  213;  his 
method,  213-217;  (i)  acknowl- 
edges limitations,  (2)  research 
(rt)  personal  knowledge,  {b)  per- 
sonal inquiry,  {c)  knowledge  at 
second  hand,  213;  (^d)  correction 
of  falsehoods,  (^)  use  of  irwOd- 
vofxai,  (/)  and  aKpt$6ai,  (g)  and 
documents,  214;  (3)  textual,  and 

(4)  analytical  criticism  lacking, 

(5)  interprets  events  by  {a)  criti- 
cism of  facts,  214,  {i>)  using  his- 
tory ethically,  (c)  suggesting 
motives,  (ir/>  apologizing  for  favor- 
ites, (e)  yielding  to  personal 
feeling,  (/)  pragmatic  deduction, 
(g)  centralizing  prominent  figures, 
{/i)  dwelling  on  human  nature, 
(z)  explaining  away  faults  of  the 
orthodox,  and  (J)  speculating, 
215;  (6)  chronological  method, 
(a)  imperial  reigns  his  epochs, 
and  {i)  uses  consulates  as  refer- 
ence dates,  215;  (7)  geograiphi- 
cal  contributions,  215;  names 
mostly  Hebrew  or  .Syrian,  215; 

(8)  statistics  unmethodical,  (9) 
biography  abundant,  and  fair, 
(10)  ecclesiastical  culture  indi- 
rectly treated;  (11)  no  syste- 
matic treatment  of  dogmatics  and 
ethics,  216;  (12)  his  knowledge 
of  Christian  literature  incomplete, 

(13)  treatment  unphilosophical, 

(14)  general  style  good  and  sum- 
maries excellent,  217.  The  pe- 
riod COVERED,  presumptively 
A.D.  323-439,  217;  but  really 
only  to  A.D.  437,  viz.  Constantine 
to  Theodosius  II.,  218;  grouping 
of  books  by  twos,  218.  For 
whom  he  wrote;  not  merely  for 
monks,  nor  for  the  learned,  but 
for  Christians  generally,  218. 
His  sources,  I.,  those  mentioned 
by  S.,  2 1 8-220 ;  II.,  those  un- 
mentioned,  221-223;  rnain  au- 
thorities not  indicated,  221 ;  (i) 
relations  to  Socrates'  history : 
three  views,  (a)  Sozomen  pla- 
giarized (untenable),  221 ;  (prob- 
able), 234;  (/>)  both  used  same 
authorities  independently  (un- 
tenable), (f)  Sozomen  followed 
Socrates'  lead  to  authorities 
(probable),  221,  222;  (2)  Ru- 
linus,  (3)  Eusebius'  Life  of  Con- 
stantine, (4)  Athanasius,  (5) 
Philostorgius,  222;  (6)  .Sabinus, 
(7)  PhilippusofSide,  (8)  codices 


GENERAL    INDEX    TO    SOZOMEN'S    iilSTORY. 


453 


Gregorianus,  I  lermogianus,  and 
Theodosiauus,  (9)  Basil,  (10) 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  (11)  Sul- 
picius  Severus,  (12)  Palladius, 
223 ;  stated  by  himself,  240. 
The  ninth  book,  change  in 
method,  deals  with  the  West, 
223  ;  unlinished,  («)  intention 
not  carried  out,  {/>)  Nestorianism 
not  delineated,  (f)  events  antici- 
pated, narration  uncompleted, 
223 ;  (d)  ecclesiastical  matters 
barely  touched,  (^)  Stephen's 
story  promised,  hut  not  given, 
{/,g)  close  abrupt,  224;  con- 
clusion not  lost,  abrupt  close  due 
to  author's  death,  224.  By  whom 
used,  («)  Epiphanius  Scholasti- 
cus,  ((5)  Liberatus,  (c)  Theo- 
phanes,  (d)  Theodorus  Lector, 
Nicephorus  Callistus,  224,  225; 
errors  numerous,  225. 

Spyridon,  bishop  of  Trimythum,  story 
of,  246;  rebukes  Triphyllius, 
247. 

Stephen,  ascetic  of  Mareotis,  367. 

Stephen,  bishop  of  Antioch,  deposed, 
298. 

Stephen  the  Martyr,  relics  discovered, 
224. 

Stilicho,  general  under  Honorius, 
plots  against  the  empire,  421  ; 
slain  by  soldiers,  421. 

Sulpicius  Severus,  a  source  of  Sozo- 
men's  history,  223. 

Symeon,  archbishop  of  Seleucia  and 
Ctesiphon,  arrested  by  Sapor, 
264;    is  beheaded,  265, 

Synod,  see  Council. 

Tabenna,  island  of  Egypt,  home  of 
the  Tabennesian  monks,  292. 

Tabennesian  monks,  origin  and  mode 
of  life,  291. 

Tarbula,  sister  of  Symeon,  martyr- 
dom of,  266. 

Tatian,  a  Phrygian  martyr,  334. 

Terentius,  bishop  of  Tomi,  382. 

Textual  criticism  of  Sozomen,  227.  « 

Themistius,  philosopher,  211,  372. 

Theoctistus,  gives  name  to  the  Psathy- 
rians,  388. 

Theodpre,  Ijishop  of  Heraclea,  284; 
attt'ids  second  council  of  Anti- 
och, 285 ;  goes  to  Rome,  289 ; 
repudiated  by  bishops  of  the 
West,  290;    attacks  Athanasius, 

304- 
Theodore,     bishop     of     Mopsuestia, 
399;  schoolfellow  of  Chrysostom, 

399- 
Theodore  the  Confessor,  of  Antioch, 

342- 
Theodore,    disciple    of    Ammon,    in 

Egypt,- 250. 
Theodore,   military   officer,    executed 

at  order  of  Valens,  372. 
Theodoritus,    presbyter    of    Antioch, 

331- 

Theodosiolus,  a  relative  of  the  Em- 
peror Honorius,  425. 

Theodosius  the  Great,  324,  332; 
built  temple  over  head  of  John 


Baptist,  199,391;  character  ac- 
cording to  Sozomen,  200;  literary 
eulogium  on,  200;  self-controlled 
and  peaceful,  200;  sees  appari- 
tion of  iNIartyr  Basiliscus,  202; 
suppresses  heresy  and  paganism, 
209;  address  to,  236-238;  asso- 
ciated with  Gratian,  377;  bap- 
tized, 378;  gives  title  "Catholic 
Church"  to  the  orthodox,  378; 
orilers  Uemophilus  to  renounce 
Arianism,  379;  attempts  unilica- 
tion  of  church,  382  ;  opposes 
Maximus  and  avenges  Gratian, 
384  ;  orders  pagan  temples  of 
Alexandria  demolished,  285  ;  ex- 
cludes women  under  sixty  years 
of  age  from  ministry,  387;  ban- 
ishes Eunomius,  387;  consults 
John  of  Thebais,  392;  exacts 
tribute  of  Antioch  in  Syria,  392; 
declares  Honorius  emperor,  de- 
feats Eugenius,  393;  reproached 
by  Ambrose  —  the  cause,  394  ; 
death,  397. 
Theodosius  the  Younger,  205  ;  suc- 
ceeds Arcadius,  419. 
Theodotus,  Arian  bishop  of  Laodicea, 
362  ;  ejects,  but  reinstates,  Apoli- 
narius,  father  and  son,  362. 
Theodulus,  a  Phrygian  martyr,  334. 
Theognis,  bishop  of  province  of  Bi- 

thynia,  favors  Arianism,  293. 
Theognis,  bishop  of  Niciiea,  repudiates 
Arian  doctrines,  255;  deposed, 
255;  regains  bishopric,  268. 
Theonas,  an  Egyptian  ascetic,  365. 
Theophanes,  mentions  Stephen,  224. 
Theophilus,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
212,  3S5,  398;  opposes  ordina- 
tion of  Chrysostom  at  Constanti- 
nople, 400 ;  instance  of  sharp 
dealing,  400  ;  unites  with  Chrys- 
ostom to  unite  churches  of  East 
and  West,  400;  maintains  incor- 
poreality  of  (iod,  406;  but  by 
sophistry  deceives  the  people, 
406;  becomes  hostile  to  "  Long 
Brothers  "  and  to  Isidore,  406 ; 
complains  of  them  and  the  eighty 
monks  to  Chrysostom,  407;  re- 
turns no  answer  to  latter's  letter, 
407 ;  by  double  dealing  enlists 
Epiphanius  on  his  side,  attempts 
to  oust  Chrysostom,  407  ;  writes 
against  books  of  Origen,  408 ; 
goes  to  Chalcedon  in  crusade 
against  Chrysostom,  409  ;  secures 
dethronement  of  Chrysostom  at 
Ruffinianae,  409 ;  after  a  cold 
reception  at  Constantinople,  409 ; 
causes  strife  at  Constantinople, 
41 1  ;  flees,  and  visits  Cjera,  where 
he  attempts  to  ordain  a  bishop, 
411. 
Theophilus,  bishop  of  Eleutheropolis 
and  of  Castabala,  321;  accepts 
Nicene  doctrines,  352. 
Theophilus  of  Ohn,  211. 
Theophronius,  author  of   Eunomian- 

ism,  363,  387. 
Theotimus,  bisho])  of  Tomi,  performs 
a  miracle,  395 ;   opposes  Epipha- 


nius   in    attack    on    Chrysostom, 

408. 
Theotokos,    Nestorian    view    of,    c)])- 

jjosed  by  Soz.omen,  20O. 
Thyrsus  the  Martyr,  aids  I'ulcheria  to 

discover  tomb  of  the  Eorty  Mar- 
tyrs, 420. 
Tigrius,  presbyter   of  Constantinople, 

l>ersecuted      by     opponents      tjf 

C'hrysostom,  415. 
Timothy,     jiresbyter    of    Alexandria, 

275;     bishop,    366;     biographer 

of  monastics,  366;    death,  385. 
Titus,  bishop  of  Bostra,  294,  337. 
Tt)mi,  capital  of  Scythia,  359. 
Translations  of  Sozomen,  227,  228. 
Trinity,  335,  378,  398. 
True    cross,  found  on  Calvary,  cures 

sick,  restores  dead  to  life,  259. 
Tryphillius,  liishop   of  Bcrytus,   196; 

rebuked  by  Sjiyridon,  247. 

Uldis,  overthrow  of,  197,  201,  422. 

Ultilas  (or  Ulphilas),  bishop  of  the 
Goths,  319;  becomes  an  Arian 
for  state  reasons,  373. 

Ulphilas,  a  general  of  Honorius,  426. 

Uranius,  Ijishop  of  Tyre,  deposed,  318. 

Ursacius,  bishop  of  Sigidunus,  deposed 
by  Western  bishops,  290 ;  Arian 
tendencies  of,  291;  acknowl- 
edges falsity  of  charges  against 
Athanaiius,  300;  attempts  to 
force  Aetianism  on  council  of 
Arirninum,  312;    but  fails,  313. 

Ursacius,  schismatic  bishop  of  Rome, 

359- 
Uzthazanes,  a  eunuch,  suffers  martyr- 
dom, 265. 

Valens,  Emperor,  portents  during 
reign,  205,  209;  compared  with 
Valentinian,  217,  349 ;  proclaimed 
Emperor  by  brother,  350;  Arian 
in  doctrine,  350;  adopts  Eudox- 
ian  views,  351;  defeats  Proco- 
pius,  351  ;  persecutes  Nicene 
adherents  and  Novatians,  351, 
352;  and  Macedonians,  352; 
prohibits  council  at  Tarsus,  353; 
orders  orthodox  bishops  ejected, 
353;  permits  return  of  Athana- 
sius, 354;  massacres  deputation 
of  orthodox  Christians,  355;  pur- 
poses further  injury  of  the  ortho- 
dox, 355;  persecutes  the  orthodox 
of  Syrian  Antioch,  356;  banishes 
and  recalls  A'etranio,  359;  in- 
censed at  use  of  divination  to 
learn  his  successor's  name,  371; 
hears  oration  of  Themistius,  372; 
becomes  more  humane,  373  ; 
angered  by  Constantinopolitans, 
makes  war  on  the  Scythians,  375; 
death  predicted  by  monk  Isaac, 
376;   death,  376. 

Valens,  bishop  of  Mursia,  deposed  by 
bishops  of  the  West,  290;  Arian 
tendencies,  291 ;  acknowledges 
falsity  of  accusations  against 
Athanasius,  300;  favors  Aetian 
heresy,  312;  but  fails  to  force  it 
on    council   of  Ariminum,    313; 


454 


ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 


gains  Constantius,  314;  perse- 
cutes Nicene  adherents,  315; 
calls   his   formulary  the   Nicene, 

3I5- 
Valentian,  two  Syrian  monks,  371. 

Valentinian  I.,  emperor,  217,  349; 
proclaimed  emperor,  349;  ban- 
ishment under  Julian,  350;  pro- 
claims Gratian  emperor,  352; 
supports  Nicene  doctrines,  359; 
dies  in  a  fit  of  rage,  372. 

Valentinian  II.,  proclaimed  Emperor 
of  the  West,  372;  flees  from  Italy 
on  approach  of  Maximus,  384; 
death,  392. 

Valentinian  III.,  succeeds  Honorius, 
427. 

Valentinians,  206 ;  a  separate  sect,  280. 

Valesius,  prefatory  remarks,  233,  234. 

Venus,  temple  of,  at  Aphaca  destroyed, 
262. 

Verinian,  a  relative  of  the  Emperor 
Honorius,  425. 


Vetranio,  bishop  of  the  Scythians, 
359;  banished  and  recalled  by 
Valens,  359. 

Vetranius,  conspires  against  Constan- 
tius, 301 ;  is  betrayed  and  retires, 
302. 

Vicentius,  presbyter  of  Rome,  attends 
Nicene  council,  253. 

Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  paschal  con- 
troversy with  Polycarp  of  Smyrna, 

390. 
Vincent,    a    presbyter,    guardian    of 
relics  of  John  Baptist,  391;    re- 
nounces     Macedonian      tenets, 

^^^■ 
Virgin  Mary,  perpetual  virginity  of, 

239- 

Vitalius,  presbyter  of  Antioch,  362: 
became  Apolinarian  bishop  of 
Antioch,  362. 

Vito,  presbyter  of  Rome,  attends  Ni- 
cene council,  253. 

Vitus,  bishop  of  Carrse,  370. 


Western  Christians,  241. 

Western  church,  and  schism  of  Sar- 

dica,  290,  291 ;  adheres  to  Nicene 

doctrines,  360.    ' 
Word,  see  Logos. 


Zachariah  (Zechariah),  the  prophet, 
finding  of  body  of,  198,  224,  427; 
prophecy  of  "  the  bit  of  the 
horse,"  259. 

Zacharias  (or  Zechariah),  president 
of  a  monastery  at  Gerari,  370, 
427. 

Zeno,  bishop  of  Majuma,  195;  murder 
of,  209,  332. 

Zeno,  bishop  of  Tyre,  353. 

Zeno,  cousin  of  above,  332. 

Zeno,  monk  of  Majuma,  afterwards 
bishop  of  Botolium,  396. 

Zeno,  a  monk  of  Nisibis,  370. 

Zocomus,  a  monk  of  Majuma,  after- 
wards bishop  of  Botolium,  396. 


SOZOMEN'S  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


Gen.  xviii 239 

Gen.  xlix.  10 239 


Luke  xxiv.  13 
John  iii.  13  . 


Ex.  iii.  2 239  !  Acts  xix.  35 

Isa.  vii.  14 239    I  Cor.  xi.  12 

Zech.  xiv.  20  (LXX.) 259    i  Cor.  xv.  47 

Matt.  ix.  6 247    I  Tim.  v.  9  . 

Matt.  X.  23 379|Tit.  i.  15 

Matt.  xxiv.  36 387  ,  I  John  v.  16 


PAGE 

343 
364 
262 

324 
364 
387 
247 
256 


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